For First Time in CFP era, Champion Didn't Have to go Through Alabama: All Things CW

The 2022 national title hasn't been awarded yet and the Crimson Tide is already being called a favorite to reach next season's national championship game.

Christopher Walsh | Jan 9, 2023

For First Time in CFP era, Champion Didn't Have to go Through Alabama: All Things CW /

In this story:

Alabama Crimson Tide

The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh appears in five parts with the latest on the Alabama Crimson Tide. This is ...

Take 1

The national championship game hasn't been played yet, and already oddsmakers are talking about the favorites for next season. Of course, the list includes the usual suspects at the top. There's only one team ahead of the Alabama Crimson Tide, and it's the one going for its second straight title.

Georgia vs. TCU is being widely hailed around the nation because the semifinal wins against Big Ten teams were by extremely narrow margins and, let's face it, the matchup is something different.

The flip side to that, of course, is that something has felt off these past few weeks, ever since the CFP selection committee had Alabama at No. 5, and out of the semifinals.

Here's what it is: The last time a national champion didn't have to play Alabama was 2013, Florida State.

That encompasses the entire College Football Playoff era.

Season, Team, Title Game

2014 Ohio State 14-1; Beat Alabama in semifinal
2015 Alabama 14-1
2016 Clemson 14-1; Alabama lost in title game
2017 Alabama 13-1
2018 Clemson 15-0; Alabama lost in title game
2019 LSU 15-0; Beat Alabama during regular season
2020 Alabama 13-0
2021 Georgia 14-1; Beat Alabama in title game

Prior to that, the last team to win the title was Texas in 2005, two years before Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa and changed college football forever.

Should Georgia win in Los Angeles, where the Bulldogs are favored by nearly two full touchdowns, there won't be and second-guessing on this championship or anyone wondering might have happened hadn't key players suffered injuries. Navigating a perfect season is incredibly difficult under any circumstance, and doing so as the reigning national champion is ever more so.

Even with all of his titles, Nick Saban himself has had just two undefeated teams. So give credit where credit is due.

But it works both ways.

Alabama was arguably one play away from the playoff this year, and the program's sustained success is something college football has never seen before.

Here are some reminders from recent years:

• Since Ohio State was ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 on Nov. 1, 2015, only four schools have occupied the top spot in the 126 polls since: Alabama (74 times), Clemson (23), Georgia (21) and LSU (8).

• The Crimson Tide has been ranked No. 1 at some point of every season since 2008.

• Alabama has been ranked in 244 consecutive polls (2008-present), followed by Georgia (97, 2017-present), Ohio State (45, 2020-present), Michigan 29 (2021-present), Utah 20 (2021-present), Clemson 18 (2021-present), Southern California 15, Tennessee 14, Oregon 13, Penn State 13, Kansas State 11, TCU 10, UCLA 10, Tulane 8, LSU 7 (eight others between two and five).

• The most wins over ranked teams since 1989, when the AP started ranking 25 teams: Alabama 110, Ohio State 105, LSU 90, Florida State 84, Oklahoma 84, Florida 82, Michigan 81, Georgia 76, Southern Cal 75, Tennessee 69, Oregon 67, Miami, Fla. 65, Auburn 64, Notre Dame 64, Clemson 63, Texas 61, Penn State 59, Washington 59, UCLA 57, Stanford 52, Wisconsin 52, Michigan State 51, Virginia Tech 50, Colorado 47, Nebraska 47, Texas A&M 47, Arkansas 46, Georgia Tech 44 (TCU 39).

That's why the oddsmakers have Georgia and Alabama as the early favorites for next season. They don't know who the quarterbacks will be, the assistant coaches, or the true makeup of the teams as we still have more turnover to endure — especially for the Bulldogs,

We all know where the smart money is at.

Speaking of which, if interested, here are some of the specifics on the title game from SI Sportsbook:

No. 3 TCU vs. No. 1 Georgia College Football Playoff National Championship Odds

Spread: TCU +13 (-118) | Georgia -13 (-110)
Moneyline: TCU (+370) | UGA (-568)
Total: 62.5 – Over (-110) | Under (-118)
Game Info: Monday, Jan. 9, 2023 | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
Location: SoFi Stadium | Inglewood, Calif.
TCU Straight-Up Record: 13–1
TCU Against the Spread Record: 10–3–1
Georgia Straight-Up Record: 14–0
Georgia Against the Spread Record: 7–7

Other bets available:

First-Quarter Moneyline: TCU (+170) | Georgia (-250)
First-Half Moneyline: TCU (+250) | Georgia (-376)
First-Half Total: 31.5 — Over (-110) | Under (-118)
Highest-Scoring Quarter: First (+475) | Second (+125) | Third (+475) | Fourth (+220)
Odd or Even Total: Odd (-125) | Even (+100)
Half Time/ Full Time Result: TCU/TCU (+580) | TCU/Tie (+3300) | TCU/Georgia (+600) | Tie/TCU (+3000) | Tie/Tie (+3300) | Tie/Georgia (+1400) | Georgia/TCU (+1300) | Georgia/Tie (+3000) | Georgia/Georgia (-200)

Take 1

See Also: