So besides us, who are the contenders next year?

bamacon

Hall of Fame
Apr 11, 2008
17,179
4,352
187
College Football's Mecca, Tuscaloosa
Bama in the SEC, with LSU being the only realistic hurdle. To say the least the jury is still out on Smart and the UGA talent. It's conceivable that the talent is there, but not enough experience. Coaching ?. LSU could be scary, Aranda is great - he and Pruitt are far above everyone else in the SEC. But of course they have Coach O, but such obstacles are occasionally overcome in the short term.

OSU returns a lot including Barrett. Great coach, though they've not recovered from Herman's departure - just like Mullen at UF. '09 and '10 were not good offensive years, as '15 and '16 have not been.

Hard to say about PSU - maybe.

OU loses much on O and never had much on D.

USC loses a lot, but they have Darnold and good prospects. They also have Helton who we don't know about.

UW returns a lot, with a very good coach, but the PAC12 will likely be better.

FSU returns a lot, but they still have Jimbo.

Clemson loses Watson and more, but they have evaluated and recruited very well. Have to acknowledge Dabo, but still not sure.

Best guess: Bama, OSU, Wash, ?.
USC loses almost no one. They will be the HUGE favorite out west.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

BamaInBham

All-American
Feb 14, 2007
4,464
2,104
187
USC loses almost no one. They will be the HUGE favorite out west.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
They lose at least 3 on D and likely 4 assuming Jackson declares. They lose 6 on O, including both tackles and Mama on the OL, also, their 2 best WRs Smith-Schuster and Rogers. That's not including Davis, a big part of their running game. So, that's at least 9 starters, maybe 10. That's a lot.
 

bamacon

Hall of Fame
Apr 11, 2008
17,179
4,352
187
College Football's Mecca, Tuscaloosa
They lose at least 3 on D and likely 4 assuming Jackson declares. They lose 6 on O, including both tackles and Mama on the OL, also, their 2 best WRs Smith-Schuster and Rogers. That's not including Davis, a big part of their running game. So, that's at least 9 starters, maybe 10. That's a lot.
Yeah I saw where the info I was reading was before underclassmen declared. Still they don't lose everyone like the earlier post mentioned. Bama returns 5 and 5 which means we lose half our starters. If we judge how the backups performed on defense then 2017 could be a long year. Fortunately we have evidence and a track record of a decade that says CNS and staff will have them ready for battle. However, just on numbers most of the rest are returning more key starters than we are.

Most don't won't to hear it but Bama and Ohio St. were 2 of the youngest teams in not not only the playoff but in all of college fball.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

B1GTide

TideFans Legend
Apr 13, 2012
45,481
46,794
187
Alabama - get past FSU and you are almost certainly going to the playoff. Your schedule has all of your toughest games at home, and lots of roadway after FSU to get rolling before the SEC games get tough. Finish against Auburn and off to the SECCG.

OSU - We have the Sooners at home this year then a pretty easy schedule with our toughest competition at home until we meet Michigan in Ann Arbor to end the season. We return 17 starters, so I like our chances. Michigan loses everyone on defense. They will not be a good football team.

OSUs or OU - You know about the Sooners, but don't sleep on the Cowboys. They return just about everyone, including their great QB, Rudolph. They have the Sooners and Baylor at home, are on the road at Pitt and Texas. If the Buckeyes beat the Sooners, OSUs will be in a great position to win the Big 12 and make it to the playoff (remember, the Big 12 has a conference championship game next year, so this will help them). They beat Colorado by 30 in the bowl game. They are pretty hot rolling into next season.

PAC winner - Both Washington and USC lose a ton of talent to the NFL. I think that USC has the depth to recover in 2017, but not Washington. I like USC to win the PAC and make the playoff.

ACC winner left out - I expect FSU to win the ACC, but with at least 2 losses on the season (one to Alabama) and get left out of the playoff. I expect Clemson to lose at least 3 and fall out of contention.
 

LSUgrad2BamaDad

All-SEC
May 5, 2016
1,307
950
137
Destrehan, LA
I think LSU will be greatly improved, but it will be so difficult to make the playoffs. First, it's a new offensive system with either an average QB (Etling/Harris) or an inexperienced QB (Scott/narcisse). Thanks to last year's UF debacle, we have 5 SEC road games including Bama, Florida and Tenn. expect Bama to be in the playoffs again.

i believe USCw has the best QB in the country, sorry Lamar, but I'd take Darnold any day when going up against a quality defense. I think USC makes the playoffs.

FSU looks to rise to the top of the ACC with Clemson losing Watson and so much WR talent. I like OSU in the B1G.
 

BamaInBham

All-American
Feb 14, 2007
4,464
2,104
187
Yeah I saw where the info I was reading was before underclassmen declared. Still they don't lose everyone like the earlier post mentioned. Bama returns 5 and 5 which means we lose half our starters. If we judge how the backups performed on defense then 2017 could be a long year. Fortunately we have evidence and a track record of a decade that says CNS and staff will have them ready for battle. However, just on numbers most of the rest are returning more key starters than we are.

Most don't won't to hear it but Bama and Ohio St. were 2 of the youngest teams in not not only the playoff but in all of college fball.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I didn't say USC was losing everything, I correctly stated that they were "losing a lot". They are losing as many starters as Bama.

Bama is returning 7 starters on O, not 5, and the loss of Dieter will easily be replaced. They are returning 6 starters on D, not 5.

I agree with your implication that Bama and OSU should both be formidable.
 

Latest threads

TideFans.shop : 2024 Madness!

TideFans.shop - Get YOUR Bama Gear HERE!”></a>
<br />

<!--/ END TideFans.shop & item link \-->
<p style= Purchases made through our TideFans.shop and Amazon.com links may result in a commission being paid to TideFans.