Who's going to make the College Football Playoff/win the Heisman? The LGHL staff weighs in

We've make our Ohio State specific predictions, and we've broken down the Big Ten, but there's more to college football than just happens in the Midwest.....and New Jersey and suburban Maryland. There's a ton of national college football stories worth following, an awards race, and of course, the playoff picture. Here's how the staff at LGHL thinks everything will go:

Which team in the preseason Coaches Poll Top 10 is most likely to disappoint?

TCU: 4 votes

Notre Dame: 4 votes

Florida State 2 votes

Georgia: 2 votes

Alabama: 1 vote

Auburn: 1 vote

Baylor: 1 vote

Oregon: 1 vote

Oh wow football bloggers suspect that the establishment may have Notre Dame ranked a little too highly. That never happens! It's also interesting to see TCU here, given the esteem the Horned Frogs are given later in this post. Given their expectations this season, how lucky they were last year (doesn't mean they weren't good!), and their losses on defense, I don't personally think that's an unfair prediction.

Which team in the preseason Coaches Poll 11-25 range do you see as having the best chance of making the playoffs?

Georgia Tech: 4 votes

LSU: 3 votes

Clemson: 3 votes

UCLA: 2 votes

Arizona: 1 vote

Texas A&M: 1 vote

Ole Miss: 1 vote

Sure, there might be other teams on this list that could be more talented, on the aggregate. But given their schedule, their quarterback, and their impossible-to-defend option attack, sure, you could do worse than take a flier on Georgia Tech as a playoff team, especially after they gained roughly a bazillion yards on Mississippi State to end the season last year. Clemson, armed by the dangerous Deshaun Watson, was another popular pick.

Which team outside the top 25 do you see a potential sleeper?

Texas A&M: 5 votes

South Carolina: 2 votes

Penn State: 2 vote

Utah: 1 vote

Kansas State: 1 vote

Oklahoma State: 1 vote

Louisville: 1 vote

Michigan: 1 vote

North Carolina: 1 vote

Mississippi State: 1 vote

I see that somebody has fallen victim to a true college football offseason tradition, talking yourself into North Carolina as a sleeper. IT'S A TRAAAAAP! Texas A&M, armed with an improved defensive coordinator and what seems like hordes of talented wideouts and what should be a great quarterback, isn't a bad guess....but somebody is gonna finish in last place in the SEC West, and hell, it could be TAMU.

Which team outside of the Power 5 do you see as the most dangerous?

Boise State: 8 votes

Cincinnati: 3 votes

BYU: 2 votes (Ed note: Neither of these votes came from Matt)

Toledo: 1 vote

Georgia Southern: 1 vote

To me personally, I think it's Boise State and it shouldn't even be close, given that they return almost everybody from a team that beat Arizona in a New Year's Bowl last year. But one thing that Boise doesn't return is a quarterback, and Cincinnati certainly has an excellent one of those. BYU does too, and a very tough September, which includes a home game against Boise State, will let everybody know really quickly how good a team they are.

Who is the highest profile coach that's going to get axed this year?

Al Golden: 11 votes

Tim Beckman: 1 vote

Bob Stoops: 1 vote

Kevin Wilson: 1 vote

Mike Gundy: 1 vote

Al Golden walked into a tough situation at Miami, and he's never had a problem recruiting NFL caliber talent. But at some point, you actually have to start winning games, and given that his team lost quite a bit from last year and plays in an improving division, it's a little hard to see him turning things around in a big way. It wouldn't be surprising to see a few open jobs at the bottom of the Big Ten this season, although if Kevin Wilson is the highest profile guy that gets fired, there are a lot of coaches who are safe.

And hey, somebody voted for Bob Stoops. Bringing out that offseason fire! I like it.

Who is winning the Heisman Trophy?

Ezekiel Elliott: 7 votes

Trevone Boykin: 3 votes

Nick Chubb: 3 votes

Cody Kessler: 1 vote

Deshaun Watson: 1 vote

J.T. Barrett: 1 vote

They say this may be the year of the running back as far as the Heisman is concerned, and if that's the case, why not pick the guy who dominated the end of last year and will be the featured back behind an amazing offensive line? Boykin and Chubb are solid answers too, provided they can stay healthy and their teams remain successful. Our writers seem to be building up some awfully lofty expectations for this coming season...

Who are your four playoff teams, and who is going to win it all?

Ohio State: 16 playoff votes, 9 championship votes

TCU: 8 playoff votes

Alabama: 7 playoff votes, 3 championship votes

Auburn: 7 playoff votes

USC: 6 playoff votes, 1 championship vote

Baylor: 5 playoff votes

Oregon: 6 playoff votes

LSU: 2 playoff votes

Notre Dame: 2 playoff votes

Georgia Tech: 2 playoff votes

Georgia: 1 playoff vote, 1 championship vote

UCLA: 1 playoff vote

Michigan State: 1 playoff vote

So nobody actually picked that specific breakdown (only one ballot had two SEC teams), but those were the top vote getters. Every single writer picked Ohio State to win a title, and a majority of ones that actually picked a champion picked Ohio State.

So, the majority of LGHL writers are predicting Buckeyes to go undefeated, sweep the Big Ten awards, win the Heisman, and stomp through the playoff on their way to another National Title. I mean, that's all certainly possible and all, but that's a pretty tall order, even for a super team, no? Guess we'll find out in a few weeks.