Way Too Early College Football Predictions

The 2014-2015 NCAA College Football season was one of the most exciting that we have had in decades. This was the inaugural year of the College Football Playoffs (CFP), replacing the BCS National Championship, and it played out to where Ohio State would take home the trophy, beating the number one (Alabama Crimson Tide) and two seeds (Oregon Ducks) in the playoff. This doesn't mean we can't look forward and predict next season already. Many different teams came out with big signing day classes. In this article, I will predict my four big teams, two teams that will have a break-out year, and my underachieving team for next season.

Of course, one of my number one teams is the Alabama Crimson Tide. They are never not good in football, and with another big recruiting class, they won't be backing down. They do lose big name Amari Cooper in the receiving corps, but this team is still capable of putting up National Championship numbers next season. My next team is the Texas Christian Horned Frogs (TCU). With superstar QB Trevone Boykin returning, get ready for this team to take the NCAA by storm. At the end of the season, when it came time for the number four team for the CFP, TCU was beaten out by Ohio State. They won't let that happen next year. Another team with a strong chance will be the Kansas State Wildcats. This team was great for a while, before dropping down to the number 11 team in the nation, which is still not bad at all. I expect them to be at least within the top six next season. The last team I will review is Arizona Wildcats. A lot of Wildcats, huh? Well this team can really back up whatever they need to. This team is one of the only teams to beat Marcus Mariota when he played for Oregon. That is extremely impressive, and don't think they won't come back next year with that much intensity.

My first team that will have a breakout season next year is the Tennessee Volunteers. Call me biased, but everything they have done is leading to the old Volunteer team it used to be. They are incredibly young, but talented. They only lost three starters last year, not just defensive or offensive, but total. They even found their new QB to lead them, a true sophomore named Joshua Dobbs. Don't be surprised if you see Tennessee in Atlanta for the SEC Championship next year. The next team in store for a bigger year is the Minnesota Golden Gophers. They didn't have a terrible year last year, finishing as the number 25 team in the nation. However, there is always room to improve if you are in the Big Ten. According to ESPN, their QB Mitch Leidner threw for 1798 yards and eleven touchdowns. That's pretty good for a College quarterback, especially in the Big Ten. With this team, the only direction I believe they will go is up, because they don't lose Leidner, so they have person to build on. I predict that Minnesota will finish at least in the top 15.

Finally, my team to underachieve next season. I hate to say this after a team had a great year like last, but the fact that they lost one of the greatest players to ever play in their uniform is going to hurt them badly. That's right, my team to underachieve is the Oregon Ducks. When I say this, I don't mean that they won't be ranked. They will still be great in the league, but just won't come close to replicating last year's season. With the loss of maybe the greatest Oregon player ever, Marcus Mariota, they simply cannot be as great. Give them another two years to train their new QB, and they will be right back where they were.

The 2015-16 season isn't coming around for a long time, but that doesn't mean that it's too early to be talking about it. I personally believe that my champion will be the Alabama Crimson Tide, because they are always the favorite to win it all going into the season. Many situations and questions will unfold next season; will you be watching?

Source: tuningpp.com

-Blake Holmes