The Michigan Wolverines are a trendy pick to reach the 2016 College Football Playoff and, well, the Alabama Crimson Tide are seemingly always a threat to make noise when it comes to the national championship pursuit. With that, Mark Schlabach of ESPN weighed in with ten predictions before the 2016 campaign, and one statement from the leading college football expert centered around Jim Harbaugh and Nick Saban meeting in Tampa on Jan. 9, 2017.
I'm picking Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and Oklahoma to make the playoffs. Alabama will play Michigan in the national championship game, which will be preceded by an eight-day Twitter war between Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh and Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin.
Unfortunately for Michigan fans, Schlabach isn't exactly bullish on the Wolverines when it comes to toppling the Crimson Tide in that contest, but getting there would be a wild success for Harbaugh's club. Alabama is, of course, the reigning national champion and, at this point, many believe that Harbaugh and Saban are two of the top three coaches in the sport, with Ohio State's Urban Meyer solidly within that group.
In order to get to the title game, Schlabach predicts a Michigan win over Ohio State (something that has not transpired for some time) and a Big Ten title, which would certainly please "Michigan Men" everywhere. As for the Alabama faithful, reaching (and winning) the title game would simply be meeting expectations, but there is nothing wrong with that in this case.
