One of my favorite things to write on this blog is my weekly college football picks. Last year my buddies Jon Bell and Steve Malina made picks each week…but we’re pleased to add a fourth full-time picker, Shane Dale from ABC15, who knows a few things about college football and especially the UofA-ASU rivalry.
Next week will be our first weekly picks column but in the meantime, enjoy our season preview column with some surprising picks that I’ll touch on below!
Name (Twitter Feed)
Eric Cohen (@eacohen83)
Jon Bell (@koshercoach)
Shane Dale (@ShaneDaleABC15)
Steve Malina (@BearDownSteven)
Projected UofA Record
Eric: 9-3
Jon: 9-3
Shane: 9-3
Steve: 9-3
Eric’s Commentary: Surprised to see no one picking 8-4 or worse for the ‘Cats who have a favorable, but far from easy schedule.
Projected ASU Record
Eric: 6-6
Jon: 6-6
Shane: 6-6
Steve: 4-8
Eric’s Commentary: I’d be shocked to see ASU finish with less than 5 wins considering they have a senior QB and arguably the best player in the conference at WR.
Pac-12 Championship Game Prediction:
Eric: Washington over Arizona
Jon: Washington over UCLA
Shane: Washington over USC
Steve: Washington over USC
Eric’s Commentary: What the heck is JB thinking…UCLA!? My UofA pick was homerish…but wow…UCLA!?
ACC Championship Game Prediction:
Eric: Clemson over Miami
Jon: Clemson over Virginia Tech
Shane: Clemson over Virginia Tech
Steve: Clemson over Virginia Tech
Eric’s Commentary: Par for the course. It would be surprising if Clemson lost a game in the regular season at this point.
Big 10 Championship Game Prediction:
Eric: Michigan over Wisconsin
Jon: Michigan over Wisconsin
Shane: Wisconsin over Michigan
Steve: Ohio State over Wisconsin
Eric’s Commentary: I thought I was going to be the only one picking Michigan to win the Big 10 East…guess not! Wisconsin winning the West is a virtual certainty. Truthfully the conference needs to find a way to balance itself as the divisions are way too lopsided.
Big 12 Championship Game Prediction:
Eric: Oklahoma over West Virginia
Jon: Texas over Oklahoma
Shane: TCU over Oklahoma
Steve: TCU over Oklahoma
Eric’s Commentary: On paper, OU looks to be the class of the Big 12. How and why the Texas and TCU love stuns me.
SEC Championship Game Prediction:
Eric: Alabama over Georgia
Jon: Alabama over Georgia
Shane: Georgia over Alabama
Steve: Alabama over Georgia
Eric’s Commentary: By far the two best teams in the conference at the start of 2018.
Fiesta Bowl Prediction (Power 5 School vs. Group of 5 School):
Eric: Wisconsin vs. Boise State
Jon: Oklahoma vs. Memphis
Shane: USC vs. Boise State
Steve: TCU vs. Florida Atlantic
Eric’s Commentary: I’m sure the Fiesta Bowl isn’t too thrilled to see the Group of 5 representative in their bowl game this season. The fact that none of us had close to the same matchup is far from a surprise.
College Football Playoff Final Four:
Eric: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Washington
Jon: Clemson, Alabama, Michigan, Texas
Shane: Georgia, Clemson, Alabama, Wisconsin
Steve: Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, Washington
Eric’s Commentary: Clemson and Alabama are in all four of our final representatives. Texas is without a doubt the most bizarre of the choices…I still can’t figure out why JB likes them so much.
College Football Playoff Championship Result:
Eric: Clemson over Alabama
Jon: Alabama over Texas
Shane: Clemson over Georgia
Steve: Clemson over Alabama
Eric’s Commentary: Clemson at 9/2 odds right now seems like a very enticing bet considering there is no drama around the program as there is at Alabama.
Heisman Trophy Winner:
Eric: Jake Browning (QB, Washington)
Jon: Bryce Love (RB, Stanford)
Shane: Jake Fromm (QB, Georgia)
Steve: Bryce Love (RB, Stanford)
Eric’s Commentary: Three Pac-12 choices among the four of us. Browning and Fromm are dark horses but when it comes to the Heisman race, how often do the preseason favorites actually win?
Most Disappointing Team in 2018:
Eric: Notre Dame
Jon: USC
Shane: Ohio State
Steve: Michigan
Eric’s Commentary: Four blue-blood programs here…I’d say there’s a fairly good chance at least one of them won’t live up to their preseason high expectations.
For more college football analysis and thoughts, listen to The Daily Blender, weekdays from 1-3pm on 1580TheFanatic. You can tune in here.
Cohen's Corner 