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The curtain has dropped on the 2016-17 college football season. Back on Monday night, the Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide in an instant classic affair down in Tampa in which it came down to the final second. Literally.
It seems hard to believe that this journey started five months ago when everything looked much more misty than it became. With that said, let’s take a look back at how the Team Speed Kills staff, at the time, thought the college football season would play itself out.
ACC, Big 12 and B1G predictions
| Staffer | ACC Atlantic Winner | ACC Coastal Winner | ACC Champion | Big 12 Champion | B1G East Winner | B1G West Winner | B1G Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staffer | ACC Atlantic Winner | ACC Coastal Winner | ACC Champion | Big 12 Champion | B1G East Winner | B1G West Winner | B1G Champion |
| Chris Novak | Florida State | North Carolina | Florida State | Oklahoma | Michigan | Iowa | Michigan |
| Brandon Larrabee | Clemson | Miami (FL) | Clemson | Oklahoma | Michigan | Iowa | Michigan |
| David Wunderlich | Clemson | Miami (FL) | Clemson | Oklahoma | Ohio State | Iowa | Ohio State |
| Chris Dougherty | Florida State | Duke's Rival | Florida State | Oklahoma | Ohio State | Iowa | Ohio State |
| Cam Newton | Clemson | UNC | Clemson | Oklahoma | Ohio State | Iowa | Ohio State |
| Joe Billi | Florida State | North Carolina | Florida State | Oklahoma | Ohio State | Iowa | Iowa |
| Anthony Santaniello | Florida State | UNC | Florida State | Oklahoma | Michigan | Iowa | Michigan |
| Joe Clarkin | Clemson | UNC | Clemson | Oklahoma | Michigan | Iowa | Michigan |
| Julian Council | Clemson | Carolina | Clemson | TCU | Michigan | Iowa | Michigan |
| Drew Fowler | Clemson | UNC | Clemson | OU | Ohio State | Iowa | Ohio State |
| Alex Gray | Clemson | Pitt | Clemson | Oklahoma | Michigan | Northwestern | Michigan |
| Bryan Manning | FSU | UNC | FSU | Oklahoma | Michigan | Iowa | Michigan |
| Niesha D. | Clemson | Miami (FL) | Clemson | OU | Ohio State | Iowa | Ohio State |
| Jordan Rinard | FSU | UNC | FSU | OU | OSU | Iowa | OSU |
| Jonathan Waldrop | FSU | Pitt | FSU | Oklahoma | Michigan | Iowa | Michigan |
| Tom Stephenson | Clemson | Pitt | Clemson | Oklahoma | Michigan State | Nebraska | Michigan State |
ACC Atlantic: 9/16 = 56.25%
ACC Coastal: 0/16 = 0%
ACC Champion: 9/16 = 56.25%
Big 12 Champion: 15/16 = 75%
B1G East: 0/16 = 0%
B1G West: 0/16 = 0%
The most predictable conference through the first half of this look back was the Big 12 and it wasn’t even close. 15 of the 16 predictors picked Oklahoma to win the conference, and they proceeded to do so after going 10-2 during the regular season with a 9-0 record.
The ACC didn’t fare as successfully as the Big 12 as nine of the 16 predictors picked Clemson to not only win the ACC Atlantic but the conference as well. No TSK staffer picked Virginia Tech to win the Coastal Division and those who missed in the ACC went with Florida State, which wasn’t a horrendous miss by any means. FSU was a title contender after all going into the year.
The Big Ten... yeah. Things did not go as planned in the Big Ten at all. Nobody picked Wisconsin to win the Big Ten West, which at the beginning of the year wasn’t the craziest stretch since they had a rigorous schedule. Meanwhile, nobody picked Penn State either.
Don’t rely on TSK for Big Ten coverage is what we’re saying folks.
