Week 1 is officially upon us, so we polled some of our college football beat writers to get their picks for the following: conference championship matchups (champs in bold), playoff teams, title game finalists, national champion and Heisman Trophy winner.
Three conferences produced consensus champions: the ACC with Clemson, the Mountain West with Boise State and the Sun Belt with Appalachian State. As for the national champion, Clemson got five of seven votes with Georgia and Alabama each pulling one vote. Only one writer, Nick Grays, does not have Clemson in the national championship.
Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa is the Heisman favorite, as he garnered three votes.
Where did we go wrong? Let us know in the comments.
| CHRIS BENNETT | NICK GRAYS | ETHAN PADWAY | JESSE SIEGEL | JOHN McKECHNIE | EDWARD KENSIK | ERIK HELM | Chris Morgan | |
| AAC | HOU-USF | MEM-UCF | UCF-HOU | UCF-MEM | CIN-MEM | MEM-UCF | CIN-HOU | UCF-HOU |
| ACC | CLEM-MIA | CLEM-VT | CLEM-MIA | CLEM-MIA | CLEM-UVA | CLEM-VT | CLEM-UVA | Clemson-VT |
| Big 12 | OKLA-TEX | TEX-OKLA | OKLA-TEX | OKLA-TEX | TEX-OKLA | OKLA-OSU | OKLA-ISU | OKLA-TEX |
| Big Ten | OSU-WIS | MICH-NEB | OSU-WIS | OSU-IOWA | OSU-NEB | MICH-NW | MICH-NEB | MICH-WIS |
| C-USA | MAR-UNT | UNT-FAU | FIU-UNT | FAU-UNT | UNT-FIU | SM-FAU | UNT-MAR | FAU-UNT |
| MAC | OH-TOL | OH-TOL | OH-NIU | TOL-OH | OH-EMU | OH-NIU | OH-TOL | EMU-OH |
| MW | BSU-SDSU | BSU-FSU | BSU-HA | BSU-FSU | BSU-SDSU | BSU-HA | BSU-SDSU | BSU-FSU |
| Pac-12 | UTH-ORE | UW-UTH | UW-USC | ORE-UTH | ORE-UTH | UTH-ORE | UW-UTH | ORE-UTH |
| SEC | ALA-UGA | UGA-ALA | ALA-FLA | ALA-UGA | UGA-ALA | UGA-LSU | ALA-UGA | ALA-UGA |
| Sun Belt | APP-ULL | APP-AKST | APP-ULL | APP-ULL | APP-ULL | APP-AKST | APP-AKST | AKST-APP |
| Playoff | Clemson | Georgia | Alabama | Clemson | Clemson | Georgia | Clemson | Clemson |
| Playoff | Alabama | Clemson | Clemson | Alabama | Texas | Notre Dame | Alabama | Alabama |
| Playoff | Oklahoma | Alabama | Ohio State | Ohio State | Georgia | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Michigan |
| Playoff | Georgia | Michigan | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Alabama | Clemson | Michigan | Oklahoma |
| Finalist | Alabama | Michigan | Clemson | Alabama | Georgia | Georgia | Alabama | Alabama |
| Champ | Clemson | Georgia | Alabama | Clemson | Clemson | Clemson | Clemson | Clemson |
| Heisman Trophy | Jalen Hurts | Tua Tagovailoa | Jonathan Taylor | Tua Tagovailoa | Tua Tagovailoa | Justin Herbert | Trevor Lawrence | Trevor Lawrence |
Week 1 is officially upon us, so we polled some of our college football beat writers to get their picks for the following: conference championship matchups (champs in bold), playoff teams, title game finalists, national champion and Heisman Trophy winner.
Three conferences produced consensus champions: the ACC with Clemson, the Mountain West with Boise State and the Sun Belt with Appalachian State. As for the national champion, Clemson got five of seven votes with Georgia and Alabama each pulling one vote. Only one writer, Nick Grays, does not have Clemson in the national championship.
Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa is the Heisman favorite, as he garnered three votes.
Where did we go wrong? Let us know in the comments.
| CHRIS BENNETT | NICK GRAYS | ETHAN PADWAY | JESSE SIEGEL | JOHN McKECHNIE | EDWARD KENSIK | ERIK HELM | Chris Morgan | |
| AAC | HOU-USF | MEM-UCF | UCF-HOU | UCF-MEM | CIN-MEM | MEM-UCF | CIN-HOU | UCF-HOU |
| ACC | CLEM-MIA | CLEM-VT | CLEM-MIA | CLEM-MIA | CLEM-UVA | CLEM-VT | CLEM-UVA | Clemson-VT |
| Big 12 | OKLA-TEX | TEX-OKLA | OKLA-TEX | OKLA-TEX | TEX-OKLA | OKLA-OSU | OKLA-ISU | OKLA-TEX |
| Big Ten | OSU-WIS | MICH-NEB | OSU-WIS | OSU-IOWA | OSU-NEB | MICH-NW | MICH-NEB | MICH-WIS |
| C-USA | MAR-UNT | UNT-FAU | FIU-UNT | FAU-UNT | UNT-FIU | SM-FAU | UNT-MAR | FAU-UNT |
| MAC | OH-TOL | OH-TOL | OH-NIU | TOL-OH | OH-EMU | OH-NIU | OH-TOL | EMU-OH |
| MW | BSU-SDSU | BSU-FSU | BSU-HA | BSU-FSU | BSU-SDSU | BSU-HA | BSU-SDSU | BSU-FSU |
| Pac-12 | UTH-ORE | UW-UTH | UW-USC | ORE-UTH | ORE-UTH | UTH-ORE | UW-UTH | ORE-UTH |
| SEC | ALA-UGA | UGA-ALA | ALA-FLA | ALA-UGA | UGA-ALA | UGA-LSU | ALA-UGA | ALA-UGA |
| Sun Belt | APP-ULL | APP-AKST | APP-ULL | APP-ULL | APP-ULL | APP-AKST | APP-AKST | AKST-APP |
| Playoff | Clemson | Georgia | Alabama | Clemson | Clemson | Georgia | Clemson | Clemson |
| Playoff | Alabama | Clemson | Clemson | Alabama | Texas | Notre Dame | Alabama | Alabama |
| Playoff | Oklahoma | Alabama | Ohio State | Ohio State | Georgia | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Michigan |
| Playoff | Georgia | Michigan | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Alabama | Clemson | Michigan | Oklahoma |
| Finalist | Alabama | Michigan | Clemson | Alabama | Georgia | Georgia | Alabama | Alabama |
| Champ | Clemson | Georgia | Alabama | Clemson | Clemson | Clemson | Clemson | Clemson |
| Heisman Trophy | Jalen Hurts | Tua Tagovailoa | Jonathan Taylor | Tua Tagovailoa | Tua Tagovailoa | Justin Herbert | Trevor Lawrence | Trevor Lawrence |
