Which teams have what it takes to make the playoff -- and win it?By ESPN.comIvan Maisel previews the new College Football Playoff and looks ahead at the week of playoff-themed coverage on ESPN.com. (Illustration by Todd Detwiler)Welcome to the era of the College Football Playoff.For the first time in the sport's history, a playoff will be used to determine the national champion. A committee of 13 college football dignitaries will select four teams that will compete in a semifinal format culminating in the championship game on January 12, 2015 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.This week, ESPN.com will preview the season in five days. We start out today with the 16 best teams in the nation, as selected by our own mock selection committee of 13 college football experts. Each day this week, we whittle our list down: eight teams, to four, to two, and on Friday, we reveal our favorite to win the first College Football Playoff.It's our version of May Madness, because we can't wait until the fall.The ContendersAlabama Crimson TideTide defense never restsBy Ivan MaiselTUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- In winning 60 of 67 games and three national championships over the last five seasons, Alabama has maintained its dominance while having its best talent cherry-picked by the NFL.Nowhere has that been more evident than on defense, which has been the engine of this historic run. Ten starters have left early for professional football in the last five seasons. To put a sharper focus on it, five of those 10 have played in the secondary, head coach Nick Saban's private stash of talent.This year, safeties Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Vinnie Sunseri decided to forgo their senior seasons, joining Dee Milliner (2013), Dre Kirkpatrick (2012) and Kareem Jackson (2010) on the list of early departures.The steady drain of talent, as well as Sunseri's midseason knee injury, caught up to Alabama's secondary last season. Eight players started at least one game as Saban searched for consistency. Interceptions fell from 18 in 2012 to 11 last season.The news didn't get much better up front, where sacks plummeted from 35 to 22. There were other ways in which to measure Alabama's defensive dip: Texas A&M's 628 yards; Auburn's 296 rushing yards; Oklahoma's 348 passing yards.This will be the third time in the last four seasons that Alabama returns fewer than half of its defensive starters. Middle linebacker Trey DePriest is the anchor, having started 24 games over the last two years. Nose guard Brandon Ivory, strong safety Landon Collins and defensive back Jarrick Williams also bring a lot of experience.But the onus, once again, will be on young players and their ability to ramp up quickly to SEC speed. Alabama opens against West Virginia and its spread offense, the style that became the bane of Saban's offseason existence. Saban got sucked into the on-again, off-again rules change regarding pace of play, and didn't like it one bit.On the other hand, SEC West quarterbacks Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M) and Zach Mettenberger (LSU) also left for the NFL. That alone should be cause for optimism that the Alabama defense will improve.Auburn TigersNo one-hit wonderBy Ivan MaiselAUBURN, Ala. -- The Auburn defense lost end Dee Ford, a veteran and a star who led the team in tackles for loss (14.5) and sacks (10.5). Ford will suit up for Kansas City, which took him with the 23rd pick of the NFL draft earlier this month.That's no small loss. But overall, the defensive losses for the Tigers are small. Five of the top seven tacklers, and three of the top four tacklers behind the line of scrimmage, are returning next fall for the national runner-up Tigers.College football lineups change every year by definition. There will always be new blood. But for the Tigers, defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson whipped out some old-school lessons to impress upon them the task at hand.Senior defensive tackle Gabe Wright, second to Ford with 8.5 tackles for loss in 2013, said that Johnson told the defense the story of Sisyphus as a way of describing what they had to do."He finally got it up a hill, and it rolled back down," Wright said of Sisyphus, "and he was like, 'What do I do now?'"That's the position in which the Tigers find themselves. They have to roll the ball back up the hill. Fortunately, they have a wealth of experienced players, including seven defensive starters, five in the front seven."We bring back a leadership and experience level that we haven't had since 2010," Wright said, referring to the senior-laden national champions. This year's team has the same makeup."Whenever you're able to fill up two full rows of seniors in your team meeting room," Wright said, "good things should happen."Except for left offensive tackle Greg Robinson, the second player taken in the NFL draft, and running back Tre Mason, the offense returns pretty much intact as well. Quarterback Nick Marshall, who didn't arrive at Auburn until August yet led the Tigers to the brink of the national championship, has the advantage of participating in a spring practice with his coaches and teammates.It's easy to project Auburn as a one-hit wonder looking for its second smash. But do so at your own peril. In the college game, it's hard to beat experience, and that's something the Tigers have coming out of their ears.
I recognize all the helmets except the black one that number 66 is wearing?
#66 won't even quack the starting line up for that team.
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