Read All About It! Our Predictions On Power 5 Conference Standings, Playoffs, And National Title Winner

Welcome to BCI’s prediction post, where our writers break down the Power 5 conferences and give our predictions. We broke down each conference, and even gave our choices for conference winner, playoff teams, and the National Champions. Leave your thoughts below!

ACC

Analysis: It is the Clemson Tigers and Miami Hurricanes across the board for the divisional winners, which isn’t much a surprise. Three out of our four writers selected BC to finish second, is that accurate or too much of a homer-ish take? The most interesting take here is Eric, who chose the Louisville Cardinals to finish last in the Atlantic. Could the loss of Lamar Jackson amongst others be that big of a loss. We shall see.

Big 10

Analysis: Now here we go, there is quite a difference of opinion here. While AJ thought that the loss of Urban Meyer isn’t going to effect Ohio State Buckeyes all that much (3 games, against mostly fluff), the other writers are going in a different direction. Eric again is going out on a limb with Michigan Wolverines, can transfer Shea Patterson, a 5* recruit bring the conference title to Ann Arbor. Or will it be the ferocious defense of the Michigan State Spartans? This conference probably had the most variation amongst the writers. One thing we all agree on is that the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Maryland Terrapins and Illinois will all be pretty bad this year.

Big 12

Analysis: Again there is variation amongst the writers about whom shall win this conference. Eric again goes out on a limb with the Texas Longhorns, a team that went 7-6 last season. The Oklahoma Sooner, who is trotting out a solid QB in Kyler Murray to replace Baker Mayfield was a popular pick. There was also a great deal of variability in the middle of the conference with all the writers having different rankings amongst 3-7.

PAC 12

Analysis: Split halfway across the board between the Washington Huskies and former editor Brian Favat’s Stanford Cardinal. Both teams have arguments that could be made. Washington has arguably the best quarterback in the country in Jake Browning, but the Cardinal have Bryce Love, who could be the best running back in the country (not named AJ Dillon). The biggest wildcard in this conference has to be the UCLA Bruins, who recently hired Chip Kelly, a coach who’s dynamic college offense could turn around a program very quickly.

SEC

Analysis: Not too much debate in the SEC as all the writers are picking the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide. After a killer recruiting class, and bringing back Jake Frohm, UGA should be in great shape to mop up the east. While Nick Saban is going to continue to be Nick Saban, but could they trip up to the Auburn Tigers? The biggest question will be the SEC Championship game, where Kirby Smart won last year, but if Alabama makes it this year, will he still have that magic?

Playoffs And National Champions:

Analysis: Not a lot of love for the Pac 12 here, as only one writer selected a team to make it to the playoffs from that conference. There was much more love for the Big 10 this year, as three out of the four writers selected a team out of that conference. Three out of four writers selected the Tigers to win it all. But Rich is still holding on to the Crimson Tide, and it hard to argue with that, Saban has seen quite a run.