Over the past few decades I have previewed the College Football Playoffs. Year after year, I previewed the four teams involved in the championship games. This is the first year I will discuss a 12-team field.
The number-one seed is Oregon out of the Big Ten. Yes, the Ducks are a Big Ten team now. They are also the lone undefeated team left in the country. Can they run the table and go 16-0 to get their first national title? Will there be a Cinderella-type run by the likes of Boise State, SMU, or Arizona State? Can a team that did not win a conference championship get hot and win a national championship? Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Tennessee hope so. Can a three-loss school, Clemson, really be the best team in the nation?
I will preview the games in next week’s column.
Could This Really Happen?
As I write this, Bill Belichick reportedly is real close to taking the North Carolina Tar Heel head football coaching job.
Did you have this on your radar 10 days ago?
When you read this, decisions will have already been made by UNC and Belichick. As of Tuesday, I believe it will happen.
I am basing my thinking on the following thoughts.
I truly believe Belichick is shocked that there is a lack of interest around the NFL for his services. No one chose him last year within the league and he is not getting any calls from teams that have let coaches go during this season.
Knowing this, Belichick obviously began looking at the college game. He knows that the college teams can be built quickly at the college level now because of NIL and the transfer portal.
Speaking of the portal, it is why things are moving fast. Players can’t sit out there and wait weeks to make a choice. There are third- and fourth- and fifth-year players looking for opportunities to go prove themselves to get shots in the NFL eventually. Belichick will sell the fact that he can get players to the NFL. The longer this drags on, the more of those players come off the board.
I do think that if Belichick goes to North Carolina, a huge part of his strategy would be to build a veteran team through the transfer portal.
Belichick has never led a team at the collegiate level, so UNC would represent an entirely new challenge for the six-time Super Bowl champion. I think it is going to happen.
