It is never too early to begin looking ahead to next year in college football. As we turn the page to 2022, here are some way-too-early College Football Playoff contenders:

The wild 2021 season has come to a close, with the SEC crowning another champion last night in Indy. Lucas Oil has been the second home of the Ohio State football team as of late. It’s time to focus forward to the 2022 season. Let’s take an early look at College Football Playoff contenders and if there’s a team waiting to dethrone the ole southeastern conference. 

Alabama: Fresh off back-to-back appearances in the National Championship, Alabama should not expect to be anywhere else in 2022. Nick Saban’s reign over college football will not be coming to an end next year or the year after that. The Crimson Tide will return Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr and have added stud RB Jahmyr Gibbs and coveted CB Eli Ricks from the transfer portal. 

Clemson: Dabo Swinney has recruited at the highest level over the last few years. Clemson has plenty of athletes to compete with the teams on this list. Lucky for the Tigers, they play in the ACC and only have one or two real games until the postseason. The actual evaluator for Clemson will be against Notre Dame in November. We will see if 2021 was a fluke or a sign of things to come for the Tigers. 

Georgia: The Bulldogs lose the bulk of their talent on defense to the NFL but return Brock Bowers on offense. Kirby Smart won’t let his team go anywhere, especially in a weakened SEC East. Georgia finally conquered the Alabama hurdle. Smart defeated his mentor in a hard fought slugfest. It was an ode to Big Ten football in the heart of Big Ten country. I expect the Dawgs to beat Oregon in Week One and have a two-game season against rivals Auburn and Florida. Georgia wins the East again. 

Michigan: We have officially made it back to Michigan appearing in preseason playoff projections. The Wolverines have promising young talent on offense. However, it will take another excellent coaching job to unseat the Buckeyes in 2022. Jim Harbaugh finally put together the season everyone has been waiting for since his hiring. Now can he replicate it despite losing the heart of his team? 

Notre Dame: Beating Alabama and Ohio State are the two opportunities a team can pick up during the regular season that carries extra weight. Marcus Freeman and the Irish have a date with the Buckeyes in Columbus to open the season. Notre Dame’s playoff hopes are contingent on its performance in the Horseshoe. There is no better way to begin a tenure and position yourself for a CFP berth. 

Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies have pulled some of the top recruiting classes in the nation over the last few years. It resulted in a home upset victory over Alabama in 2021, but can they sustain any success? 2022 could be the Aggies’ breakthrough season to the CFP, or another year on the outside looking in. Good recruiting means nothing without elite player development. 

Ohio State: Ryan Day is in the process of restructuring his staff for the 2022 campaign that brings a brutal schedule but returns an incredibly talented group of young players. CJ Stroud will be the Heisman Trophy favorite, but two teammates may join him in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TreVeyon Henderson. The Buckeyes will be frightening on offense and have brought in Jim Knowles to fix the defense. Combine that with key players returning from injury in the defensive backfield, and look out. Ohio State has all the ingredients to win the National Championship handily. 

USC: Is the year 2005 or are Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, and USC all in the same preview? Anyway, hello, Lincoln Riley and welcome to LA. Riley has already landed numerous transfers and will likely add another big name in the coming days. QB Jaxon Dart entered the transfer portal yesterday, which feels like impending Caleb Williams news. The talented youngster making the move out west means the Trojans are immediate contenders.

Utah: Kyle Wittingham’s team was one of the hottest teams to finish the 2021 season. The Utes have solid returning talent in one of the weaker P5 conferences. USC and Lincoln Riley will be a great matchup, but Cam Rising and Utah can win the PAC-12 again.  

In my way-too-early College Football Playoff prediction, I have Ryan Day winning his first National Championship. Ohio State is going to be overwhelming on offense in 2022 and I’m drinking the Jim Knowles kool-aid. Buckeye themed confetti will fall in Southern California for the second year in a row.

Image Credit: The Ohio State University Athletics