TideSports.com staff
Just a few hours away from the first games of the 2015 College Football Season, the TideSports staff took its best guess at some of the season's biggest storylines.
College Football Playoff
Semifinal: Alabama over TCU
Semifinal: Ohio State over Southern Cal
Championship: Ohio State over Alabama
I wouldn't have picked the Buckeyes to win it last year, but Ohio State seems loaded. With a relatively easy regular season to navigate, OSU should have a clear path to the playoffs and looks too powerful to stop before the championship game. In reality, my pick is Ohio State over the SEC champion -- I'm picking Alabama, but this league is too tough to handicap with too many close games that could go either way. But until I see how the quarterback competition plays out and whether UA gets consistent play from that position, I can't pick Alabama to win it all.
-Tommy Deas
USA Today Sports
Is a rematch with Ohio State in Alabama's future?
Semifinal: TCU over Alabama
Semifinal: Ohio State over Clemson
Championship: Ohio State over TCU
Repeating as national champion isn't easy. That's why it's so rarely accomplished. However, the Buckeyes' regular season schedule isn't too daunting, which should help keep them relatively healthy throughout the season. On the flip side, Alabama's schedule could catch up to it. That many physical games during a season takes a toll.
-Aaron Suttles
Semifinal: Someone over someone else
Semifinal: Ditto
Champion: Eventual Champion
I know it seems like I'm being a jerk. Just pick some teams, right? But one of my agenda items is picking No Playoff Teams in September. It doesn't mean anything. I can wait. I can avoid hysterical takes like the "three SEC Teams" that had everyone in a dither last October. So it would be hypocritical of me to rail on other people for their constantly-changing weekly picks, then make one myself. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with my colleagues taking a guess, and there is (at least) precedent to go on. If the committee does what it did last year, it will choose a geographically balanced quartet of high-profile programs and award every league (except one) a delicious juice box. That's as far as I'll go until about eight weeks are under our belt.
-Cecil Hurt
Semifinal: TCU over Ohio State
Semifinal: Alabama over Arizona
Championship: TCU over Alabama
Remember Urban Meyer's last attempt at repeating a national championship? Florida stayed undefeated but suffered under expectations for all of the 2009 regular season, then collapsed against Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Surviving a season as the favorite is trying for any team, and I'm not convinced having so much competition at quarterback will be healthy for the Buckeyes. They can maul through the Big Ten, but the playoff will be too much for them.
-Ben Jones
SEC Championship Game
Alabama 21, Georgia 14
I think Georgia wins the East even with a loss to Alabama in the regular season. It's hard to imagine Tennessee or one of the other teams navigating that side of the league without at least two losses, and Georgia gets in with a tiebreaker. Alabama wins the rematch in a physical matchup featuring two hard-nosed running teams.
-Tommy Deas
Our panel unanimously picked Alabama to beat Georgia in the SEC championship.
Alabama 24, Georgia 13
It doesn't mean I won't be wrong (I am frequently), but I'm just not buying the Tennessee hype until I see it. I think Josh Dobbs is a quality quarterback, but show me, don't tell me. Georgia's defense should be good enough to help it win the East. Alabama has a brutal schedule, and if the Crimson Tide wins the West it might be Nick Saban's best coaching job in his nine seasons at Alabama.
-Aaron Suttles
Alabama 32, Georgia 23
The two best teams although they do not have (a.) marquee quarterbacks or (b.) conducive schedules, including playing each other in the regular season.
-Cecil Hurt
Alabama 34, Georgia 16
Tennessee was probably being hyped a year too soon, and that was before the Vols watched their injury list grow in fall camp. I see a powerful defense leading the way in Athens. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel will be the stars, but I think Mark Richt will trust his quarterbacks more than he trusted Hutson Mason last year. But when they arrive in Atlanta, they'll find Alabama's defense is even better.
-Ben Jones
Heisman winner
Ezekiel Elliot, Ohio State running back
His game against Alabama last year was a launching point that should put him on a lot of ballots, and he plays for a team that will garner a lot of attention.
-Tommy Deas
Deshaun Watson, Clemson quarterback
This is such an impossible task, so why not have fun with it and go with a guy and a program that no one is really thinking has a legitimate shot? The ACC is ripe with teams that Watson should run roughshod over. Why not him?
-Aaron Suttles
It's the same as Playoff Predictions. I'm a Heisman voter and I honestly don't get around to thinking about my vote until November. Who would have had Jameis Winston as a preseason pick, or Johnny Manziel? Mariota was an early favorite, especially after Winston's meltdowns. But let's watch them play before choosing a Best Player. Patience is a virtue, even if that makes me sound like a curmudgeon.
