By Geoff Schwartz
FOX Sports NFL Analyst
A college football championship is won on the field, but the roster that can get you to the promised land is built in recruiting.
Bud Elliott of 247Sports created the Blue Chip Ratio as a metric to measure the roster entry-point for a championship-caliber team. Simply put, you need more 4- and 5-star players on your roster than not. If you don’t meet that 50% threshold, you are not winning a title, which brings me to the few teams whose futures I think are worth throwing some bucks at.
On my list, you’ll find a couple of the usual suspects, and that’s because the teams that have ‘been there, done that’ typically recruit better than the rest.
So with this in mind, here are my top three early futures bet for next season’s college football championship (with all odds via FOX Bet).
Alabama: +200 (bet $10 to win $30 total)
Alabama has the best roster in college football and returns Heisman-winning quarterback Bryce Young to a team hungry for another championship. The Tide are well-coached, disciplined and comfortable in the trenches. Just check their resume.
Bama has won six championships since 2009 under coach Nick Saban. That averages out to about one natty every two years. They lost to SEC rival Georgia last season so that means they are due.
I’m throwing a few bucks on this and rolling with the Tide.
Ohio State: +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
Once again, the Buckeyes are one of the most talented teams in the country. Their offense last season was high-flying and high-scoring, and that is not going to change in 2022 with potential No. 1 NFL draft pick C.J. Stroud starting at quarterback.
“THE” Ohio State’s defense is revamped with a new coordinator. I think that they’ll be a better unit than they were last season with the added defensive flexibility.
But generally speaking, Ohio State has pretty much always been elite. And as usual, the Buckeyes will be “in” at the end of the season with a chance to compete for another national title.
Texas A&M: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Yes, the Aggies making my list might throw you off a little, and at +3000, they’re obviously a long shot. But hear me out.
Texas A&M had a blue-chip ratio of 61% heading into the 2021 season and just landed the best class in the country after February’s signing period. This team is loaded with talent, and all that’s left for them to do now is put it all together.
Quarterback play could be shaky since there’s a three-way competition for the position. However, A&M is good at the offensive skill positions and the offensive line is solid, too. Defensively, they are changing schemes with new defensive coordinator DJ Durkin — a leader and coach who has shaped multiple top 15 defenses.
Also remember that A&M beat Alabama last season, so we know they’ve got the moxie to make some noise in the tough SEC West. The Aggies can ride the momentum of that huge win into this season.
I’m sure they believe this could be their year. All things considered, that squad is worth a few bucks for an early bet.
Geoff Schwartz played eight seasons in the NFL for five different teams. He started at right tackle for the University of Oregon for three seasons and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection his senior year. He is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @GeoffSchwartz.
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