Preseason picks: Who's in the playoff, who'll win, plus sleepers, pretenders & more

By foxsports
Published

Is Ohio State a lock for the No. 1 playoff spot? If so, whom will the Buckeyes face? Which players are truly poised to hoist the Heisman? Which teams are flying under the radar, and which ones are due for a rude awakening? Who's on the hot seat ... and just how ugly will it get for Kansas this season?

FOX Sports college football experts Bruce Feldman, Stewart Mandel, Joel Klatt and Clay Travis weigh in on all these questions and more with their preseason picks.

Here's how our panelists see the season shaking out:

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF FIELD

Bruce Feldman:

1. Ohio State
2. Baylor
3. Oregon
4. Notre Dame


Stewart Mandel:

1. Ohio State
2. Texas A&M
3. TCU
4. Auburn


Joel Klatt:

1 Ohio State
2 TCU
3 USC
4 Alabama


Clay Travis:

1. Ohio State
2. TCU
3. Georgia
4. Clemson


NATIONAL CHAMP

--Bruce Feldman: Ohio State. Best O-line. Best QB group. Ezekiel Elliott. Best linebacker corps. Best head coach. This team is loaded and Urban Meyer has a great chance to do something he's never done before in his illustrious coaching career: repeat.

--Stewart Mandel: Ohio State. History and every instinct I have says it's highly unlikely the Buckeyes will win, but there's no other team I like better. Urban Meyer's team is as talented as any the sport has seen the past few years; it's hard to pick against it.

--Joel Klatt: TCU. Gary Patterson always exceeds expectations and will find a way to play great defense. Trevone Boykin is the best system-QB fit in the county. Under Patterson, TCU will have gone from WAC to C-USA to MWC to Big 12 to national champ.

--Clay Travis: Ohio State repeats when Georgia fumbles at the 1-yard line to end the game, giving us the greatest example of Georgia'ing of all time.

HEISMAN WINNER

--Bruce Feldman: Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett. I think he'll emerge as the starter, and he's the best leader on the best team.

--Stewart Mandel: TCU QB Trevone Boykin. This may be a year where a current unknown wins it, but Boykin's going to have a huge year for a team I expect to reach the playoff.

--Joel Klatt: Ohio State RB Ezekiel Elliott. The guy is a beast and will be the best player for the best team in the country during the regular season.

--Clay Travis: Clemson QB Deshaun Watson. He's the most electric quarterback in college football on a team that will surprise everyone.

SLEEPER TEAM

--Bruce Feldman: Notre Dame. They have excellent talent on both lines, lots of speed in the back seven and probably the most underrated group of WRs in the country. Can Malik Zaire be consistent enough to lead them there though?

--Stewart Mandel: Clearly, I believe it's Texas A&M, my surprise SEC champ, but don't sleep on Virginia Tech and Louisville, either. They're my predicted ACC division winners.

--Joel Klatt: I like lots of teams that aren't considered top 10 teams, like Stanford, Oklahoma, Clemson and Arizona State, but I'll go with Oklahoma. Bob Stoops always bounces back, and the Sooners should have a much better offense than they did a year ago. That alone should make their defense a bit better, which has to happen.

--Clay Travis: Tennessee. Look, the SEC East will probably come down to who wins the Oct. 10 Georgia-at-Tennessee game. The Vols are young, but they could certainly win the East. Win the East and you're an upset in the SEC title game away from the playoff.

MOST OVERRATED TEAM

--Bruce Feldman: USC. Yeah, there's a lot of flashy talent, but I think they're going to miss Leonard Williams on that D-line and I think Steve Sarkisian's leadership (which now seems an even bigger question mark than it did a week ago) in the face of a brutal schedule (at ND, at ASU and at Oregon) doesn't bode well.

--Stewart Mandel: USC. Even before Steve Sarkisian's unfortunate pep talk, I had serious reservations whether he's capable of producing a Pac-12 championship team. Certainly the Trojans have a ton of talent, but in a highly competitive South division, coaching can make all the difference.

--Joel Klatt: Auburn. Stew's playoff pick returns only five starters on offense and ranked only 63rd in scoring D and 66th in total D last year. Will Muschamp has his work cut out for him with this D and these lofty expectations. I have the Tigers finishing at the very best third in the SEC West behind Alabama and LSU.

--Clay Travis: Notre Dame. Wake up the echoes, my ass; it ain't 1988.

FIRST COACH TO GET FIRED

--Bruce Feldman: Illinois' Tim Beckman. He just hasn't won enough, especially considering he's in the much weaker Big Ten division. And he's also had some tone-deaf moments that haven't helped his cause either.

--Stewart Mandel: Miami's Al Golden. His seat is already so hot that if Miami starts out 3-5 -- which is certainly possible -- I could see the school pulling the plug then.

--Joek Klatt: Beckman. He has a 4-20 mark in the conference, and while the Illini made a bowl last season, they lost to Louisiana Tech.

--Clay Travis: Virginia's Mike London. After five seasons, he's 11-29 in the ACC, and there's a good chance that he opens this season 1-4.

HOW MANY GAMES DOES JIM HARBAUGH WIN?

--Bruce Feldman: Eight. They had a pretty good defense last year, and other Big Ten teams with less talent have won eight, so I'm betting on Harbaugh here.

--Stewart Mandel: Six. But if transfer QB Jake Rudock comes in and lights it up, then I'll look like an idiot.

--Joel Klatt: Nine. There's much more talent there than people think. Brady Hoke drastically underachieved.

--Clay Travis: Six.

HOW FEW GAMES DOES KANSAS WIN?

--Bruce Feldman: One, and it won't be an FBS win, but David Beaty took over the bleakest situation in major college football in years.

--Stewart Mandel: One. And that's the first game against South Dakota State. Thanks a lot, Charlie.

--Joel Klatt: One. I like David Beaty, but I can't remember a Power 5 team in such bad shape. ... Oh wait -- Colorado was really bad.

--Clay Travis: Zero. If they don't beat South Dakota State, which I don't think they will, they go 0-12.