It’s about that time, as the offseason winds down, and predictions start looming. Which teams are bound to make waves this college football season?
As Oregon returns plenty of production from their 2025 team and Indiana aims for a repeat title, the competition for conference championships and a national title are wide open.Â
Here are Klatt’s predictions for every Power Four conference champion, 12-team bracket and his national champion prediction:
Klatt’s thoughts: “I do think that the Big Ten is absolutely loaded at the top. I think all of us know that after all these preseason rankings have finally come out. We saw Ohio State at the top of the AP [Top 25 Poll]. Oregon was at the top of my preseason poll. And you still have Indiana, the defending national champion. You’ve got teams like USC, Penn State and Michigan, who will all be in there vying and trying to level up into that rarefied air of those top three teams in the Big Ten.Â
“Ohio State’s schedule is going to be too difficult. ⦠They’ve got to play at Iowa after opening on the road in Week 2 against Texas. They’ve got to play on the road several times against very difficult opponents. They’ve got to go to USC. They’ve got to go to Indiana. These are all very difficult places to play. That’s why I don’t think Ohio State will make it to Indianapolis.
“Oregon’s also got a difficult schedule, but I think they’re going to be prepared to handle it. I think Indiana gets back into that spot. ⦠I’m going to take Dan Lanning and the Ducks.”
Klatt’s thoughts: “This is a very deep conference â we all know that. I think there are two, at least in this month, that are maybe better than the rest. We’ll see how it plays out, particularly with a team like LSU. But I really, really like Georgia and Texas. I really like Texas a lot. My wild card is LSU.Â
“You start to wonder to yourself if [Texas coach Steve Sarkisian] can get over the hump. Let’s just say if Ohio State were to beat them early in the season, that could be a real defining moment for that program. For them to turn things around and break some of those barriers later in the season â one of those barriers being Georgia and Kirby Smart. I don’t want to bet against Georgia and Kirby Smart, but I don’t know if they’re going to have the firepower to keep up with what could be a very good offense in Texas. Â
“I think Texas and Steve Sarkisian can get over that hump.”
Klatt’s thoughts: “This one’s pretty easy. Texas Tech is the most talented team in the league, and they’ve got a pretty soft schedule. They only have one ranked opponent on their schedule as it stands right now: Week 3 against Houston.Â
“Who will Texas Tech face? I like Arizona a lot, but I just don’t love their schedule in the Big 12. They’ve got quarterback Noah Fifita coming back. I really like what they’ve done with their program. ⦠You just look at these schedules and I just don’t love it for Arizona. They’ve got at BYU, at Texas Tech and home against Utah.
“I think the second spot goes to the winner of the Holy War, BYU and Utah. As was the case a year ago, I’m going to lean toward BYU. A lot of turnover at Utah. Meanwhile, BYU, they still have head coach Kelani Sitake, quarterback Bear Bachmaier and running back LJ Martin.
“Texas Tech is just at a different level in terms of the roster compilation against the other Big 12 schools.”
Klatt’s thoughts: “Miami has a similar gap over the ACC. I don’t see them losing an ACC game this year. They might lose to Notre Dame. I’ll predict that they do lose to Notre Dame. But Miami is not going to have a large issue when it comes to the ACC schedule.
“The real question is who is Miami going to face? You start to throw out those teams you think might have the talent and schedule to get themselves into the ACC Championship Game. I have four teams I considered here: Clemson, Virginia Tech,
