2022 College Football Games Of The Year: Rivalries, Comebacks And, Of Course, Alabama

College football is right around the corner and every year there’s a handful of games that are considered a must-watch. Certain teams look to keep their elite reputations, while others are hoping to prove last season wasn’t just a fluke.

College football fans know that a tough schedule can make or break a season. National championship favorites, like Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson, will be put to the test early on. Don’t forget about the exciting conference rivalry battles for division titles, too.

Online sportsbook Sportsbook will be the go-to for your 2022 college football games of the year odds. Early odds have already been released for those eager to place bets and prepare for profit. Odds for later matchups will be released shortly.

Top Five CFB Games Of The Year:

Odds as of August 17 at Sportsbook

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Oregon vs Georgia (Sept. 3)

Any game featuring the defending national champion in Week 1 is bound to be interesting. To open its season, Georgia is playing against someone who helped them achieve the title – Dan Lanning, the Bulldogs’ former defensive coordinator. Now, Lanning is starting his first year as Oregon’s new head coach.

Georgia set a record with five defenders being selected in the first round of the NFL draft, so a chunk of that defense is gone. But the Bulldogs have senior quarterback Stetson Bennett, who threw for 2,862 yards and completed 64.5 percent of his passes in 2021.

Oregon returns its entire starting offensive line, including Terrance Ferguson, Steven Jones and T.J. Bass. QB Bo Nix was brought in from Auburn and has all the potential to make a major impact. Nix completed 61 percent of his passes and pocketed 11 touchdowns in 10 games last season before succumbing to an injury.

With Lanning knowing his way around the Bulldogs bench, this could be the Ducks' first chance to claim victory over a top SEC team to kick off the season. This game will take place in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons.

Notre Dame vs Ohio State (Sept. 3)

Ohio State will host Notre Dame for the clubs’ seventh meeting in college football history to open its season. The Fighting Irish are bringing a new head coach, Marcus Freeman, a former Buckeyes linebacker. For Week 1, this is arguably the best contest taking place featuring two of the most notable college names.

Ohio State (+350) is behind Alabama in national championship odds, while Notre Dame cracks the top 10 at +5000.

The Buckeyes are returning with 2022 Heisman favorite C.J. Stroud, who threw for 4,435 yards and completed 71.9 percent of his passes in 2021. Also back is RB TreVeyon Henderson, who rushed for 1,248 yards last season.  

After losing to Michigan (42-27) and Oregon (35-28) last season, red flags were raised about Ohio State’s defense, which ranked 59th nationally. But head coach Ryan Day was on it, going on a firing spree of almost every defensive coach. Now, college football fans are eager to see if fresh coordinator Jim Knowles can improve the group.

Notre Dame’s defense has 11 prime players returning, including seniors JD Bertrand and Isaiah Foskey. Bertrand led the Fighting Irish in tackles and Foskey collected a sack in nine of Notre Dame’s 13 games.

This is one of the CFB games of the year that has early odds listed and that +15.5 spread is tempting. I can’t see Notre Dame and newbie Freeman getting blown out to open the season. I’d place an early bet on the Irish covering the spread.

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NC State vs Clemson (Oct. 1)

Clemson (-140) gears up for this year Sportsbook as a huge favorite to win the ACC title, despite falling short of the top in 2021 for the first time in seven years. The Tigers are sorting through quarterback issues, especially after losing No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Head coach Dabo Swinney will be looking to his high-caliber defense, featuring Bryan Bresee, Myles Murphy and Tyler Davis. The defense ranked first in the ACC and didn’t allow an opponent to score more than 27 points all year.

NC State has 19 players returning to its roster, the most of any ACC team. QB Devin Leary will be at the head of it all. The redshirt junior is arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the country, setting a handful of school records last year, including 35 passing touchdowns and 228 straight passes without an interception.

The last time these squads met, NC State took the win at home in double overtime, handing Clemson one of its three losses last season. If the Tigers are back to their usual selves, can NC State manage to knock them down again?

Texas A&M vs Alabama (Oct. 8)

Last season, A&M had an underwhelming, even 4-4 conference record – but one of its four wins was against Alabama, with backup quarterback Zach Calzada leading the way. In typical fashion, the Tide (-140) walk into this season favored to win the SEC conference title and college football championship. But the Texas underdogs could prove that even the greatest can get knocked down again this year.

Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher became the first previous assistant to defeat the Tide’s Nick Saban, probably because he’s spent the last few years building a solid foundation, including this year’s highest-rated recruiting class featuring QB Conner Weigman, who ranked second among 2022 top quarterback recruits.

Alongside Weigman is another star in freshman receiver Evan Stewart, a 2022 five-star recruit and the No. 1-ranked receiver in Texas. The likelihood of A&M nearing the top of the SEC is probable, especially with its new talent ready to shine.

Earlier this offseason, head coaches Fisher and Saban shared some harsh words about each other, including Saban’s opinion that Texas “bought every player on its team.” Last month, the two admitted to moving past the feud. But you can’t take back words that were already said, so I expect A&M to defend its talent while Alabama bounces back from last year’s loss to the Aggies.

Michigan vs Ohio State (Nov. 26)

Another game featuring two of the biggest brands and one of the best rivalries in college football, especially after the Wolverines broke an eight-year losing streak to the Buckeyes last season, winning 42-27. Their last meeting was the most viewed 2021 regular-season game.

Of course, I’ve already mentioned the talent returning to Ohio State with QB C.J. Stroud and RB TreVeyon Henderson. Meanwhile, Michigan will be handling gut-wrenching losses in DE Aidan Hutchinson, DB Daxton Hill and LB David Ojabo, who all could’ve spent one more year with the college but chose the NFL instead.

Without some key players, it will be a battle for the Wolverines to come back just as strong after winning the Big Ten championship and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff last year.

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