-Cecil Hurt
Malik Zaire, Notre Dame quarterback It's a gamble to pick a player who hasn't even played a whole game by himself at quarterback, but Zaire was good enough to push Everett Golson out the door late last year. The Irish have enough big games (Texas, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Stanford, USC) to keep the spotlight on them all year, and while expectations are high, their season won't be torpedoed by a single loss. Zaire might not be in the discussion for the award early in the year, but history shows that can help. As long as Notre Dame stays in the national discussion, he'll get Heisman buzz at the end of the season. -Ben Jones
Despite all four panelists picking Alabama to make the playoff, none predicted a national championship.
Alabama season prediction
13-2, with a loss in the CFB final
Where will the regular-season loss come? It's hard to project -- I wouldn't have picked Ole Miss to beat Alabama last year, but it happened -- but it isn't hard to project that the Crimson Tide will get tripped up somewhere along the way in the rugged SEC. The schedule is too much to negotiate without a single defeat, or looks that way to me. -Tommy Deas
12-2, College Football Playoff loss
The schedule is just too difficult, the SEC West just too difficult, for Alabama to go unbeaten. Where Alabama trips up is anyone guess. I tend to think an early season loss is most likely. The two-week stretch of going to Athens, Ga., for a game against the Bulldogs and then returning home for a game against throwback Arkansas should prove pivotal. How the team holds up health-wise is crucial. -Aaron Suttles
13-2, College Football Playoff final loss
Nobody is going undefeated through the SEC season. Sorry. Beyond that, Alabama has as good a chance as anyone, if the quarterback play is adequate.
-Cecil Hurt
13-2, College Football Playoff loss One regular season loss is par for the course in the SEC West. Alabama's recruiting keeps the Tide among the elite every year, but there will be even better opportunities a year or two down the road. Alabama fans may not be happy with a repeat of 2014, but they'll be happier than fans at Georgia, Auburn and LSU, which go another year without a conference title or a playoff bid.
-Ben Jones
Alabama MVP
Kenyan Drake
If he can stay healthy and master ball security, he's a special weapon. And Lane Kiffin knows how to utilize weapons of college football destruction. He'll be utilized in many ways.
-Tommy Deas
O.J. Howard
This is like wrapping the brightest Christmas package ever and putting it under every Alabama fan's tree. But Nick Saban has been talking up the possibility of using Howard in various ways. If he blocks well, it helps the running game, if he catches 50 passes, it helps everyone. So I'll go off the ranch with a pick. Any votes for J.K. Scott will be given careful consideration.
-Cecil Hurt
Defensive line, all of them
This isn't to be flippant. I legitimately think the defensive line is the key to getting to where this team wants to go. If it allows a team to go over 200 yards rushing, like it did against Ohio State last year, then this season won't go fulfilled. I suspect that won't be the case unless something goes awry.
-Aaron Suttles
Reggie Ragland The feeling here is that both Kenyan Drake and Derrick Henry are in for big years on offense. Picking between them will be difficult, but Ragland can make himself into one of college football's premier defenders with another All-SEC season.
-Ben Jones
Erin Nelson
Wide receiver ArDarius Stewart could be due for a breakout campaign.
Alabama breakout star
ArDarius Stewart
If not him, one of the other wideouts. It is a position with no playmakers who have yet proven themselves under the lights, so someone will emerge. There is a lot of talent, much of it young, and one of those talented young guys is going to mark himself as the next big-time wideout to come out of Alabama.
-Tommy Deas
ArDarius Stewart
I've been singing his praises since last season. His combination of speed, quickness and toughness should prove valuable for wide receiver corps that is largely unproven. He needs to be this team's deep threat.
-Aaron Suttles
ArDarius Stewart
Fans got a glimpse last year, but with no Amari Cooper (or DeAndrew White) this is Stewart's time to shine. Even the most conservative offense (and Alabama won't be that primitive) has to have a deep threat, or an athlete who can turn a short toss into a long gain. Stewart can do both.
-Cecil Hurt
Reuben Foster Foster's recruiting saga makes him a known quantity to football diehards around the country. This is the year he reminds everyone why he received so much attention as a high schooler who flipped from Auburn to Alabama, and it wasn't just the tattoo. When the Iron Bowl rolls around, he'll be a key player and one of the nation's most compelling stories.
