Sam Avellone
Show Bio
After 5 months of entertaining competition and the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, the CFB season has come to a close with the Ohio State Buckeyes being crowned champions over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Buckeyes outgained the Irish by nearly 140 yards and held them to just 53 total rushing yards, all while converting 9 of 12 3rd downs and punting just once. Will Howard completed his dream playoff run with 231 yards and 2 touchdowns on 17 completions while Quinshon Judkins did what Ohio State brought him in to do – accumulating 121 total yards with 3 scores.
With the 2024-2025 season now in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take a way-too-early look at the 2025-2026 season. While we don’t have a complete picture as to who is playing where or how teams will look on paper in this transfer portal era, there are some appealing numbers on the board for a few teams that are expected to return ample playmakers in addition to making noise in the portal. Additionally, some sportsbooks already have lines posted for a handful of the big matchups in the early part of the season. Let’s dive into all of the information and see if there is anything worth betting while college football is still fresh in our minds. You can also keep track off all the college football odds on the major markets throughout the offseason.
2026 College Football National Championship opening odds
Odds courtesy of Draftkings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
- Ohio State Buckeyes +450
- Texas Longhorns +500
- Georgia Bulldogs +550
- Oregon Ducks +750
- Penn State Nittany Lions +900
- Alabama Crimson Tide +1200
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish +1600
- Tennessee Volunteers +2000
- Clemson Tigers +2000
- LSU Tigers +2000
- Ole Miss Rebels +2500
- Miami Hurricanes +2500
- Michigan Wolverines +3500
- Texas A&M +3500
- South Carolina Gamecocks +4000
- Florida Gators +6000
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2026 College Football National Championship best bet: Oregon Ducks (+750)
Ohio State’s roster is going to lose ample veteran leadership in the offseason and figures to start an inexperienced quarterback under center next season, so I don’t recommend taking the Buckeyes at their current market price despite them winning the title this season. However, I do recommend investing in a team whose season was cut short by the Buckeyes, and that is the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks finished the 2024-2025 regular season with a perfect record, winning the Big Ten championship in their first season in the conference before its playoff exit.
While they will lose a bit of NFL-caliber talent this offseason, the Ducks figure to be loaded once again next year with returning talent on both sides of the ball like wide receiver Evan Stewart, defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei and linebacker Bryce Boettcher in addition to key transfer portal additions such as Tulane running back Makhi Hughes, USC offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon, Florida State wide receiver Malik Benson, USC defensive lineman Bear Alexander and Purdue safety Dillon Thieneman. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel will move on, but UCLA transfer Dante Moore spent the entire season sitting behind Gabriel while learning Oregon’s system and is expected to excel in his starting role next year.
As far as the schedule goes, the Ducks should be set up for another undefeated run. Not only will they avoid the Buckeyes, but they will avoid having to play back-to-back road games at any point. Furthermore, their most difficult road game will be in late September at Penn State in what will be a rematch of this season’s Big Ten title game. Given James Franklin’s awful run in big games, Oregon should be able to escape with a victory in Happy Valley and will be able to rest up on a bye week immediately following that game. Outside of that matchup, there aren’t many spots that appear too daunting for what should be a loaded Oregon squad. Hopefully the CFP committee fixes the playoff seeding this offseason so the Ducks can actually be rewarded with a pathway they deserve with an undefeated record.
Notable 2026 College Football lookahead lines
Odds courtesy of Bet365 and available at time of publishing.
- Kansas State -2.5 (-110) vs Iowa State (Dublin, Ireland)
- Ohio State -3.5 (-110) vs Texas
- Alabama -9.5 (-110) @ Florida State
- Clemson -1.5 (-110) vs LSU
- Notre Dame -2.5 (-110) @ Miami
- South Carolina -10.5 (-110) vs Virginia Tech
2025 College Football Season best bet: Clemson -1.5 over LSU (-110)
LSU coach Brian Kelly hasn’t been the most profitable road underdog in his career, especially in games with one-score spreads. That’s exactly what we will have here when the LSU Tigers travel to Death Valley East in Clemson on the opening weekend of the 2025-2026 season. LSU figures to be loaded again offensively with the return of quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, but the Tigers will have a lot of new pieces surrounding him including multiple new receivers and almost a completely new offensive line.
Working in so many new pieces in a true road game in Week 1 is a difficult task, especially against a Clemson defense led by a new coordinator in Tom Allen (Penn State) that is returning multiple key pieces such as Wade Woodaz, TJ Parker and Peter Woods. Quarterback Cade Klubnik will also be back in Clemson, along with wide receivers Antonio Williams and Bryant Wesco Jr., with another season in Garrett Riley’s system under his belt. Given LSU’s consistent defensive struggles over the last couple of seasons, Clemson should have an advantage at home on this side of the ball.
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