2025-26 College Football National Championship Odds & Picks

CFP Contenders, Sleepers to Watch

Ohio State Buckeyes (+550)

Ohio State is favored to win the national championship. The Buckeyes are getting a lot of respect as the national champions. While their title run was certainly impressive, the identity of the players matter more than the jersey they’re wearing. It’s still Ohio State, but this team lost a tremendous amount of talent in the offseason. This is a measurable fact that is evident in the number of highly-ranked players that left. This departed talent contributed in many ways to the offensive and defensive prowess of Ohio State last year.

The Buckeyes look intriguing because they beat another heavily favored national championship candidate, Texas, in their season-opener. However, I am not impressed by this win. Texas quarterback Arch Manning could not beat out Quinn Ewers for the starting job last year and remains not much more than a famous last name. The Buckeyes lack depth at the defensive tackle position, are breaking in a new starting quarterback, and have other problems that create a negative outlook for them this year.

It’s also rare in general for a team to repeat as champion — this is true in any team sport. At this price, Ohio State is not attractive at all.

LSU Tigers (+1000)

LSU is my favorite team to bet on because it presents an intriguing option as a contender that promises an attractive payout. People are down on the Tigers after they lost their season opener to Clemson. But any pessimism is unmerited. It’s simply the case that LSU under Brian Kelly always loses season openers. Especially with this expanded playoff system, what matters for a team is its ability to peak at the right time. It’s smart to invest in a great team while it’s down — after facing a tough Clemson team and then Louisiana Tech in a classic hangover game — because the odds will drop when LSU starts to shine against top opponents.

We already know about its offense. Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback is listed as a top contender to win the Heisman. With him improving, LSU will exceed 30 points per game after it breaks in its new offensive line that is seriously talented and well-coached but needs time to gel together.

On defense, the Tigers acquired major talent in the offseason to bolster its defensive line and secondary, returned star linebacker Harold Perkins Jr., its top tackler from last year Whit Weeks, and other significant players.

Ole Miss Rebels (+3500)

Remember that Ole Miss almost made the playoffs last year after beating Georgia by 18 points. Considering how good the Rebels continue to be, it is surprising to see them available at this price. They dominated their first opponent 63-7 before, most recently, comfortably avenging their loss to Kentucky last year.

Ole Miss will continue to grow along with its sophomore starting quarterback Austin Simmons. Last year, he was 5-for-6 with 64 yards in his stint against Georgia. He is a four-star recruit playing for offensive mastermind Lane Kiffin, who just helped quarterback Jaxson Dart become a first-round draft pick. So, the talent and potential are there. Like LSU, Ole Miss is a team worth investing in because of what it must be expected to accomplish by the end of the season. 

On defense, they added very valuable defensive backs and pass rushers in the offseason. One returning talent is Suntarine Perkins, who amassed 10.5 sacks last year. This will be, like last year, a top-five scoring defense.

This is a well-rounded team that will end the regular season with no more than a loss, resulting in a playoff bid that they are capable of turning into a title run.