100 Days Away from CFB, 100 Story Lines

[Steven A]

Per Chip Patterson CBS.

 

Reader's Digest version

 

Big Storylines:

 

1. Lincoln Riley tries to put USC back atop the sport: We'll get more into the full list of new coaches below, but it's impossible to avoid the buzz around one of the biggest coaching moves in modern college football history. Riley has utilized the transfer portal to immediately make the Trojans contenders to win the Pac-12, this while carrying the charge of leading the program back to national title contention. There are former Oklahoma Sooners on the field and on the sideline to add to the drama of the exodus -- a move from one blue blood to another being somewhat of a rarity for a coach, especially at this stage in his career -- making how the season goes for Riley and the Trojans one of the most interesting stories in the sport.  

Bold Predictions:

 

                                                                                              [Did I just lose Charles due to length of thread?]

 

8. The Pac-12 makes the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2016: The big news of the week was not only the NCAA rolling back its rules about conference championship games but the Pac-12 announcing that it was moving to a new format immediately. Allowing the top two teams regardless of divisions play for the league championship is meant to improve the league's odds for producing a playoff team, but my confidence here has more to do with the great combination of contenders across the league. There's the high-floor proven commodity in Utah, the high-ceiling potential of USC and two programs with playoff experience starting fresh with new coaches (Oregon and Washington, more them below in "Burning Questions"). You wouldn't pick any of those teams as surefire No. 1 or No. 2 seeds here in May, but if two of those contenders are highly ranked heading into the Pac-12 Championship Game, the "win and you're in" scenario could make things easy on the CFP Selection Committee.   

 

Burning Questions:

 

13. What are reasonable expectations for Mari Cristbal in Year 1? Cristbal is so passionate about his alma mater and seems to have perspective on the year-over-year work required to restore Miami's glory, but patience doesn't come easy to college football fans. What's worse (or better, depending on your perspective) is that even unbiased logic suggests Miami's expectations for 2021 should include competing for an ACC title. The Hurricanes have the reigning ACC Offensive Freshman of the Year at quarterback with Tyler Van Dyke and an impressive coaching staff assembled by Cristbal. They are also staring down a division that just saw three schools change their coach and two others lose their quarterbacks to the NFL Draft. How Miami stacks up against Texas A&M will dictate the national conversation, but closer to home, it's fair to think that anything short of playing in the ACC Championship Game is a disappointing season. 

 

14. Who gets the early edge as the Pac-12 North hits the reset button? Oregon, Washington and Washington State all have new head coaches heading into 2023, and those changes aren't coming because the division is being dominated by Stanford, Cal and Oregon State. The Oregon-Washington dynamic has often determined who has the leverage up north, and now, Dan Lanning and Kalen DeBoer are both starting fresh at the same time. They'll be compared to each other often, starting with which coach can get the closest to leading their program back to the playoff the fastest. 

 

Title Contenders, Tier 1:

 

Alabama (2-1): 

Georgia (13/4):  

Ohio State (9/2):  

Clemson (14-1): 

Texas A&M (22-1): 

USC (28-1): "Favorite value play on the board." (Only if you hate your money) Your betting on the big experiment and well positioned if Riley's Transfer Portal All-Stars can even make it to the playoff.   

Tier 2

Oklahoma (35-1):  

Notre Dame (40-1): 

Oregon (40-1): Everything hinges on the season opener against Georgia. If you think the Ducks can pull off an upset against the reigning champs then buy now at this price. If Oregon beats Georgia it can afford one loss, but not two, in conference play and maintain its playoff positioning. Otherwise steer clear because it's a razor thin margin for error to even make the playoff after starting 0-1.  

Utah (40-1): Utah is the most important piece of the USC narrative and it's usually well below the fold of the Trojans Hype newsletter. The reigning Pac-12 champions have a stud quarterback in Cam Rising and a roster that's absolutely capable of running it back in 2022. The Rose Bowl thriller against Ohio State only further affirms the notion Utah is a national dark horse, and it's part of why I like the Utes among the teams in this tier. 

Michigan (40-1): 

Wisconsin (40-1):  

Florida (40-1): 

Texas (50-1): 
 

Full article: 

100 Days Out: College football names, games, storylines as we count down to the 2022 season - CBSSports.com

WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM

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100 stories, predictions, names and games to get you excited for the 2022 college football season

 

[Duck 1972]

Just the way we like it being underducks (couldn't use under you know what turns my stomach to even think about the butt sniffers).

 

It will make it so much sweeter when we beat everyone

[30Duck]

Comparing Oregon and Washington 

On 5/22/2022 at 3:00 PM, Steven A said:

The Oregon-Washington dynamic has often determined who has the leverage up north,

It hasn't been that often, unless Chip Peterson meant Stanford and just misspelled it, Washington.