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Kirk Herbstreit picks his favorites for the 2018 season, from superstars to coaches, hotels and restaurants, plus predictions for conference champions and the College Football Playoff.

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Bryce Love, Stanford

Clemson defensive line

A.J. Brown, Ole Miss

Nick Bosa, Ohio State

Jeffery Simmons, Mississippi State

Most exciting player

Trace McSorley, Penn State

Travis Etienne, Clemson

Marquise Brown, Oklahoma

Devin Singletary, Florida Atlantic

Deebo Samuel, South Carolina

Best tandems

Will Grier/David Sills, West Virginia

Montez Sweat/Jeffery Simmons, Mississippi State

Rashan Gary/Chase Winovich, Michigan

Tyree Jackson/Anthony Johnson, Buffalo

Michael Pinckney/Shaquille Quarterman, Miami

Throwback players

Damien Harris, Alabama

Joe Bachie, Michigan State

Devin White, LSU

Ben Burr-Kirven, Washington

Ben Banogu, TCU

Breakout star

Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

D'Andre Swift, Georgia

Tarik Black, Michigan

Dez Fitzpatrick, Louisville

D'Andre Walker, Georgia

Washington's Myles Gaskin rushed for 4,055 yards in his first three seasons and is the active FBS rushing leader. Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports

Rodney Dangerfield ('no respect')

Brian Lewerke, Michigan State

Myles Gaskin, Washington

Aeris Williams, Mississippi State

AJ Dillon, Boston College

Ryan Finley, NC State

Best-kept secret

David Montgomery, Iowa State

Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri

Andrew Wingard, Wyoming

Manny Wilkins, Arizona State

Justice Hansen, Arkansas State

All-intangible

Ed Oliver, Houston

Anfernee Jennings, Alabama

Christian Wilkins, Clemson

Joe Bachie, Michigan State

Sam Ehlinger, Texas

Most unselfish players

Tommy Stevens, Penn State

Chandler Cox, Auburn

Zach Abey, Navy

Josh Jacobs, Alabama

Dare Odeyingbo, Vanderbilt

Ultimate Herbie

Bryce Love, Stanford

Khari Willis, Michigan State

Trace McSorley, Penn State

Damien Harris, Alabama

Jarrett Stidham, Auburn

Biggest shoes to fill

Miles Sanders, Penn State

Kyler Murray, Oklahoma

JT Daniels, USC

Jawon Pass, Louisville

Monty Rice, Georgia

Welcome back

Demetris Robertson, Georgia

Tarik Black, Michigan

John Reid, Penn State

Trey Adams, Washington

Deebo Samuel, South Carolina

Games I'm most looking forward to

Ohio State at Penn State

Auburn vs. Washington

Florida at Mississippi State

UCLA at Oregon

Michigan at Michigan State

Best celebrity CFB fan

Matthew McConaughey, Texas

Will Ferrell, USC

Kenny Chesney, Tennessee

Snoop Dogg, USC

Alex Rodriguez, Miami

In White Out games, Beaver Stadium is packed with 106,000 fans wearing all white. Matthew O'Haren/USA TODAY Sports

Best atmosphere

Penn State White Out

Death Valley, Clemson

Husky Stadium, Washington

Death Valley at night, LSU

Kinnick Stadium, Iowa

Best pass-rushers

Nick Bosa, Ohio State

Clelin Ferrell, Clemson

Montez Sweat, Mississippi State

Austin Bryant, Clemson

Chase Winovich, Michigan

Impact head-coaching hires

Scott Frost, Nebraska

Chip Kelly, UCLA

Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

Dan Mullen, Florida

Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State/Willie Taggart, Florida State

Impact coordinator hires

Todd Grantham, Florida

Mike Elko, Texas A&M

Walt Bell, Florida State

Alex Grinch, Ohio State

Ricky Rahne, Penn State

Ballers

A.J. Brown, Ole Miss

Hunter Renfrow, Clemson

Rodney Anderson, Oklahoma

Greedy Williams, LSU

Joe Giles-Harris, Duke

Enforcers

Anfernee Jennings, Alabama

Taylor Rapp, Washington

Devin Bush, Michigan

Devin White, LSU

Joe Bachie, Michigan State

Question marks that aren't actually questions

Alabama QB

Penn St RB

Georgia RB

Oklahoma QB

Michigan QB

Best student sections

Penn State

Wisconsin

South Carolina

LSU

Utah

Best hotels

HotelRED, Madison, Wisconsin

The Graduate, Ann Arbor, Michigan

The Abernathy, Clemson, South Carolina

Hotel at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

The Atherton, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Most explosive player

Bryce Love, Stanford

Deebo Samuel, South Carolina

Travis Etienne, Clemson

KaVontae Turpin, TCU

McKenzie Milton, UCF

Best-looking field

Rose Bowl (in a league of its own)

Beaver Stadium, Penn State

Tiger Stadium, LSU

Sanford Stadium, Georgia

Sun Devil Stadium, Arizona State

Best bands

Ohio State

Florida A&M

Michigan

Wisconsin

Ohio University

Best freshmen

Amon-Ra St. Brown, USC

Gregory Rousseau, Miami

Justin Shorter, Penn State

Patrick Surtain II, Alabama

JT Daniels, USC

Dan Mullen and Florida could be the formula for success in Gainesville. John Raoux/AP Photo

Surprise teams

Florida

Kansas State

Utah

Missouri

Nebraska

Teams taking a slight step back

Washington State

LSU

UCF

UAB

Central Michigan

Favorite restaurants

Giuseppe's, Columbus, Ohio

The Smokin' Pig, Pendleton, South Carolina

Jeff Ruby's, Louisville, Kentucky

Sotto Sotto, Atlanta, Georgia

Chuck's Fish, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

College Football Playoff

Alabama

Clemson

Penn State

Washington

National champion

Alabama over Clemson

Conference champions

ACC

Clemson over Miami

Sleeper: Duke

Big 12

Oklahoma over TCU

Sleeper: Kansas State

Big Ten

Penn State over Wisconsin

Sleeper: Minnesota

Pac-12

Washington over Utah

Sleeper: Arizona

SEC

Alabama over Georgia

Sleeper: Missouri

AAC

Memphis over UCF

Sleeper: Temple

C-USA

Florida Atlantic over Louisiana Tech

Sleeper: Old Dominion

MAC

Ohio over Northern Illinois

Sleeper: Buffalo

MWC

Boise State over San Diego State

Sleeper: Wyoming

Sun Belt

Arkansas State over Appalachian State

Sleeper: Georgia Southern