ESPN “College GameDay” analyst and college football expert Kirk Herbstreit has predicted who he thinks will win the national championship. Herbstreit thinks the Oregon Ducks will win their first national title.
Herbstreit has the Georgia Bulldogs as his No. 1 seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff, but he does not think Georgia will win a national title despite winning the SEC.
He predicts Ohio State will win the Big Ten to earn the No. 2 seed. Herbstreit likes Clemson to win the ACC and has Clemson as his No. 3 seed. The former Ohio State quarterback predicts Utah will win the Big 12 in its first season in the conference to earn the No. 4 seed.
Herbstreit’s national champion, Oregon, is the No. 5 seed in the playoff. He expects either the Ducks or the winner of the first-round game between No. 8 Penn State vs. No. 9 Notre Dame will beat Georgia in the playoff.
Herbstriet also has Texas (No. 6), Missouri (No. 7), Florida State (No. 10), Michigan (No. 11) and Boise State (No. 12) making the 12-team playoff.
Perhaps Herbstreit’s biggest surprise is that he does not have Alabama making the playoff. “You totally disrespected Alabama, man. I can’t believe it,” said former Alabama coach Nick Saban.
Herbstreit loves how the expanded playoff makes it more interesting and competitive for teams that have one or two losses. In the past, many fan bases would check out after a few losses. Now, more teams will stay relevant for much longer into the season.
Kirk Herbstreit and the GameDay crew made their national championship predicts in Week 0 before the Georgia Tech-Florida State game.