It is finally that time of year when we can fantasize and get excited about football action across the country. In my opinion, football is the most exciting sport to watch on television which is a favorite for busy college students at St. Lawrence. The National Football League and College Football seasons should once again deliver engaging storylines, action-packed games, and intriguing storylines for all of us to follow.
The American Football Conference is going to be fascinating this year as it is loaded with elite quarterbacks including Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, and Joe Burrow. Making the playoffs in the AFC will require at least a 10-7 record as the number of franchise quarterbacks will elevate the level of competition between these AFC juggernauts. The most interesting division to monitor is the AFC West which contains three elite quarterbacks and a rising Los Vegas Raiders team that acquired Derek Carr’s former college teammate Davante Adams this offseason. I predict that Josh Allen will win league Most Valuable Player and the Buffalo Bills to win the AFC Championship and Super Bowl.
The National Football Conference sports many complete teams and even divisions as well. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Kyler Murray, and Matthew Stafford headline the high-flying quarterbacks in the conference, and it will be interesting to see if young QBs such as Trey Lance, Justin Fields, and Jalen Hurts can make a leap forward in their careers. It will also be interesting to see how Tom Brady performs after taking nearly two weeks off during preseason for personal reasons; he is now 45 years old! A team that could massively outperform is the San Francisco 49ers with a great defense and a breakout from second-year quarterback Trey Lance. I predict that the Los Angeles Rams will win the NFC Championship and will just fall short of a repeat against the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl.
In the college football world, the flagship college football teams continue to rank at the top of the preseason polls. The college football playoff would consist of #1 Alabama, #2 Ohio State, #3 Georgia, and #4 Clemson. The rest of the top ten consists of #5 Notre Dame, #6 Texas A&M, #7 Utah, #8 Michigan, #9 Oklahoma, and #10 Baylor. A team I am keeping my eye on to sneak into the top four is Michigan, which continues to recruit top-end talent every offseason. I predict that #2, Ohio State, will win the college football playoff against Alabama under C.J. Stroud’s elite play. I also believe he will undoubtedly be the number one overall pick in the NFL draft ending up with the Seattle Seahawks.