College Football Week 16

Rankings:

My Playoff Predictions:

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Ohio State

4. Notre Dame

First Four Out: UC, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Georgia

My Heisman Candidates:

1. DeVonta Smith (Alabama, wide receiver)

2. Mac Jones (Alabama, quarterback)

3. Kyle Trask (Florida, quarterback)

4. Trevor Lawrence (Clemson, quarterback)

5. Breece Hall (Iowa State, running back)

My Predictions for this Week:

(last week I was 6/9)

(14)Northwestern vs (4)Ohio State: All the talk about the Big Ten recently has been on whether Ohio State deserves a playoff spot with the minimal number of games they have played. Everyone is just assuming that this game is going to be a walk in the park and they will stay undefeated. However, this is going to be the toughest defense the Buckeyes have faced. Northwestern is holding opponents to an average of 14.7 points per game. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes are averaging 46 points a game. I think that Northwestern’s defense will be able to come up with a few early stops, but eventually Ohio State’s offense will be too much for them to handle. Northwestern’s offense has not been very explosive or high scoring, so I think Ohio State will end up winning by more than two touchdowns.

(10)Oklahoma vs (6)Iowa State: The rematch from week 4 is going to be very interesting. I am guessing it will be a very high scoring game because Iowa State is averaging 34 points a game and Oklahoma is averaging 43. A few weeks ago I was thinking Oklahoma would surely win this game, but now I am switching my pick. Oklahoma’s offense struggled against Baylor in their last game and looked more like the team that lost to Iowa State and Kansas State. Iowa State looked dominant in their win over West Virginia. I think this is going to be super close but Iowa State’s veteran quarterback Brock Purdy will make smarter decisions in the end than Oklahoma’s freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler.

(3)Clemson vs (2)Notre Dame: Another conference championship game that is a rematch from the regular season. The first game was arguably the best game of the season so far, and hopefully this one will be just as great. Trevor Lawrance did not play in the first meeting, but I am tired of hearing the argument that that is why Clemson lost. Their backup quarterback threw for 430 yards against Notre Dame, more than Lawrance has thrown all season. Notre Dame was the better team during that game, and has looked just as good since. I would say they have the most well rounded team in the country. As well as they have played, I just don’t think I can pick Clemson to lose to Notre Dame twice in a season. Dabo Swinney will find a way to convince his team that they are being “looked down on” by the media (they’re absolutely not) and lead Clemson to a narrow win.

(23)Tulsa at (9)Cincinnati: Neither team has played in a few weeks, but I think they will come out ready to play hard. I expect UC to have a chip on their shoulder after being snubbed yet again this week by the CFP committee. I think UC’s defense will hold Tulsa’s offense to very little points. I expect UC’s offense to put on a show. This is their final chance to show the committee what they can do, and I expect UC to make the most of it.

(1)Alabama at (7)Florida: After Florida’s shoe fiasco last weekend, the stakes of this game have gone down. However, as shown by the rankings this week, Florida is not completely out of the running yet. If they can upset Alabama, they might have a shot. An upset of Alabama seems unlikely, though. Alabama has the best offense in the country, and Florida’s defense is definitely not the team that will be able to stop them. Alabama’s offensive combination of Mac Jones, DeVonta Smith, and Najee Harris looks unstoppable. I think that Alabama will win by at least two touchdowns. The interesting thing to watch in this game will be the battle between Mac Jones, Kyle Trask, and DeVonta Smith. These three are currently the Hiesman favorites and I think whoever has the best game will win the storied award.