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So here we are in the last season of the Bowl Championship Series, the year before college football finally gets a bracket-style run for the ­national title. There's his­tory on the line in 2013. The Southeastern Conference is favored to win it all for an unprecedented eighth consecutive time. Nick Saban's Alabama is looking to become the first college football team to win three in a row. Texas A&M's mercurial QB Johnny Manziel, the first freshman to win the Heisman, will try to balance being a rock star athlete (“Johnny Football” has been partying with Justin Timberlake and Drake) with dethroning the Crimson Tide and leading the Aggies to their first national title. Still, there will be plenty to watch outside the SEC. Clemson's high-octane QB Tajh Boyd has NFL scouts evoking the name Steve McNair. Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater, who was superb in leading the Cards to an upset over Florida in the Sugar Bowl, has a good chance to lead his team to an undefeated regular season. And then there's Urban Meyer, who coached Ohio State to a 12–0 finish his first year in Columbus. Too bad the Buckeyes were in NCAA jail and forbidden to play a bowl game. Now ­Meyer's team is eligible to win it all. If anyone is going to finally knock off the SEC, the Buckeyes are a smart bet. Ready for kickoff? 1: Alabama At 61, Nick Saban keeps getting better. The coach's closest confidants say he's more in tune with the psychological aspect of the game now than he was a decade ago, when he won his first national title with LSU. But winning an unprecedented third consecutive BCS title (and fourth in five seasons) won't be a walk in the quad. The Tide has to replace three offensive linemen and five key pieces on defense. Saban has a big-game quarterback in AJ McCarron, a great target in wide receiver Amari Cooper and a budding star running back in T.J. Yeldon. And his recruiting system keeps cranking out playmakers on defense. Prediction: 13–1 2: Texas A&M Kevin Sumlin's Aggies were the only team that beat Alabama in 2012, and they throttled Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. The result: A&M's first top-five finish in 56 seasons. Heisman-winning QB Johnny Manziel (below left) spent a lot of time in the off-season getting more comfortable in the pocket, which should help as defenses adapt to him. It will also help if A&M can develop a star on what looks like an average SEC defense. Alabama is visiting on September 14, and Saban's boys are pissed. Prediction: 11–2 3: Standford The Cardinal is coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes. Quarterback Kevin Hogan impressed in the second half of last season as a redshirt freshman by, among other things, winning at Oregon in his first road start. He'll play behind arguably the college game's best front line. The D, which was the best on the West Coast, should be even better. The team needs a running back, but coach David Shaw has his eye on a speedy redshirt freshman: Barry J. Sanders, son of the Detroit Lions superstar. Prediction: 12–2 4: Ohio State The Big Ten's rep has been in the toilet, but Urban Meyer and his dynamic quarterback Braxton Miller can fix all that. Miller has wheels and a strong arm; he just has to learn that he doesn't need to throw everything at 150 mph. Meyer has to replace most of his front seven on defense, but he has recruited some studs who should fill the gaps. Coming off an unbeaten 2012 season, the Buckeyes could be something special. Prediction: 12–2 5: Clemson The Tigers finished 2012 on a high, beating LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. They have a potent attack led by likely future first-round QB Tajh Boyd (right), who blossomed last year with a 67 completion percentage and 36 TDs against 13 interceptions. Four offensive linemen are back, as is star wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Clemson often looks good on paper. Will this be the year the Tigers realize their potential? Prediction: 12–2 6: Oregon New Ducks coach Mark Helfrich is fortunate that dangerous all-purpose back De'Anthony Thomas returns, as does Marcus Mariota, who had many convinced during his freshman season last year that he was the most gifted quarterback ever to play in this system at Oregon. Mariota has speed to threaten defenses and an arm to burn them downfield. On D, the Ducks have three standouts they'll have to replace in the front seven. And a trip to Stanford on November 7 could be painful. Prediction: 11–2 7: Louisville The Cardinals are steaming into 2013 after topping the Big East last season and beating Florida in the Sugar Bowl. They hung on to coach Charlie Strong after Tennessee came calling. Entering his fourth season at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, Strong has transformed this program. And he has a top athlete under center in Teddy Bridgewater, who many think could be the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft. He threw for 3,718 yards last year, with 27 TDs against eight interceptions. The defense loses three key players, but the attack will put plenty of points on the board. The bad news: The Cardinals' regular season schedule is so weak (they probably won't face a single ranked team) they could go undefeated and still not make it into the top five. Prediction: 12–1 8: Florida Junior quarterback Jeff Driskel is big and fast, with a powerful arm and a knack for avoiding turnovers. And Florida's offensive line is solid. The Gators didn't lose as many starters on defense as their SEC rival Georgia, but for this team to take a big step forward it will need a playmaker to emerge at receiver. Without a strong target downfield, the Gators probably won't make it unscathed through road trips to LSU (October 12) and South Carolina (November 16). Prediction: 11–3 9: FSU Coming off a disappointing 2012, the Seminoles had to replace most of their coaching staff in the off-season. But there's still plenty of talent, with studs at all three levels of defense: defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan, linebacker Christian Jones and safety Lamarcus Joyner. Many are predicting that strong-armed, six-foot-four and 218-pound redshirt freshman QB Jameis Winston will be a star. He has yet to play a college football game; 2013 will be his trial by fire. Prediction: 10–3 10: Georgia Mark Richt's squad was five yards shy of making it to the BCS title game last season, and the Bulldogs probably would've won it all if they had made it, given Notre Dame's performance in the championship match. The clock ran out on the Dawgs, however, in a heartbreaking SEC title-game loss. Georgia has much of last year's offense back, led by four-year starting QB Aaron Murray, who still has to convince skeptics he can win big games. On D, Georgia has to replace nine starters. And the schedule is brutal, with games at Clemson and against South Carolina in the first two weeks. Prediction: 10–3