Clemson and Alabama. The Tigers and the Crimson Tide.

How else could the national championship possibly be decided?

The southern juggernauts have played tug-of-war with the national title over the past four years, making 128 other FBS teams look powerless to prevent the two best head coaches in the country — equipped with the sport’s two best quarterbacks — from facing off in New Orleans for another ring.

But two seasons ago, Georgia held a double-digit lead over Alabama in the fourth quarter of the national championship. Last season, Clemson lost Trevor Lawrence to injury and needed anonymous backup Chase Brice to complete a double-digit fourth-quarter comeback against Syracuse.

Yes, it would be surprising if Clemson and Alabama didn’t battle for supremacy again. But in a sport in which one loss can derail a season, the ending won’t always be as obvious as it seems.

1. Clemson

It’s Trevor Lawrence’s world, and we’re all just living in it. As a true freshman, he won a national championship, and he has a plethora of weapons back for his sophomore season, including All-American running back Travis Etienne, 1,000-yard receiver Justyn Ross and touchdown-reception leader Tee Higgins. Though the defense lost seven starters, the unit should remain formidable, led by future NFL cornerback A.J. Terrell and promising defensive end Xavier Thomas.

2. Alabama

The only team to reach the playoff in every year of the current format returns with more motivation than ever. Nick Saban, coming off a loss to Clemson that doubled as his biggest margin of defeat (28) in 12 years at Alabama, hasn’t gone two straight years without a title since 2014. He responded to the championship loss to Clemson in the 2016 season by winning it all the following year. Heisman runner-up Tua Tagovailoa and Jerry Jeudy, the nation’s best wide receiver, will lead another record-setting offense, and Dylan Moses stands out as the country’s best linebacker.

3. Georgia

Few teams enter the season with realistic hope of breaking up the Alabama-Clemson national championship game monopoly, but Georgia has the best shot. There are legitimate questions at wide receiver and cornerback, but Kirby Smart’s three straight top-three recruiting classes should shore up those spots in time. The Bulldogs are teeming with NFL prospects on both sides of the ball — including running back D’Andre Swift, left tackle Andrew Thomas and safety J.R. Reed — and have quarterback Jake Fromm, who has proven capable of playing at the sport’s highest level.

4. Ohio State

Even without Urban Meyer, the Buckeyes are the best bet to end the conference’s two-year playoff drought. First-time head coach Ryan Day, 39, will rely on dual-threat quarterback Justin Fields, a transfer from Georgia, to continue the school’s recent string of standout play under center. Running back J.K. Dobbins seeks to recover from his step back as a sophomore. Pass-rusher Chase Young could be the nation’s breakout star on defense.

5. LSU

With stability at quarterback, head coach Ed Orgeron brought in Joe Brady from the Saints to serve as passing game coordinator and transform the program’s traditionally pedestrian aerial attack. Believing Joe Burrow can thrive with a more diversified attack, the offense will include run-pass option principles. The talent around Burrow is in place — from All-American safety Grant Delpit to returning leading receiver Justin Jefferson to blue-chip freshman running back John Emery Jr. — for LSU to challenge Alabama in the SEC West.

6. Oklahoma

Lincoln Riley has been head coach for two seasons. The former offensive coordinator has won two Big 12 championships with two different Heisman-winning quarterbacks. With Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts, the streak could continue. Possessing the sport’s best offensive mind and a dynamic, experienced quarterback, the Sooners could have the nation’s best attack again. Whether the defense — which has surrendered a combined 99 points in playoff losses the past two years — can make a stop is still a mystery.

7. Texas

Texas won double-digit games and finished in the top 10 in 2018 for the first time in nine years. Now the challenge for coach Tom Herman is to take the next step and win the Big 12. Much of the onus will fall on electric junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger, whose 41 touchdowns last season rank second in school history behind Colt McCoy’s 45 in 2008.

8. Oregon

Coach Mario Cristobal has been smiling since December, when star quarterback Justin Herbert decided he didn’t need to be a millionaire just yet. Herbert, currently projected to be taken behind Tagovailoa with the second pick in the upcoming NFL draft, led the Ducks to a 9-4 record in Cristobal’s first year, and the 6-foot-6 quarterback enters his senior year with a chance to win the Heisman Trophy and the Pac-12. If the defense is to carry its weight, freshman DE Kayvon Thibodeaux — ranked by ESPN as the No. 1 high school recruit — will likely be responsible.

9. Florida

After misfiring with Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain, the Gators seem to have found their man in Dan Mullen, who became the third coach to lead a Power Five program to 10 wins after it won fewer than five the previous season — following Stanford’s Clark Shaughnessy (1940) and Auburn’s Gus Malzahn (2013). Under Mullen’s watch, previously disappointing quarterback Feleipe Franks showed massive improvement and the Gators’ offense took a major leap, averaging 35 points per game, up from 22.1 in 2017. Even more is expected this year.

10. Michigan

Most teams would kill for three top-15 finishes in the past four years. Most teams don’t have the expectations the Wolverines have. Meyer’s absence provides hope for Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan team to win the Big Ten for the first time since 2004. The offense should be set with quarterback Shea Patterson throwing to Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins, but acclaimed defensive coordinator Don Brown will need to do some of his best work yet.

11. Penn State

The good news: The early schedule is as soft as the Big Ten West. The bad news: It had to be, with so much inexperience, particularly on offense. James Franklin will need his capable defense — led by difference-making linemen Yetur Gross-Matos and Robert Windsor, along with budding star linebacker Micah Parsons — to lead the way early.

