College Football Playoff Predictions: Alabama, Clemson Destined For Rematch?

The 2016 college football season begins in earnest Thursday night with 16 games, two of which feature ranked teams. The action really kicks into gear Saturday with scintillating matchups such as No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 20 USC and No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Houston.

Even though the College Football Playoff is so far away, teams’ hopes of making the four-team postseason tournament could be crushed this weekend with a poor performance. It’s always better to lose early in the college football season than late, but these early season out-of-conference games often are crucial to a school’s résumé when the CFP committee makes its final decision on which teams will make the tournament.

Here are our predictions for which teams will make the College Football Playoff and win this season’s national championship.

Alabama, SEC Champion
The Crimson Tide are the defending national champions and the favorites among most oddsmakers to repeat their title.

Nick Saban’s team again is loaded with high-end skill and depth all over the field. It also helps that Alabama’s schedule isn’t as daunting as previous seasons. It’s certainly tough, like always in the SEC, but ‘Bama doesn’t have to play Florida, Auburn continues to be on a downswing, and Texas A&M isn’t a real conference title threat.

A Week 3 matchup at No. 11 Ole Miss might be the toughest game on the Crimson Tide’s schedule. The Rebels have beaten the Tide in two consecutive seasons.

Still, even a one-loss Alabama team should have a strong enough case for a CFP berth, just like in 2014 and 2015. This definitely could be the Tide’s first undefeated regular season since 2010, though.

Clemson, ACC Champion
The ACC isn’t good, and that’s probably not going to change for a while.

The only potential roadblock in Clemson’s quest for a second consecutive undefeated regular season is a Oct. 29 matchup against No. 4 Florida State in Tallahassee. The winner of that game almost certainly will be the ACC Atlantic Division champion and have the inside track to a playoff spot.

The Tigers return a large portion of last season’s team that nearly upset Alabama in the national title game, including Heisman Trophy favorite and starting quarterback Deshaun Watson. They are a team on a mission, and a soft schedule, combined with incredible talent and depth on both sides of the ball, should give them a second chance at glory in January.

Ohio State, Big Ten Champion
A Week 3 showdown with Oklahoma looms large, and a huge non-conference road win over the Sooners could be impressive enough to help the Buckeyes overcome a Big Ten loss and earn a playoff berth.

Ohio State’s schedule is fairly easy after the Oklahoma game — it doesn’t play another currently ranked team until the final two weeks of the regular season (Michigan State on the road and Michigan at home). A one-loss Ohio State team would have an excellent case for a playoff spot, but an undefeated run would pretty much guarantee a berth for Urban Meyer’s squad.

Stanford, Pac-12 Champion
The Pac-12 probably won’t be a juggernaut this season, so an undefeated run certainly isn’t out of the question for Stanford. The Cardinal also should score some style points with an offense that nearly put up 40 points per game last season and returns a top preseason Heisman Trophy candidate in running back Christian McCaffrey.

Stanford’s toughest game comes Oct. 15 at Notre Dame.

Semifinal No. 1
Alabama defeats Stanford

Semifinal No. 2
Ohio State defeats Clemson

National Championship Game
Alabama defeats Ohio State