Early 2023 National College Football Playoff title odds
With the 2022 National Title in our rearview mirror, Nick Bromberg peaks ahead at the BetMGM odds for the next teams to hoist the trophy in Los Angeles in 2023. Will UGA repeat? Nick also has a few longshots for you to consider.
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Video Transcript
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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.
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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 and please follow all of our content at Yahoo Sportsbook. And when you create a BetMGM account and place your first bet risk free up to $1000, if that bet loses, you get it back up to $1,000 added back into your account in free bets. Must be 21 and over in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming only. Terms and conditions apply. Go to betmgm.com/yahoo to get started or use promo code Yahoo when making your first deposit. Minty Bets will be back tomorrow on "Yahoo Sports Daily." Until then, goodbye and good luck.
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