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Everyone’s cooking up their final College Football Playoff predictions before the season kicks off, but let’s try an outside-the-box idea to formulate a bracket.
Why not put two heads together to create the ultimate playoff projection?
On this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a podcast from the USA TODAY Network, hosts Blake Toppmeyer and John Adams team up to create a single bracket.
Each host gets to select six teams to create the 12-team field, while adhering to the playoff parameters that five conferences must be represented. Neither host gets to veto the other’s choices.
The selections begin in a chalky manner, before Toppmeyer surprises Adams with one of his ACC selections. Then, Adams leaves Toppmeyer speechless with his sleeper pick from the Big Ten.
A two-man effort to predict College Football Playoff
Adams’ first pick: Texas. (Toppmeyer’s reaction to the pick: I like the pick.)
Toppmeyer’s first pick: Penn State. (Adams’ reaction to the pick: Slam dunk. I like it.)
Adams’ next pick: Ohio State. (Toppmeyer’s reaction to the pick: Good pick. Smooth sailing so far.)
Toppmeyer’s next pick: Clemson. (Adams’ reaction to the pick: Smart choice. Runaway favorite in the ACC.)
Adams’ next pick: LSU. (Toppmeyer’s reaction to the pick: I feel good about it. Schedule is tough, but roster is solid.)
Toppmeyer’s next pick: Georgia. (Adams’ reaction to the pick: Trusting Kirby Smart is sound logic.)
Adams’ next pick: Oregon. (Toppmeyer’s reaction to the pick: I’m nervous about this one, but Oregon’s schedule is kind.)
Toppmeyer’s next pick: Miami. (Adams’ reaction to the pick: Well, there goes our perfect performance. Miami will blow it.)
Adams’ next pick: Southern California. (Toppmeyer’s reaction to the pick: Lordy, what have you gone and done? Not only do I not trust this pick, but by picking Miami and USC, we’ve effectively boxed out Notre Dame.)
Toppmeyer’s next pick: Boise State. (Adams’ reaction to the pick: Fair enough. It’s as safe of Group of Five choice as any.)
Adams’ next pick: Arizona State. (Toppmeyer’s reaction to the pick: Wouldn’t be my Big 12 choice, but I don’t hate it. Arizona State will be in the hunt.)
Toppmeyer’s next pick: Alabama. (Adams’ reaction to the pick: This works. It felt like we needed a fourth SEC team for the final spot, and you’ve found one.)
The 12-team CFP bracket, via tag-team effort: Texas, Penn State, Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Georgia, Oregon, Miami, Southern California, Boise State, Arizona State, Alabama.
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Week 1 picks against the spread!
Toppmeyer’s five-pack of picks (picks in bold):
∎ Auburn (-2.5) at Baylor
∎ Texas at Ohio State (-2.5)
∎ Mississippi State (-11.5) at Southern Miss
∎ Charleston Southern at Vanderbilt (-36.5)
∎ Hawaii at Arizona (-17.5)
Adams’ five-pack of picks (picks in bold):
∎ Texas at Ohio State (-2.5)
∎ LSU at Clemson (-4)
∎ UTSA at Texas A&M (-22.5)
∎ Tennessee (-13.5) vs. Syracuse
∎ Nebraska (-7) vs. Cincinnati
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Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. John Adams is the senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. Subscribe to the SEC Football Unfiltered podcast, and check out the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
