It doesn't take a genius to figure out which teams will most likely reach the College Football Playoff before the season begins. I know because while I'm an idiot, I've done a good job of predicting the fields since the playoff was created in 2014.
What's more challenging, however, is figuring out which teams could introduce a little chaos into the equation. Yes, there are roughly 10 programs capable of reaching the playoff, but there are only four spots and this is still college football. No matter how predictable the sport is, something unexpected happens every Saturday during the season with Goliaths falling to Davids along the line.
So which teams are likely to play the role of David in 2022? I've dug into the schedules of all the title-contending programs looking for candidates to emerge, and I found five poised to strike. Now, to be clear, to qualify as a "Chaos Team" in this exercise, you cannot be a contender for a playoff spot yourself. These five strike me as the teams most capable of unexpectedly destroying somebody's season in 2022.
Auburn
How could one write about chaos in college football and not mention Auburn at some point? Chaos is the only non-chaotic thing about the program, and 2022 will give Auburn a few chances to ruin things for a couple of different contenders. Nobody is quite sure what to make of the Tigers entering 2022. Bryan Harsin was forced to navigate some choppy seas during his first season on The Plains, which has led to lowered expectations in 2022.
Auburn is never more dangerous than when you expect nothing of it, so be wary, playoff contenders within the SEC. Auburn gets a home game against Penn State in the nonconference, but while the Nittany Lions want to compete for playoff berths, I don't see them being a serious contender in 2022. Though, I suppose Auburn could put an early end to those dreams. Still, the games I'm looking at are at Georgia on Oct. 8, home against Texas A&M on Nov. 12 and the Iron Bowl at Alabama on Nov. 26. Auburn isn't talented enough to compete for an SEC title in 2022. Still, it's strong enough on the defensive side of the ball that it will be hard for either of those teams to blow out. Should the Tigers pair that defense with a good day on offense in those games, they could destroy somebody's season.
BYU
Like Notre Dame, BYU is an independent program that schedules well. Unlike Notre Dame, the Cougars do not have an obvious path to the College Football Playoff without doing something extraordinary. However, that difficult schedule means the Cougars will play teams that do have a clear path, and they're a team capable of knocking them off course.