Desmond Howard’s CFP prediction once again goes viral

Jan 1, 2019; Pasadena, CA, USA; Desmond Howard on the ESPN Championship Drive set prior to the 2019 Rose Bowl between the Washington Huskies and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

At this point, it has become a yearly tradition for the internet to have some fun with Desmond Howard’s preseason College Football Playoff predictions.

Howard offered his prediction on Saturday’s season debut of “College GameDay,” and his predictions raised some eyebrows.

Howard had his alma mater Michigan winning the championship, and excluded back-to-back champion Georgia from the field entirely. Instead, he found room for Texas, Alabama, and Florida State.

Desmond Howard going full Mask Off with this year’s playoff pick. 😭 pic.twitter.com/ZEjAv0UfH9

— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) August 26, 2023

Picking Michigan to win a title is defensible, though it will always feel like a homer pick coming from Howard. Omitting Georgia is much stranger, and Howard was the only one on the panel to do so.

It’s tough to imagine Howard’s picks going worse this year than they did last year, when they looked strange at the time and aged even more poorly as the season went on.