2022 NCAA Football National Championship - Alabama vs Georgia: Betting Lines, Preview, and Predictions

In only a few days, the greatest show in college sports kicks off when the Alabama Crimson Tide take on the Georgia Bulldogs at Lucas Oil Stadium in the 2022 College Football Playoff Championship Game. On Monday night - January 10 at 8 PM EST on ESPN - two of the most titanic programs in College Football history face off in what doubles as a rematch of the SEC Championship game in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Jump past the odds for our in-depth game analysis & expert picks at the end.

There are a handful of wagers available to sports bettors interested in getting some skin in the 2022 College Football Playoff Championship Game; here at OddsSeeker we’ve previewed three of the best lines available across all of the best sports betting apps in the USA:

2022 CPF National Championship Point Spread

Georgia , Alabama

What does this mean?

Betting the spread means placing a bet on a margin of victory in a sporting event. For example, were you to place a bet on the Bulldogs winning the championship game (-2.5), they would have to achieve a margin of victory of at least 3 points for you to net a return on your wager. 

2022 CPF National Championship Moneyline

Georgia , Alabama

What does this mean?

Moneyline betting is a wager on a team to win the game (regardless of the point spread) at an adjusted cost. For example, should you place a bet on the Crimson Tide to win the 2022 CFP title game, you will net a return of $115 for every $100 you wager. Be sure to follow the CFP Odds closely during this game.

2022 CPF National Championship Over Under

O/U

What does this mean?

The terms “total” and “over/under” are effectively synonymous in the world of sports betting. This type of bet is simply a wager on the sum of the points scored by both teams by the final whistle, referred to as the total. Totals are set by sportsbooks, and you place a wager on the Over/Under depending on whether you believe the final score will exceed, or fall under, the total predicted by the bookie. For example, if you believe the final score for the 2022 CFP Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia will exceed a combined 52 points, you would bet the Over on Georgia, and stand to make $105 for every $100 you wager. 

For an extended list of Gamelines available for the 2022 College Football Playoff Championship Game, visit FanDuel Sportsbook.

Rolling with The Tide

Evaluating Alabama's 2022 CFP National Championship Odds

Quick Hits

• Alabama will enter Monday night beaming with confidence, driven by an offense averaging 494 total yards and 41.4 points per game good for ranks of fourth, and fifth-best, in the nation respectively. 
• Before their Cotton Bowl triumph over the Cincinnati Bearcats, Alabama's offense put up 40+ points in 8 of 10 games for the season, and 10 of an overall 13 games in 2021.
• Bama's ground game against the Bearcats looked particularly unstoppable, running up more yards (301) than Cincinnati's offense managed the whole game (218).
• A career night for fifth-year senior Brian Robinson Jr. set a new record for an already historic program, his 204 rushing yards a new school high for a bowl game. Robinson Jr.'s 134 halftime yards exceeded his total yardage gained in 10 of his last 12 games in 2021. For the season, Robinson ranks 17th in the nation among backs with 1,275 rushing yards, a drastic improvement over the 1,361 yards he had totaled over the last four years.

Assessing Bama's Offense 

2022 Alabama Crimson Tide Season Ranks: 

• 0.545 points per play (6th in FBS), 
• 92.45% red-zone scoring rate (9th in FBS)
• 500.9 total ypg (4th in FBS)
• 55.06% third-down conversion rate (1st in FBS)
• 9.3 yards per pass (6th in FBS)
• 5.0 touchdowns per game (5th in FBS) 

Unquestionably college football's most dominant program in the last 10 years, Alabama's journey to the 2022 CFP Championship game was bumpier than usual. A crushing defeat to Texas A&M invited doubts about the program's playoff hopes, while narrow victories over Auburn and LSU did little to inspire faith in their championship odds. Yet, once again. Here they are. 

For a record sixth time in the College Football Playoff game, Alabama will be competing for a national title. Led by Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, Bama's stellar offense can score in bunches however it wants, whenever it wants. 

