College football might be four months away but it’s never too early to talk about who will be making noise when the 2021 season begins. Without further ado, let’s gaze into our crystal ball and predict the Top 10 teams in the nation when the curtain closes on the regular season.
Top 10 NCAAF Teams
Below we predict the Top 10 teams when the season wraps in December. Each team listed has their corresponding college football odds to win the national championship in parentheses at the time of this writing. Let’s put on our genie hats and go to work!
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (+260) – The Tide doesn’t rebuild, they just reload. And that is exactly what is going to happen this year, even after losing their Heisman Trophy-winning wide receiver, Devonta Smith, and another who just might be even more NFL ready in speed merchant, Jaylen Waddle. Oh, lest we forget one of the most accurate passers in the nation, Mac Jones, ascending to the next level. Whether rising sophomore, Bryce Young, or redshift sophomore, Paul Tyson, take the reins of the Bama offense is anyone’s guess, but you can be sure Nick Saban’s charges will be ready to defend their national championship right out of the gate.
2. Oklahoma Sooners (+800) – Most of the pundits have the Sooners on the outside looking in on the CFP but I believe they are the best team in the nation outside of the boys in Tuscaloosa. Unlike many of the top teams in college football, they have plenty of starters returning, including Spencer Rattler who will set the world on fire this season.
3. Georgia Bulldogs (+700) – Head coach, Kirby Smart, will welcome back his elite QB, J.T. Daniels, while the Georgia defense is expected to be among the most formidable in the nation. They also get to avoid Alabama in the regular season and aside from a titanic season debut against Clemson and a midseason clash versus Florida, the rest of their schedule is smooth sailing.
4. Clemson Tigers (+475) – The Tigers will be 0-1 after their Week 1 loss to Georgia but after that you better believe Lawrence’s replacement, D.J. Uiagalelei, and the Tigers will roll through their ACC foes and wind up as the No. 4 seed, getting a semifinal date in the CFP with Alabama where they will be summarily dismissed.
5. Texas A&M (+2500) – If you are looking for value in your college football picks then you could do a whole lot worse than Texas A&M. The Aggies will welcome the Tide to College Station but outside of that, the only other hurdle is their season finale against LSU and I believe A&M will be better than the Tigers this season which is why you won’t find LSU at this spot.
6. Ohio State Buckeyes (+650) – The Buckeyes are not only watching Justin Fields catch the next train to fame and fortune but he will be joined by plenty of his teammates as well. There is a mass exodus at Ohio State which is what happens at the best Power 5 schools but I don’t believe they will weather the storm as well as some of the others.
7. Cincinnati Bearcats (+10,000) – The Bearcats will see the heart and soul of their offense returning in the form of quarterback, Desmond Ridder, who led the Cats to a perfect 9-0 regular-season record before they fell, 24-21, to Georgia in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl last season. They will be tough again and another pristine regular-season record could have them sniffing around CFP territory despite hailing from a non-Power 5 conference.
8. Oregon Ducks (+4000) – The Pac-12 should be action-packed this season but the Ducks are my choice to emerge from the ashes and win the conference. The Ducks have an enormous challenge in Week 2 of their season when they travel to Columbus to meet the Buckeyes but don’t count this team out of any game as there is a boatload of talent returning and their recruiting department did a magnificent job with a talented crop of incoming freshmen.
9. Michigan Wolverines (+8000) – Love’em or hate’em, Jim Harbaugh will bring the Wolverines out of the doldrums and back into the national spotlight. They have a new defensive coordinator in Mike Macdonald and plenty of talent on that side of the ball if utilized properly, which they weren’t during their truncated season in 2020 by former DC Don Brown. Expect Big Blue to get back to national prominence.
10. Florida Gators (+3300) – The Gators will be good – very good – this season but their schedule is rough and even two losses will have them tumbling down the national rankings. And that’s exactly why I see them ending at No. 10 when the season wraps.
Calculators