-Ben Jones
- See more at: TideSports college football predictions
Just a few hours away from the first games of the 2015 College Football Season, the TideSports staff took its best guess at some of the season's biggest storylines.
College Football Playoff
Semifinal: Alabama over TCU
Semifinal: Ohio State over Southern Cal
Championship: Ohio State over Alabama
I wouldn't have picked the Buckeyes to win it last year, but Ohio State seems loaded. With a relatively easy regular season to navigate, OSU should have a clear path to the playoffs and looks too powerful to stop before the championship game. In reality, my pick is Ohio State over the SEC champion -- I'm picking Alabama, but this league is too tough to handicap with too many close games that could go either way. But until I see how the quarterback competition plays out and whether UA gets consistent play from that position, I can't pick Alabama to win it all.
-Tommy Deas
USA Today Sports
Is a rematch with Ohio State in Alabama's future?
Semifinal: TCU over Alabama
Semifinal: Ohio State over Clemson
Championship: Ohio State over TCU
Repeating as national champion isn't easy. That's why it's so rarely accomplished. However, the Buckeyes' regular season schedule isn't too daunting, which should help keep them relatively healthy throughout the season. On the flip side, Alabama's schedule could catch up to it. That many physical games during a season takes a toll.
-Aaron Suttles
Semifinal: Someone over someone else
Semifinal: Ditto
Champion: Eventual Champion
I know it seems like I'm being a jerk. Just pick some teams, right? But one of my agenda items is picking No Playoff Teams in September. It doesn't mean anything. I can wait. I can avoid hysterical takes like the "three SEC Teams" that had everyone in a dither last October. So it would be hypocritical of me to rail on other people for their constantly-changing weekly picks, then make one myself. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with my colleagues taking a guess, and there is (at least) precedent to go on. If the committee does what it did last year, it will choose a geographically balanced quartet of high-profile programs and award every league (except one) a delicious juice box. That's as far as I'll go until about eight weeks are under our belt.
-Cecil Hurt
Semifinal: TCU over Ohio State
Semifinal: Alabama over Arizona
Championship: TCU over Alabama
Remember Urban Meyer's last attempt at repeating a national championship? Florida stayed undefeated but suffered under expectations for all of the 2009 regular season, then collapsed against Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Surviving a season as the favorite is trying for any team, and I'm not convinced having so much competition at quarterback will be healthy for the Buckeyes. They can maul through the Big Ten, but the playoff will be too much for them.
-Ben Jones
SEC Championship Game
Alabama 21, Georgia 14
I think Georgia wins the East even with a loss to Alabama in the regular season. It's hard to imagine Tennessee or one of the other teams navigating that side of the league without at least two losses, and Georgia gets in with a tiebreaker. Alabama wins the rematch in a physical matchup featuring two hard-nosed running teams.
-Tommy Deas
Our panel unanimously picked Alabama to beat Georgia in the SEC championship.
Alabama 24, Georgia 13
It doesn't mean I won't be wrong (I am frequently), but I'm just not buying the Tennessee hype until I see it. I think Josh Dobbs is a quality quarterback, but show me, don't tell me. Georgia's defense should be good enough to help it win the East. Alabama has a brutal schedule, and if the Crimson Tide wins the West it might be Nick Saban's best coaching job in his nine seasons at Alabama.
-Aaron Suttles
Alabama 32, Georgia 23
The two best teams although they do not have (a.) marquee quarterbacks or (b.) conducive schedules, including playing each other in the regular season.
-Cecil Hurt
Alabama 34, Georgia 16
Tennessee was probably being hyped a year too soon, and that was before the Vols watched their injury list grow in fall camp. I see a powerful defense leading the way in Athens. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel will be the stars, but I think Mark Richt will trust his quarterbacks more than he trusted Hutson Mason last year. But when they arrive in Atlanta, they'll find Alabama's defense is even better.
-Ben Jones
Heisman winner
Ezekiel Elliot, Ohio State running back
His game against Alabama last year was a launching point that should put him on a lot of ballots, and he plays for a team that will garner a lot of attention.
-Tommy Deas
Deshaun Watson, Clemson quarterback
This is such an impossible task, so why not have fun with it and go with a guy and a program that no one is really thinking has a legitimate shot? The ACC is ripe with teams that Watson should run roughshod over. Why not him?
-Aaron Suttles
It's the same as Playoff Predictions. I'm a Heisman voter and I honestly don't get around to thinking about my vote until November. Who would have had Jameis Winston as a preseason pick, or Johnny Manziel? Mariota was an early favorite, especially after Winston's meltdowns. But let's watch them play before choosing a Best Player. Patience is a virtue, even if that makes me sound like a curmudgeon.
