A year after falling short to the Georgia Bulldogs in the National Championship, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide again own high expectations. Even after a defeat to Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs on college football’s biggest stage, that hasn’t stopped bettors from being bullish about this team’s prospects in 2022. Bounce Back Expected from Crimson Tide
Anything short of a National Championship under Nick Saban is a disappointment, precisely what many of their fans thought about losing to the Bulldogs last year. Still, this program defines greatness, and naturally, their high expectations add up with some of their returning players that will be motivated after the way last year finished.
Returning are elite talents Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr., who should be dynamic on their respective sides of the ball. With that, the Crimson Tide has been a popular pick to capture their first title since 2020.
Some big money bets are headed in their direction, seeing as they currently sit in a tie with the Ohio State Buckeyes for the highest ticket percentage at 10%, but have their handle percentage over double that amount at 21%. That tells us that the sharps are likely spending their money on Saban’s squad to bounce back after a harrowing conclusion to their 2021 campaign and win their 16th National Championship in the school’s illustrious history.
Highest Tickets & Handle Percentages to Win the College Football National Championship
| Team | Odds | Handle % | Bet Count % |
| Alabama | 180 | 21% | 10% |
| Ohio State | 300 | 15% | 10% |
| USC | 2000 | 9% | 9% |
| Texas A&M | 2500 | 8% | 7% |
| Notre Dame | 6000 | 6% | 7% |
A year after suffering two catastrophic losses to their arch-rival, the Michigan Wolverines and the Oregon Ducks, big things are again expected from Ryan Day’s team. The Ohio State Buckeyes should have the most explosive offense in college football, led by Heisman favorite, C.J. Stroud, and explosive wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The three-headed monster is completed with running back TreVeyon Henderson, and you can start to understand why the public is high on this version of the Buckeyes.
Ohio State is currently drawing in 10% of tickets and 15% of the handle, meaning there’s also some big money headed in their direction. The defense will likely determine whether or not this team can add another National Championship to their trophy case, which should see new life after hiring Jim Knowles as their defensive coordinator.
No Encore for the Bulldogs?After coming off their first National Championship since 1980, the Georgia Bulldogs are once again a contender with the third shortest odds to go back-to-back at +350. The public hasn’t fully bought into how good this Bulldogs team will be in 2022.
With Stetson Bennett returning at quarterback for the Bulldogs, many still don’t believe in the Dawgs signal caller, which likely has to do with why the team is seeing just 2% of tickets and 2% of the handle. There’s not a lot of value in the Bulldogs with their current odds, but there’s still plenty of talent on both sides of the ball here, and it will be interesting to track whether the public was right or wrong in their early decision to not back the defending champs.
