College Football Futures: Best Bet to Win the National Championship (2022)

This season, the college football field seems a little more wide open than in years past. It’s very possible we see Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State back in the College Football Playoff, but it’s also possible that we get a couple of new teams fighting for a championship.

There has been so much talk about conference changes and different alliances in college football. That’s all fun to speculate, but we’ve got a college football season upon us. Let’s break that down instead.

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Odds to win the 2022 Championship (via DraftKings)

• Alabama +250
• Clemson +380
• Ohio State +550
• Georgia +600
• Oklahoma +750
• Iowa State +3000
• Texas A&M +3500
• North Carolina +4000
• Oregon +4000
• LSU +4000
• Florida +4000
• USC +4000

Best Bet to win the National Championship

Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State are usually in the College Football Playoff because they’re able to beat up their divisions. Alabama hasn’t struggled much in the last decade or so against the SEC outside of the one fluke year for LSU.

Meanwhile, Clemson hasn’t had any competition in the ACC, and Ohio State has looked far and away better than any other Big Ten team within the last couple of seasons.

If you’re looking to bet on one of these teams, it makes sense. There’s a good chance all three of these teams find their way into the playoffs.

However, all three of these teams will be starting quarterbacks that haven’t played in a full season in their collegiate careers.

At Alabama, Bryce Young will take over for Mac Jones at quarterback. Young will have solid playmakers around him like Bryan Robinson Jr. and John Metchie III. However, those two are expected to take on bigger roles, and we haven’t seen Young play in a real college football game before. To be quite frank, the SEC is deep this year. The conference features Florida, LSU, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss. Any one of these teams is capable of putting together an upset for the ages, and any of those teams could put together an unforgettable season of multiple upsets. It’s going to be hard for Alabama to destroy the SEC this season.

Still, Nick Saban has coached the Crimson Tide to three of the last seven national titles and always coaches his team to their ceiling.

Just like Alabama, Ohio State will also have a new face at quarterback in C.J. Stroud. Stroud was the backup to Justin Fields last season and beat out Jack Miller and Kyle McCord this season. Still, he’s never thrown an actual pass in a college football game, and that will slightly concern any bettors looking to back Ohio State. He looked solid in the spring game, but that’s not going to tell us enough. There will be teams in the Big Ten that could surprise, like Wisconsin and Northwestern.

Lastly, Clemson has the second easiest schedule in the ACC after Boston College. Still, Clemson will face Georgia early in the year, and that game could be a potential decider on who makes the College Football Playoff between those two teams. D.J. Uiagalelei is ready to take over at quarterback for Trevor Lawrence, and he already has a couple of starts under his belt at the college level, which gives bettors confidence. We’ve seen flashes of brilliance out of Uiagalelei, and if I was going to trust any of these three teams at the start of the season, I would trust Clemson the most.

All futures bets are a risk, but if Clemson beats Georgia on September 4, the futures market will reflect the win, and Clemson’s odds will shrink.

Of these three teams, I like Clemson the most because if they’re able to beat Georgia, you’re going to be holding serious value on the Tigers after the first week of the season. It would make the most sense to take the Clemson future before that Georgia game.

Best Bet: Clemson +380

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Week Zero Odds and Game Picks

• UTEP Miners at New Mexico State Aggies
• Nebraska Cornhuskers at Illinois Fighting Illini
• Southern Utah Thunderbirds at San Jose State Spartans
• Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at UCLA Bruins

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Jason Radowitz is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him @Jason_Radowitz.