Making the College Football Playoff is never easy and sometimes there are surprise teams that make a push. Which teams could shock everyone in 2022?

The College Football Playoff's expansion has been put on hold until at least after the current contract ends in 2025 and that means the field will be prestigious as ever for the next few years.

Over the years, very few surprise teams have made the playoff as the usual powerhouses like Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma have made the field. There have been some surprises such as Michigan and Cincinnati from this past season, Washington a few years ago, and Michigan State back in 2015.

As you can imagine, none of those four "surprise" teams won a single game in the playoff, getting bounced in the first round in blowout fashion.

Even Notre Dame was somewhat of a surprise and it, too, got knocked out early after playing some powerhouses.

After yet another exciting season which saw two of those surprises make the playoff, we head into the offseason with plenty of speculation regarding early contenders for the four-team field in 2022. There are the usual suspects of Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State, but who else could make a push and shock just about everyone?

Note: I excluded teams that made the New Year's Six in 2021 because they wouldn't be much of a surprise.

5. USC Trojans (2021 record: 4-8)

If there's one program that could probably shock everyone and come out of the Pac-12 based solely on talent, it's USC.

The Trojans finished just 4-8 in Clay Helton's final season which was cut dangerously short after a blowout loss to Stanford. They were clearly a shell of their former selves and far removed from the heydays of Reggie Bush and Matt Leinert.

But hiring Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma was a power move. The Trojans showed that they're willing to fork over the money to compete for national titles again and Riley is the perfect guy for the job. He's led the Sooners to multiple playoff berths and is a top-tier recruiter. And if you can't recruit at USC, you probably can't recruit anywhere.

USC brings in just the 65th-best recruiting class in the country because it's only eight commits deep, but the Trojans have hit the portal hard, landing 13 transfers. One of those transfers is former five-star and Heisman contender Caleb Williams from Oklahoma who started at quarterback under Riley in 2021.

The Trojans have a talented roster as well as a dozen more impactful transfers coming in for the 2022 season. That 4-8 record last year is going to look ridiculous compared to 10-plus wins in 2022.

4. Miami Hurricanes (2021 record: 7-5)

Miami has been somewhat of a dumpster fire for a few years. The Hurricanes were expected to have a decent bounce-back under Manny Diaz in 2021 but they couldn't seem to conjure any momentum and limped to a 7-5 record and D'Eriq King just couldn't stay healthy.

Diaz was squarely on the hot seat all year long and the school made a questionable move, reportedly offering Mario Cristobal the head coaching job before firing Manny.

The move to hire Cristobal was a good one, but the way the athletic department went about it was poor. Still, the Hurricanes got their guy and this should put them in a position to finally squeeze the most out of the talent on the roster. Talent hasn't been the issue with the Hurricanes, but the recruiting should improve drastically anyways — especially in Florida.

The Hurricanes finished 5-7 last season, but Tyler Van Dyke showed plenty of promise and I could see him having an All-ACC type season at quarterback.

Cristobal takes over an impressive roster with plenty of talent and he also brings in the No. 15 recruiting class in the country as well as a handful of instant-impact transfers. This team could win a wide-open ACC this season and make a surprise playoff push.

3. Texas Longhorns (2021 record: 5-7)

The 2021 season was an absolute disaster for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns, finishing just 5-7 and missing out on bowl season, but the future seems bright.

I know what everyone who follows college football is thinking: every time someone hints at Texas being "back", the Longhorns seem to fade back to irrelevance. This time feels a little different because of the roster improvement this offseason.

Texas is losing some key players, including Casey Thompson and Cade Brewer, but the Longhorns are bringing back Heisman contender Bijan Robinson at running back, breakout star Xavier Worthy at receiver, and plenty of talent across the defensive side of the ball. Plus, Texas signed the No. 5 recruiting class in the country and Sarkisian landed former five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers in the transfer portal and he looks to be the next star under center in Austin.

Along with the Big 12's top incoming recruiting class, Texas has four impressive transfers which include the aforementioned Ewers along with Alabama tight end transfer Jahleel Billingsley, Ohio State cornerback Ryan Watts, and Wyoming receiver Isaiah Neyor.

This roster has the makeup of a Big 12 champion and I wouldn't be shocked to see a huge turnaround in 2022.

2. Wisconsin Badgers (2021 record: 9-4)

This one might come as a bit of a surprise, but Wisconsin looked like one of the most improved teams at the end of the 2021 season after a horrid start.

Wisconsin looked like a massive disappointment early in the year thanks to an anemic offense, but things turned around midway through the year. After a 1-3 start which concluded with a blowout home loss to Michigan, the Badgers went 8-1 in the final nine games to finish 9-4 with a bowl win over Arizona State. Although they didn't win the Big Ten West again, they did create a solid foundation for the 2022 season.

Graham Mertz may not be the long-term answer at quarterback and I could see Paul Chryst look to the portal. He was in the running for Caleb Williams before he picked USC and I wouldn't be shocked if he pursued Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels. If he's able to land Daniels, Wisconsin should be the clear favorite to win the West.

Either way, I think this team competes for a Big Ten title thanks to a strong run game led by breakout star Braelon Allen and an elite defense.

I wouldn't be shocked with a multi-win improvement from the Badgers and a playoff push in 2022.

1. LSU Tigers (2021 record: 6-7)

Let's all just act like we haven't seen the videos of Brian Kelly's awful dance moves with recruits and realize that he's a dangerous addition to the program in Baton Rouge.

Kelly led Notre Dame to multiple playoff appearances and even a national title game appearance back before the four-team field existed. He did almost everything he could with the Irish, but he decided to go to a program that values football above all else. Notre Dame is an elite football school, but the priorities at LSU are pretty much "football and then everything else, I guess."

The Tigers have forked over a ton of cash over the years to win games and going 9-3 or 10-2 every year just isn't going to cut it — just ask Les Miles.

Kelly knows that.

The new head coach signed the No. 12 recruiting class in the country for 2022 and he brings in 13 transfers, most of which will be key players on next year's roster.

LSU finished just 6-7 with a bowl loss to Kansas State in 2021, but I see much more success this coming season with a top-tier head coach leading one of the most talented rosters in the country.