Jake Yono

JY Journalism

12/15/23 College Football Playoff Preview

On Sunday, December 4th the 2023 college football playoff field was revealed the rankings were Michigan at 1, Washington at 2, Texas at 3, and Alabama at 4. This means that first in the Rose Bowl #4 Alabama takes on the #1 Michigan Wolverines, then in the Sugar Bowl #2 Washington takes on #3 Texas. In this article, I will be giving my insights and predictions for this year's college football playoff and the final version of the 4-team CFP standard.

Alabama is no pushover for the Michigan Wolverines and they should not take them lightly as they are coached by none other than Nick Saben. Right now the current line is set at -1 for Michigan and the over-under is 45.5, so it's going to be a slightly low-scoring very tight game. Like most college football games, I believe this contest will be won at the line of scrimmage for both teams, if Michigan can run against the Alabama D-Line they should be able to control the game and win. On the other side of the ball, if Alabama can throw the ball against the Michigan D-Line pressure they will have a good outing and win. Also, they have to win on their side in Nick Saben and Michigan could get outcoached by his staff's playcalling. Michigan's passing game has been a little inconsistent this year but if they use their weapons correctly they should get past the Crimson Tide. With all this, my score prediction is Michigan 28 Alabama 24 in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California

Texas is a great team but the Washington Huskies are just better. Michael Penix Jr. is a freak of nature and he got robbed of the Heisman trophy. Texas though has Quinn Euers, Jonothan Brooks, and Xavier Worthy on the outside. It will be a high-scoring game as the over-under is currently set at 63.5. A lot of people are not realizing how good this Huskey team is as currently the line is set at -4 for the Longhorns. I disagree with this line as I think the score will be 35-28 Washtonion, Michael Penix, and Dillan Johnson both are going to have really good games in a Washington Huskey win in New Orleans for the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

This leads us up to the national title game. In this game, I believe Michigan is a stronger team than Washington but if Penix can pass the ball through the Michigan secondary they can make it close in the end, Michigan has a stronger team due to their offensive and defensive lines, their running tandem of Croum and Edwards, and the ultimate game manager of J.J McCarthy. With this, I believe the game will end with a national championship being brought home to Ann Arbor for the first time since 1997 and this will all be taking place at NRG Stadium in Houston Texas.