Pac-12, SEC predictions
| Staffer | Pac-12 North Winner | Pac-12 South Winner | Pac-12 Champion | SEC East Winner | SEC West Winner | SEC Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staffer | Pac-12 North Winner | Pac-12 South Winner | Pac-12 Champion | SEC East Winner | SEC West Winner | SEC Champion |
| Chris Novak | Stanford | UCLA | Stanford | Georgia | Alabama | Alabama |
| Brandon Larrabee | Washington St | USC | USC | Tennessee | LSU | Tennessee |
| David Wunderlich | Stanford | USC | Stanford | Florida | LSU | LSU |
| Chris Dougherty | Washington | USC | USC | Florida | Alabama | Alabama |
| Cam Newton | Stanford | USC | Stanford | Tennessee | LSU | LSU |
| Joe Billi | Stanford | UCLA | Stanford | Florida | LSU | LSU |
| Anthony Santaniello | Stanford | UCLA | UCLA | Tennessee | LSU | LSU |
| Joe Clarkin | Oregon | UCLA | UCLA | Tennessee | Alabama | Alabama |
| Julian Council | Stanford | UCLA | Stanford | Tennesseee | Alabama | Alabama |
| Drew Fowler | Stanford | USC | USC | Florida | Alabama | Alabama |
| Alex Gray | Stanford | USC | Stanford | Florida | LSU | LSU |
| Bryan Manning | Washington | UCLa | UCLA | Tennessee | Alabama | Alabama |
| Niesha D. | Stanford | USC | Stanford | Tennessee | Alabama | Alabama |
| Jordan Rinard | Washington | USC | USC | Tennessee | Alabama | Alabama |
| Jonathan Waldrop | Stanford | USC | Stanford | Georgia | Alabama | Alabama |
| Tom Stephenson | Oregon | UCLA | UCLA | Georgia | LSU | LSU |
Pac-12 North: 3/16 = 18.75%
Pac-12 South: 0/16 = 0%
Pac-12 Champion: 0/16 = 0%
SEC East: 5/16 = 31.25%
SEC West: 9/16 = 56.25%
SEC Champion: 9/16 = 56.25%
So... yeah. Don’t come to us for Pac-12 coverage either.
The SEC was a pretty mixed bag for us as well. Picking an SEC East Champion didn’t go so well, as just five staffers tabbed Florida to win the division. Picking Alabama went a little easier as 9/16 staffers picked the Tide to roll to Atlanta. LSU was the trendy pick to uproot the Tide to start things off, so it’s not as if someone picked anyone outside of those two teams. The East too was a bit of a mixed bag despite all of that Tennessee hype.
CFB Playoff, Champion and Heisman predictions
| Staffer | College Football Playoff Participants | National Champion | Heisman Trophy Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staffer | College Football Playoff Participants | National Champion | Heisman Trophy Winner |
| Chris Novak | FSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, Michigan | Florida State | Christian McCaffrey |
| Brandon Larrabee | Clemson, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan | Tennessee | Dalvin Cook |
| David Wunderlich | LSU, Clemson, Oklahoma, Alabama | LSU | Leonard Fournette |
| Chris Dougherty | Ohio State, Alabama, Florida State, Notre Dame | Alabama | Dalvin Cook |
| Cam Newton | LSU, Oklahoma, Clemson, Ohio State | LSU | Christian McCaffrey |
| Joe Billi | FSU, LSU, Stanford, OU | Florida State | Dalvin Cook |
| Anthony Santaniello | LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, FSU | LSU | Leonard Fournette |
| Joe Clarkin | Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, UCLA | Clemson | Deshaun Watson |
| Julian Council | Florida State, TCU, Clemson, Michigan | Clemson | Deshaun Watson |
| Drew Fowler | Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Clemson | Clemson | Christian McCaffrey |
| Alex Gray | Oklahoma, Michigan, Clemson, FSU | Clemson | Deshaun Watson |
| Niesha D. | Alabama, Ohio State, OU, Clemson | Alabama | Leonard Fournette |
| Jordan Rinard | Alabama, OSU, FSU, OU | Alabama | Dalvin Cook |
| Jonathan Waldrop | Alabama, Michigan, FSU, Stanford | Alabama | Deshaun Watson |
| Tom Stephenson | Clemson, Oklahoma, LSU, UCLA | Clemson | Deshaun Watson |
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that nobody was able to land all four playoff teams. In fact, not a single person picked Washington to go to the CFB Playoff at all. The closest that anybody got was Drew Fowler and Niesha Middlebrooks, who picked Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson to get to the playoff. Hats off to them!
Five staffers picked Clemson to win it all, so congrats to Joe Clarkin, Julian Council, Drew Fowler, Alex Gray and Tom Stephenson on their foresight.
And it comes as no surprise that no one was able to land Lamar Jackson as the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner. None of the guesses were too off the wall at least.