Caleb Wilfinger
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The 2022 season should be another excellent campaign for Alabama. The Crimson Tide are deep and experienced, retaining their 2 best players from last season’s squad that made the National Championship game. Even with 2021 being considered a “down year,” quarterback Bryce Young still won the Heisman Trophy and Alabama went 12-1 in the regular season.
Will the Crimson Tide be on top of the college football world once again? They are expected to be, currently favored to win it all. With the 2022 college football campaign beginning later this month, it’s time to take a look at what the season have in store for Alabama.
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Alabama Crimson Tide 2022 college football season odds
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
Alabama National Championship odds
Alabama is a +180 favorite to win the College Football Playoff. That leads Ohio State, Georgia and Clemson.
Alabama SEC Championship odds
The Crimson Tide are -140 to win the SEC title. Georgia is next at +160 and no other team has better than +1800 odds (Texas A&M).
Alabama SEC West odds
Alabama is a massive -600 favorite to capture another SEC West crown. Texas A&M is a +700 second choice.
Alabama odds to reach the College Football Playoff
Alabama is -240 to be one of the four participants in the College Football Playoff (“no” is +215). Ohio State (-255), Georgia (-110) and Clemson (+155) are the other 3 teams with the best odds.
Read our College Football National Championship preview, including a +8000 longshot
Alabama 2021 season recap
The Crimson Tide struggled at times in 2021, but that didn’t deter them. Head coach Nick Saban’s group faced adversity in a loss to Texas A&M early in the campaign, but Alabama responded by winning out to clinch the SEC West once again. In the SEC Championship, the Crimson Tide overwhelmed Georgia to win another conference title. And after despatching Cincinnati in the College Football Playoff semifinals, it appeared the Tide were ready to capture another National Championship. However, Georgia had other ideas; Saban’s group went home with a loss in the rematch, finishing the year at 13-2.
Alabama 2022 college football season predictions
Anything less than a title is considered a disappointment in Tuscaloosa at this point, and that shouldn’t change this fall. Young is back and should be sensational in year 2 as a starter. The Crimson Tide defense will also be strong, led by outstanding linebacker Will Anderson. Young will be joined by Jase McClellan in the backfield, while Jermaine Burton will lead a young wide receiving group. As to be expected, the talent is there with this Alabama group. However, the schedule won’t be a cakewalk.
Alabama’s big non-conference test comes at Texas on September 10. From there the Crimson Tide have a few routine games before a 6-game SEC gauntlet that features a showdown against Texas A&M and road games at Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU and Ole Miss. If Alabama is able to remain undefeated through that portion of the schedule, it should coast to an SEC West crown and get back to Atlanta. At that point, a matchup with Georgia is the most likely scenario before they make another College Football Playoff appearance.
Best Bet: Alabama to win the SEC (-140)
This feels like a discounted price considering that this figures to be a 2-horse race. Georgia is by far the dominant team in the SEC East, but Alabama seems to be catching a discount because of its SEC West schedule. In spite of what could be a tricky conference slate and a rare non-conference road game, I still think Saban and company will be just fine. Young is already a well-seasoned quarterback, and he should have little trouble in his second year at the helm. Even if the Crimson Tide take a step back in the downfield passing game, they should run the ball a lot better than a season before. Moreover, the gap between Alabama’s defense and Georgia’s defense should shorten dramatically, which gives the Tide an edge. In a one-game scenario between Young and Stetson Bennett, I’ll take my chances with Young every time.
I expect Alabama to be about a 3.5-point favorite in the SEC title game against Georgia, to say nothing of a matchup against the likes of Tennessee or Kentucky. If things go wrong for the Bulldogs, the Crimson Tide become overwhelming favorites. Therefore, I like playing them to win the SEC at this price.
Who could be this season’s Cincinnati? Read our non-Power 5 conference dark horses
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