While many are penciling in the usual suspects, one of college football's most prominent voices is looking at the Clemson Tigers and seeing a national champion in the making.
Former ESPN "College GameDay" analyst David Pollack is planting his flag, boldly predicting Dabo Swinney's squad will be the last team standing this January in Miami Gardens.
"I've been all in on them all offseason... I'm just sticking with it, man," Pollack said this week on his podcast. "Give me the Clemson Tigers to win the national championship this football season."
The Championship Formula
For Pollack, this isn't a hunch; it's a matter of checking the boxes. He sees a roster constructed with the same blueprint Swinney used to win his two previous national titles.
"The way Clemson won national championships? Elite quarterback play. Elite receiver play. Check. Check," Pollack laid out. "Because the receiver room is loaded."
He continued down the list.
"When you look at defensive line, they did it with a bunch of first-rounders... Check. Check. Two first-round defensive linemen," he said. "They had secondaries -- they had good ones... First-round type guys. Check. Good schedule? Check."
Ignoring the Skeptics
Pollack's conviction is so strong that he's brushing off warnings from his skeptical former ESPN colleagues, namely noted sports analyst Chris 'The Bear' Fallica, who recently said he's "pumping the brakes on the Clemson love affair."
"Fallica texted me and said 'Don't believe the Clemson (hype) -- don't do it.' I'm like, shut up," Pollack said with a laugh. "I'm not messing with you, Bear."
With a huge season-opening test against LSU, Pollack believes Clemson has the talent, the coaching, and the championship DNA to prove him right.
"I think Clemson is just going to have a special year," Pollack concluded. "They have some really, really good football players that are going to be a handful for a lot of people."