Alabama and Clemson Top Betting For 2022 NCAAF Season
The Alabama Crimson Tide clinched the National Championship at the expense of the Ohio State Buckeyes last season, culminating a standout season in fitting style. College Football markets typically pick up from where the previous season left off and so it should come as no surprise that bookies are pegging the Alabama Crimson Tide as the team to beat for a second straight season.
Whether the Alabama Crimson Tide pulls off the feat remains to be seen, but the college program is undoubtedly one of the best in the league and their recent track record of success underscores their favourable college football odds.
The NCAAF Season Just Around the Corner
The 2020-21 College Football season is one for the history books. Played during an unprecedented year against a backdrop of a global pandemic that wreaked havoc upon us all and our day-to-day lives, the football was nevertheless wild, unpredictable, challenging and exhilarating all at once. In the end, there were only a few surprises as the best of what college football has to offer emerged in the last few rounds of the playoffs to compete for national glory. But will it be the same story in 2022 as the NCAAF odds seem to suggest?
Here we look at Alabama’s odds and how they stack up in the betting, most notably against their biggest rivals: the Clemson Tigers.
Alabama Crimson Tide Team To Beat
The Crimson Tide clinched their 18th overall National Championships at the conclusion of the 2020-21 NCAAF season with head coach Nick Saban claiming six of those victories to his leadership. In total, Saban has won seven national championship titles, which is the most a head coach has won in college football history.
On the back of Saban’s impressive reign in Alabama, the Crimson Tide are the class of the SEC and a team to reckon with on the college football landscape. Saban’s brilliant coaching and the established and well-run college program attracts some of the best young talent in the country, grooming those players into top NFL draft prospects that leave NFL franchises clamouring to get in the offseason. In the last two years alone, Alabama’s starting quarterbacks have gone in the first round of the draft – Tua Tagovailoa went No.6 to the Miami Dolphins while Mac Jones went No.15 overall to the New England Patriots.
Indeed, if there’s one aspect that might take the shine off of Alabama’s odds for the 2021-22 college football season, it’s the fact that they’re undergoing wholesale changes at the quarterback position. Saban will be breaking in a new quarterback for the upcoming season and who that might be is as yet a bit of a question mark.
According to the latest reports, Bryce Young, the former top-ranked quarterback prospect and No. 2 overall recruit in the Class of 2020, will likely be Alabama's starting quarterback heading into 2021. And if Saban’s comments during the offseason are any indication, it is his position to lose. That in of itself is sparking consideration about a looming quarterback battle possibly emerging. One such candidate is Paul Tyson; well, that’s if he gets to make his case for the starting role.
One compelling backstory is Tyson’s ties that run deep in the region, going back to his great-grandfather Paul “Bear” Bryant who was a local football legend in Alabama. Having said that Tyson didn’t play last season, so if he were to usurp Bryce Young it would be quite the feat and a surprising outcome.
Crimson Tide Second-Best Bet
While the Crimson Tide failed to make the National Championship game last season, losing to Ohio State Buckeyes in the semis instead, they’re nevertheless pegged as the second best bet across multiple sports betting sites. This in of itself is no surprise, seeing as the Crimson Tide and the Tigers have dominated the college football scene one way or another in recent years.
Indeed, it’s an extension of last year’s pre-season market which also served up both Alabama and Clemson with Clemson as the top two bets. Clemson Tigers won two of the last three National Championship titles thanks to the other-worldly skills of quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Clemson, not unlike Alabama, was forced to bid adieu to Lawrence this offseason when he declared his NFL intentions and entered the NFL draft. Lawrence, as one of the most highly sought-after college football prospects in recent years, went predictably No.1 overall in this year’s draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Clearly, the door is open to fresh talent to takeover, but breaking in a new quarterback in the midst of high expectations similar to those faced by Alabama can be challenging. More so than the NCAA odds would suggest.
D.J. Uiagalelei served as Trevor Lawrence’s backup last season, even stepping in for the starter when he was unable to play due to covid-19 protocols. In his limited play, he did show signs of potential that were encouraging. So, it’s assumed that the starting role is his. Along with the mega expectations and the big shoes Lawrence left behind which let’s face it are a daunting prospect that few would be eager to fill.
