Silver Bulletin Senior Editor Blake Biscardi continues his 2022 college football season preview with postseason predictions and CFP picks.

 

My complete 2022 college football season preview detailed outlooks for my preseason Top 25 teams and included my watchlists for the Heisman Trophy and teams that will make noise this year.

Alabama and Ohio State lead the country in talent with arguably the four best players in the sport that I believe generates this year’s Heisman Trophy winner. 

The Buckeyes are an angry and motivated football team that will navigate a gruesome schedule to win the Big Ten East unblemished. They will meet the team that got boat raced by archrival Michigan last year in Indianapolis as the Iowa Hawkeyes get Wisconsin at home, which gives them the tiebreaker advantage in the division. 

While we’re still looking in the rearview mirror, the SEC and PAC-12 Championships will look the same as last year: Alabama faces Georgia and Oregon faces Utah. Furthermore, the results will be the same as the Crimson Tide and Utes get the jobs done for the second year in a row to be in prime positions for College Football Playoff berths. 

Between PAC-12 land and SEC country lies the Big 12 in the Great Plains. Baylor will return to Arlington to take on a different team from Oklahoma; this year, it will be the Sooners instead of the Cowboys. Dave Aranda continues his ascent in college football but will fall just short to first-year head coach Brent Venables and Oklahoma on the back of QB Dillon Gabriel and an improved defense. 

Finally, Clemson looks to restore the balance, or lack thereof, of power in the ACC as they get back to the conference championship game against defending champion Pittsburgh. Kedon Slovis will make the game interesting, but the Tigers’ defense will be too smothering for the Panthers to repeat as champs. 

Conference Championship Game Predictions

SEC
– Alabama vs. Georgia
Big Ten
– Ohio State vs. Iowa
PAC-12
– Oregon vs. Utah
ACC
– Clemson vs. Pittsburgh
Big 12
– Oklahoma vs. Baylor

 

Bryce Young returns to Alabama to defend his Heisman Trophy from a year ago in pursuit of a national title. Two teammates join Young on my preseason prediction watchlist as LB Will Anderson Jr and Jahmyr Gibbs will be among the players to watch. Gibbs will have many opportunities to shine alongside Young and an ultra-talented group of wide receivers, bringing balance to the Alabama offense. 

USC hired Lincoln Riley to lead the Trojans in the offseason move. He was followed by his former QB from Oklahoma Caleb Williams, Pittsburgh transfer WR Jordan Addison, and Oregon RB Travis Dye to form an elite offense. To stay on brand, Williams will be a Heisman candidate in the Lincoln Riley offense with an arsenal of weapons at his disposal. 

Is Texas back? Not entirely, but RB Bijan Robinson will be all over national news as he looks to put together one of the best rushing seasons in the Longhorns’ history this year. Robinson is arguably the top running back in the country and the feature weapon of the Texas offense, regardless of who’s playing quarterback. 

All these players mentioned above will be a part of the elite performer’s list in 2022, but none will outshine Ohio State QB, CJ Stroud. The redshirt junior has the deepest bag of weapons in the nation, including top wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and his counterpart Marvin Harrison Jr, as well as running backs TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams, and Evan Pryor. Stroud will lead one of the most prolific offenses college football has ever seen en route to becoming the Buckeyes’ eighth Heisman winner. 

Heisman Trophy Predictions

1. CJ Stroud (Winner)
2. Bryce Young 
3. Caleb Williams 
4. Will Anderson Jr 
5. Bijan Robinson 

Dark Horse Candidates: TreVeyon Henderson, Jahmyr Gibbs

 

Last year’s College Football Playoff was a year of firsts, with Georgia capturing the national title for the first time since 1980 and Michigan and Cincinnati were newcomers to the field. As we look ahead to this season, I predict there will be another first as Utah breaks into the final four by winning the PAC-12 for the second straight season. 

However,  the firsts end there as Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson all return to the CFP on a mission. The Tigers’ run of six straight appearances ended after a disappointing 10-3 season, but the retooled offense and stout defense should get the job done to win the ACC and clinch a berth at 12-1. 

Alabama and Ohio State have met twice in the College Football Playoff era and split the meetings. The Buckeyes shocked the nation in 2014 -15, beating the Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl on the back of Ezekiel Elliot’s 230-yard 2 touchdown performance. The Tide got revenge in 2020-21 as Nick Saban’s team handled a Buckeyes team that could not stop them. 

I believe Alabama and Ohio State are on a season-long collision course that culminates in SoFi Stadium on January 9th in Los Angeles. There is a strong possibility the Tide and Buckeyes will begin the year ranked No. 1 and No. 2 and remain as the top two teams all season. Bryce Young and CJ Stroud are the two best quarterbacks in the country, and it would be an epic duel to see them take the field together with a national title on the line. 

New Year’s Six Bowl Predictions

Orange Bowl (12/30): Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh

Sugar Bowl (12/31): Georgia vs. Oklahoma

Rose Bowl (1/2): Michigan vs. USC  

Cotton Bowl (1/2): Houston vs. Texas A&M 

 

College Football Playoff Predictions

Peach Bowl (CFP Semifinal, 12/31): Alabama vs. Utah 

Fiesta Bowl (CFP Semifinal, 12/31): Ohio State vs. Clemson

National Championship (1/9): Alabama vs. Ohio State Part III of the CFP Era 

Ohio State will have a potentially historic offense that could rival 2019 LSU’s numbers with elite receivers and talented depth in the backfield behind a solid offensive line. The Buckeyes’ ceiling will rest on the shoulders of the Silver Bullets under new DC Jim Knowles, who should have the defense ranked inside the top 25. The linebackers will be the critical unit for Ohio State and, under these circumstances, will win its ninth national championship in January.