It's that time of year again. Go bold or go home.
The FootballScoop staff put out our bold predictions for the 2023 campaign, and I think it's safe to say we all delivered.
Doug: UMass wins nine regular season games
UMass hasn't won nine games in a season since 2007 and hasn't won so much as five since joining FBS in 2012, but our man Coach Samz has the Minutemen getting to nine. (And, hey, they've already got one.)
Don Brown's team will need to make major strides in run defense -- 114th nationally at 194.3 yards per game in 2022 -- but the offense is already showing signs of clicking. Behind Taisun “The Pharaoh” Phommachanh, UMass racked up 458 yards on 7.16 a play for 41 points in a season-opening win at New Mexico State.
With clear losses at Auburn and Penn State, Doug has UMass toppling Miami (Ohio), Eastern Michigan, New Mexico and Arkansas State before a pivotal toss-up game with Toledo. If the Minutemen take down the Rockets on Oct. 7, they'll have room to spare following a certain loss at Penn State on Oct. 14, heading into a closing stretch of Army, Merrimack, Liberty, and UConn.
Zach: Colorado wins one game
I've been brewing this take for a while and spent many weeks convinced the Buffaloes would go 0-for-2023, but in the end I believe Deion Sanders's first team is just too talented... to get swept by Stanford and Arizona State.
The Buffaloes will almost certainly lose their opener to No. 17 TCU, and then come home to face Nebraska, where I believe they'll lose to Matt Rhule's Huskers. Following a stunning home loss to rival Colorado State, CU faces No. 15 Oregon and No. 6 USC.
At this point, I have the Buffaloes a certain 0-5, physically and emotionally beaten, feeling the effects of a roster thrown together bit by bit, trying desperately to fill a gaping talent hole left behind by previous staffs.
I believe CU will get one of the next two, against Stanford or ASU, before losing out on a finishing kick of No. 18 Oregon State, a rapidly improving Arizona, at Washington State (on a short week) and then at No. 14 Utah.
Furthermore, I think it would be good for college football if Colorado failed this season. While Deion is not the only coach to almost completely turn over his roster college basketball-style, he's by far the most flagrant in doing so. I don't want to live in a world where entire teams are thrown together on the fly, and if ADs are watching Colorado thinking of emulating their own total roster tear down, I don't believe we will.
John: Penn State makes the College Football Playoff
Ranked No. 7 by the AP but third in their own division, Penn State is a distant third in the eyes of many, but John has the Nittany Lions as the Big Ten's top team.
Behind a running game featuring future top-10 pick Ola Fashanu at left tackle and 5-star running back Nick Singleton (the Big Ten's Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2022), Penn State will make new starting quarterback Drew Allar comfortable enough to settle into a schedule that should feature six sure wins -- including over Doug's UMass Minutmen -- before trekking to Columbus on Oct. 21.
John didn't declare which of Michigan or Ohio State the Nittany Lions will beat, but he has them beating one of them, and James Franklin's squad comfortably reaching the field of four after many years of knocking on the door.
Scott: LSU wins the national championship
The specifics are cloudy, but the end result is crystal clear.
The Tigers may or may not beat Florida State to open the year -- he actually has them winning by 10-plus, but it's not a necessity -- and he doesn't see it happening; but they may drop a game to Ole Miss, Missouri or Auburn in mid-season, but LSU is definitely defeating Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium and avenging their loss to Texas A&M to close the regular season.
Those wins will be enough to put LSU in Atlanta, where they'll stun the 2-time defending national champions, perhaps for the first of two times.
After winning a Sugar Bowl semifinal, LSU will then march west on I-10 to Houston, where winning the national title will be fait accompli for Brian Kelly's squad.