The Alabama Crimson Tide will be virtually automatic favorites – or one of the chalks – to win the national championship every preseason for as long as Nick Saban is the boss in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide rarely disappoints its fans and the expectations of supporters and experts alike when it comes to living up to the program’s monstrous potential. They always have one of the best-recruiting classes, the best quality of play on both ends of the field in any given contest, and of course, the best mind in football, with Saban guiding the SEC program.

Last season, Alabama failed to progress to the National Championship Game as it got tripped up on the grandest stage of college football by SEC rivals Georgia Bulldogs. For most college football teams, that’s a successful season. For Alabama, that’s nothing really to be overly cheerful about because only excellence in its superlative form will satisfy the storied football program. So expect the Crimson Tide to have chips on their shoulders this year, which is bad news for the rest of the Football Bowl Subdivision. With that said, here are three predictions for the Alabama Crimson Tide in the upcoming 2022 college football season.

3 Alabama 2022 college football season predictions

3. Alabama beats the Utah State Aggies by at least 60 points

There’s a certain level of pity you should feel for the Aggies, who will be the first assignment of a heavyweight Crimson Tide squad that can’t wait to get back on the field after that upset loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. All the frustrations from that loss will be vented on the poor Aggies, who are currently given a line of around 38.5 by sportsbooks against the Crimson Tide. This will be pretty much a sparring contest for Alabama, which should be able to easily dominate from start to finish. The last time these two programs met on the football field, the Crimson Tide eked out a 35-3 win as the home team way back in 2005.

2. Alabama leads the nation in scoring offense

Last season, the Crimson Tide finished fifth in the nation in scoring offense with an average production of 39.3 points per game. It could be better in 2022. For one, Alabama has something – or someone, really – that no other school in the nation can boast of, and that’s a reigning Heisman Trophy winner playing the most important role on the team’s attack. Bryce Young returns to Tuscaloosa to give it another shot with the Crimson Tide. There is a bigger desire for Young to lead the Crimson Tide’s attack, particularly because he tasted how bitter it was to reach the National Championship Game and lose to an underdog.

Via Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Consitution:

“That’s the most important thing for me,” Young said. “Being at Alabama, all you have to focus on is the team and winning. … We didn’t get it done last year. That’s really the approach I’m taking. I definitely have a lot of motivation, a lot of fuel to do that. I think we have that as a team. I think it’s big, about making sure as a team we’re doing the little things right, and we’re working together and trusting the process and closer. It’s definitely fuel to the fire.”

And it’s not just Young that will make opposing defensive coordinators sweat bullets in the days leading up to a Saturday game against Alabama. The Crimson Tide will also have a Georgia transfer wideout coming to town to help the team fill the giant voids left by the pair of  John Metchie III and Jameson Williams. Plus there will also be the returning assets downfield in the likes of Ja’Corey Brooks, JoJo Earle, and Agiye Hall.

Losing Metchie and Williams is huge for Alabama, but with a fully motivated and now more experienced Young orchestrating the plays from under center, Alabama’s passing attack should be lethal again. Then there’s also the team’s backfield that features transfer tailback Jahmyr Gibbs, who comes over from the ACC, having played two years with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. During that time, he racked up 1,206 rushing yards and eight touchdowns while taking the ball for 5.2 yards per carry. He can produce at a much better rate behind Alabama’s offensive line that lost Evan Neal to the 2022 NFL Draft but returns to full-time starters in Emil Ekiyor and Javion Cohen.

1. Alabama wins the National Championship Game by at least 25 points

The hunger is definitely there for Alabama. The talent is, too. All that is left for the Crimson Tide to do in 2022 is win. That's a whole lot easier said than done, but the Crimson Tide, under Saban, has time and again proven that they are a cut above the rest, and what better way for Alabama to announce that it's back to its usual perch atop the college football world than by absolutely outclassing their opponent in the National Championship Game.