It’s time for Sports Illustrated’s annual Magic Eight, where we predict the pool of eight teams from which the 2020 national title winner will emerge from a full month before brackets are even revealed on Selection Sunday.
The exercise goes back to Grant Wahl's time on SI's college basketball beat, and this year I'm taking the reins from my former colleague Dan Greene, who correctly had Virginia among his eight last February and went 2 for 2 in his two years doing it.
The Magic Eight is not an easy list to make, and importantly, it has rules: At least two of the top eight teams in the current AP poll must be excluded, and at least one selection must come from outside that poll’s top 15.