2022 College Football Power 5 Betting Preview

National Championship Picks, Conference Championship Picks, Win Totals, Heisman Picks, and more for the 2022 College Football season

The time is finally upon us, the start of the 2022 college football season is here. Week 0 is less than a week away and you are probably realizing you haven’t placed any futures for the season yet. Not to worry, this preview will take you through all 5 power five conferences, picking a winner for each, and talking about some of the players and teams you need to keep an eye on.

All lines posted are accurate as of time of writing per BetMGM.

National Champions

The sportsbooks consider the National Championship a three team race with Alabama +190, Ohio State +320, and Georgia +350 the favorites to win it all. The odds significantly increase after that with Clemson sitting at +1200 and USC at +2000. If you don’t want to listen to me go on about why Alabama and Ohio State are the best teams in the country then go ahead and skip to the Conference Champions section. It’s true though, no matter how I look at this season I can’t envision seeing anyone other than Alabama or Ohio State lifting the trophy. Alabama returns last years Heisman winning quarterback in Bryce Young as well as five other starters on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, they return 2021 Nagurski Award (Best Defensive Player) winner Will Anderson. Anderson is a 2022 Heisman candidate and likely top 10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Despite losing their top running back and top two receivers from last year, Alabama is poised once again to contend for its 19th national championship. Its chalky for sure, but I can’t deny the value anytime you can get Alabama at almost 2/1 to win the national championship. They’ll have a chip on their shoulder this year after losing to Georgia in January. Pick: Alabama to win the National Championship +190.

The second favorite to win it all in 2022 is of course the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes, known for their explosive offenses, seem primed for another dominate season on the offensive side of the ball. The Buckeyes return 3 legitimate Heisman candidates in CJ Stroud (QB), TreVeyon Henderson (RB), and Jaxson Smith-Njigba (WR). On defense, Ohio State returns eight starters from 2021 and will field Top 25 defensive lines and secondaries in 2022. They also draw a fairly easy road schedule, only playing at Michigan State, at Penn State, at Northwestern, and at Maryland. I expect Ohio State to run the table in the regular season, win the Big Ten Championship, and enter the CFB Playoff 13-0 alongside Alabama. Pick: Ohio State to win the National Championship +320.

If you’re worried this “preview” was just going to be me recapping the favorites, not to worry. If you’re looking for some more value for your National Championship ticket, take a look at the 2021 Rose Bowl winner, Utah Utes. Many people write off the Pac-12 when talking about the best teams/conferences in college football, but Kyle Whittingham’s Utes are not to be overlooked. Last year the Utes stumbled early in the year, but after switching to Cameron Rising they ended the year 9-1 in Pac-12 play and finished the year #12 in the AP Poll losing to the highly touted Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. The Utes return 14 starters from that Rose Bowl team including junior quarterback, Cameron Rising. Utah also returns 1,000 yard rusher Tavion Thomas, tight end Brant Kuithe, and a typically strong O-Line. Utah has always bolstered strong defenses under Whittingham. They lose their best defensive player in Devin Lloyd but return six other starters and also bring in Florida’s top tackler in 2021, Mohamoud Diabate, at linebacker. Utah will be strong in 2022 and has very real potential to run the table in the Pac-12 and make the playoff. Pick: Utah to win the National Championship +5000.

