Kirk Herbstreit Getting Roasted Over College Football Dark Horse Pick

With the new 12-team College Football Playoff kicking off this season there will be a lot of things that will take some getting used to for college football fans.

For starters, teams will have some more leeway throughout the year as you won't automatically be out of contention following one loss as we had seen happen in years past. There is also a premium on winning your conference, unlike the previous format where the four best teams were voted on by a committee and conference champs weren't always valued. There are now automatic spots for the Power 4s conference champs.

A rule change that will allow for non-traditional playoff contenders to sneak their way into the mix. Something that ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit thinks can happen for Rutgers.

“It’s weird, you think about the Big Ten, obviously, what is there now, 18 teams? You go down your list, a lot of it comes down to the schedule,” Herbstreit said while on The Pat McAfee Show . “Someone is going to come out of that conference that you really didn’t expect, whether that’s an Iowa, whether that’s a — who knows with (five-star freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola) at Nebraska. Whoever has the most manageable schedule. Rutgers has a schedule that’s, by Big Ten standards and this Big Ten world that we’re in, they can make a little bit of a run.”

A pick that has many fans feeling a bit confused with one fan thinking it's nearly impossible for them to win due to how deep the conference is saying , "Not a chance with USC, Oregon, Ohio St, and Michigan to compete with," while another added , "We have officially reached peak offseason."

It is worth noting that the Scarlet Knights get to avoid Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, and a playoff run would be quite the leap from last year's 7-6 record.

Related: Greg McElroy Says One SEC Team Will 'Ruin' Seasons In 2024