Sporting News Makes Surprising National Title Game Prediction Featuring Texas and Clemson
By Michael Luciano
With two schools towering above the rest within college football, the most popular prediction for the National Championship is the fourth Alabama-Clemson matchup in five years.
However, Sporting News is going against the grain, boldly selecting Sam Ehlinger, Tom Herman and Texas as Dabo Swinney's opponent in the 2019 title game.
The Sporting News' prediction for the national title game: #Texas vs #Clemson... Longhorns are a trendy pick after the way UT finished off 2018 by beating Georgia and returning a lot of firepower w/ star QB Sam Ehlinger, WR Collin Johnson and budding star RB Keaontay Ingram.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) May 22, 2019
Texas could end up with the Big 12 title after Oklahoma was gutted by the NFL draft and replaced Kyler Murray with Jalen Hurts. With Ehlinger at the reigns, Herman on the sidelines, and plenty of firepower in the 6-6 Collin Johnson at wide receiver and the next great Texas running back in Keontay Ingram in the backfield, it's easy to fawn over the Longhorns this year.
The big question, as is so often the case with Big 12 teams, is their defense. Not only was it not great to begin with, but the loss of Charles Omenihu, Kris Boyd and Gary Johnson to the NFL could be catastrophic for the Longhorns' defensive unit as a whole.
Lol do they not realize how much Texas loses on defense? Feels like they are just trying to be different then right.
— Chris pugh (@GoDawgs1712) May 22, 2019
Expect a lot of trademark Big 12 shootouts this year for Texas. While that defense is shambolic, their offense could lead them to a conference title and a playoff birth.