2018 College Football Playoff Predictions

With the 2017 college football season right around the corner, The Champaign Room’s staff have made a series of predictions. Today, in the series’ second edition, TCR’s staff predicted the 2018 College Football Playoff teams and results.

College Football Playoff Predictions

Stephen Cohn:

#1 Alabama over #4 Clemson

#2 Ohio State over #3 Washington

#1 Alabama over #2 Ohio State

Would it even be the College Football playoff if the same handful of teams weren’t competing for the championship every single year? Let’s relive the same four teams from last year with different matchups as Alabama rides off into an undefeated season, causing Nick Saban to retire and begin his run for President in 2020.

Josh Greenberg:

#4 USC over #1 Alabama

#2 Ohio State over #3 FSU

#2 Ohio State over #4 USC

Sam Darnold has a better arm than Deshaun Watson and is just as athletic which will lead to success over Saban. J.T. Barrett will go undefeated this season and will make Heisman voters question why they picked Sam Darnold as the winner when he outplays him in the championship.

Brad Repplinger:

#1 Alabama over #4 Illinois Oklahoma

#2 Ohio State over #3 Florida State

#2 Ohio State over #1 Alabama

I’ll take an experienced JT Barrett over anything Nick Saban conjugates in Tuscaloosa, mostly cause I’m just tired of them. I wonder if Nick Saban also enjoys a pizza after a loss…

Michael Berns:

#1 Ohio State over #4 Alabama

#3 USC over #2 Florida State

#3 USC over #1 Ohio State

USC has a ton of preseason hype and it’s well deserved in what should be a weaker Pac 12 than in years past. Starting running back Ronald Johnson II is freakishly fast. This is the best USC team since Pete Carroll left for the NFL. Alabama gets back to the playoff with one SEC loss (Auburn?). Ohio State runs the table in the Big Ten so they’ll be there, and Florida State edges Clemson to win the ACC. Big 12 misses out on the Playoff for the second straight year.

Austin Jabs:

#1 Alabama over #4 Florida State

#2 Ohio State over #3 USC

#2 Ohio State over #1 Alabama

I feel like every season the same basic teams are in the CFP, and that is ok until Illinois rises again. Alabama and Ohio State will, as annually, be the cream of the crop and should have one of the best CFP Championship games of all time. Saban is overrated, Meyer wins, Big Ten overrated crowd can go fly a kite.

Ian Gold:

#1 Alabama over #4 USC

#2 Ohio State over #3 Florida State

#1 Alabama over #2 Ohio State

“Iron Sharpens Iron” is the most popular weight room t-shirt slogan of 2017, and apropos for the Crimson Tide. The next crop of third year 5-star players are ready to take centerstage for Alabama in 2017, and while the defense lost its usual band of NFL picks, the offense should take a huge step forward with the maturation of the skill positions. The rest of the playoff reads like a Who’s Who of College Football - rinse and repeat, but Saban’s program is still king.

Thumpasaurus:

#1 Alabama over #4 Penn State

#2 USC over #3 Florida State

#1 Alabama over #2 USC

It’s getting to the point where regular season losses by Alabama aren’t even worth considering as possibilities. I have USC winning the Pac-12 and looking impressive, with The Darnold picking apart Florida State in the semifinal. USC and Alabama met last year, and the Tide won 52-6. These playoffs will not be fun, because fun is not what Nick Saban desires. He will save us from all the nasty things about college football by living forever and convincing us to stop watching.

Steve Bourbon:

#1 Alabama over #4 Washington

#2 Ohio State over #3 Florida State

#1 Alabama over #2 Ohio State

Um, yes, I will pick the most talented team with the best coach to win the national championship. Bama is always right in the thick of the title hunt as Nick Saban mans the sideline, and the Tide will be on a redemption tour in 2017 after letting the title slip away in the waning seconds a year ago. Washington is my ‘sleeper’ pick (which is hard to say seeing as they were in the Playoff a year ago and return major cogs) and Florida State’s Deondre Francois is one of my favorite quarterbacks in the country. Seriously, dude is an uber-gamer, but he’s only a sophomore and I’ll take the experience of Barrett and the Buckeyes in the 2-3 matchup, capped off with Alabama earning its sixth national title since 2009.

Brandon Birkhead:

#1 Alabama over #4 Ohio State

#2 Clemson over #3 Washington

#1 Alabama over #2 Clemson

Bama is going to roll again, and we will have the same College Football playoff teams again. Having only four teams leads to little variety. The Big Ten, SEC, and ACC will always send their best team, and for the last few years, the best teams haven’t changed. I almost put USC in over Washington, but I trust in Chris Petersen and Washington more than USC, who I think many people are too high on right now. Washington also has a super easy schedule. They don’t have to play either of the LA teams in the regular season, and the only true challenging game for them is Stanford. I think they go 13-0 with another Pac-12 title this year. I still have Clemson in over Florida State. I really like that Tiger defense. Ohio State has a tough schedule this season, but I think they have more than enough quality to get through it, but not without at least a loss. Alabama will roll over all oncomers this season and win another boring National Championship. Wake me up when Saban retires.

Who do you agree with? Let us know in the comments.