NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

I can’t wait for this game. After such a long season, we are finally here for the 2^nd College Football Playoff! I’m expecting an intense, down to the wire game between Clemson and Alabama. 2 great coaches, 2 great teams, and 2 Heisman finalists, including the winner on the Alabama side. The game so far is a 7 point line, with Bama being favored of course, and while I have seen a few people picking Clemson, the Crimson Tide has surely won the majority vote. So what do we think?

Another year, another SEC team in the big game. It’s very refreshing to see what are CLEARLY the 2 best teams in the country this season have a chance to square off. I’m probably more excited about this National Championship game than I have been in a long time. The nation’s best QB against arguably the best defense in the NCAA, how often does that happen? All of the experts aren’t giving Clemson much of a shot in this one, but I tend to disagree with them. Surprising, right? But I can’t ignore the fact that Nick Saban and Alabama’s kryptonite has been mobile quarterbacks. Add in the fact that Watson is a VERY respectable passing threat as well and it makes things extremely interesting. However, I’m not willing to step out on that limb and pick them to win this game. The one game that I turn to see how Clemson would look against an elite running back is Florida State. They gave up close to 200 yards to Dalvin Cook and his offensive line at FSU doesn’t compare to the big guys that Bama has up front. Add in the Heisman Winner who has been running like a man on fire lately, and it could be a nightmare for Clemson all night long. It’ll come down to Coker making plays when his number is called, and if he’s able to do that then I have Alabama bringing another National Title back to the SEC.

Alabama - 31

Clemson- 21

Hey D-Will, you still think the Pac-12 was the best conference in the country this year? Bowl records/performances state otherwise. Interested to see what you have to say.

-Jalynn (@jalynn_23)

LOL, I’ll address your Pac-12 question in a moment. And while I do agree that we have the 2 best teams in the country in this game, I can’t ignore that Ohio State is probably the MOST TALENTED team in the country. I mean, just look at their draft prospects, 9 guys expected to go in the first 2-3 rounds! That’s crazy! But back to this game. In the preseason, I picked Deshaun Watson to win the Heisman and while he didn’t win, he had a GREAT year, concluding with a 3^rd place finish in the Heisman race. DeShaun Watson will be the best offensive player on the field Monday night. Now, I know Alabama has a great defense. In all honesty, their front 7 is the best I have seen in awhile and Watson and Gallman will have their hands full. Bama’s weak spot is that secondary and I think Watson can exploit it. Nick Saban is probably the best coach ever, but I just don’t see them winning this game. I think people forget Clemson is 14-0 and that Watson has never lost a game he actually finished. Now I definitely disagree with Jalynn about FSU’s O-Line. Their O-Line is HUGE and super skilled. Let’s not act like they haven’t lost only 5 games in the past 3 years. And I may be alone on this one, but Dalvin Cook is a better running back than Derrick Henry. All in all, this should be a great game and 7:30 CST can’t get here soon enough.

Clemson 33

Alabama 27

Real Quick….

So you ask if I still think the PAC-12 is the best conference? You followed that up by stating that the bowl games indicate otherwise. So last year when the SEC did TERRIBLE in the bowls, I heard EVERY excuse in the book. “The SEC players don’t care about bowls unless it’s a championship” “The SEC players are too busy thinking about the NFL to focus on a bowl game”. So now, that the SEC has a good bowl performance, all of a sudden it means something?? How about you and the rest of the SEC homers hold a conference to figure out how much yall actually care about the bowl season and get back to me! They either care or they don’t, PICK ONE!! I’ll add this, I stand by saying that the PAC 12 is the DEEPEST conference in football top to bottom. The SEC has more talent though. But again, when you have an entire division that sucks and the team that won the SEC East (Florida) gets DESTROYED by a BIG 10 team, I don’t want to hear that you have the best conference.

