College football’s wildest predictions for 2019

By
Jason
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We asked and you delivered. We posed the question to college football fans: What’s your wildest/craziest predictions for the 2019 college football season? And then we took those predictions and tried to prove them true. The only caveat was it had to be at least possible. Sure UConn beating Alabama in the National Title game is a wild prediction. However, we’re going to go out on a pretty sturdy limb and say it’s not possible. So without further ado, let’s get wild!

Prediction: UNC wins the ACC Coastal

Calling last year a dumpster fire for the Tar Heels is a slap in the face to dumpster fires everywhere. They finished 2-9, Larry Fedora was fired, half the team was injured, and the quarterback play was something out of a C-list movie, played by eastern European actors who had never seen a football before. And with all of that going on, there were only two games (@ECU & @Miami) in which they weren’t in the game. Their losses included a double OT loss at Syracuse, an OT loss vs NC State, a 3-pt loss to Va Tech, and 7-pt losses to California and Duke.

The Evidence

Mack is back! And the Tar Heels are, too! At least in this wild prediction. It starts with QB play. Former QB Nathan Elliot has been jettisoned into the sun. Four-star recruit and true freshman QB Sam Howell will get the start. The Tar Heels also got Army DC Jay Bateman, who will make an immediate impact on the defensive side of the ball. Mix in that there isn’t any overwhelming favorite, and the Tar Heels have a chance. Remember, Pittsburgh, who UNC beat (o_O) last year, won the Coastal. They went 6-2 in the conference, and QB Kenny Pickett only broke 200-yds passing once(!!!) all year. They get Miami, Clemson, Duke, and Virginia all at home, while avoiding Florida St.

UNC will win the ACC Coastal.

Wild-O-Meter: 7.2 Cages

Prediction: Jerry Jeudy is the #1 pick in the NFL Draft

Last season, Jerry Jeudy was a beast. He racked up 68 rec, 1315 yards, 19.3 YPC, and 14 touchdowns. That was good for 10th in the country in yards, 17th in the country in YPC, and 3rd in the country for receiving touchdowns. Now, he is poised for an even monster-er year.

The Evidence

There have been 84 NFL Drafts. Out of those 84, only 3 times has a wide receiver been taken first overall. The last time was 1996, when the Jets selected Keyshawn Johnson. So with all things being equal, there is only a 3.6% chance of a wide receiver going first. Obviously, much of this is contingent on who gets the #1 overall pick. However, if said team that does have the pick fires their GM and hires Matt Millen, then the chances of them drafting a wide receiver with their 1st pick increase exponentially.

The current lowest win totals from Vegas are Miami and Arizona with 5. For the sake of argument, let’s assume chalk. The Cards leading receiver last year was Larry Fitzgerald with 734 yards receiving. How much would new Cardinals coach, the devilishly handsome Kliff Kingsbury, want to get his hands on a weapon like Jeudy to pair with his #1 overall pick Kyler Murray? Not to mention Jeudy could learn from Fitzgerald, while becoming the heir apparent. Kliff just went out and bought a bottle of champagne and extra tube of hair gel at the mere thought of such a scenario.

The Dolphins leading wide receiver last year was Danny Amendola with 575 yards. And he’s no longer with the team. The 2nd leading wide receiver for the Dolphins was Kenny Stills with 533 yards. Yikes! Would new coach, the appropriately handsome Brian Flores, love a weapon like Jeudy? Sure. But coming from the Belichick coaching tree and a defensive background, you’d have to assume they wouldn’t use the pick on a wideout. So chances would plummet. Unless of course, Matt Millen makes a surprise appearance as GM.

Jerry Jeudy will be the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Wild-O-Meter: 8.6 Shaved Britneys

Prediction: Army upsets Michigan, finishes unbeaten and gets the G5 NY6 automatic bowl bid

Last season, the Black Knights of Army went 11-2. They set a school record with wins, as it was the first time in school history that they achieved 11 victories. As great as the season was, beating Michigan in the Big House and getting an NY6 bowl would be infinitely better.

The Evidence

With their success last year and finishing the season ranked, it will be much harder for Army to sneak up on teams. Other than the Michigan game, the Black Knights will probably be favored in every game. So outside of the Wolverines, Army could in theory be 12-0. The problem would be strength of schedule. More than likely that would keep them out of a NY6. So the Wolverines game is the linchpin. That coupled with the aforementioned loss of their defensive coordinator, what will that game look like?

The schedule sets up well. The Wolverines will face the Black Knights at home in the 2nd game of the young season. The next game Michigan opens up B1G play on the road at Camp Randall vs Wisconsin. So there is a chance of a look ahead possibility (although, the Wolverines will have a bye week in between Army and Wiscy).

