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With the regular season ending and bowl games starting, it’s time to reflect on where schools stand and what lies ahead for some of them. Kickoff Editor Tommy Duff offered his thoughts on 2018 college football. Our final regular season issue, the Bowl Wrap Up issue, will come out January 9th!
The Kickoff college football newsletter is putting the final touches on our first issue of the 2018 season. We’ll be emailing Issue 1 to PDF subscribers this coming Monday, August 27th ahead of the Week One games.
The issue includes our Preseason Top 50, which differs from the first AP Top 25 Poll released on August 20th. We agree that Alabama, Clemson and Georgia appear well positioned for continued success this season.
Ohio State’s position on the Kickoff Preseason Poll was unsettled amidst the controversy over Coach Urban Meyer’s future with the Buckeyes following a domestic abuse scandal with one of his staff coaches. The school suspended Meyer for the first three games of the season about to begin. AP’s initial poll had them ranked #5. Kickoff Editor Tommy Duff said the rankings beyond the top 3 could still change beyond the initial picks before Issue 1 goes out to readers on August 27th if the situation develops further.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law that banned commercial sports betting in most states, thus opening the door to potentially profound changes to sports wagering across the USA. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act stopped states from authorizing sports gambling, arguing that such a law safeguarded the integrity of sports, but the SCOTUS said the law was unconstitutional.
Those happy to see the ruling include more than just gambling companies. Television networks like ESPN expect fans to have a more deeply vested interest in games, which could translate to higher ratings. The strongest argument in favor of legalized sports gambling across the country may be that it happens anyway, so it can at least be regulated and generate money for government services.
In the interest of serving our readers who may be new to college football betting, we offer a beginner’s guide to the basics of betting on college football games.
We made it through that cold, dark place between the national title game and the start of spring football. Tommy Duff, Editor of The Kickoff newsletter offers another round of springtime college football analysis.
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Asked who he expects to have a better year in 2018, Duff said he has an eye on the Penn State Nittany Lions, who return both Quarterback McSorley and Wide Receiver Thompkins. “Miles Sanders leads to fill Barkley’s place at Running Back,” Duff said. The team went to 7–0 to begin the 2017 season, before losing on consecutive weekends to Ohio State and Michigan State. They finished the regular season with wins over Rutgers, Nebraska and Maryland before beating Washington, 35–28, at the Fiesta Bowl.
Of course, Alabama continues to demand its perineal spot in the pre-season national title conversation based on recent performance. The Crimson Tide finished the 2017 season with a record of 13–1, losing to Auburn before defeating eventual SEC Champion Georgia in the College Football Playoff. “Obviously the big question for Bama in 2018 is whether Sophomore Tua Tagovailoa or Junior Jalen Hurts will win the starting job for the Tide,” Duff said. Hurts led Bama to the title game two consecutive years, but Tagovailoa was named the Offensive MVP of the national title game after replacing an ineffective Hurts in the second half. Offseason departures included Minkah Fitzpatrick, Calvin Ridley, Bo Scarbrough, and Rashaan Evans, but Nick Saban is expected to simply reload.
It’s time for teams to go bowling. We’re already in the thick of the bowl schedule as it all builds to the New Year’s Day matchups. The Kickoff will publish our wrap up issue on January 10th, but Editor Tommy Duff shared some thoughts ahead of that.
“The most interesting matchup that is not in the College Football Playoff is USC vs. Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29th,” Duff said. “OSU feels like they deserved to be in the playoff, but USC has just as strong of an argument, also going 11-2 during the regular season, and they lost against a stronger team than Iowa.”
Boise State, Troy, Georgia State, Marshall, and Middle Tennessee have all won their bowls so far and are looking ahead to next season. The Kickoff listed the complete bowl schedule (with our Kickoff Power Rankings) in Issue 16, out Dec. 11th.
Duff said the post-season is generally more difficult to predict this year.
“The Orange Bowl Winner will be whoever has any motivation left between Miami and Wisconsin. (They are) two teams in playoff contention all year that fell apart in the final week,” Duff said. “I think Auburn should win against UCF, which is losing their head coach. I expect LSU to win against Notre Dame, which is overmatched.”
“Regarding the College Football Playoffs, can a Big XII offense take care of business against a defense as talented as Georgia’s? I think they can, but UGA has the potential to give Baker Mayfield problems,” Duff said. “Of course, the marquee matchup is the third playoff meeting between Bama and Clemson. Clemson was playing better towards the end of the year, but Bama should be much healthier and is still the team to beat.”
If Georgia prevails in the Rose Bowl and Alabama beats Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, producing an All-SEC national championship game, Duff said experience points to Alabama winning. “If Oklahoma beats Georgia, then I think they will beat Bama,” he said.
In addition to winning the Heisman, Baker Mayfield led several of the stats this season, including percentage of completed passes, efficiency rating, total yards per play, and being responsible for touchdowns at 46. He was also named to the 2017 Kickoff All American team, along with Sooners Mark Andrews, Orlando Brown, and Obgonnia Okoronkwo. These ingredients combine for a potent threat to Clemson defending its national title if the two teams should go head-to-head.
“As we close our 67th season in publication, we would like to thank all of our corporate and individual subscribers for continuing to support The Kickoff,” Duff said. “It’s an honor to be given the opportunity to share your excitement for the sport of college football every fall. College football is not only a game; it’s a cultural pastime shared throughout the United States, and we are truly blessed to spend Saturdays with you. We look forward to seeing you in 2018. We wish you a safe and happy holidays!”
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