-D-Will (@dwill312)

NFL PLAYOFF PREVIEW

And just like that, the NFL regular season has come to a close and Wild Card weekend is upon us! Kansas City might be the most surprising team in the bunch, overcoming a 1-5 start to reel off 10 straight wins and come in as possibly the hottest (and most forgotten about) team in the playoffs. I know that the popular picks as the hot teams that no one wants to play entering the post season are Seattle and Pittsburgh, but would you want to play a team that’s on a 10 game win streak? Or one that lost a game that 2 weeks ago that should have cost them a playoff spot? Don’t get me wrong, that Pittsburgh offense is a force to be reckoned with and by no means am I saying that Kansas City is the better team. But, a team that has won 10 in a row can’t be ignored. Anyway, I’m most excited about the NFC side of the bracket. The AFC is a 2, POSSIBLY 3, team race. The NFC has 4 teams that all have a legitimate shot at making it to the Super Bowl. You can never count out Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers, even if he has struggled this year by his standards. One thing we do know is that the postseason brings the best out of someone like Aaron Rodgers. Carolina is 15-1 and Cam is playing out of his mind, but I think his lack of threats might hurt him along the way. Arizona looks like the most complete team in the NFL when healthy, but the loss of the Honey Badger will be hard to overcome. And then there’s Seattle…. what should be the 2-time defending Super Bowl Champs. Marshawn Lynch is coming back from injury and Russell Wilson is looking like an elite QB. They’re taking their postseason form just in time. It’ll be an extremely entertaining playoffs this year and I can’t wait.

I’m going with Seattle and Denver in the Super Bowl and Denver edging out Seattle 20-16. Call me bias…. *shrugs* GO BRONCOS!!

-Jalynn

Another great year in the NFL and I plan on spending all weekend watching these playoff games. Honestly, I don’t think there is ONE team that’s just the prohibited favorite which I think makes this a very compelling year. Unlike Lynn, I won't rush through this and throw my squad in the Super Bowl! So I'll start with just this weekends games. For the NFC... 

We open up Sunday with two match-ups I can’t wait to watch. The Redskins vs the Packers. Look, I think Aaron Rodgers is a top 5 skilled quarterback of All Time, but if you don’t have anyone to throw to, then you don’t have anyone to throw to. There’s no way around it. The Packers have struggled offensively the second half of the season, and as someone who had Aaron Rodgers on his fantasy team, trust me I know how he’s struggled to move the ball. On the other side, “Mr. You Got That” himself, Kirk Cousins just led the lead in completion percentage and has only thrown 3 picks in the 2nd half of the year. I just think the Redskins and Kirk Cousins will win this game due to Green Bay’s lack of offense.

Redskins 23

Packers 17

The next game features the Seahawks vs Minnesota. Seattle is one of the hottest teams in the league right now and as good as Adrian Peterson is, I have no belief in Teddy Bridgewater once that Seahawks defense stuffs the run. Unfortunately this one probably won’t be that close. Even without Marshawn Lynch, Seattle is absolutely rolling right now and Russell Wilson has elevated to ELITE QB status.

Seahawks 27

Vikings 13

Has everybody forgotten about the Chiefs?? I’ve literally heard almost every other team in the AFC get picked to go to the Super Bowl except for the team that has 10 straight wins. Now I know people don’t want to believe in Alex Smith, but I have always liked him. He was the number 1 overall pick people, he has talent!! And that Chiefs defense is NO JOKE! The Texans have a great defense lead by Brian Cushing (not Watt) in my opinion, but I don’t believe in their offense. DeAndre Hopkins is the truth but the quarterbacks issues they’ve had is holding me back from going their way.

Chiefs 20

Texans 16

And what might be the best rivalry going right now, Pittsburgh plays Cincinnati. Now, I’ll put it in the open. I’m a Steelers fan, have been since the Kordell Stewart days. I HATE the Bengals. To me, they build themselves off of cheap shots and Marvin Lewis has NEVER shown he could win a playoff game. As much I like and respect AJ McCarron, and think he will one day be GREAT, I’m definitely going with my Steelers.

Steelers 31

Bengals 20

-D-Will