2022 College Football Playoff and National Championship Predictions

It’s never too early to look ahead at the College Football Playoff to find value. Two or three games can severely change the odds board when it comes to the National Championship winner. If you miss the boat, your favorite team might be unbettable by that point. You are going to find the familiar teams at the top of the board. Alabama, Clemson, and Oklahoma are all among the contenders according to the odds.

Surprise, surprise. The Coaches Poll has Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, and Ohio State in the top-4. An honorable mention goes to the Georgia Bulldogs who is No. 5 in the Coaches Poll. I think Georgia might be undervalued in fifth, but we’ll get to that later. The AP Top 25 looks similar, though Clemson and Oklahoma are flipped, with the Sooners the No. 2 in the country over the Tigers. It is hard to argue with both polls.

While it isn’t hard to argue, this is no-brainer stuff. It was really tough for them to mess this up. Although, again, I am higher on Georgia than the pre-season polls are. The Bulldogs are often regarded as the little brothers of Alabama in the SEC, but don’t believe that should be accurate in 2021. With that in mind, give me Georgia as the No. 4 team in the FBS swapped with Ohio State. I have nothing against Ohio State, they will be good like always, but there is a lot to like about Georgia.

Before we move onto our College Football Playoff Prediction, a quick look back at the 2021 National Championship from January, which pitted the Alabama Crimson Tide against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Alabama ran away with the game on the legs of DeVonta Smith in the first-half. Smith did it all for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns on 12 receptions. The only thing that slowed Smith down was a dislocated finger, though the damage was already down and Alabama romped to a 52-24 win. Mac Jones diced the Buckeyes’ defense up for 464 yards and 5 touchdowns in the blowout.

The National Championship Game record for receiving yards is 221 (Ja’Marr Chase, 2020).

DeVonta Smith had 215 in the first half. Insane. pic.twitter.com/VoyXGGermc

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) January 12, 2021

Jones and Smith left college on a high note, and now are looking to make an impact in the NFL. Jones is off to a quick start with the Patriots in the preseason and looks the part for Bill Belichick. Alabama must replace Jones and Smith in the offense. Don’t forget about Jaylen Waddle as well. This is Alabama, though, a place where they don’t rebuild and just reload. The Crimson Tide might have new faces in the spotlight, but will be a top contender once again.

Betting Odds To Win The 2022 National Championship

The oddsmakers agree that Alabama isn’t going to miss a beat this season. They are the favorite to win the National Championship to matter where you look. Is betting Alabama the best value, though? The way I see it, this season isn’t going to be as easy as it was last year. There is big talent on the Alabama roster, but replacing their starting quarterback and two wide receivers isn’t always smooth no matter the team. That said, three of the top-4 teams are replacing quarterbacks in 2021. Along with Jones, Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields are both in the NFL now. With high-profile recruiting comes more of the same for these perennial counters, though.

College Football Playoff Preview and Prediction

Capital One Orange Bowl

Alabama Crimson Tide vs. (4) Georgia Bulldogs

This is going against what the oddsmakers and polls are predicting. They have Ohio State as the No. 4 team in the country and then Georgia the first team out. I see Georgia being a bit better than Ohio State this season. The Bulldogs might have the tougher schedule, but strength of schedule goes into the equation. In what is a predictable scenario in the SEC, Alabama and Georgia are probably meeting in the SEC Championship. If you are looking for something different, then the Texas A&M Aggies might interest you. Texas A&M should have a quality team that competes in the SEC.

Georgia quarterback JT Daniels has been named on the Maxwell Award preseason watch list. The Maxwell Award is given to the nation’s “Most Outstanding Player”#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/vCgb6CYDgO

— Georgia Football (@georgia_cfb) July 19, 2021

I’m high on Georgia and JT Daniels and the Bulldogs, however. Daniels is a Heisman Trophy contender and is set to fit in well at Georgia. The USC transfer is fully healthy and looking to prove himself in the SEC. He passed for 10 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 67.2% completions in limited action last year. Daniels appeared in just four games and impressed right off the bat, including 392 yards against a good Cincinnati defense on New Year’s Day in the Peach Bowl.

He has weapons to work with in this Georgia offense. Daniels will not have to do it alone. Expect Kearis Jackson and Jermaine Burton to link up with Daniels often this season. Coupled with running back Zamir White in the backfield, this offense will put a lot of stress on defenses. The offense will be aided by a defense that is going to set Georgia up with prime field position often. Almost everyone is returning to what was a strong unit last year. Alabama loses three very talented players on offense, but this is the Crimson Tide.

They will be in good hands with Bryce Young at quarterback. Expectations are high for Young who has only seen mop up duty in his career. He is more in the mold of Tua Tagovailoa in that there is a mobile element to his game. You aren’t going to find a Mac Jones clone with Young. He will sit in the pocket, but can also move around on his legs. Alabama will be working with a new running back after Najee Harris moved on and three offensive linemen as well.

