How about another Tuesday ranking for your reading pleasure? With the college football season in full throttle by the weekend, I figure its time to lay out who the possible champions are for the 2022 school year. The odds on favorites being Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia. Snooze, obvious. But what if we eliminated those schools…who would be next?
Here we go: Top 5 Teams (Not named Bama, Georgia, & Ohio State) with a Shot to Win the CFB National Championship This Season
5- Notre Dame- Opening their season with Ohio State should a plus, because even if they lose they’ve got plenty of time to recover. And if they win, well, they’ll be able to carry that with them all year long as a badge of honor. Their new coach Marcus Freeman is a crowd favorite among the players, so this could be a tougher Figthing Irish team than we’re used to, their defense should anchor the team, and they’ve got a new QB by the name of Tyler Buchner who can run around a little bit. We know the committee wants them in the playoff, so that will always give them an opportunity. (60-1)
4- Miami- The “U” would indeed be back if they could pull this off. Maybe I’ve overrating the Canes because of Mario Cristobal, but I love their QB in Tyler Vandyke and they’ve got a pretty cupcake schedule outside of A&M and Clemson. If they can get through those games, they’ll be off to the races. (100-1)
3- Oklahoma- It’ll be interesting to see how their fare with Brent Venables as their head coach, but the fact that they’ve got former UCF OC Jeff Lebby and former UCF QB Dillon Gabriel, and a slew of offensive talent because they’re Oklahoma, I don’t really worry about this team too much offensively. If anything, we should be less concerned about their offense and more intrigued by what they can be defensively. If you show up and decide to play defense in the Big 12, no one will be able to stop them. (50-1)
2- Utah- The 2021 Pac-12 champions return a strong core from a season ago. Quarterback Cam Rising and running back Tavion Thomas lead the pack as Utah looks to make a playoff push this fall. After knocking on the door a couple times in the past few seasons, Utah is eyeing its first ever college football playoff birth. (80-1)
Number 1!- USC- Lincoln Riley + Caleb Williams + Jordan Addison. This team is dripping with improvements and talent. That Utah game on Oct. 15th and then whatever happens in the conference title game will be the swing for this conference, but I expect the Pac-12 to make noise before they completely evaporate. (20-1)
Photo: Getty Images