Talent returns

On defense, the Wolverines lose a lot of production in the form of Chase Winovich, Rashan Gary, Aubrey Solomon, and Lawrence Marshall. And while they return a bunch of backups with lots of experience, will they fare well that early in the season against Army’s ball-control, clock-draining, nails-across-a-chalkboard, I’d-rather-be-drinking-gasoline-than-having-to-play-defense-against-this offense? We’ll find out very quickly.

On offense, QB Shea Patterson returns. At the WR position, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins, and potential breakout candidate Tariq Black all return, as well. The only major skill position players that won’t be back is RB Karen Higdon and TE Zach Gentry. They also return 4 out 5 starting O-linemen. So the talent is there. However, will first year offensive coordinator Josh Gattis have the patience to stick with the game plan, if they get into a rock fight with the Black Knights? Or will he press the issue and cause the offense to panic? We’ll see, Lisa. We’ll see.

Michigan is a -17.5 pt favorite. That will probably be around -1000 on the moneyline. That would make the Wolverines a roughly 90% favorite based on implied probability (after removing the vig). Remember, Army should’ve beaten Oklahoma in Norman last year, before losing in OT. Obviously Michigan’s defense is much better than last year’s Sooners’ “Olé!” defense. However, the Sooners’ offense was much better than Michigan’s will be. Throw in new OC Josh Gattis inexperience, the pieces gone on defense, and the possibility of looking ahead to Wiscy, and the Wolverines will be doing a keg stand on a cask of gasoline.

Army will beat Michigan.

Wild-O-Meter: 9.4 Costanzas

Prediction: Utah State beats LSU

The Aggies over LSU doesn’t seem like that wild of a prediction. Jimbo Fisher is a good coach. They have talent on both sides of the ball. Their home crowd is great….Wait, what? The other Aggies?….Who is that? Utah St?… Where are they even from?….Utah?…Well, Utah St being from Utah does probably make sense.

We weren’t getting wild enough for you? Well, how about now?!? The Aggies (non-Texas A&M version) get to go into Baton Rouge and pull off an unbelievable upset. But how can they get it done?

History

Believe it or not, Utah St has a tiny bit of history on their side. A mere two years in 2017, the Trojans of Troy University went into Baton Rouge and stunned the Tigers 24-21. Led by RB Jordan Chunn’s 191 yards rushing, the Trojans rolled out of Tiger stadium with a big, fat W.

The key to victory was turnovers. Despite Chunn turning the ball over with 2 fumbles, Troy forced 4 turnovers that night, including a Danny Etling interception to seal the game. Can the non-A&M Aggies do the same vs this year’s Tiger squad? Last year, Utah St was 4th in the country in turnover margin at +1.2/game. So the possibility is certainly there.

Jordan Love

[insert pun using the word “love” here]

Utah St QB Jordan Love is one of the better kept secrets in college football. Last season, he threw for 3567 yards and 32 touchdowns, with only 6 interceptions. He compiled a 158.3 passer rating. That number might look familiar because that’s a perfect passer rating in the NFL (there is no cap on perfect passer rating in college). Is this a harbinger of things to come? Hmmmm….

Gerold Bright

[insert pun using the word “bright” here]

Just like during the Troy upset, Utah St will have to control the clock on the ground to have a chance vs the more talented Tigers. Enter senior RB Gerold Bright. Bright was a back up last year to Darwin Thompson, who has moved on to greener NFL pastures. However, he still managed 888 yards, 10 TDs, and a great 6.3 YPC. He’ll need all of that and then some vs that Tigers defense.

They’ve been here before (kind of)

Last season, the Aggies opened the season on the road against #11 Michigan St. How did they do? Well, they hung 31 points on arguably one of the best defenses in the nation last year. Jordan Love threw for 319 yards, and Sparty needed a touchdown in the last 2 minutes to pull out the 38-31 victory. Coupled with some less than stellar play from Michigan St QB play with Brian Lewerke (2 turnovers), Utah St almost pulled a shocker.

Against #6 LSU, they’ll also need some less than stellar play from Tiger QB Joe Burrow. Maybe they’ll get it, as Burrow only completes a little more than half of his pass attempts. They’ll also need some LSU turnovers. Maybe they’ll get it, as LSU turned the ball over 5 times in their 3 losses last year. They’ll also possibly need a meteorite to hit Tiger Stadium. Will they get that, too? We’ve come to far to turn back now. We say yes! Give us the Aggies, Jordan Love, and a meteorite in the middle of Tiger Stadium.

Utah St will beat LSU.

Wild-O-Meter: 9.8 Bagel Bosses

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