12. Notre Dame

Brian Kelly is responsible for the Fighting Irish’s two best seasons since 1993. But the defining memories from 2012-18 have been the season-ending blowout losses that followed undefeated regular seasons. Ian Book should lead the Irish to another strong campaign, but a tougher schedule (road games at Georgia, Michigan and Stanford) makes a playoff return unlikely.

13. Texas A&M

The Aggies outperformed modest expectations in Jimbo Fisher’s first season in College Station, finishing second in the SEC West while toppling LSU for the first time in eight tries. Repeating that success will be difficult — especially against a schedule that features trips to Clemson, LSU and Georgia. Dynamic junior quarterback Kellen Mond gets three of his top four wide receivers back and the offensive line includes three returning starters, giving Texas A&M a potentially explosive attack.

14. Washington

Chris Petersen quietly keeps building one of the best programs in the country. After going 15-12 in his first two seasons at a program that hadn’t won double-digit games since 2000, the former Boise State coach became the first coach in Washington history to put up double-digit wins in three straight years. The defending Pac-12 champions get a boost from the arrival of former Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason, who gets to play behind four returning offensive linemen.

15. Wisconsin

There was playoff hype surrounding the Badgers at this time last year. But they never came close to that potential, failing to win double-digit games for the first time in the Paul Chryst era. Expectations are significantly lower this year, despite the return of running back Jonathan Taylor, a Heisman Trophy candidate who will operate behind a rebuilt offensive line that lost four starters.

16. UCF

Few feats could ever top Scott Frost needing just two years to turn a winless team (0-12 in 2015) into an undefeated juggernaut (13-0 in 2017), but Josh Heupel came close, leading the Knights to another undefeated regular season in 2018. Even with star quarterback McKenzie Milton still out from last year’s devastating knee injury, the Knights remain the class of the Group of Five.

17. Auburn

There are reasons for optimism — five returning starters on the offensive line, young talent at wide receiver, a ferocious front four on defense — but also a big question mark at quarterback that can lead to everyone’s favorite game at Auburn: questioning Gus Malzahn’s job security. Five-star quarterback recruit Bo Nix won a camp battle over fellow freshman Joey Gatewood. After failing to produce a 1,000-yard rusher last year for the first time in a decade, the Tigers can’t assume they will just depend on the ground game.

18. Nebraska

Last season, the Cornhuskers got off to the worst start in school history, dropping their first six games. This year, Scott Frost — who led Nebraska to its most recent national championship as the quarterback in 1997 — looks capable of making one of the biggest leaps in the nation, building off four wins in the final six games last year. In a weak Big Ten West, the Cornhuskers are contenders, led by sophomore dual-threat quarterback Adrian Martinez.

19. Michigan State

Ignore the Spartans’ underwhelming 7-6 record a year ago. Without an injury to quarterback Brian Lewerke, they would have been a factor at the top of the Big Ten East. They return what should be a premier defense — including preseason All-Big Ten first-team linebacker Joe Bachie and defensive end Kenny Willekes — and Lewerke will have quality receivers Cody White, Darrell Stewart Jr. and Jalen Nailor at his disposal.

20. Utah

The Utes are coming off their first Pac-12 title game appearance and are the favorites to represent the South Division again. Kyle Whittingham has had just two losing seasons in his 14 years at Utah, and he brings back a balanced roster capable of capturing double-digit wins: quarterback Tyler Huntley, running back Zack Moss and a talented defensive front that features Bradlee Anae and Leki Fotu.

21. Iowa

Under Kirk Ferentz, the Hawkeyes have had just four losing seasons in 20 years, and they are strong up front again. Iowa boasts one of the premier pass-rushers in the country in junior A.J. Epenesa (10.5 sacks, 16.5 tackles for loss last year), and has a pair of potential first-round picks in offensive tackles Alaric Jackson and Tristan Wirfs.

22. Missouri

Kelly Bryant and Trevor Lawrence could be in the same position come November — leading undefeated teams. Though the Clemson transfer Bryant won’t join his former team in the playoff — Missouri is ineligible for the postseason — Mizzou will benefit from a soft schedule, which features just one truly intimidating road game (at Georgia). Coach Barry Odom will need to rebuild the defense and show why he was hired.

23. Boise State

The Broncos have one of the most consistent programs in the country, winning at least eight games in each of the past 20 seasons. That streak should continue with playmaking wide receiver John Hightower, a veteran offensive line and an experienced defense that returns eight starters, including pass-rushing ace Curtis Weaver.

24. Northwestern

For the first time since 1932, the Wildcats have a chance to complete five straight winning seasons. Pat Fitzgerald enters his 14th season as coach having finished three of the past four years in the top 25, and now inserts five-star Clemson transfer Hunter Johnson at quarterback. The strength is still on the other side of the ball, though, where linebacker Paddy Fisher and defensive lineman Joe Gaziano set the tone.

25. Virginia Tech

Disaster was averted last year as the Hokies snuck into a bowl game for the 26th straight season. But issues remain. Several contributors transferred. The defense likely will be a weakness, though there should be some improvement after so many underclassmen gained valuable experience. A capable offense will have to carry more than its share, and strong-armed quarterback Ryan Willis has plenty of intriguing targets in Damon Hazelton, Tre Turner and Dalton Keene.

College football playoff predictions

Kussoy: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Texas

Champion: Georgia

Braziller: Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, Oregon

Champion: Clemson