Updated 2021-22 CFP National Championship Odds After National Signing Day

• With National Signing Day coming to a close, Alabama, Georgia and Clemson remain your National Championship favorites heading into next season
• Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide capitalized off their title this season, assembling the highest ranked class of all-time in the modern era
• See the updated national championship odds and a roundup of signing day news below

With the early signing day becoming the pre-eminent time for the top high school prospects to announce their college decisions, this Wednesday came without too much fanfare in the recruiting world.

There’s still some news to discuss though, as Alabama put the finishing touches on the highest ranked recruiting class in the digital era by signing five-star RB Camar Wheaton out of Texas.

Elsewhere, Texas A&M finished their class with a strong push by inking high four-star RB LJ Johnson – and keeping him away from the in-state rival Longhorns while Jim Harbaugh’s staff flipped two defensive linemen to inch back into the top ten.

While we might not see all of the signees make immediate impacts on the field, it’s a great time to take a look at how these classes do affect the championship odds for next season.

2021-22 CFP National Championship Odds

Odds from FanDuel on Feb. 3rd. Recruiting class ranks via 247 Sports

All Gas, No Break for Nick Saban

What did Nick Saban do after piloting Alabama to a perfect season and another national championship amidst a pandemic – absolutely dominate on the recruiting trail, of course.

A couple notes on the Alabama signing class:

— Includes seven five-star recruits, tied for the most in a single class in the modern recruiting era.
— Includes 15 of the top 91 ranked players in the 2021 class, including 12 of the top 58.

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 3, 2021

Of the signees, #1 OT JC Latham and fellow five-star Tommy Brockermeyer could find playing time in the Fall in holes left by Landon Dickerson and Alex Leatherwood up front. WR’s Jacorey Brooks (five-star) Agiye Hall (four-star) and JoJo Earle (4-star) could also make an immediate impact out wide as the Tide will be looking for new starters alongside John Metchie III with Jaylen Waddle and Heisman winner DeVonta Smith off to the NFL.

Defensively, #1 EDGE Dallas Turner should immediately earn snaps in the rotation, and Damon Payne (brother of former Tide standout DaRon Payne) figures to get action as well.

All that being said, the short price of +250 to repeat is just too short for me. Losing your two primary playmakers in Smith and Najee Harris, and transitioning to Bryce Young at QB is bound to at least (somewhat) bring this Tide offence back down to Earth. The unknown of new OC Bill O’Brien stepping in for Steve Sarkisian is also a factor pushing me off locking in the Tide at the moment.

OSU & Georgia Better Bets Among Favorites

Ryan Day’s Buckeyes and Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs were their usual dominant selves recruiting, pulling in the second and third ranked classes, respectively to round out the top three behind Alabama.

Georgia re-stocked their O-line (five stars Amarius Mims and Micah Morris) as well as their linebacking corps (five stars Xavian Sorey and Smael Mondon) and look to have a successor to JT Daniels in Georgia five-star QB Brock Vandagriff.

With Daniels back in the saddle for one more year in Athens alongside standout George Pickens and the always loaded RB room, this might *finally* be the season in which Smart’s team bursts through for that championship – and at odds of +450 they seem like the best bet right now in the SEC.

Meanwhile up in Columbus, the Buckeyes will be tasked with replacing Justin Fields – but return a ton of talent offensively once TE Jeremy Ruckert and All-American Chris Olave elected to stay for another season.

Olave returns to what is a receiver room stocked with five-stars as is, that will now add #1 WR Emeka Egbuka out of Washington who could likely play his way into the rotation. Whether it’s CJ Stroud or Kyle McCord who ends up behind center for Ryan Day, they will have more than enough firepower to return to the playoff and make a run at a title.

USC, Oregon Could Bring Pac-12 Back to the Table

You’re bound to here plenty of talk about USC being back over the rest of the offseason, as Clay Helton’s staff got the Trojans back into the top ten after last year’s disastrous 64th finish.

The eighth ranked class in the nation was boosted by Wednesday’s commitment from four-star LB Raesjon Davis – the 48th ranked player in the country who had been a longtime LSU commit and Ohio State target. He joins his buddy Korey Foreman, the top ranked player in the country, as guys who should make immediate impacts on defense.

Kedon Slovis will come into 2021 as a Heisman favorite, and should excel in his third season running Graham Harrell’s air raid offense. With a decent shot at going undefeated should they run the table in the Pac-12 (they avoid Oregon and Washington) should they knock off Notre Dame, +4000 is a decent bet for a team that’s been building towards this season.

Speaking of Oregon, Mario Cristobal once again showed why he’s one of the best recruiters in the country by bringing in the #6 class that is tops out west for the second straight year. The defense should remain excellent, and the key players in this year’s class have a chance to take the Ducks offense to a level that makes them a legitimate contender.

The 39th ranked prospect in the country, Ty Thompson, could become a sensation should he win the starting QB job – and immediately inject life into Joe Moorhead’s scheme.

Two other top 100 players at wideout, Troy Franklin (#40) and Dont’e Thornton (#56) could also be the big play ingredient downfield at the X and Y receiver spots Oregon has been missing the past few seasons. They’re also worth a look at +4000 ahead of spring ball.

Other Teams to Consider?

With many players opting to use an additional year of eligibility due to 2020 not counting against your academic clock, there’s a bunch of teams with a lot of returning production who’ve added some nice recruits that could pay dividends next year.

LSU had a season from Hell after their magical run in 2019, but return 20 of 22 starters and should revert to form at the top of the SEC this Fall. Top 20 national prospect Maason Smith figures to immediately get in and wreak havoc on the D-Line while five-Star Sage Ryan and high four-star Derrick Davis are likely to help at safety right away – the weakest position on the Tigers back end this past season.  Sprinkle Ed Orgeron bouncing back big at +6000.

Oklahoma also brings back a ton on both sides of the ball, and cleaned up on the transfer market at Tennessee blew up by adding former five-star OT Wanya Morris as well as the Vols leading rusher in Eric Gray.

At +850 the market believes in OU to be back in the playoff conversation, but you could do worse than betting on a Lincoln Riley offence and Alex Grinch’s defense that looks like it’s truly turned a corner.