Early College Football National Championship Predictions & Odds: 2026 Picks to Win CFP
Less than a month after Ohio State won the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, we're looking ahead at the college football national championship predictions and odds for the game on Jan. 19, 2026.
In a season with plenty of intrigue due to Arch Manning taking over as QB1 at Texas and Bill Belichick preparing to lead North Carolina, the college football national championship odds are led by the usual suspects.
However, could this be the year a team with preseason odds longer than +800 wins the title? It hasn't happened since LSU in 2020, and the Tigers might be the best candidate to pull off the feat again.
College football national championship predictions to make after the Super Bowl
- College football national championship favorite pick: Oregon (+750 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐
- College football national championship contender pick: LSU (+2000 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐
- College football national championship long-shot pick: South Carolina (+4000 via DraftKings) ⭐
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College football national championship odds
College football national championship odds analysis
- After winning the title last season, Ohio State opened as the favorite to repeat but is losing double-digit starters as well as both OC Chip Kelly (Las Vegas Raiders) and DC Jim Knowles (Penn State)
- With Manning being one of the Heisman Trophy odds favorites, Texas isn't far behind the Buckeyes, despite its top three offensive linemen and top three pass catchers going pro
- Like the Buckeyes and Longhorns, Georgia remains a favorite even with its starting QB gone - Carson Beck transferred to Miami - and many of its best players competing to climb the 2025 NFL Draft odds
- For the third straight season, Dan Lanning will be starting a different transfer QB at quarterback, but he's proven its a recipe that works for Oregon
- Penn State, Notre Dame, and Alabama are the only other programs with shorter than 20/1 odds, but all three will need to replace All-American talent
Early picks to win college football national championship
College football national championship favorite pick: Oregon
Best odds: +750 via DraftKings | Implied probability: 11.76%
Lanning has the Ducks on the cusp of greatness, and they shouldn't take a step back in their second season in the Big Ten. While Heisman finalist Dillon Gabriel is gone, former five-star recruit Dante Moore is set to take over under center. While there's a bit of projection with him, the redshirt sophomore showed flashes as a true freshman at UCLA (14 big-time throws in his first five games, per PFF).
If Moore can thrive in Will Stein's offense the same way Gabriel and Bo Nix did, Oregon is going to be scary - Moore's got more pure talent than Gabriel. The Ducks also bring back receiver Evan Stewart and reloaded with multiple key transfers like Makhi Hughes (Tulane), Isaiah World (Nevada), and Emmanuel Pregnon (USC).
It's much of the same defensively, where the crown jewel of Lanning's No. 4 transfer portal class plays. Safety Dillon Thieneman (Purdue) is one of the best in the country, and he joins a defense that returns pass rusher Matayo Uiagalelei and linebacker Bryce Boettcher.
So while the Ducks have a significant amount of talent headed to the NFL, Lanning's continued dominance of the portal will help hide many of those losses. Oregon is in better shape than Ohio State in the Big Ten and could once again earn the No. 1 seed in the CFP. If they win it all this time, a $10 bet pays a $75 profit.
College football national championship contender pick: LSU
Best odds: +2000 via DraftKings | Implied probability: 4.76%
Looking at the eight programs with odds in the +1000 to +3500 range, LSU jumps out for multiple reasons. Unlike most of them, the Tigers have a proven quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier, who's actually trading as the Heisman favorite above Manning at this point - rightfully so, as he was seventh in the country in big-time throws last season (26).
Nussmeier would have likely been in the conversation to be one of the first three quarterbacks selected in the 2025 NFL Draft had he turned pro. Instead, he's back in Baton Rouge surrounded by the No. 1 transfer portal class. This offense is adding Nic Anderson (Oklahoma), Barion Brown (Kentucky), Josh Thompson (Northwestern), and Braelin Moore (Virginia Tech) to a unit that returns Aaron Anderson and Caden Durham.
The defense could be even better with additions like Patrick Payton (Florida State), Jack Pyburn (Florida), and Mansoor Delane (Virginia Tech) joining Harold Perkins Jr., Whit Weeks, and Ashton Stamps. I think Blake Baker could really have this defense make a jump.
Brian Kelly put in work this offseason to accumulate talent and LSU has one of the most impressive rosters in the country on paper. With Georgia and Alabama having to replace so much and find new starting QBs, the Tigers could challenge Texas for the SEC title, and perhaps the national title.
College football national championship longshot pick: South Carolina
Best odds: +4000 via DraftKings | Implied probability: 2.44%
Winning a college football national championship is usually reserved for the blue bloods ... the last 14 titles have gone to just seven different programs. Which is why it's rare for a team with odds longer than +800 to bring home a title. So finding a long shot with a real chance isn't easy.
The best course of action is to back an SEC or Big Ten team on the come-up that has at least one potential game-changer on each side of the ball. South Carolina fits that bill perfectly after nearly getting into the CFP last season and winning its most games since 2017 when the ol' ball coach, Steve Spurrier, was still in charge.
Shane Beamer has done an impressive job on the recruiting trail with the Gamecocks and its starting to translate to wins. So I'm banking on them getting to double-digit Ws this season behind the play of QB LaNorris Sellers (25 total TDs, 16 big-time throws) and pass rusher Dylan Stewart (51 pressures, 11 TFLs).
South Carolina also brought in several key pieces via the portal, including running back Rahsul Faison (Utah State), cornerback Brandon Cisse (NC State), and tight end Jordan Dingle (Kentucky). If Sellers and Stewart level up as sophomores, the Gamecocks will be scary. And if they somehow win the natty, a $10 bet pays a $400 profit.
College football national championship FAQs
Who is the favorite for the college football national championship?
Ohio State is the favorite to win the college football national championship. The Buckeyes' +600 odds imply a 14.29% probability that they'll win the title.
When is the college football national championship?
The 2026 college football national championship will be play on Monday, Jan. 19.
Where is the college football national championship?
The 2026 college football national championship will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Who won the college football national championship last year?
Ohio State won last year's CFP National Championship, the Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame 34-23 in Atlanta.
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