Time and time again, Alabama showed both the depth and the breadth of its offensive brilliance, dominating the game in the air or on the ground whenever the need arose. As is tradition with Saban's teams, Bama's offense shone brightest in the biggest stages. 

Bryce Young stole the show in the SEC Championship Game, coming through with three second-quarter touchdowns and four scoring drives in a 14-minute window after the Crimson Tide were held scoreless in the first quarter. Alabama's ability to score in a hurry comes as a surprise to no one, they posted a 23.4 points per first half average for the season entering the CFP Semifinal. 

Against the Bearcats, Young still delivered three touchdowns in the game although he posted less than 200 passing yards for the first time this season. There's no doubt the Crimson Tide have missed John Metchie, as none of their receivers topped 70 yards against Cincinnati. But the emergence of Brian Robinson Jr. puts an end to all that noise. After humming along to a quiet 1,000 yard, 14 touchdown regular season, the fourth-year running back delivered a playoff performance for the ages turning 26 carries into 240 yards, against a Bearcats defense that allowed a stingy 3.4yards per carry on the season and 91 rushing yards per game in their previous three contests. 

Alabama's offensive line is a huge reason for Robinson Jr's record setting night, piquing at just the right time on the brink of a championship. Monday Night's championship game against the Bulldogs should be thrilling. 

Assessing Bama's Defense 

Will Anderson is the best defensive player in college football. He led the nation in tackles for loss with 29 and finished second in the FBS in sacks with 15.5, spearheading a defense that grew in leaps and bounds over the season. 

Alabama's defense was at the forefront of the team's comeback against Auburn in the Iron Bowl. The Tigers converted under 30% of their third-down attempts and scraped together just 137 total yards for the game, averaging 0.6 yards per rush and 5.3 yards per attempt through the air. In the SEC Championship Game, Alabama's defense continued to dominate, sacking Georgia's Stetson Bennett three times on more than 50 dropbacks and putting him under relentless pressure throughout the game.

Anderson's nine pressures were the most by any opponent against the Bulldogs since 2016, and proved key in Bennett’s two interceptions.

Against Cincinnati, Bama's defense once again controlled the flow of the game. Despite possessing the football for 26 total minutes, the Bearcats were hardly able to convert that time into meaningful points. After a 13-play, 60-yard drive produced nothing more than a field goal, the Bearcats managed only 84 total yards on their final nine possessions. For the game, the Crimson Tide allowed only 144 total yards, made 8 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, and 6 pass deflections. 

And given how they blitzed Georgia in the SEC Championship game, there's no doubt the Crimson Tide will be looking to put a leash on the Bulldogs once and for all. Although Alabama managed to contain Georgia's ground game - holding backs James Cook and Zamir White to 3.6 yards per carry - they'll be looking to do a better job on Bulldog tight-end Brock Bowers, who had 10 catches for 139 receiving yards in the SEC title game. 

Bullish on the Dogs 

Assessing Georgia's 2022 CFP National Championship Odds

Quick Hits

• Although the Bulldogs boast the best defense in the nation, surrendering an average of only 6.9 points per game in the regular season, they'll be eager to erase from memory the 41 points they gave up to the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship game. 
• Against the Wolverines, Georgia's offense eclipsed the 30 point mark for the 12th time in 13 contests on the season.
• The Bulldogs offense has been held under 24 points scoring only once on the season, in their 10-3 season opener against Clemson, and rank ninth in the nation at an average of 39 points per game.  
• After a relatively quiet season, quarterback Stetson Bennett has caught fire as of late: throwing 10 of his 22 touchdowns on the season in his last three games, after recording only 12 over his previous nine. 

Assessing Georgia's Offense

A turbid performance in the SEC Championship game did little to silence doubters of Stetson Bennett, Georgia's starting QB. Although the former walk-on put up 340 passing yards and three touchdowns, he also threw 19 incompletions, took three sacks and turned the ball over twice in key moments during the SEC Championship game. 

