Tag: 2020 College Football Playoff

Ohio State with second best chance to reach 2020 College Football Playoff according to ESPN

According to ESPN’s Allstate Playoff Predictor, Ohio State has the second-best odds to reach the College Football Playoff next season.

We don’t yet know if and when the next college football season will begin, but that hasn’t stopped ESPN from projecting which teams have the best chance to reach the College Football Playoff.

There are some usual suspects at the top, and one of those includes Ohio State. It makes sense because the ESPN Power Football Index currently has the Buckeyes at No. 2. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Allstate Playoff Predictor also has OSU with the second-best chance to reach the CFP at 64 percent. The predictor also gives the Buckeyes a 21 percent chance to win the national championship.

You can probably guess the team that has the best shot to reach the playoff. It’s Clemson with an 81 percent chance. The Tigers have a 36 percent chance to win it all according to ESPN.

Amazingly, the worldwide leader in sports programming projects two Big Ten teams to make all the fun. That’s because the order behind Clemson and Ohio State has Alabama at 59 percent, Wisconsin with a 33 percent chance, and Georgia at 26 percent odds.

This is all very premature of course, but still fun to debate and talk about. Now, we just have to have a season to see if it all comes close to being true.

 

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Big Ten Football way-too-early 2020 bowl projections, College Football Playoff picks

It’s never too early to look ahead. We’re doing it with our way-too-early 2020 Big Ten bowl projections and College Football Playoff picks.

The Big Ten has a rich, rich history in historical bowl games, and the expectations are set for that to continue in 2020 — at least as long as we have a season. Here at Buckeyes Wire, we’re keeping with tradition and giving you a peek at where we think all the teams in the conference will end up when all the dust settles on the season, but way, way ahead of time.

With the entire sports world shut down right now, the hope is that there is still a college football season — health and safety willing — and that we can look ahead to what we think every Big Ten team is going to do.

So who will contend for the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six Bowls? What teams might surprise and sneak into a bowl, and what other teams are going to have a decent end to the season.

Here’s an early, early look at some bowl projections for Big Ten teams, and what the College Football Playoff might look like.

Also, keep in mind that these scenarios are very complicated with projecting when there are not enough teams from certain conferences with tie-ins, and the agreements with bowls to not repeat the same program over a certain time-frame if at all possible.

Next … The bowl lineup

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Notre Dame Top 10 in ESPN’s “Way Too Early Top 25 Poll”

Today ESPN released their same list and the Irish were shown significantly more respect by writer Mark Schlabach who has Notre Dame at number 10.

Welcome to one of the worst sports-days of the year.

College football concluded for the season last night and now we have to wait until the end of August to recap actual games and live and die with every first down, touchdown and coaches decision we agree with or hate.

With that however, the nation is putting out their “Way Too Early Top 25” polls for the 2020 season, before we even know who is staying in school and who all is entering the NFL Draft.

Yesterday we reacted to Brett McMurphy of Stadium who had Notre Dame ranked laughably low.

Today ESPN released their same list and the Irish were shown significantly more respect by writer Mark Schlabach who has Notre Dame at number 10.

Outlook: After suffering early losses at Georgia and Michigan, the Irish were never serious contenders for a CFP spot this past season. They still won 11 games and blasted Iowa State 33-9 in the Camping World Bowl. With quarterback Ian Book and all five starting offensive linemen returning, the Irish have a good nucleus coming back on offense. But they must replace leading receivers Claypool and Finke, leading rusher Jones and Kmet, who was a matchup nightmare. Northwestern graduate transfer Bennett Skowronek and incoming four-star receiver Jordan Johnson might be able to help right away. Brian Kelly is also looking for a new offensive coordinator after Chip Long was pushed out. It might be former quarterback Tom Rees, who called plays in the bowl game. The Irish will also have to replace all four starters in the secondary after Gilman decided to bypass his fourth season. Notre Dame plays Wisconsin at Lambeau Field and hosts Clemson, but it might be favored in its 10 other regular-season games.

That’s how Schlabach looks at Notre Dame in 2020.

For the record he has Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama and LSU as his top-four.

No. 1 Clemson and No. 14 Wisconsin are the only two Notre Dame opponents for 2020 who can be found in this particular top-25.

Ohio State picked to make 2020 College Football Playoff by 247Sports

Ohio State has been picked to make next season’s College Football Playoff in a very early projection by 247Sports.

There’s only two teams still alive for the 2019 college football season, and it’s the two teams playing for it all in New Orleans this coming Monday. That means every team not named Clemson or LSU are already looking ahead to the 2020 season. You can unfortunately count Ohio State in that population as well after some frustration, disappointment, and a little bit of anger after the Fiesta Bowl.

No matter. Move on we must, so that’s what we’re doing. And when you have as much talent as a team like the Buckeyes have coming back, it at least makes things a little easier.

But, Ohio State fans aren’t the only ones looking forward. Some media outlets like 247Sports are starting to already make some very early predictions for teams that will end up in the College Football Playoff for 2020. And if you’re an OSU fan, then you’ll like what writer Brian Crawford has to say.

According to him, the Buckeyes are destined to travel to a very familiar place. He has them going to the Rose Bowl in one of the two College Football Playoff semifinals. The team he has them facing is a resurgent Florida team led by former Urban Meyer assistant Dan Mullens.

Here’s what Crawford says about the potential of the Rose Bowl matchup.

It’s a bit hazy, sure, but there is a justifiable path to the Playoff for Dan Mullen in Year 3 with the Gators. Let’s say Florida finishes 11-1 during the regular season with its only loss coming to Georgia in Jacksonville — which would include a Top 10 win over LSU in Gainesville. Georgia finishes 11-1 with a loss to Alabama, thus wins the East with the tiebreaker. Then, the Crimson Tide beat the Bulldogs again in Atlanta, ensuring Florida is the SEC’s second-most attractive option for the Playoff committee. Hmm. Keep an eye on Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, who will surge to the front of the Heisman race. The other team here is chalk. Ohio State should field the most talented team nationally next fall with Justin Fields back and a host of playmakers around him.

So who does he have in the other Semifinal? It’s another familiar matchup with Clemson and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. I feel like we’ve seen that movie and a few sequels before?

If this all comes to fruition, hopefully this time the Buckeyes can be the last team standing.

 

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