The Usual Suspects: It's Not Hard to Narrow Down the List of College Football Contenders

By Chris Preston

No, I’m no prognosticator. No, I’m not a Mayan descendant who thinks he’s inherited his ancestors’ gift for knowing all things 2012. No, I don’t have access to Biff Tannen’s sports betting book from Back to the Future 2.

The Pretenders

Clemson, Kansas State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

The Has-Beens

The Enigmas

Auburn, Georgia

The Bowl-Banned

The Up-and-Comers

The Contenders

Alabama, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, USC

I’ve given you the once-in-a-blue-moon, past-their-prime and never-will-be national championship candidates. But here are this year’s true contenders.

Written by
Clay Travis is the founder of the fastest growing national multimedia platform, OutKick, that produces and distributes engaging content across sports and pop culture to millions of fans across the country. OutKick was created by Travis in 2011 and sold to the Fox Corporation in 2021. One of the most electrifying and outspoken personalities in the industry, Travis hosts OutKick The Show where he provides his unfiltered opinion on the most compelling headlines throughout sports, culture, and politics. He also makes regular appearances on FOX News Media as a contributor providing analysis on a variety of subjects ranging from sports news to the cultural landscape. Throughout the college football season, Travis is on Big Noon Kickoff for Fox Sports breaking down the game and the latest storylines. Additionally, Travis serves as a co-host of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, a three-hour conservative radio talk program syndicated across Premiere Networks radio stations nationwide. Previously, he launched OutKick The Coverage on Fox Sports Radio that included interviews and listener interactions and was on Fox Sports Bet for four years. Additionally, Travis started an iHeartRadio Original Podcast called Wins & Losses that featured in-depth conversations with the biggest names in sports. Travis is a graduate of George Washington University as well as Vanderbilt Law School. Based in Nashville, he is the author of Dixieland Delight, On Rocky Top, and Republicans Buy Sneakers Too.