College Football 2019 Season Preview and Predictions

As the new college football season is quickly approaching, I'll be previewing the upcoming season with some predictions as well. Will Clemson repeat as National Champs? Will the Pac 12 have a resurgence to the national scene? or Who will be the dark horse to rise to the National scene?

2019 Power 5 and Group of 5 Conference Champions

SEC:  Alabama Crimson Tide

The Alabama Crimson Tide returns to 2019 with a bad taste in their mouths. The Crimson Tide were embarrassed on the biggest stage against Clemson, losing 44-16 to the tigers. I expect a resilient team this year. Bring back QB Tua Tagovailoa, and the best WR Trio in the nation tied with Clemson. Jerry Jeudy is arguably the best player in college football, and another branch on the Bama WR tree, He's dynamic in every way. He and Tua will carry Bama to another SEC title, but I do believe this will be one of the most difficult SEC seasons for Bama in a long time. Intense battles with Auburn and LSU will ultimately determine their fate, The biggest question marks will be how the staff continuity will turn out and how good will the defense be this year.

ACC:  Clemson Tigers

The defending national champs return as the overwhelming favorite to repeat as national champs. Dabo and Co. bring back the best QB in the nation in Trevor Lawerence and a host of talent. Clemson did lose the bulk of their experienced defensive line to the NFL draft, but I do believe they will be fine and have recruited that position pretty well in the past couple of seasons. The tigers should have a fairly easy time with their ACC schedule, as the ACC lacks any true competition. I expect Clemson to go Undefeated and watch Trevor Lawerence and Justyn Ross put up record-breaking numbers.

Big 12: Oklahoma Sooners

Coming into the season Lincoln Riley has a chance to go 3 for 3 at producing Heisman winning quarterbacks with Jalen Hurts. Hurts brings an interesting dynamic when it comes to the Big 12 and the Oklahoma Offense. CeeDee Lamb should be Hurts' favorite target this upcoming season. Oklahoma will again put up a bevy of points in the nonexistent defensive conference called the Big 12. I do expect the Longhorns and Iowa State to give the Sooners some resistance during the conference title push

Pac 12: Washington Huskies

The Washington Huskies should repeat as Pac 12 champions. Coach Peterson returns a pretty good roster and Transfer QB Jacob Eason should be the best quarterback Washington has seen since Jake Locker. I expect the combination of Eason and Senior WR Aaron Fuller should be pretty prolific. Defensive they will continue to be a solid unit.

Big 10: Purdue Boilermakers

I'm going on a limb here and picking a so-called dark horse to win the Big 10. I'm not sold on Justin Fields the passer, or if Jim Harbaugh will give Gattis full control over the offense and get that stale Michigan offense out of the twilight zone and into the modern age, and install some creativity. With all that being said, Purdue is the team I'm picking to win the Big 10. Purdue and Brian Brohm have an offense that I like and they have the most exciting player in the Big 10, in Sophmore Wide Receiver Rondale Moore. Keep an eye on Purdue this upcoming season.

Group of 5: Houston Cougars

Dana Holgerson is back in Texas, and we will once again be bringing an exciting offense to the field. Houston has Spectacular QB D'Eriq King returning, and mixed with the Air raid system Holgerson brings will be an exciting one in the American Conference. I expect big things for the Cougars this season. Especially with Mckenzie Milton out for the season for UCF.

Buy or Sell

With the preseason coaches poll being released here are some teams I'm buying and some teams where I say pump the brakes.

Stock Up

1. Auburn- Auburn returns a very good defense Including maybe one of the best defensive lines in the country with All-SEC Derrick Brown, Big Cat Bryant, and Marlon Davidson. I expect Joey Gatewood to win the starting quarterback job, and he's the perfect fit for the Gus Malzahn offense. Joey is a dynamic runner at 6'5 233. He has some question marks a consistent passer, but I think it's good enough to lead this Auburn team to big things this coming Fall.

2. Iowa St- Matt Campbell and the Cyclones will be an interesting team this fall. I think they make some strides and improve on their 8-5 record. Brock Purdy is the 2nd best quarterback in the Big 12. I think he takes bigger leaps and helps the Cyclones compete for the Big 12 title. Cyclones bring back a dominant defensive line in Ray Lima, Marcel Spears Jr., and Jaquan Bailey look for them to anchor the defense and lead them to a successful year.

Stock Down

1. Georgia-

Do I think Georgia is going to fall off the face of the planet and lay an egg? No, but they won't be in National Championship contention this year. Losing your top 5 pass catchers will make it tough for them and one-dimensional lookout for D'Andre Swift to be a star though, Defensively it will be a different story. I think they will still be solid with some different guys. I still think they win 9-10 games, but no CFB Playoff for them this year.

2. UCF- 

UCF will take some huge steps back this year. Mainly due to the QB position, with Mack and Milton being injured hinders that position greatly. Notre Dame quarterback transfer Brandon Wimbush will bring experience to the table, but will he produce to the same production of Milton? Highly unlikely, and that will be the downfall for the Knights this season.

3. Texas A&M

TAMU has the talent to be successful this year, but they have one of the toughest schedules in the country. Traveling to Clemson in Week 2, and having Georgia as a cross-divisional game adds more tough games to an already difficult SEC West schedule. Finishing with 8 wins is the most likely scenario. That scenario will have people wondering was that big contract worth it for head coach Jimbo Fisher.

4. Nebraska

 Do I think Scott Frost can turn things around at Nebraska? Yes. Will it be this year? No. I think the talent level is not at the level where they will be competing for the Big 10 division or conference title. They will make some improvements, but just not enough. Quarterback Adrian Martinez will help lead the improvement for the Huskers, but let's pump the brakes. It's going to take some time.

Heisman Finalist

QB- Washington, Jr, Jacob Eason

RB- Georgia, Jr. D'Andre Swift

QB- Clemson, So. Trevor Lawerence

WR- Alabama, Jerry Jeudy

Heisman Winner: Trevor Lawerence

Heisman Dark Horse

QB- Auburn, Rfr, Joey Gatewood

WR- Clemson, So. Justyn Ross

WR- Purdue, So. Rondale Moore

CFB Playoff Final 4

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Washington

4. Oklahoma

National Champions: Clemson