The latest college football season begins this month. FBS-level teams kick-off on August 20, but the major programs start the following week. Now is the time to lay down betting picks on 2022 NCAAF futures. In case you’re stuck, we’re here to help. We’ve hand-picked three team-based futures that deserve your betting attention.
2022 SEC Winner Betting Pick
Right now, every top-used football betting site has futures available for every conference winner — from the Big 10 to the Mountain West. Of course, bettors will flock to the 2022 SEC winner bet. It is, after all, college football’s premium playing conference. Here’s the top schools favored to take the SEC title:
| Team |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | -140 | -140 |
| Georgia | +140 | +140 |
| Texas A&M | +1600 | +1600 |
| Florida | +4000 | +4000 |
| Ole Miss | +5000 | +5000 |
| Tennessee | +5000 | +5000 |
Once again, the SEC feels like a two-team race between the powerhouses, Alabama and Georgia. The Tide defeated the Dawgs in the 2021 conference championship, however, Georgia would avenge that loss and top their rivals in the College Football Playoff finale. Question is who has the edge in 2022?
On a pure talent level, Bama appears to be the stronger of the two. The bulk of its 2021 team remains in fact — most notably quarterback Bryce Young and linebacker Will Anderson, two of the most highly-favored Heisman Trophy candidates at popular online sportsbooks. Nick Saban’s team did lose a pair of elite wide receivers to the NFL Draft, but they filled that void by taking from Georgia. Jermaine Burton, who was second in receiving yards last year for the Bulldogs, is now behind enemy lines with the Tide as a transfer.
Talent certainly isn’t bare for the Dawgs either, but it’s not nearly as set as their rivals. That’s because Georgia's historically-good defense — that held Bama to 18 points in the title game — will need to be largely rebuilt as many starters went off to the NFL. The title-winning offense isn’t nearly as depleted. Sixth-year quarterback Stetson Bennett is back in the mix and as experienced as anyone in the nation.
Our money says Bama holds off Georgia in the SEC title game for a second year in a row. Young is just a bigger impact player than Bennett, and we’re more confident he can will Tide to victory — so long as his receiving corps doesn’t get decimated by injuries again like the CFP final.
Clemson To Make College Football Playoff Betting Pick
Almost all bettors and pundits have Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State penciled in as three of the four CFP teams. The fourth one is more tricky. One team that’s a polarizing betting pick to be that fourth CFP program is Clemson. We mean, just look at how close oddsmakers are on both scenarios:
| Outcome | | |
|---|---|---|
| No | -145 | -145 |
| Yes | +175 | +175 |
Outside of Alabama, no school has had more success in the CFP era than the Tigers. It had make the tournament six years in a row — winning two times over the Rolling Tide. However, Clemson was one of 2021’s biggest disappointments. They went 10-3 and not only missed the CFP, but failed to win the ACC for the first time in six years.
Per usual, the quarterback will be a huge deciding factor in whether Clemson is CFP-bound once again or not. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will start for the second year in a row and he’ll need to be much improved if the Tigers’ fate is changing for the better. Last season, Uiagalelei connected on just 56 percent of his passes and threw more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (9). He was far from good, but did face several injuries, including a sprained knee and an injury to the index finger on his throwing hand.
While we think Uiagalelei won’t be nearly as bad, we still have our doubts about him. Accuracy and bad decision-making were his biggest issues in 2021. Completely fixing those usually don’t happen over one offseason. Our prediction is Clemson finishes 10-2, which isn’t enough to earn a CFP bid.
Over/Under USC Wins Betting Pick
One of the biggest stories of the past offseason was Lincoln Riley jumping from Oklahoma to USC. The Trojans, once the gold standard of college football, have fallen on hard times, evident by its 4-8 campaign in 2021. Now everyone is wondering whether Riley is going to be a “miracle man” or not. That’s why oddsmakers have set USC’s over/under on wins at 9.5:
| Outcome | | |
|---|---|---|
| Over 9.5 wins | -105 | -105 |
| Under 9.5 wins | -125 | -125 |
We do think Riley will turn the Trojan program around, but that’ll be more in 2023 rather than 2022. No, the Pac-12 conference isn’t all that strong. But this team needs some serious work, especially on defense. The unit was woeful in more ways than one —allowing 167.1 rushing yards a game and ranking 11th in the conference against the pass. Riley is an offensive mastermind, not defensive, which means those aforementioned issues will likely linger. Take the under 9.5 wins and give Lincoln time to work his magic.
How To Bet On 2022 NCAA Football Futures?
You’re going to need a reliable sportsbook to take advantage of all the 2022 NCAA football betting opportunities. A good place to start is with one of the underneath bookmakers. These sites have you covered all-season long with NCAAF odds and lucrative sportsbook bonuses for free play. Hit one of the “play now” buttons below to get started betting right away!
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