Five players have been named preseason AP All-Americans. #BamaFactor🇺🇸 #RollTide pic.twitter.com/0YPlYW48nt

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) August 23, 2021

The Crimson Tide have a lot of turnaround, but new stars will be discovered in Tuscaloosa. Look at the emergence of wide receiver John Metchie, who had 916 yards and 6 touchdowns as a supporting member of the offense last year. Metchie will play more of a role in the offense with Smith and Waddle in the NFL. While newcomers have to solidify themselves on offense, the defense should be improved with most of their defense in-tact from 2021. I still believe that Alabama is going to have their work cut out for them with Georgia this season.

Cotton Bowl Classic

(2) Oklahoma Sooners vs. (3) Clemson Tigers

Say what you want about Oklahoma failing to come up in big spots, but they at least get to those big spots. The Sooners just have to find a way to get over the bump to the next level and win a National Championship. They’ve been a great team that hasn’t been able to come up with an extra play or two when January comes around. With that said, expect Oklahoma to make easy work of the Big 12 in 2021.

With Spencer Rattler at the helm, the Sooners are going to roll up right away this season. Oklahoma knows how to produce quarterbacks that put up numbers. This season is going to be no different in the Big 12, which promises to play no defense again. Defenses have been improving over the past couple of years, notably Oklahoma, but this is still an offensive driven conference. The Sooners are off to the SEC with the Texas Longhorns, so we’ll see soon how they compete against elite defenses on a regular basis.

#Sooners quarterback Spencer Rattler and linebacker Nik Bonitto were named to the AP Preseason All-America first team on Monday.https://t.co/6gHYlsSZTg

— OU Daily Sports (@OUDailySports) August 23, 2021

This final year in the Big 12 sets up Rattler for a bonafide Heisman Trophy campaign. I’m very high on Rattler to win the award following a monster campaign. One of the only quarterbacks that returns for his team out of the top contenders, Rattler passed for 28 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on 67.5% completions in his first season as the starter. Rattler heated up in the second-half of the season. After getting comfortable in the offense, he was tough to beat. Look for Rattler to get hot straight out of the gate in Week 1.

Marvin Mims figures to play a big role for Oklahoma in the offense. Look for Rattler to settle in nicely with Mims. Expect big plays from these two immediately. As a secondary option in the offense, Mims had 610 yards and 9 touchdowns. Mims is the go-to receiver now and should flourish with Rattler. The Sooners welcome running back Kennedy Brooks into the mix. His presence is important after gaining 7.5 yards a pop on the ground. The offensive line has moving parts this season, so they will have to be good to compete with the likes of Alabama and Georgia.

The defense for Oklahoma should continue to improve with seven starters back on the field. They’ve steadily improved over the past few years and finally expect to play physical football and generate turnovers. This isn’t a typical Big 12 defense that will give up 40+ points every week. Oklahoma has moved on from that kind of football, with the defense helping out some. They don’t offer as much production as the offense, but can still make stops at times.

I don’t know if they would be able to make enough stops against quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Lawrence is gone, but the offense will continue to fly under Uiagalelei. A dark horse Heisman contender, Uiagelelei will have the offense humming. He appeared last season when Lawrence was out with COVID and didn’t disappoint against Notre Dame. On 117 attempts, Uiagelelei passed for 914 yards with 5 touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 60 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground.

Season Preview: New QB DJ Uiagalelei expects to keep No. 3 Clemson on top. https://t.co/Hm6oJ7izC8

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) August 25, 2021

Uiagalelei will not have Travis Etienne to work with in the backfield. Etienne was a workhorse for Clemson and was often overshadowed by Lawrence, but was the biggest part of the game plan for the Tigers in many games. Justyn Ross is a name to become familiar with at Clemson. The wide receiver is going to be a playmaker that comes up big multiple times for the Tigers. Expect Uiagalelei to lock on to Ross early and often. I am not concerned with this Tigers’ offense in the least. They will move the ball efficiently and score points.

A plethora of talent defensive is back for the Tigers all over the field. Plenty of defenders got their feet wet because of injuries. While there was a lot of youth on the field, Clemson still played lock down defense. The Tigers allowed 639 yards in the Orange Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes, so that was a performance to forget, but expect a strong unit for the Tigers in 2021. All defensive linemen return for what should be a formidable group up front.

2022 National Champion Final Verdict and Prediction

It would be easy for me to select Alabama to win the National Championship. There are people that auto-bet Alabama every season without looking. I believe that there is better value out there, though. I’m confident with what Georgia is doing this season with JT Daniels at the controls. Daniels should put up big numbers with a full season under his belt. He will be aided by an elite defense that should give the offense plenty of help.

The value is strong on the Bulldogs. They have a tough matchup against Clemson, which will say a lot about both teams early. However, as we’ve come to see in the past with the College Football Playoff seeding, it’s all about finishing strong. The loser still has a big chance of going to the CFP, so don’t overreact too much. In any event, it’s hard not to like Georgia at this generous price to win the National Championship in 2022.