Despite his poor showing against Bama last time out, Bennett is, on the whole, having a pretty good season. Entering the CFP Semifinal, Bennett had a solid 64.1% completion rate, and a 24-7 TD-INT ratio to go along with a respectable 176.8 passer rating. Against top-25 opponents, Georgia's quarterback recorded a 161.4 passer rating, averaging 8.9 yards per attempt with an 8-2 TD-INT ratio. Bennett also held his own against the SEC, completing 62.7% of his pass attempts for a 155.6 passer rating on the season. 

And what Georgia lacks in star power, they certainly make up for in playmakers. After rising to stardom in his freshman season, Brock Bowers once again proved why he's among the best tight ends in all of college football. After what we saw in the SEC Championship the last time these teams met, it's clear that Alabama has no answer for Bowers anywhere on the field. 

Added to that, running back James Cook's recent run of games makes Georgia's offense even more unstoppable. The younger brother of Minnesota Vikings star back Dalvin Cook, Georgia's senior all-purpose back is a modern offensive marvel. For the season, Cook has 619 rushing yards, 157 receiving yards, and nine total touchdowns. Much like older brother Dalvin, James is a natural pass catcher. He's a threat out of the backfield and out of the slot, and his elite route running gives him space to get open on wheel routes. While he's only been featured minimally in the passing game on the season, he remains a threat that must be accounted for at all times as he showed against Michigan.

Between Cook and Bowers, Alabama should have their hands full. Although wide receiver George Pickens will be looking to add his name to the mix. He tore his ACL in March but since returning to action he's once again shown himself to be an X-factor in Georgia's offense. 

Georgia holds the edge in the battle in the trenches, although Alabama will no doubt make it a war for them. Aside from the SEC Championship Game, the Bulldogs allowed the fifth-lowest sack rate (3.4%) in 2021. 

Assessing Georgia's Defense

"The best in the business" is the simplest way to describe Georgia's defense. Aside from the SEC Championship Game, Georgia has put out one of the best defenses we've seen in the last five years of college football. You wouldn't bet on the Bulldogs failing to record a sack on 44 pass attempts for a second time against the Crimson Tide. 

2022 Georgia Bulldogs Season Ranks

• 33.7% Opponents’ third-down conversion rate: 
• 1.8 Opponents’ red-zone attempts per game, (second-fewest in FBS)
• 2.6 Opponents’ average points per first half, (lowest in FBS)
• 2.5 yards per rush allowed, (second-lowest in FBS)
• 10.27% sack rate, (6th in FBS)
• 13.6 Opponents’ first downs per game, (second-fewest in FBS)

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, the Crimson Tide offense enters this matchup a tad compromised. Bama will be without 1,000 yard receiver John Metchie III, whose presence opened up the field for Jameson Williams - whose 184 receiving yards to go along with two touchdowns led all receivers in the SEC Championship Game - the last time these teams met. 

With a bevy of All-Americans and a handful of future NFL stars in their front seven, Georgia will be looking to put on a dominant performance in the trenches. Between Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Devonte Wyatt, Channing Tindall and Jalen Carter, the Crimson Tide are sure to have their hands full.

2022 CFP National Championship Prediction

In the world of college football, Nick Saban has become synonymous with winning and it's hard to imagine not being the case come Monday. But anyone expecting a blowout in the championship game will be sorely disappointed.  

As has been the case through most of the season Bama's offensive line remains a concern, and with the best front seven in the FBS bearing down on them, that's unlikely to change. 

Despite this, the Crimson Tide have two distinct advantages over the Bulldogs. First, Bryce Young is a superior quarterback to Stetson Bennett. When you have the best player in the most important position on the field, you're always at an advantage. Second, Nick Saban has a history of dominating opposition teams led by his former assistants throughout his career. 

Fans should expect a close game that will come down to the fourth quarter. But when the final whistle blows, thanks to a late scoring drive led by some clutch throws by Young, Saban will further cement his legacy as the best college football coach ever with his eighth championship.

2022 College Football Playoff Championship Final Score Prediction

Alabama 31, Georgia 27