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25 biggest college football storylines for the 2022 season

By Michael Thompson

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JANUARY 10: The National Championship Trophy is seen on the field prior to the 2022 CFP National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs at Lucas Oil Stadium on January 10, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JANUARY 10: The National Championship Trophy is seen on the field prior to the 2022 CFP National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs at Lucas Oil Stadium on January 10, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Apr 23, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams (13) throws the ball during the spring game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams (13) throws the ball during the spring game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

20. Fate of the transfers

Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison: A ton of pressure will be put on them at USC to come through in year one. The Trojans will likely have the “villain” title this season, for all the transfers and their leave to the Big Ten. Will they struggle with all the changes, or thrive and lead the Trojans back to their glory years?

Kaedon Slovis: The former USC signal-caller has gone east. Slovis, once a three-star prospect turned potential 2021 NFL draft pick, has struggled through injuries and the rotting of the Clay Helton era at Southern Cal. Now, he’s set to be the next talented Pitt quarterback.

Gone is Addison, but this top twenty program is loaded with good players and a strong offensive line to keep Slovis upright. Give Slovis time, he’ll put up huge numbers and Pittsburgh will be in the hunt to repeat as ACC champs.

Quinn Ewers: The super prospect left Ohio State after being blocked by Heisman contender C.J. Stroud, and decided to take his mullet and talents to Austin. With Texas, Longhorn faithful are praying he can bring their team back to respectability first, then contention later.

I can’t think of a worse opponent for Ewers to have to face in Week 2 than top-ranked Alabama coming into Austin. If he’s still standing, look for Ewers and Texas two have a 2-3 win improvement this year. These things take time with Steve Sarkisian at the helm, but they’re going in the right direction.

Dillon Gabriel: Gabriel may be the most underrated transfer we had this season. A great quarterback at UCF, Gabriel was on his way to UCLA and Chip Kelly, before Brent Venables and Jeff Lebby convinced him to come be the signal caller in Norman. A perfect replacement after the awkward exit of Williams, the Sooners are in a unique position this year. No longer the hunted and CFP or bust expectations, the Sooners still have the talent to put together a season worthy of a playoff berth.

Gabriel will have a solid offensive line, and first-round NFL draft talent Marvin Mims as his go-to receiver. With an improved defense by Venables and a manageable schedule, look for Gabriel to have a magical season that could get him to New York as a Heisman finalist.

Cam Ward and Michael Penix Jr.: Speaking of Heisman finalists, the state of Washington will have two quarterbacks that have the potential for big seasons that could get them in the conversation for some hardware.

At Washington State, after such a tumultuous season last year, head coach Jake Dickert has his Cougars team dreaming big, mostly due to the hype surrounding their transfer quarterback Cameron Ward. A dominant FCS player the past two years, winning the Jerry Rice Award for most outstanding freshman in FCS and a Walter Payton Finalist as a sophomore, Ward has been one of the most dynamic players in FCS history, with 71 total touchdowns over the past two years and leading Incarnate Word to a 10-2 campaign. The success at UIW led to their head coach, Eric Morris, getting the WSU offensive coordinator job and creating the perfect storm for Ward and the Cougs to have a big season.

Ward will have a few chances to put his name on the map, as the Cougs will travel to Wisconsin in Week 2, to Southern Cal in Week 6, and host playoff-hopeful Utah on Oct. 27. If Ward can play well and win 1-2 of these games, the Cougs will be in the hunt for a Rose Bowl while Ward will be looking like a real threat to that stiff arm trophy.

Going west of the Evergreen State, the Washington Huskies are hoping a program reset can turn things around. After the Huskies appeared to be back in the national picture with a CFP appearance in 2016, so much has gone wrong. With numerous New Year’s Six bowl losses, failure to meet expectations, the retirement of Chris Petersen and the complete failure of the Jimmy Lake era, new head coach Kalen DeBoer has his work cut out for him. Enter Michael Penix Jr.

DeBoer comes to Washington after a successful run as head coach at Fresno State and before that the offensive coordinator at Indiana, where he and Penix found great success together. When healthy, Penix has been a great quarterback that helped the Hoosiers to a top ten ranking in the COVID-19-riddled 2020 season before an injury (there’s a theme here) ended his season.

Penix has never played more than six games in a season, which is why Husky fans may be more interested in super recruit Sam Huard taking the job, but he gives the Huskies the best chance at success early in the season. In his two years under the coaching staff he’ll have in Seattle, Penix had a passer efficiency rating above 140 and a 28-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Penix and the Huskies will get their chance to show they’re back when they host 15th-ranked Michigan State at Husky Stadium in Week 3. A win there for Penix and the Huskies, and they could be a threat to make some noise in a suddenly deep Pac-12.

My money is on Bama’s Will Anderson Jr. to break the curse of a defensive player winning the Heisman, but if he is not the winner, I expect that honor will go to one of these fascinating transfers this season.

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