Ranking the 5 best college football states entering the 2022 season

Florida State Seminoles tight end Camren McDonald (87) tries to catch a pass from Seminoles quarterback McKenzie Milton (10).The Louisville Cardinals defeated the Florida State Seminoles 31-23 at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021.Fsu V Louisville Football583a /

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General view of the line of scrimmage of USC vs UCLA. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

1. California

As one can surely imagine, a state as grandiose as California is bound to have a variety of universities and, consequently, college football programs. And in 2022, several of them are set to make quite a bit of noise.

USC, the state’s crown jewel, saw a horrendous 4-8 record in 2021. But following the acquisition of impressive head coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma, the Trojans should certainly see a hefty improvement.

Beyond USC, the UCLA Bruins managed to obtain a final record of 8-4 (their best in a regular-season stretch since 2015). At the Group of Five level, both Fresno State and San Diego State saw 10 wins or more in 2021, and the latter hasn’t had a losing record since 2009.

Lastly, the Stanford Cardinal, a team of academic standards that went 3-9 last season, has somehow managed to hold the best 2022 recruiting haul in the Pac-12 this offseason. Under a coach with the IQ of David Shaw, that won’t be easy to survive.

Such an overbearing combination of current and future success is what makes California the strongest state in college football entering the 2022 season.

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