Tennessee nearly knocked off Alabama last year on the road.

Long story short, I see Alabama and Tennessee playing three times this fall.

With the college football season officially kicking off Thursday night, I played out the campaign and my College Football Playoff Prediction has the Crimson Tide and Vols playing for all the marbles.

It wasn't easy as there are so many teams capable of making the playoff. Pencil in No. 1 Alabama and their six-straight top-ranked recruiting classes per 247Sports and you’re guessing on the other three.

Let’s take a look at who I think the contenders are.

No. 2 Clemson ran the table last year until an exciting 45-40 defeat at the hands of the Crimson Tide in the National Championship game. They return perhaps the country’s top offense led by the Heisman Trophy front-runner in Deshaun Watson. The defense, which is very talented, still lost eight starters from last year. It isn’t easy running the table two regular seasons in a row. The Tigers could lose out the gate at Auburn. They also have to travel to Georgia Tech and Florida State while hosting Louisville and a solid Pittsburgh team. Being favored in all those games is one thing, but winning them all a second year in a row certainly won’t be easy. There’s probably a loss in there, but one loss may not keep the Tigers out.

One could argue Baker Mayfield is the most important player to his team in college football and the Sooners quarterback suffered a couple concussions late in the year last year that make me nervous for 2016. If Mayfield goes down, Bob Stoops is counting on true freshman Austin Kendall. On paper, the Sooners are the strong pick to win the Big 12 but could also walk into conference play with two losses to Houston and Ohio State. They’ll certainly be tested when they go down to TCU for the conference opener Oct. 1. Texas is waiting the week after that. If Oklahoma gets through the first five weeks unblemished or with just one loss, they’re looking like a great pick to return to the College Football Playoff.

Florida State’s offense is loaded with playmakers and the defense from a talent standpoint goes toe to toe with anybody making the Seminoles one of my favorite picks to make the playoff. But you have a rookie starter at quarterback in Deondre Francois making his first start against what should be a high-scoring offense in Ole Miss. At Louisville will be tough in game three, home against North Carolina and at Miami in back-to-back weeks is a hurdle and Clemson is obviously the game circled on the calendar. FSU isn’t going to cruise into the postseason and a loss to Clemson puts them on the outside looking in.

Since playing in the 2011 National Championship game, No. 5 LSU has lost three or more games each of the past four seasons. The Tigers roster has been better than a three-loss team but quarterback play has held them back. If they turn the corner under center, the only two teams they could play that could possibly beat them are Alabama who they get at home and Tennessee who they’d see in the SEC title game. At Arkansas won’t be easy but if they’re clicking at quarterback, LSU is more talented than everyone on the schedule outside of the Crimson Tide and if the Vols make it, them too. If quarterback play struggles they could lose the opener against Wisconsin. Running back Leonard Fournette is my prediction to be the Heisman Trophy winner.

No. 6 Ohio State lost eight starters on both sides of the ball, so while Urban Meyer raved about how talented his team is at Big Ten media day, and they certainly are, I’d be surprised if OSU can run the table. At Oklahoma in week three is the biggest challenge and while Meyer has bulldozed his way through conference play since taking over in Columbus, at Wisconsin, at Penn State and at Michigan State aren’t sure wins with the latter in my opinion deciding who wins the Big Ten. Michigan at home in the regular-season finale could also be a playoff knockout game. Looking ahead the Buckeyes will be a preseason top-two team in 2017.

The seventh-ranked Wolverines should cruise to a 7-0 start behind a stout defense loaded across the defensive line and balanced offense with linebacker/safety/athlete Jabrill Peppers earning a spot as a Heisman Finalist. However, I don’t see them running the table in their three biggest tests, at Michigan State, at Iowa and at Ohio State.

Christian McCaffrey will once again be a Heisman finalist but I forsee the Pac12 taking each other apart. Stanford gets after it right away, home against Kansas State, home against USC, at UCLA, at Washington, home with Washington State and at Notre Dame. That’s as loaded a slate to open as any other contender in the country. If somehow the Cardinal make it through that with a first-year starting quarterback Oregon is waiting on Nov. 12.

I love Tennessee. I love the roster overhaul Butch Jones and his staff have done in their time in Knoxville. I like that UT has a veteran at quarterback. Their playmakers on offense stack up, they’re good in the trenches on both sides and they have future pros at linebacker and in the secondary. I think they’re a top three SEC team on paper coming in and they don’t have to play LSU in the regular season. If they go 4-0 during a four-week stretch of Florida, at Georgia, at Texas A&M and home to Alabama, they’ll run the table. Lose one and they’ll have to beat the Crimson Tide or LSU in the SEC title game to make the playoff. They have the Jims and Joes to do it.

Notre Dame should be potent on offense and massive up front on defense and the schedule while tough isn’t rigorous. I like the Irish to go 11-1, unless USC meets expectations this fall and plays to its talent level. That will be a tough one for ND in the season finale if the Trojans are clicking and playing at a high level.

Michigan State is my pick to win the Big Ten and battle for a playoff spot. At Notre Dame, home with Michigan and Ohio State and at Penn State being four that could go either way, but people are sleeping on the Spartans if they don’t think they reload like some of their peers. MSU has won 11 games in five of the last six seasons. They’ll be right back in the middle of it this fall.

I know there is a lot of buzz regarding Washington but I think the Huskies are a much better bet next fall and likely open the season as a top five team with all that should return. And again, I think the Pac 12 tears itself apart. USC and UCLA are in that boat as well. Too much parody in that league.

Houston is interesting, and if they run the table I think they’ll get in. They open with the Sooners this weekend and get Louisville in the second-to-last game of the year. The Cardinals at the very least should be a Top15 team headed into that one. Quarterback Greg Ward Jr. is one of America’s more dynamic players suiting up for the hottest up-and-coming coaching name in Tom Herman, but people are sleeping on how competitive the AAC was last year and the Cougars will have to battle to run the table in conference play.

I have Alabama winning the title in the rubber match over Tennessee.

PLAYOFF PICKS

Alabama 12-1 Clemson 12-1 Tennessee 12-1 (loses in SEC title game to Alabama entering undefeated) Oklahoma 12-1

JUST MISSED

Michigan State 12-1 Notre Dame 11-1 LSU 11-1 (loses tiebreaker to Alabama to play in SEC title game because Tigers lost head-to-head) Florida State 11-1 (loses tiebreaker to Clemson to play in ACC title game because Tigers win head-to-head) Ohio State 10-2 Washington 10-2 Michigan 10-2

HEISMAN FINALISTS

Anticipating an historically close vote.

Leonard Fournette (Winner)

Christian McCaffrey

Deshaun Watson

Jabrill Peppers

Dalvin Cook