In this piece, to wrap up college football season while we wait for the anticipation of mock drafts and all the other offseason coverage, we will do an end of season roundtable with all of our contributors. The questions at hand are to rank the top quarterback draft prospects by how well we think they’ll do in the NFL, describe your ideal playoff system, and look ahead at potential playoff teams. Let’s get into it.
Some of the top NFL QB prospects are Joe Burrow, Tua, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, Jacob Eason, Jake Fromm, Jalen Hurts
Rank these college QBS by how successful their pro careers will be and their best fit in the NFL
Nathaniel:
- Burrow
- Herbert
- Eason
- Tua
- Love
- Hurts
- Fromm
Cal:
- Herbert
- Burrow
- Eason
- Love
- Tua
- Fromm
- Hurts
Andrew:
- Herbert
- Burrow
- Hurts
- Love
- Eason
- Fromm
- Tua
Aidan:
- Herbert
- Burrow
- Tua
- Hurts
- Fromm
- Love
- Eason
General Consensus: Herbert got 3 first-place votes, largely due to his experience (4 years of starting to Burrow’s 2) and consistent improvement throughout his career. Also, as he likely will be the third QB selected, he will be put in a slightly better position than what Burrow will have to deal with on the Bengals. The LSU QB is a special talent, but his career was made by one dominant season, and there are concerns about how sustainable that level of success is.
Describe your ideal College Football Playoff System
Nathaniel:
I would vote for an 8-team Playoff, keeping the bowl structure. This would allow for a non-power 5 team to get in. We do need to keep the bowl structure though, as bowl season is more for the players than fans. Bowl season is a free vacation and gifts some of these players wouldn’t get without it.
How the Playoff would Look:
LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia, Oregon, Baylor, Memphis
Cal:
An increase in the playoff system would decrease the regular season and lead to a loss of a home game for schools. Like many others I would like to see the playoff expand but not sure how the NCAA will get another game in. My theory, do away with conference championship games and use that weekend to make the playoff go to 8 teams. No, I don’t like my plan either, and that’s why, unless another week is added and another extra game is played (like there is in the FCS) the playoff must remain as is.
Andrew:
I agree with Nathaniel about the 8-team player with one condition. Do not allow the Rose Bowl to become one of the quarterfinal or semifinal games. It is a classic game meant to pit the Big 10 against the Pac 12.
How the Playoff Would Look
(Same as Nathaniel’s
Aidan:
I’ll go a little outside the box with an 11-team playoff. Jim Harbaugh has suggested something similar to this although with some variations. In this system, the five conference champions receive a bye to the quarterfinals while teams 6-11 are seeded by the committee (with a Group of 5 guaranteed spot) (or BCS system?) and play a first round game to decide the final three spots. In this system, you would eliminate the conference championship and possibly eliminate one of the cupcake games that every team has on their schedule.
How the Playoff in 2019 would have looked:
LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, Oregon – get byes
6. Georgia vs. 11. Memphis
7. Baylor vs. 10. Penn State
8. Wisconsin vs. 9. Florida
Looking ahead to 2020-2021 – Name your four Playoff Teams and your top darkhorse pick
Nathaniel:
Ohio State
Clemson
Alabama
Auburn
Dark horse pick: With Jake Fromm leaving, Georgia struggles on offense, and Kentucky wins the SEC East.
Cal:
Clemson
Oregon
Ohio State
Alabama
Dark horse: USC stays healthy and becomes a contedner again
Andrew:
Clemson
Auburn
Ohio st
Baylor
Dark-horse prediction: The ACC has four ranked teams, and UNC wins the Coastal Division.
Aidan:
Ohio State
Florida
Notre Dame
Oklahoma
Darkhorse Pick: Clemson loses @ Notre Dame and cannot fight their way back into the playoff conversation due to their weak ACC schedule.
College Kids Talking College Sports 