B/R Experts' Bold Predictions for the 2023 College Football Season

Are you ready for some football?

All the storylines have been hashed and rehashed, and the time for talking is (almost) over. With Week Zero games behind us, the full slate begins this week.

We all know we're in store for shocking shenanigans. When has college football failed to entertain us? Or provide us massive upsets? Or launch quests for glass slippers at Cinderella's favorite gridiron shop near you?

With college football season comes bold predictions, and while everybody gets their dander up for preseason hot takes, it's all part of the fun. Bleacher Report's college football experts—Morgan Moriarty, Adam Kramer, David Kenyon, Brad Shepard and Joel Reuter—had to get on it, didn't we?

There's quite a lot of love for the Pac-12's swan song, and the SEC takes a back seat in this boldness. But that's part of the allure, right? After all, it's no fun picking Georgia to three-peat or Caleb Williams to roll to his second consecutive Heisman Trophy, is it? Where's the creativity?

Each of us grabbed our biggest hot-take ladle to stir the pot before the season with a bold prediction. Here they are.

I think USC misses out on the College Football Playoff for a second consecutive season.

The Trojans are incredibly talented, and the hype surrounding Lincoln Riley's Year 2 is warranted. But given how top-heavy the Pac-12 is this year with some very good teams such as Oregon, Washington, Utah and Oregon State, I don't think USC makes it out of this conference unscathed.

The Trojans will trip up at some point during their regular-season schedule. Whether it's losing to Utah or Washington at home, or on the road against Oregon on Nov. 11, I don't think they will make it through all of these games undefeated.

Not to mention USC's defense was atrocious last season. The team finished 106th in total defense last season and lost to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl on a 12-play, 66-yard Green Wave scoring drive that ate the final three minutes off the clock.

Washington and Oregon will both put up some major points this year, and that's bad news if the USC defense looks as it did last year.

And even if the Trojans do make it to the conference title game, don't count out a team like Utah—winners for two years in a row—or others such as Oregon, Washington or even Oregon State to win in Santa Clara.

Clemson is hardly an overlooked team given its No. 9 preseason ranking, but the Florida State hype has overshadowed the current ACC powerhouse.

I'm not buying a changing of the guard, though.

On defense, the Tigers are loaded with experience. The lineup includes two sixth-year seniors, four fifth-year players and four juniors who are returning starters—including star linebackers Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter. Scoring on this unit could be a nightmarish task.

Meanwhile, new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley is an ideal match for quarterback Cade Klubnik. Clemson leaned too heavily on QB runs last season, but Riley picked his spots tremendously with TCU's Max Duggan. The result, in my mind, should be that Clemson maximizes Cade Klubnik's mobility without unnecessarily taxing him.

Throw in a favorable schedule—one with home games against Florida State, Notre Dame and North Carolina—and the Tigers win an ACC title at 13-0 and head to the College Football Playoff.

Predicting success for a team coming off a 10-3 finish with a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback might not seem like a bold prediction, but with all the hype surrounding the USC Trojans this year, Oregon is in a position to surprise.

The Ducks check in No. 15 in the preseason AP poll, behind USC (6), Washington (10) and Utah (14) among Pac-12 teams, but they have the potential to make a legitimate run at a spot in the College Football Playoff.

It starts with quarterback Bo Nix, who returns after throwing for 3,593 yards. He completed a career-high 71.9 percent of his throws with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and he added 510 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground, despite being slowed late in the season by an ankle injury.

The Ducks also return their top two rushing threats in Bucky Irving (1,058 yards, 5 TD) and Noah Whittington (779 yards, 5 TD), as well as wide receiver Troy Franklin (61 catches, 891 yards, 9 TD). Transfers Tez Johnson (Troy) and Traeshon Holden (Alabama) should make an immediate impact.

The big question is an offensive line that lost four starters, but Oregon targeted that need aggressively in the transfer portal, landing Texas guard Junior Angilau (34 starts in three seasons) and Rhode Island tackle Ajani Cornelius, who was one of the top linemen in the portal.

The defense is poised to improve in its second year under head coach Dan Lanning, who spent three years as Georgia's defensive coordinator before making the jump, and features a solid mix of returning talent and high-ceiling transfers.

With a nicely spaced schedule that includes one-week gaps between each of their four games against currently ranked conference foes and home-field advantage in their matchup against USC on Nov. 11, the Ducks could play their way into the CFP with a conference title.

It's easy to overlook Michael Penix Jr. with him tucked away in the Pacific Northwest for a team you may not immediately think of as a powerhouse and with Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams in the same league. Geographically, even Oregon's Bo Nix gets more hype.

But don't sleep on Penix, who will be the trigger-finger for the arsenal of Washington offensive weapons returning for Year 2 of the Kalen DeBoer era.

Dynamic receivers highlight the Penix-led Huskies, but with a strong running game and a lot of defensive pieces, they could make national noise. If they do, the quarterback is going to get a ton of national love and Heisman hype.

With Rome Odunze (75 catches for 1,145 yards, seven touchdowns) and Jalen McMillan (79 catches for 1,098 yards, nine touchdowns) back, that rivals Ohio State for the best 1-2 receiving punch in the nation.

Sprinkle in Ja'Lynn Polk (41 catches for 694 yards, six scores), Michigan State transfer Germie Bernard and Denzel Boston, that's more elite depth than anybody else in the country. So, it's not out of the realm of possibility Penix improves his incredible numbers from a season ago.

During that incredible 11-2 run, Penix reunited with DeBoer for the first time since the latter's days as Indiana offensive coordinator, and the results were magic as Penix threw for 4,641 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions and ran for four more scores.

Everybody may be hyping up North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye as Williams' biggest competition, but Penix has more experience and better players around him. He will surge past Williams when his Huskies take down the Trojans on November 4 in L.A.

I love this offense, and I think we'll see a much better version of J.J. McCarthy this year. Obviously any improvement there would make the running backs' lives easier moving forward.

Aside from that, the offensive line is great, and the defense is loaded with young players soon to become popular names among NFL scouts.

Michigan makes it to the College Football Playoff, and the Wolverines will finally win a game. Well, two.

And then coach Jim Harbaugh, who has flirted with the NFL over the past few years, will say farewell.

Whether it's the NCAA issues or the urge to win a Super Bowl, the timing to head back to the professional level will align. This will be his final collegiate season, at least for now.

But what a season it will be.