Tomorrow is Labor Day, the unofficial start of the fall season but more important the nations number one sport is just 4 days away. The NFL starts on Thursday night while the NCAA had its opening weekend now in the books as we all await the first College Playoff under the new Final Four system put in place of the former BCS, I couldnt think of a better time to make my yearly predictions as to who will wind up hoisting championship trophies early in 2015. Lets start with the NCAAs. For the first time there will be a final four. A selection committee made up by prominent people in this country will decide who makes this small tournament based on the criteria of the games played. There are other factors but the bottom line is that at some point of time this committee will have to agree on the final four. Forgive me if Im a little skeptical but unless there are four undefeated teams from the so call major conferences this is heading for a giant cluster you know what. The BCS was criticized from the day pf inception. Wait until December when you start to hear just how good the BCS was. I wont be part of that group. Im from the ones who would like to see an 8 team playoff with games being played after the finals the athletes have to take the first week in December to end in a championship game the week in between the NFL championship games and the Super Bowl. So we know I dont make the rules so how about my picks. If you took a consensus of the sports writers and prognosticators youre probably going to see Florida State, Oklahoma, Alabama and Oregon in the final four. These are all stand out teams and if it did wind up this way I wouldnt be totally surprised but college football is never that simple. Here are my four and why. Alabama is loaded but they will not get past Auburn. Auburn was less than 5 minutes from a national championship last January and they are loaded and mad as hell. I like them to put Alabama away and even if they slip once 12-1 with a SEC Championship should put them right there. Ohio State was right on the edge of the predicted final four when their Heismann candidate Braxton Miller went down for the year. Everyone has written them off and conceded the Big Ten Championship to Michigan State. Poppycock, Urban Meyer is the best coach in college football and Big Red will go to the final four undefeated. Oregon is as powerful as ever and should make the elite group except for one significant problem. They cant beat Stanford and this year is no exception. The best game of the year could be Stanford vs UCLA for the PAC Ten Championship but my money will be on Stanford mainly because they are the smartest school in the final four. Oklahoma always powerful always dangerous but usually has one stumble along the way and that will keep them out of the loop this year. So whos left? The defending National Champion Florida State. I know they just squeaked by Oklahoma State in their opener but their schedule is hella easy and in the end unless you beat the previous years champ you usually stay number one in the polls and thats significant. So now you have my final four. Argue that all you want but in the end we will have the first back to back national champion in many ways as Jameis Winston will lead his way to a second national championship in a row and he will be the first back to back Heissman winner since the great Archie Griffin. The NFL tomorrow night. -- Ricky Cash (Richard Marsh) Co-Host - Vegas Unwrapped Internet Radio. Co-Host- Raw Power Sports Tuesday 6-8PM PDT KLAV 1230 AM Radio.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 05:54:02 +0000