Who is favored to win the NCAA National Championship?

Who Are the National Title Favorites?

According to the betting market, there are only four teams with a greater than 5% chance to win the national title. And that shouldn't be a surprise -- Alabama has won five of the last 11 national titles and has missed the College Football Playoff just once.

1. Alabama

The Tide had a bit of a disappointing 2021 season by their standards, losing to Texas A&M in the regular season and Georgia in the national title game. They did win the SEC Championship Game in a rout of the Bulldogs.

In 2022, they'll bring back Heisman winner Bryce Young, lots of key pieces on defense and while they lose some key skill position players, it's Alabama. Nick Saban always reloads quickly.

2. Ohio State

For the first time since 2016, a team other than Ohio State won the Big Ten East in 2021. The Michigan Wolverines upset the Buckeyes in the final game of the regular season to propel them to their first conference title and College Football Playoff appearance. 

The Buckeyes will be back, though. Heisman runner-up C.J. Stroud will be under center and Jaxson Smith-Njiba -- the guy who went for 15 catches, 347 yards and three touchdowns in that epic Rose Bowl against Utah -- will star at wideout. 

3. Georgia

Georgia lost a lot of its best defensive players -- five Bulldogs went in the first round of the NFL Draft alone -- but has recruited at an elite level and will be right back in the fold. The SEC East is Georgia's for the taking, and the new-look defense will be tested by Oregon in the opening week.

4. Clemson

This is the longest preseason price we've seen on Clemson since 2017, when the Tigers eventually lose to Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

The 2021 season was a disaster for Clemson on offense, as D.J. Uiagalelei averaged just 6.0 yards per attempt with a 9/10 TD/INT ratio.

But if you look at the end result, the 10-3 season wasn't bad by team's most standards. Clemson lost 10-3 to national champion Georgia to open the season, in double overtime to N.C. State, and by 10 points at ACC champion Pitt. The Tigers closed the year with wins over Wake Forest, South Carolina and Iowa State, finishing 14th in the AP Poll.

5. USC

It wouldn't be a surprise to see USC as the most-bet national title future on the board. The allure of everything that made the program great 15-20 years ago, plus coach Lincoln Riley and quarterback Caleb Williams leading a new-look offense in a weak conference, will make them an attractive punt at +4000.

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