Conference Champions

SEC

It’s Ohio State and everyone else. That has been the moniker of the Big Ten for the last decade. Last year, Michigan finally put an end to the Buckeyes reign and secured Harbaugh his first victory over the rival since he was hired back in 2015. It seems as though that Michigan team was one of destiny. Fielding one of the country’s best defenses Michigan lost a lot of talent to the draft and transfer portal in the offseason including #2 overall draft pick Aiden Hutchinson who was the heart and soul of the Michigan team that made it to its first CFB Playoff. Heading into 2022, Ohio State looks unstoppable and poised to dominate the Big Ten on its way to its fifth CFB Playoff appearance. The Buckeyes sit at -225 to win the Big Ten which is far too juicy for me. If you’re looking to make a play on the Big Ten winner I would look at Michigan at 6/1, Wisconsin at 12/1 and Nebraska at 18/1 but I personally won’t be making a play on this conference. Instead I am going to take the Buckeyes over 11 wins at -130. I expect this team to roll through its schedule and finish 12-0 at the end of the year. Worst case scenario, they drop a game and the bet pushes but there is no way I can see the Buckeyes losing 2 games to lose the bet. Ohio State’s toughest games will be to start the year versus Notre Dame, at Michigan State and Penn State in October, and of course Michigan to end the year which they get at home. Ohio State will likely be double digit favorites in all 12 of its games this year. They will also field one of the best offense in the country that will feature 3 Heisman candidates. CJ Stroud, TreVeyon Henderson, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba should keep the offense running like a well oiled machine while the defense also gets an improvement with DC Jim Knowles coming over from Oklahoma State. Pick: Ohio State o11 wins -130.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers were 0-9 in one possession games in 2021. To make things even worse, Nebraska is 5-20 in one score games since Scott Frost became HC. That is almost unfathomable, but it tells me that the Cornhuskers are due for some serious positive regression. In 2021, Nebraska outscored opponents 28-23 on a per game average. They also outgunned opponents by 82 ypg. Despite this, the Cornhuskers were still a disappointing 3-9. In addition to their 9 one possession losses, Nebraska also had wins by 45, 25, and 49 points including a 56-7 beatdown of conference rival Northwestern. For Nebraska, I see 6 games I’m comfortable giving them the victory in. Those games are at home against North Dakota, Georgia Southern, Indiana, Illinois and on the road against Rutgers and Purdue. I would give them the win in Week 1 against Northwestern, but that game will be played in Dublin, Ireland and nothing spells a chaotic college football game like a Week 0 college football game across the pond. I expect Nebraska to lose at home against Oklahoma but that will not be an easy game for the Sooners. Assuming all that happens that leaves a 4 game gauntlet at the end of the year that Nebraska could very well be 6-2 or 7-1 heading into. In November the Cornhuskers will play at home against Minnesota, travel to Ann Arbor to play the Wolverines, Wisconsin at home, and then at Iowa to end the year. It’s a difficult stretch for sure but none of those games will be write offs for the Cornhuskers. I said earlier I would take a look at Nebraska to win the Big Ten if you’re looking for longer odds than what the books are offering on Ohio State, but for this article I am going to stick to their win total. Nebraska is due and I don’t know about you, but I want to be on the right side of history when the Scott Frost of old returns. Pick: Nebraska o7.5 wins -115.

The Maryland Terrapins went 7-6 last year under Mike Locksley. This year, for Locksley’s third season, they return 16 starters including junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa’s health is going to be a concern as a Maryland quarterback has only started every game 2 years in a row three times in the last 17 years. The offensive line allowed 25 sacks last year but they return all of its starters. This year the offensive line will be the deepest and most experiences Taulia has gotten to play behind. Five of the six losses Maryland had last year were against ranked teams. A more talented and experienced Maryland team should help them break their 10 game losing streak to ranked opponents. I see 6 sure wins for Maryland, which would push the bet of over 6 wins. Maryland opens the year at home against Buffalo and SMU and on the road against Charlotte. That should be a 3-0 start. In Big Ten play, I see Maryland beating Purdue, Northwestern, and Rutgers all at home. That leaves Michigan State and Ohio State at home and road games against Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Penn State for them to get one more win. Pick: Maryland o6 wins +100.

ACC

<img class="ezlazyload n3VNCb KAlRDb" src="denied:data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22%20width=%221200%22%20height=%22630%22%3E%3C/svg%3E" alt="ACC Betting Preview 2022: Futures, odds, favorites to win conference, best regular season win totals

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