After another stormer of a year last season, the 2022/23 NCAAF season is almost upon us!
The first-ever championship for Georgia last season set a cat amongst the pigeons and was monumental for a sport that has been dominated by a small number of FBS teams in the past.
We’ll take a look ahead to the upcoming season and pick out our favorites to win the championship in 2023 to see if we can earn you some extra cash by the end of it.
| NCAAF Championship 2023 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Crimson Tide | +200 | +175 | +192 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | +375 | +300 | +330 |
| Georgia Bulldogs | +500 | +350 | +350 |
| Clemson Tigers | +1000 | +1000 | +1125 |
| USC Trojans | +2200 | +1800 | +2400 |
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NCAAF Championship favorites
Alabama Crimson Tide - (+200)
It’s no surprise that Alabama has the best odds of winning the 2023 NCAAF Championship.
The Crimson Tide has won five of the last 11 national titles and has missed the College Football Playoff just once.
They made the National Championship last year, falling to Georgia 33-18. Alabama will bring back last year’s Heisman winner Bryce Young to lead a team that will be loaded with talent after having the 2nd-ranked recruiting class.
It’s hard to bet against Alabama, and even though the odds aren’t tremendous, a $100 bet will win you $200, so there is still some profit in it, despite them not being my best pick for the title this time around.
Ohio State Buckeyes - (+375)
It’s a bit of a surprise to see Ohio State this high, given that they missed the college football playoff last year, but there is no denying the talent of the Buckeyes.
The offense was tremendous last year, leading the nation in scoring with 45.7 ppg and in yards per game at 561.5 yards per game.
Quarterback and Heisman contender C.J. Stroud is and will be throwing to darkhorse Heisman candidate Jaxon Smith-Njigba, among other talented wideouts.
The biggest knock against the Buckeyes is their defense. Last year they allowed 246.2 passing yards per game (ranked as the 97th worst nationally) and a 43.5 percent passing success rate (ranked as the 94th nationally). They also gave up 487 total yards in a 42-27 loss to Michigan at the end of the regular season last year.
Ultimately the Buckeyes are expected to return six starters from an offense that finished the previous season first in the nation. Their recruiting class ranks fourth nationally, so the likelihood is that they will be able to find another elite group on that side of the ball for the new season, which means they're my pick for the chip.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
Georgia Bulldogs - (+500)
Georgia is the defending national champion, which makes them a contender to do so again, but there hasn’t been a repeat national championship winner since Alabama in 2011-12.
That’s the only repeat champion in the playoff era, which makes it hard to trust Georgia. Then you have to factor in that Georgia had five players drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, which means they are losing a lot of high-end talent.
They had the third-ranked recruiting class and will undoubtedly be a top-tier team this season, but it’s hard to bet on them to repeat given the factors above.
Despite the value at +500, it's arguably one to leave until later in the season to see how they've developed their team and game in the off-season.
Clemson Tigers - (+1125)
There is a drop-off from the top three when it comes to betting odds to win the national championship before you get to Clemson.
The Tigers had a bad season by their standards last year, failing to make the playoff for the first time since 2015. Their offense was below average and finished 37th and 44th in overall efficiency and explosiveness margin, respectively, last season, which is something they absolutely need to fix in order to have a shot at making the playoffs again.
However, Clemson will have an elite defense, and the offense could take a step forward under five-star freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik.
Given these are the highest odds Clemson has had in years, throwing a small bet on the Tigers at +1125 could be an intriguing bet, given that they play in the worst conference of these top teams and have the clearest path to the playoffs.
That said, they'd need a small miracle to lift the NCAAF trophy next year.
Check out our review for MyBookie sports betting here.
USC Trojans - (+2400)
USC is a trendy pick with Lincoln Riley now at the helm and Caleb Williams as the starting quarterback. The past allure of the Trojans has people continuously waiting to jump back on the bandwagon, so the changes in the offseason have people excited.
However, the Pac-12 will be no cakewalk. Utah is a legitimate contender, and Oregon has the firepower to score with anybody.
The college football landscape wants USC to be back as a national title contender, but we have yet to see them prove to be worthy of those hopes, which makes it hard to trust them, and their huge 24/1 odds are more than justified.
A long shot bet favors them, but actually winning the NCAAF championship seems nigh on impossible at this point.
