When Texas and Oklahoma announced their departure from the Big 12 for the SEC, at the time we wondered if there would be more moves at the Power 5 level. On Thursday, news broke that USC and UCLA are planning to join the Big Ten, leaving the Pac-12 behind. This move could happen as soon as 2024. This move would weaken the Pac-12 significantly; even though UCLA and USC are not dominant power in football in the conference, they take talent and television audiences with them, as the Big Ten and the SEC look to create a wider gap between themselves and the rest of the conferences in the FBS. As we think about this season, let’s look at the preseason top 25 and some predictions that could help your online College Football betting.
NCAA News: College Football Top 25 Analysis & Betting Opportunities
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide
#2 Georgia Bulldogs
#3 Ohio State Buckeyes
#4 Clemson Tigers
#5 Texas A&M Aggies
#6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
#7 Michigan Wolverines
#8 USC Trojans
#9 Michigan State Spartans
#10 Oklahoma State Cowboys
#11 Oklahoma Sooners
#12 Ole Miss Rebels
#13 N.C. State Wolfpack
#14 Oregon Ducks
#15 Utah Utes
#16 Arkansas Razorbacks
#17 Houston Cougars
#18 Iowa Hawkeyes
#19 Baylor Bears
#20 Tennessee Volunteers
#21 Texas Longhorns
#22 BYU Cougars
#23 Kentucky Wildcats
#24 Florida Gators
#25 Penn State Nittany Lions
Clemson wins the ACC but misses the College Football Playoff
Clemson has the best defense in the conference once again, even after the departure of coordinator Brent Venables for Oklahoma. However, the problems remain on offense.D.J. Uiagalelei looked surprisingly solid in two games as a freshman – a narrow loss to NOtre Dame and a big win over BC – but last year he posted a dreadful 9:10 TD:INT ratio, and there is no margin of error for teams outside the Big Ten and the SEC in terms of CFP consideration. It will just take one loss, but somewhere along the line the Tigers will slip up, and they will pay in terms of national consideration. They have to face Wake Forest, Pitt and N.C. State to get to a conference title, and they also face Notre Dame in non-conference play.
LSU goes 6-6
Brian Kelly has prospered via the transfer portal so far, getting over a dozen players, including quarterback Jayden Daniels out of Arizona State and linebacker Harold Perkins. Cornerback Eli Ricks has transferred to Alabama, though. LSU has not done well at all since that national championship in 2019, and while Kelly built a strong program at Notre Dame, he did not build a reputation for winning the big game. In the SEC West, there’s a big game just about every week. Kelly has a career record of 14-14 against teams in the top 25. Clemson and Alabama embarrassed Kelly’s Notre Dame teams by a combined score of 103-31 in three postseason contests. This stretch: at Florida, vs Ole Miss, vs Alabama, at Arkansas, and at Texas A&M; sill turn into a house of horrors if Kelly isn’t ready.
USC scores a lot – but doesn’t win the Pac-12
Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams will upgrade the USC offense. However, their defense was the second worst in the Pac-12 last year and ranked just 89th in the nation. The D-line and linebacker corps both lack physicality, so teams should be able to run the ball on USC. This time around, the Pac-12 will have their top two teams match up in the conference championship instead of using divisions, so I see USC and Utah squaring off for the conference title – and Utah taking advantage of the Trojans’ inability to stop the run.
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