Predicting The 2015 College Football Champion

Predicting The 2015 College Football Champion.

August is an exciting month for anyone who follows football. While some are trying to figure out fantasy football team names 2015, other just want to try to predict who will win on the field. The Ohio State Buckeyes are the defending national champions, and they enter the season number one in the country. Will they be the first team since USC in 2004 to live up to the preseason hype? Here is a look at the four biggest contenders for the title right now, ranked from best chance to win the title to worst.

Ohio State
No one expected Ohio State to win the title last year, but this could be the start of something special in Columbus. They return a lot of keep contributors from a season ago, and they have the best trio of quarterbacks maybe in college football history. It is going to be somewhat of a challenge for Urban Meyer to keep Braxton Miller, JT Barrett and Cardele Jones happy all season long, but he will certainly do his best. The Big Ten only has two or three legitimate contenders this year, so schedule wise it should be somewhat easy for them to get to the playoffs at the end of the year. Once there, everyone saw last year how they can perform.

TCU
The Big XII was shut out of the college football playoff last year, but a strong showing by TCU this year could turn things around. They start off much higher in the polls, and they are going to have to earn a lot of wins this year against quality opponents. A total of 16 starters return, including 10 on offense. Trevor Boykin could make a run at the Heisman Trophy this year, especially if they run the table in the regular season. All they want is a chance in the playoffs this season.

Alabama
It wouldn’t be college football if Alabama wasn’t a contender for the National Championship? They once again look like the best overall team in the SEC, although they are not as loaded as in the past. They will need some youngsters to step up, especially in the passing department since they lost their top receivers and quarterback Blake Sims. Derrick Henry will be asked to be their main weapon on offense at running back. Other than that, the team will lean on their experienced defense to keep games low scoring. It’s a grind in the SEC, but the best bet always seems to be Nick Saban.

Florida State
This pick might be a bit unconventional to some, especially with the likes of Baylor, Oregon, Michigan State and USC all looking better on paper. However, the path to the playoffs is important. Florida State ran the table in the regular season last year, and they could do the same in 2015 even without Jameis Winston at quarterback. The ACC really isn’t that deep, as Clemson and Georgia Tech seem to be the only challengers. With all the distractions off the field, the Seminoles will probably be relieved to just start playing actual football again.