2016 preseason Crystal Ball: Picks for the playoff, Heisman, hot seat, more

Who will win the national championship and the Heisman? Which team will flop? Which player will be a breakout star? SI's college football writers answer these questions and more.

The start of the 2016 college football season is finally upon us (and not just an early tease in Australia). It's been a long seven months of speculating and analyzing without actual games, but that all changes this weekend. Soon, Alabama will get a chance to prove whether it can replace starting quarterbacks again and win another national championship. Stanford's Christian McCaffrey will get his shot to show he deserved last year's Heisman Trophy and claim this year's award. And of course the bumpy road to the College Football Playoff will unfold once again.

With games set to kick off, it's time for SI's college football experts to make their final preseason predictions. Here are their picks for the playoff, the Heisman and other burning questions whose answers will define the season.

writer	Peach Bowl Semifinal	Fiesta Bowl Semifinal	National champ. game	NATIONAL champion
Andy Staples	Florida State vs. Oklahoma	Alabama vs. Clemson	Florida State vs. Alabama	Florida State
Pete Thamel	Clemson vs. TCU	Stanford vs. Ohio State	Clemson vs. Ohio State	Clemson
Lindsay Schnell	Clemson vs. TCU	Michigan vs. Stanford	Clemson vs. Michigan	Clemson
Brian Hamilton	Florida State vs. Alabama	Oklahoma vs. Clemson	Florida State vs. Oklahoma	Florida State
Joan Niesen	Clemson vs. Alabama	LSU vs. TCU	Clemson vs. LSU	Clemson
Colin Becht	Alabama vs. Notre Dame	Ohio State vs. Florida State	Alabama vs. Florida State	Alabama
Gabriel Baumgaertner	Ohio State vs. Oklahoma State	Alabama vs. Florida State	Ohio State vs. Florida State	Ohio State
Chris Johnson	Alabama vs. Michigan State	Florida State vs. LSU	Alabama vs. Florida State	Florida State

• Conference primers: ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC | Group of Five

writer	Orange Bowl	Cotton Bowl	Rose bowl	Sugar Bowl
Andy Staples	Louisville vs. Michigan	Houston vs. Texas A&M	Ohio State vs. Stanford	Oklahoma State vs. Georgia
Pete Thamel	Florida State vs. LSU	Houston vs. Georgia	Michigan vs. Oregon	Oklahoma vs. Alabama
Lindsay Schnell	Florida State vs. Notre Dame	Houston vs. Alabama	Michigan State vs. Washington State	Oklahoma vs. LSU
Brian Hamilton	Louisville vs. Tennessee	Houston vs. Michigan	Ohio State vs. Stanford	Oklahoma State vs. LSU
Joan Niesen	Florida State vs. Ohio State	Houston vs. Michigan State	Michigan vs. Stanford	Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss
Colin Becht	Clemson vs. Tennessee	Boise State vs. TCU	Michigan vs. Stanford	Oklahoma vs. LSU
Gabriel Baumgaertner	Clemson vs. Michigan State	Houston vs. Georgia	Michigan vs. Stanford	TCU vs. LSU
Chris Johnson	Clemson vs. Ohio State	Boise State vs. Oklahoma	Michigan vs. Stanford	TCU vs. Tennessee