The summer months are the time of the year when the experts weigh in with their picks for which teams have what it takes to contend on the national level. It’s still far to completely dismiss their projections but we took the time to break down how realistic they truly are and as a result we found a number of picks that simply won’t come to fruition. Here is a look at the five projected contenders that actually have no shot at reaching the College Football Playoff. Ohio State Buckeyes The Buckeyes are absolutely loaded with talent on both sides of the football but an extremely difficult schedule will likely lead to the team falling short of reaching its playoff expectations. It won’t take long for Ohio State to get its first real challenge with a trip to Norman to face the defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners on September 27th and they will travel to face Wisconsin, Penn State, Maryland and Michigan State before finishing the season at home against Michigan. Consistency was a major problem for the Buckeyes a year ago and a tougher schedule this season will help ensure they miss out on the College Football Playoff for the second consecutive season. Michigan State Spartans The defending Big Ten champions will return just 10 starters from last year’s team and their losses will be magnified even more by the fact that Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa all improved on paper. A passing attack that was very shaky a year ago will likely struggled with consistency again this year now that Connor Cook has moved on to the NFL and that will expose a sub-par rushing attack. The Spartans defense should be stingy once again but it won’t be enough to carry them. Michigan State escaped with narrow victories over the Wolverines and Buckeyes a year ago but they could just as easily come out on the wrong side of those matchups this year as they take a step back in the Big Ten. Ole Miss Rebels Ole Miss reloaded in the offseason with another talented recruiting class but that won’t provide enough immediate help for them to survive in the loaded SEC West and get to the College Football Playoff…
Continue Reading: 5 Contenders That Will Be In Tough To Reach The College Football Playoff
