Paul Finebaum Names College Football Powerhouse He's 'Not That Optimistic' About Making the Playoff originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Road trips to South Bend, Baton Rouge, and Austin stand in the way, but this could be the year Texas A&M reached the College Football Playoff stage.

HOT TOPICS: It’s August now, and the start of the college football season is less than a month away. With kickoff right around the corner, what follows is a four-part examination of hot topics surrounding college sports that arose at the recent American Conference Media Days in Charlotte, North Carolina.