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NICK BROMBERG: Welcome to "Yahoo Sportsbook Daily."
It is Wednesday, January 19, 2022 and I am your betting
guide, Nick Bromberg.
The 2021 college football season has come and gone,
but it is not too early to take a look at the 2022
college football season with a few national championship
futures.
Let's get rolling.
- Hut, hut.
NICK BROMBERG: As you can probably guess,
there are four significant favorites heading into the 2022
season and the top two teams on the BetMGM board
are the two teams we saw play for the National championship
just a couple of days ago.
Alabama is the favorite at plus-200.
You know why?
The Crimson Tide return the best two players
in the country on each side of the ball in Bryce
Young and Will Anderson.
Bryce Young could be the first player
since Archie Griffin to win back-to-back Heisman trophies
in 2022.
Plus, it's Alabama.
They're always going to be in the mix.
The playing time that underclassmen received late
in the season, like Ja'Corey Brooks,
and in the National championship game
could pay huge dividends in 2022 for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama seems like a playoff lock.
That's why they are plus-200 to win the National title.
Georgia is right behind them at plus-250.
Biggest question for the Bulldogs entering '22
is what's the quarterback situation.
The Bulldogs also find themselves in a situation
that Alabama has faced a lot in recent years.
They're losing a ton of production
but replacing it with players from top-ranked recruiting
classes.
That's a great problem to have.
And he could also have a five star recruit at quarterback
to solve that quarterback question in Brock Vandergriff
if he's the guy coming out of fall camp.
Ohio State is at plus-600 and the number
three favorite on the board.
And we all saw what the combination of CJ Stroud
and Jackson Smith-Njigba is capable of in that comeback
Rose Bowl win against Utah.
What could push Ohio State over the top in 2022
is the addition of former Oklahoma State Defensive
Coordinator Jim Knowles.
The Cowboys were phenomenal on that side of the ball in 2021
and it is reasonable to expect immediate upgrades
for the Buckeyes next season.
Clemson is the number four favorite at plus-1,200.
They're also in that rare position
of coming off of a down season that only included 10 wins.
And not only are the Tigers looking to rebound from
such an awful, awful campaign, they're
going to have to do it without Tony Elliott and Brent Venables
at the coordinator spots.
They now have head coaching positions.
Dabo Swinney hired from with the idea of keeping that continuity
going at Clemson, but a playoff spot, I think,
is largely going to hinge on the improvement of quarterback DJ
Uiagalelei or immediate impact from five
star 2022 signee Cade Kulbnik.
Here are four long shots worth looking
at if you want to avoid the four favorites
and place a couple small dollar bets right now.
Michigan is one of those teams at plus-3,500.
The Wolverines do need to replace a lot of key players
from that team that won the Big Ten
and got steamrolled by Georgia.
But if you're looking at someone other than Ohio
State in the Big Ten, they do seem to be the best bet.
Those same odds?
USC.
I think you should bet the Trojans now
if you're confident Caleb Williams is going
to join Lincoln Riley at USC.
I don't think the Trojans are national title contenders,
but I think those odds are going to drop if Williams joins USC.
Utah is at plus-5,000.
Again, the chances of a Pac-12 team making the playoffs
for the first time since Washington are pretty slim,
but Utah has a lot coming back from that team that
made the Rose Bowl and some improvement
there is not out of the realm of possibility.
And another long shot I like, Wake Forest at plus-8,000.
Demon Deacons also return a lot from a team that was in the ACC
Title Game against Pitt.
If Wake can get past Clemson--
they did not in 2021-- an ACC title could be
good enough for a playoff spot.
[CA-CHING]
So to recap, your four early favorites for the 2022 national
title, Alabama plus-200, Georgia at plus-250,
Ohio State at plus-600, and Clemson at plus-1,200.
There is a huge drop off from there.
And if you're looking at some long shots,
Michigan and USC both at plus-3,500, Utah at plus-5,000,
and Wake Forest at plus-8,000.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter over @nickbromberg
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Minty Bets will be back tomorrow on "Yahoo Sports Daily."
Until then, goodbye and good luck.
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