Vendetta Roundtable: Who Becomes 2023 College Football National Champions?
With College Football officially back this weekend, we can prematurely take a peek into the future and take some guesses as to who will be in the College Football Playoff. Fans will always root for their teams, and media talking heads will normally go with the same four to six teams, but Vendetta will bring you our answers. For this roundtable, I will be joined by James Herrick and the Don of Vendetta, Trey Daubert. Here is our discussion of who will be the 2023 College Football National Champions!
James: In our Heisman Trophy Roundtable, I took the cop-out answer of Caleb Williams. In our National Championship prediction, I take the opposite approach. I am going with Florida State. It feels like this could be the season where a team outside of the usual suspects wins a National Championship and Florida State feels like the team that could break through. I like a lot of the pieces on this Florida State team. On the surface, they are returning a lot of production. The group of returning talent is headlined by quarterback Jordan Travis. I love that the ‘Noles are entering the season with an established quarterback that they can trust. On top of that, the offense has a litany of weapons that can help Travis put big numbers on the scoreboard. On the defensive side, EDGE Jared Verse is a true game-changer and will be one of the best defense players in the country. The pieces around him are solid as well.
I have eaten the cheese on Florida State heading into the 2023 College Football Season. The only question is if I ate too much. Hopefully, I won’t have a stomach ache when January rolls around. Regardless, I resisted the urge to pick my hometown Michigan Wolverines so I deserve some credit for not going full homer with my selection for who will be the 2024 National Champions.
Trey: Y’all going to regret the disrespect you have shown towards Alabama. I’m not just talking about that dope, Colin Cowherd either. The uneducated like him have continued to spread lies this offseason. Alabama has the number one incoming recruiting class in the nation. A couple of them like Kadyn Proctor and Caleb Downs are going to be instant impact guys.
Losing Bryce Young might be a blessing in disguise. It’s going to be Alabama like back in the Jake Coker days. I just hope you’re ready for it. The only difference is Jalen Milroe will be a factor in the run game. The secondary is going to be really good there under Nick Saban. They have 800 five-star pass rushers. The offensive line is going to bully people and they have a hoard of running backs. I like betting on pissed-off Nick Saban and I think that’s what you’re getting this year.
Garrett: I admire James for not picking his school. It takes a certain level of self-awareness to know that your school, while very good, might not have all the pieces to make a run at becoming 2024 National Champions.
I lack that awareness. I am taking Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans all day long. The story writes itself. Williams, Lincoln Riley, and all of USC are going to want to leave the Pac-12 on a high note and leave as defending national champions. I believe USC was a stop on a two-point conversion against Utah away from hitting their peak and vying for a title last year. This year there will be no hiccups. Fight on.
