College GameDay predictions for the 2022 season:

Week 0: Northwestern vs Nebraska (Dublin, Ireland)

The Week 0 schedule is predictably slim. This matchup in Ireland, if it takes place under the state of the current pandemic, is the only one between two Power Five schools. Nebraska and Northwestern both finished 3-9 last season (1-8 Big Ten), with Nebraska winning the home contest between the two, 56-7.

Runner-Up: Vanderbilt @ Hawai’i
3rd: Florida A&M @ North Carolina
4th: Wyoming @ Illinois
5th: Duquesne @ Florida State

Week 1: Notre Dame @ Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio)

Former Buckeye linebacker Marcus Freeman will be starting his first full season as the Notre Dame Head Coach, making this the most intriguing matchup in Week 1. Both teams finished in the top ten of the final AP poll last year as Ohio State won the Rose Bowl and Notre Dame lost to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Runner-Up: Oregon vs Georgia (Atlanta, Georgia)
3rd: Utah @ Florida
4th: Cincinnati @ Arkansas
5th: Memphis @ Mississippi State

Week 2: Alabama @ Texas (Austin, Texas)

This matchup between two future SEC opponents will be the most intriguing, especially with Texas’ QB situation. Hudson Card will try to hold off Ohio State transfer Quinn Ewers for the job as reigning Heisman Trophy winning QB Bryce Young will be leading the Tide.

Runner-Up: Iowa State @ Iowa
3rd: Baylor @ BYU
4th: South Carolina @ Arkansas
5th: Kentucky @ Florida

Week 3: Miami @ Texas A&M (College Station, Texas)

With Miami revamping their program and landing Mario Cristobal as their new head coach, they’ll head to College Station to take on the Aggies. Like Kirby Smart’s Georgia team from last year, Jimbo Fisher will have his hands full with the preseason hype surrounding his recent recruiting success.

Runner-Up: Mississippi State @ LSU
3rd: Oklahoma @ Nebraska
4th: Penn State @ Auburn
5th: Georgia @ South Carolina

Week 4: Clemson @ Wake Forest (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

Both of these teams have a high chance of entering this game 3-0. With Clemson wanting to compete for a playoff spot after a down year in which they finished 10-3, they’ll have a chance to prove themselves against returning Demon Deacons QB Sam Hartman.

Runner-Up: Wisconsin @ Ohio State
3rd: Indiana @ Cincinnati
4th: Kansas State @ Oklahoma
5th: Notre Dame @ North Carolina

Week 5: Michigan @ Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa)

A rematch of last year’s Big Ten Championship Game, this will be an early-season test for both programs that could set the tone for the entire conference. Oklahoma State also travels to Baylor for a rematch of last year’s Big XII Championship Game. Iowa State could play spoiler to either Iowa or Baylor’s GameDay-hosting chances, as the Cyclones play both of them in the first four weeks of the season.

Runner-Up: Oklahoma State @ Baylor
3rd: Kentucky @ Ole Miss
4th: Alabama @ Arkansas
5th: Texas A&M @ Mississippi State

Week 6: Texas vs Oklahoma (Dallas, Texas)

Last year’s epic Red River Rivalry did not disappoint and depending on how each team is doing, this will be the likely spot GameDay returns to in 2022. Texas A&M also travels to Alabama to try and go back-to-back on the Tide in division play.

Runner-Up: Texas A&M @ Alabama
3rd: Notre Dame vs BYU (Las Vegas, Nevada)
4th: Ohio State @ Michigan State
5th: Tennessee @ LSU

Week 7: USC @ Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah)

With major Pac-12 South implications on the line, reigning conference champion Utah welcomes Lincoln Riley’s USC to Salt Lake City. With QB Caleb Williams also making the move from Norman to Los Angeles, this should be a classic high-scoring Pac-12 matchup.

Runner-Up: Penn State @ Michigan
3rd: Alabama @ Tennessee
4th: LSU @ Florida
5th: Auburn @ Ole Miss

Week 8: Ole Miss @ LSU (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

Ole Miss Head Coach Lane Kiffin will look to build on last year’s success as he takes on new LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly, who made the move from Notre Dame last season.

Runner-Up: Cincinnati @ SMU
3rd: Texas A&M @ South Carolina
4th: Iowa @ Ohio State
5th: Texas @ Oklahoma State

Week 9: Ohio State @ Penn State (State College, Pennsylvania)

Week 9 has major Big Ten East implications as the Buckeyes travel to State College and Michigan State travels to Michigan. The GameDay crew will probably travel to Pennsylvania for the annual white-out game depending on how the division is shaking out.

Runner-Up: Michigan State @ Michigan
3rd: Florida vs Georgia (Jacksonville, Florida)
4th: Ole Miss @ Texas A&M
5th: Kentucky @ Tennessee

Week 10: Clemson @ Notre Dame (South Bend, Indiana)

Notre Dame brings Clemson into South Bend the same weekend as Nick Saban travels to Baton Rouge to take on former Irish coach Brian Kelly. Depending on how these teams are doing will determine who starts hosting a lot of these late-season matchups.

Runner-Up: Alabama @ LSU
3rd: Houston @ SMU
4th: Baylor @ Oklahoma
5th: Tennessee @ Georgia

Week 11: Alabama @ Ole Miss (Oxford, Mississippi)

Week 11 has the potential to not see a lot of ranked matchups as the top teams rise and prepare for the end-of-season rivalries, possibly paving the way for an FCS GameDay location. Either way, ESPN has been a fan of traveling to Oxford for the GameDay atmosphere.

Runner-Up: Wisconsin @ Iowa
3rd: Harvard @ Penn
4th: Eastern Washington @ Montana
5th: Pittsburgh @ Virginia

Week 12: Oklahoma State @ Oklahoma (Norman, Oklahoma)

The Pokes’ victory over the Sooners last season was their first since 2014 en route to a Big XII title game spot. This game will likely be a conference championship game eliminator.

Runner-Up: Utah @ Oregon
3rd: USC @ UCLA
4th: Georgia @ Kentucky
5th: Tennessee @ South Carolina

Week 13: Michigan @ Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio)

Last year was Michigan’s first win over Ohio State since 2011 as the Wolverines claimed the Big Ten and made their first College Football Playoff. The game in Columbus should be another one with extreme postseason buildup as both the Buckeyes and Wolverines return a lot of offensive pieces.

Runner-Up: Auburn @ Alabama
3rd: LSU @ Texas A&M
4th: Notre Dame @ USC
5th: Louisville @ Kentucky

Week 14: SEC Championship Game (Atlanta, Georgia)

The SEC has gotten two of the four playoff bids twice (2017 & 2021), which has made their conference championship game the most impactful of them all. The ACC is the only other conference to send two teams to the playoff in a single season; they did so in 2020 thanks to Notre Dame playing an ACC schedule.

Runner-Up: Big Ten Championship Game
3rd: Big XII Championship Game
4th: ACC Championship Game
5th: Pac-12 Championship Game

Week 15: Army vs Navy (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

College GameDay makes a point of going to Army and Navy at the end of the regular season. It’s historically a low-scoring, run-heavy matchup that features some of the best uniform combinations of the season.

Let us know what you think!