National Championship Long Shot Picks: Is Texas Now Officially Back?

In a sport as top-heavy as college football, there is plenty of value to be had outside of the favorites. Here are some of our top college football national championship long shot picks.

The College Football National Championship, unlike some other sports, consistently produces the same pool of a few winners. The likes of Georgia, LSU, and Ohio State have managed to occasionally overtake the dynasties that Alabama's Nick Saban and Clemson's Dabo Swinney created. But for the most part, Alabama and Clemson have run the playoff since it started.

The decision on whether or not the playoff will actually expand and give these longshot teams a chance to secure a spot is still up in the air. Having to be one of only four teams in the entire country to make it in, there is a chance that with a strong schedule and undefeated season one can make a push.

Here are some long shot picks for the 2022 College Football National Championship (odds via FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook).

National Championship Long Shot Picks

USC (+2500 via DraftKings)Texas (+8000 via FanDuel)Miami (FL) (+10000 via FanDuel)

National Championship Long Shot Predictions

USC (+2500)

Enjoying the last of their days in the Pac-12, USC has a revitalized look as Lincoln Riley joined the team as head coach, who left Oklahoma to take over the reins after Clay Helton was fired last season. With his departure, many Oklahoma players and commits flipped to join the California powerhouse to hopefully run the conference and get into the playoffs.

Oregon, who was once the pride of the conference, will look different this season as they had a surprise coaching change of their own when head coach Mario Cristobal left for the Miami Hurricanes, along with star running back Travis Dye departing the team for USC. That leaves the door wide open for the Trojans to reclaim their title of the greatest team on the west coast.

While their offensive talent list goes on and on, USC has struggled defensively and will be looking at their top commits to fill in the gaps on their defense. Their offense runs through Dye, former Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams and receiver Mario Williams, and Colorado transfer Brenden Rice.

Transfers are headlining most of the talent that USC will be looking to utilize on their way to a national title. But many of their defensive core are USC players who are returning, and new defensive line coach Shaun Nua — who unlocked the potential with Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo last season — has a chance to rebuild the USC defense.

https://twitter.com/USC_FB/status/1552417274950463488

Texas (+8000)

Every year that Texas claims to be back, they seem to fall further down the college football rankings. Last year’s elimination from bowl contention was another knock to Steve Sarkisian’s first season as head coach, finishing the year 5-7 with a 3-6 conference record.

Though Oklahoma, Baylor, and even Iowa State have looked more in form to win a Big 12 Championship lately than Texas has — not a great look for a team ready to make a move to the SEC — this year may be the year where Texas, is truly, back.

Not only did they get the commitment from highly coveted Arch Manning, but they also got Quinn Ewers to flip back to the Longhorns despite flipping away from them to Ohio State in the first place. After last year’s mess of a QB battle between Casey Thompson and Hudson Card, the two young QBs are a building block for Sarkisian to go off of.

Add in Bijan Robinson, who could’ve been at the Heisman ceremony in New York had he not gotten injured, and Xavier Worthy, a First Team All-Big 12 WR who had a 62-catch, 981-yard, 12 touchdown season in 2021, and the Texas offense will be a force to be reckoned with. Their defense will need gigantic improvements to be able to keep the Longhorns in contention, but their scoring ability is not in question.

Miami (+10000)

With one more year to go until the ACC’s decision to eliminate divisions happens, the Hurricanes have one last chance to cruise through a weak ACC Coastal division. Pitt’s storybook season last year was run by QB Kenny Pickett, who is now a Pittsburgh Steeler, and UNC’s Sam Howell left for the NFL as well.

New head coach Cristobal knows serious changes need to be made but will get a boost as last year’s unexpected star Tyler Van Dyke will return. He finished last season with six straight games of over 316 passing yards and three passing touchdowns.

However, after losing both his top receivers, he will need someone else to step up to the plate. Under 2021 Broyles Award winner Josh Gattis — who left Michigan after turning their offense around to be a Big Ten title winner — Miami will have the leadership in place to be able to put up a fight against a Clemson team who are coming off a disappointing season of their own.

Where to Bet on 2022 National Championship Long Shot Picks

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel SportsbookCaesars SportsbookDraftKings SportsbookPointsBetBetMGM

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2022 National Championship Long Shot Picks picks made 7/28/2022 at 2:50 p.m. ET.