-Cecil Hurt
Malik Zaire, Notre Dame quarterback It's a gamble to pick a player who hasn't even played a whole game by himself at quarterback, but Zaire was good enough to push Everett Golson out the door late last year. The Irish have enough big games (Texas, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Stanford, USC) to keep the spotlight on them all year, and while expectations are high, their season won't be torpedoed by a single loss. Zaire might not be in the discussion for the award early in the year, but history shows that can help. As long as Notre Dame stays in the national discussion, he'll get Heisman buzz at the end of the season. -Ben Jones
Despite all four panelists picking Alabama to make the playoff, none predicted a national championship.
Alabama season prediction
13-2, with a loss in the CFB final
Where will the regular-season loss come? It's hard to project -- I wouldn't have picked Ole Miss to beat Alabama last year, but it happened -- but it isn't hard to project that the Crimson Tide will get tripped up somewhere along the way in the rugged SEC. The schedule is too much to negotiate without a single defeat, or looks that way to me. -Tommy Deas
12-2, College Football Playoff loss
The schedule is just too difficult, the SEC West just too difficult, for Alabama to go unbeaten. Where Alabama trips up is anyone guess. I tend to think an early season loss is most likely. The two-week stretch of going to Athens, Ga., for a game against the Bulldogs and then returning home for a game against throwback Arkansas should prove pivotal. How the team holds up health-wise is crucial. -Aaron Suttles
13-2, College Football Playoff final loss
Nobody is going undefeated through the SEC season. Sorry. Beyond that, Alabama has as good a chance as anyone, if the quarterback play is adequate.
-Cecil Hurt
13-2, College Football Playoff loss One regular season loss is par for the course in the SEC West. Alabama's recruiting keeps the Tide among the elite every year, but there will be even better opportunities a year or two down the road. Alabama fans may not be happy with a repeat of 2014, but they'll be happier than fans at Georgia, Auburn and LSU, which go another year without a conference title or a playoff bid.
-Ben Jones
Alabama MVP
Kenyan Drake
If he can stay healthy and master ball security, he's a special weapon. And Lane Kiffin knows how to utilize weapons of college football destruction. He'll be utilized in many ways.
-Tommy Deas
O.J. Howard
This is like wrapping the brightest Christmas package ever and putting it under every Alabama fan's tree. But Nick Saban has been talking up the possibility of using Howard in various ways. If he blocks well, it helps the running game, if he catches 50 passes, it helps everyone. So I'll go off the ranch with a pick. Any votes for J.K. Scott will be given careful consideration.
-Cecil Hurt
Defensive line, all of them
This isn't to be flippant. I legitimately think the defensive line is the key to getting to where this team wants to go. If it allows a team to go over 200 yards rushing, like it did against Ohio State last year, then this season won't go fulfilled. I suspect that won't be the case unless something goes awry.
-Aaron Suttles
Reggie Ragland The feeling here is that both Kenyan Drake and Derrick Henry are in for big years on offense. Picking between them will be difficult, but Ragland can make himself into one of college football's premier defenders with another All-SEC season.
-Ben Jones
Erin Nelson
Wide receiver ArDarius Stewart could be due for a breakout campaign.
Alabama breakout star
ArDarius Stewart
If not him, one of the other wideouts. It is a position with no playmakers who have yet proven themselves under the lights, so someone will emerge. There is a lot of talent, much of it young, and one of those talented young guys is going to mark himself as the next big-time wideout to come out of Alabama.
-Tommy Deas
ArDarius Stewart
I've been singing his praises since last season. His combination of speed, quickness and toughness should prove valuable for wide receiver corps that is largely unproven. He needs to be this team's deep threat.
-Aaron Suttles
ArDarius Stewart
Fans got a glimpse last year, but with no Amari Cooper (or DeAndrew White) this is Stewart's time to shine. Even the most conservative offense (and Alabama won't be that primitive) has to have a deep threat, or an athlete who can turn a short toss into a long gain. Stewart can do both.
-Cecil Hurt
Reuben Foster Foster's recruiting saga makes him a known quantity to football diehards around the country. This is the year he reminds everyone why he received so much attention as a high schooler who flipped from Auburn to Alabama, and it wasn't just the tattoo. When the Iron Bowl rolls around, he'll be a key player and one of the nation's most compelling stories.
-Ben Jones
- See more at: TideSports college football predictions
