Here are five college football predictions and round-by-round picks for the college football playoffs:<\/p>\n
CFP five predictions<\/p>\n
Clemson claims its fourth title<\/p>\n
There are stars everywhere you look on Clemson\u2019s roster. At quarterback. At wide receiver and linebacker. On both the offensive and defensive lines. <\/p>\n
These Tigers have the kind of balance and next-level talent their 2016 and 2018 championship teams possessed.<\/p>\n
Entering his third year under center, Cade Klubnik is ready for his superstar turn, and he has a similar star supporting class that helped Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence lead Clemson to the mountaintop.<\/p>\n
It will be clear Clemson is back among the country\u2019s elite in a Week 1 win over contending LSU, and even more obvious as it cruises through the pedestrian ACC prior to a late-season slip-up at in-state rival South Carolina. <\/p>\n
That loss turns out to be the Tigers\u2019 lone hiccup.<\/p>\n
Cade Klubnick will lead Clemson to the national championship, The Post\u2019s Zach Braziller predicts. AP<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Playoff surprise<\/p>\n
Last season, Arizona State and SMU were surprising Playoff entrants. <\/p>\n
This fall, it is Utah, which wins the Big 12. <\/p>\n
It gets conference contenders Texas Tech, Kansas State and Arizona State at home, and features a much improved offense under new dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier, a New Mexico transfer. <\/p>\n
The typically stingy defense won\u2019t have to win games on its own this fall.<\/p>\n
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham AP<\/p>\n
Jeremiah joins select company<\/p>\n
As much as the Heisman Trophy has become a quarterbacks\u2019 award, non-quarterbacks have won it twice in the past five seasons \u2014 Alabama\u2019s DeVonta Smith in 2020 and Colorado\u2019s Travis Hunter in 2024.<\/p>\n
Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State\u2019s game-breaking sophomore receiver, continues that recent trend as the fourth wideout to win college football\u2019s most prestigious honor. <\/p>\n
New Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is a pocket passer, and the Buckeyes lost standout running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson to the NFL, creating even more opportunities for Smith to dazzle us.<\/p>\n
Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith will win the Heisman Trophy this season, The Post\u2019s Zach Braziller predicts. AP<\/p>\n
A breakthrough in The Bayou<\/p>\n
After an underwhelming start to the Brian Kelly era at LSU, the Tigers make their mark this fall as the best team in the SEC \u2014 finishing above Texas, Alabama and Georgia. <\/p>\n
Kelly\u2019s strong transfer portal class delivers, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has a big year as a Heisman Trophy finalist, and Aaron Anderson becomes the latest standout LSU receiver.<\/p>\n
LSU drops the opener at Clemson in heartbreaking fashion, but the Tigers lose just once more, at Alabama, en route to the semifinals of the Playoff.<\/p>\n
LSU head coach Brian Kelly AP<\/p>\n
Trouble in Tuscaloosa<\/p>\n
There isn\u2019t a coach in the country dealing with more pressure than Kalen DeBoer. <\/p>\n
After four losses in his first season, he has to deliver \u2014 or else. <\/p>\n
Championships are expected at Alabama, and the Crimson Tide won\u2019t get close to the final Monday of the season.<\/p>\n
Ty Simpson throws a pass during Alabama\u2019s practice on July 31, 2025. AP<\/p>\n
Unproven junior Ty Simpson starts the year at quarterback, but doesn\u2019t last. <\/p>\n
A Sept. 27 loss at home to Georgia creates questions about this team, and back-to-back losses to South Carolina and LSU amplify them. <\/p>\n
Alabama finishes fourth in the SEC and is one-and-done in the Playoff. DeBoer doesn\u2019t lose his job, but he enters his third year on a scalding-hot seat. <\/p>\n
CFP Playoff Predictions<\/p>\n
First Round<\/p>\n
8 Penn State def. 9 Alabama<\/p>\n
5 Ohio State def. 12 Boise State<\/p>\n
7 Notre Dame def. 10 Illinois<\/p>\n
6 Georgia def. 11 Utah<\/p>\n
Quarterfinals<\/p>\n
1 Oregon def. 8 Penn State<\/p>\n
2 LSU def. 7 Notre Dame<\/p>\n
3 Clemson def. 6 Georgia<\/p>\n
4 Texas def. 5 Ohio State<\/p>\n
Semifinals<\/p>\n
4 Texas def. 8 Oregon<\/p>\n
3 Clemson def. 2 LSU<\/p>\n
Final<\/p>\n
3 Clemson def. 4 Texas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here are five college football predictions and round-by-round picks for the college football playoffs: CFP five predictions Clemson…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[331,30686,7,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-313631","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-college-football","9":"tag-college-football-preview","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115083569082553153","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}