Though the college football playoffs have yet to unfold, there has never been a better time to take stock of betting odds on the 2022 NCAA football championship. The field of options has winnowed down to just four teams—Georgia, Alabama, Cincinnati, and Michigan—so this is your last chance to capitalize on college football championship odds before they become much less lucrative.
Let's begin by taking a look at the latest college football odds for the 2022 National Championship, which is scheduled to take place on Monday, January 10 in Indianapolis, Indiana. These college football betting odds come courtesy from BetOnline and are accurate as of Wednesday, December 22:
Since there is a few weeks to go until the opening kickoff of the college football championship, you will want to recheck these college football odds before settling on a National Championship pick. Linemakers will continue to move these odds, and you can expect them to change drastically following the conclusion of the NCAA football playoffs.
Before placing your college football championship bets, we highly recommend checking out our reviews of the best online sportsbooks. We've done all the necessary research for you to determine the college football betting sites that are right for you.
2022 NCAA Football Championship Prediction
When betting on college football during championship season, it's important to look at not only how each team fared during their overall schedule, but also how they stack up against prospective opponents.
This is infinitely true when crowning a college football champion. There are two college football playoff games to go through first. Alabama will be facing Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl while Georgia and Michigan are squaring off in the Orange Bowl. The winner of each game will go on to face each other, so all possible scenarios must be taken into account.
That's what we've done here. We're asking and answering all the important questions, and our journey will invariably culminate in an official 2022 college football National Championship pick.
Should Alabama be Favored to Win it All?
There will be some push-back to Alabama (+125) registering as the college football National Championship favorite, even though they're laying better than even money.
See, most people expected them to regress from last year. Their offense looked shallower, with not as much big-play potential. The defensive side of the ball wasn't as deep. They showed vulnerability in certain outings on the season.
But the tides have since turned. Alabama enters the Cotton Bowl with the nation's fourth-best offense, and it would be unrealistic for us to expect them to slow down. Their nearly 500 yards of total offense per game, after all, is no joke. They put up 41 points to win the SEC Championship over Georgia.
In other words: Yes, the Crimson Tide are absolutely deserving of your national championship consideration.
Is Georgia Being Slept On?
Select bettors will want Georgia (-145) to rank as the 2022 National Championship favorite. That's not entirely unreasonable.
The Bulldogs enter the Orange Bowl with the best defense in the nation and also rank first in simple rating system, a metric that weights team performance according to both their point differential and strength of schedule.
Still, in all honesty, Georgia is sitting right where it should be—with the second-best 2022 National Championship odds.
It isn't just that they lost to Alabama, though that's part of it. They are a touch too reliant on their running game, and if the 41 points they gave up against the Crimson Tide are any indication, they have more holes in the secondary than advertised.
Better Bet: Michigan or Cincinnati?
This is one of the easier college football betting lines we'll tackle.
While Cincinnati (+1100) should be commended for its efforts this season, which are highlighted by the country's fourth-best defense, they haven't needed to navigate a particularly tough slate. The Bearcats, in fact, didn't even play out a top-70 schedule during the regular season.
Knowing this, we have no choice but to believe they'll be steamrolled by Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. And that means we default to Michigan (+600), a team that notched a top-five defense while traversing through one of the country's 13 hardest regular-season schedules.
2022 NCAA Football Championship Pick
If we were making our 2022 NCAA football championship pick just a few weeks ago, we'd be inclined to roll with Georgia and their hard-line defense. We're not ready to do that anymore.
Alabama sent a clear message in the SEC Championship: Their offense is built to succeed in the biggest moments.
It's fair to have concerns about their rushing attack, but quarterback Bryce Young doesn't need the threat of the ground game to take down Georgia or, much less likely, Cincinnati in the National Championship. He threw for 420-plus yards and averaged more than 10 net yards per passing attempt during the SEC Championship against what's supposed to be one of the best defenses in recent memory.
From where we're standing, the college football championship is officially Alabama's to lose.
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