The first few weeks of this college football season have been exciting and have left us with some of the year's best sports moments. We’ve seen significant upsets like Northern Illinois's upset win over top-10-ranked Notre Dame—the first start for highly recruited quarterback Arch Manning from the class of 2023, and we’ve seen players pick up right where they left off, like Colorado’s Travis Hunter. Now that conference play kicks off this weekend, let’s predict this year's Power Four conference winners.
BIG 10: Ohio State
Credit: The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State has arguably the top three rosters in all of college football. This makes sense if you look at their $20 million payroll in NIL money invested into the football program. Ohio State, disappointing last season, was very active in a transfer portal to bring over former Kansas State QB Will Howard and Ole Miss RB Quinshon Judkins. They also have players like TreyVeyon Henderson, Denzel Burke, Jack Sawyer, and Emeka Egbuka. Ohio State’s best player to many Buckeyes fans is safety Caleb Downs, who they also acquired in the portal this offseason.
With bitter rivals Michigan having lost a lot of key pieces none more notably than former Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. The former coach opted to return to the National Football League for a second stint, this time with the LA Chargers, who at the time of this posting sit at 2-1. With Michigan also facing questions at the quarterback position, Ohio State’s run to the Big 10 title could go challenge. Even new comers to conference like Oregon and USC don’t look like a threat at the moment to post a challenge to the Buckeyes.
Big 12: Utah
Credit: Yahoo Sports
Utah as a program overall has really been on the rise under current Head Coach Kyle Whittingham. The Utes under Whittingham have two recent Pac-12 championships in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Utah also still has quarterback Cam Rising under center for his seventh season of eligibility. Utah has the experience of winning a power conference, having won the Pac-12 twice over schools like Oregon, USC, and Washington, who were competing in the conference at the time.
The Utes are already off to a great start in their first season in the Big 12, having beaten Oklahoma State this past Saturday without Cam Rising. The Utes went on the road and beat last year's Big-12 finalist 22-19, with Rising being a game-time decision. This is an indicator that the veteran quarterback is close to returning just in time for a conference title push.
ACC: Miami
Credit: Tampa Bay Times
Head Coach Mario Cristobal finally has the roster to make a push for the ACC title game and the national championship game. The Hurricanes seem to finally have the pieces to make a serious push for a national title since the great Hurricanes teams of the early 2000s, but no piece is more important than transfer quarterback Cam Ward. Ward, who transferred in from Washington State, recently became the 13th quarterback to pass for over 15,000 yards this past Saturday’s win over South Florida. So far this season, Ward has put up great numbers, throwing for 1,439 yards,14 touchdowns, and posting a 72.4 completion percentage. With Ward playing at a Heisman level, Miami, with a great defense, makes themselves the favorite to win the conference, especially with defending champs Florida State not getting off to a great start, going 1-3 on the season so far.
SEC: Georgia
Credit: Online Athens
This was by far the toughest prediction to make with Texas in the mix, but I have Georgia just edging them due to the durability of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. If Quinn Ewers returns healthy, Texas is the pick with arguably the best offensive line in the country. For now, Georgia is my pick to win the conference, as the Bulldogs have won two out of the three previous national championships and are in prime position to win a third. Carson Beck is back under center as the quarterback for Georgia, and he, alongside Ewers, is seen as the top quarterback in next year’s draft. Beck is the ideal QB to lead Kerby Smart's offense, as it’s built around a solid run game and one of the nations top defensive units.
Georgia will have to survive a very tough schedule as they play Alabama this weekend, with Texas, Ole Miss, and Tennessee still to come. If Georgia can survive this schedule, the Bulldogs will be well-tested on its way to another national championship.
Comments