What a difference a year – or two – makes in our ever-growing world of football wagering.

Thanks to a worldwide pandemic, the college football world was gutted like never before in 2020. It started when spring practices were eliminated. A total of 38 unranked teams upset ranked opponents. As a result, 139 regular season games were canceled or postponed due to COVID-19.

Last season was the first time since 2016 that no major team finished the season undefeated. A lot had to due with the fact the NCAA granted an extra year of playing eligibility to seniors, making them "super seniors" in 2021. Additionally, the NCAA extended the so-called "one-time transfer exception" to all D-I sports allowing players to transfer one time without having to sit out a year – via the 'Transfer Portal". With it a bevy of college football teams returned an inordinate amount of returning starters last season with no less than 92 teams embracing 16 or more starters back.

In 2022, however, the influx of returning starters is back closer to the norm with 23 teams welcoming 16 or more starters back.

Digging deeper, the returning starter tally from 2019-2022 – per the Playbook Football Preview Guide magazine – were:

2022
20+ starters • 0
19 starters • 3
18 starters • 3
17 starters • 10
16 starters • 7
16 + starters • 23

2021

20+ starters • 26
19 starters • 18
18 starters • 15
17 starters • 20
16 starters • 13
16 + starters • 92

2020
20+ starters • 0
19 starters • 3
18 starters • 4
17 starters • 12
16 starters • 8
16 + starters • 27

2019
20+ starters • 0
19 starters • 2
18 starters • 2
17 starters • 6
16 starters •18
16 + starters • 28

In spite of all the outside concerns – read: COVID-19 protocols – last season's Top 5 college football and Top 5 NFL marks last season tallied 98-46-1-1 SU and 73-69-2 ATS.

Listed below are my potential moneymakers for the upcoming season - not necessarily teams that the public will like but instead teams that figure to improve and along the way win more money that they lose. All teams are in alphabetical order. So now it's time to break the huddle for the 2022 season ahead and let the games begin.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The information above was gathered from the 2022 PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide Magaine.