College Football Betting Odds: Big Ten Favorite, Sleeper & Prediction for 2026-27

The Big Ten is seeking to become the first conference to have four different schools win the College Football Playoff title in four straight years. That's a possibility: the Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll has Oregon at No. 2.

Ohio State is top-ranked according to that same poll. The chances that we get another champion from one of the two biggest Power Conferences is high: 10 of the last 12 CFP titles have been won by Big Ten or SEC schools.

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Big Ten Conference Winner Odds

FanDuel Sportsbook has Ohio State as the favorite, but Oregon, seeking its first Big Ten title, also has short odds.

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Big Ten College Football Betting

The Big Ten is the reason college football's epicenter has shifted. The SEC has gone from the bully to being bullied. Three midwestern teams (Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana) have owned the sport the last three seasons. Now, the Big Ten has championship-caliber teams on the west coast and farther east, namely in State College, Pennsylvania.

How the Favorite Buckeyes Can Win

What Alabama used to be to the SEC, Ohio State is to the Big Ten: the behemoth, standard-bearer program every other school is battling to keep pace with. The Buckeyes have been in the CFP in three of the last four years. They won a title in 2024, and were arguably the second-best team in the country last season, based on the way they played Indiana in a tense 13-10 loss in the Big Ten title game.

But the Buckeyes must overcome a daunting challenge: three straight games in October and early November: at Indiana; at USC; and hosting preseason No. 2 Oregon. It's possible that all three of those teams will be ranked in the top 10 when they meet the Buckeyes. That stretch will just be a precursor to the Buckeyes playing Michigan in "The Game" at the Horseshoe in Columbus to end conference play.

How can OSU grab back the conference title it lost last year to the Hoosiers? It starts with the foundation up front: offensive linemen Austin Siereveld and Luke Montgomery are back. Both will be playing on Sundays eventually. They serve as shields for two high-powered returning Buckeyes: quarterback Julian Sayin and running back Bo Jackson. All Sayin did last season was lead the nation with a 77% completion rate. His favorite target should be and will be Jeremiah Smith, who will likely be a Heisman Trophy finalist. Smith is 43 catches and about 350 yards away from setting school records.

Unlike a few of the Big Ten champion contenders, Ohio State can win by powering the ball on the ground and grinding out a low-scoring victory, or by airing the football out and breaking the scoreboard with points.

• PRESEASON ODDS (FanDuel): +185 ($100 winning bet will return $185)

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Big Ten Sleeper Bet: Penn State +1900 (FanDuel)

It felt like two separate seasons last year for the Nittany Lions. The first was the horror of six straight losses to start conference play. The second was after a coaching change was made: Penn State won four games to end the season. Twice in November, the Nittany Lions challenged top teams, holding close to Ohio State on the road, and the following week they had a fourth quarter lead against eventual national champion Indiana.

Yes, Penn State has the skill players to challenge in the Big Ten. And this year under new head coach Matt Campbell, the team has a favorable schedule. It's easy to see how Penn State could run the table into November, when it faces Washington in the first week of that month, but then has cupcake games against Minnesota, Rutgers, and Maryland. The Nittany Lions will not play the Buckeyes, Ducks, or Hoosiers. They won't play Iowa, which stunned them in a fourth quarter comeback last season.

Penn State will need to win on the defensive side of the ball. The team returns less than 5% of its offensive roster, one of the 10 lowest figures in the power conferences, according to PFF. The Lions only have to tweak a few things: the team was 1-5 in games decided by seven or fewer points points in 2025. ESPN had Penn State 17th in its power rankings formula in 2025, which measured expected win probability based on yards gained and allowed.

The big challenges will be road games at Michigan in October, and the November game at Washington. If Campbell can get past even one of those games, there is a possibility the Nittany Lions could go 8-1 in the Big Ten.

• PRESEASON ODDS (FanDuel): +1900 ($100 winning bet will return $1900)

Longshot Bet: Washington

With all the deserved hype over Curt Cignetti's arrival in the Big Ten, Jedd Fisch has swam under the radar, if you will. The Washington head coach has elevated that program since he took over in Seattle before the 2024 season, but in a crowded conference of elite programs his excellent work has been overshadowed.

The Huskies won nine games a year ago, punctuating the season with a dominant win in a bowl game. In two of its four losses, the Huskies competed well against top-10 ranked opponents Ohio State and Oregon.

To pull off a conference title, the Huskies will need to win at least two of their three games against Penn State, Indiana, and Oregon, which happen in a 21-day stretch in November.

To beat the big teams in the Big Ten, Washington will rely on junior quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who is rated third in the conference according to PFF. The Huskies are 18th (in the B1G) at the running back position according to PFF, which means Williams will be asked to shoulder the offensive load.

• PRESEASON ODDS (FanDuel): +2700 ($100 winning bet will return $2,700)

Prediction: Penn State will win the Big Ten title

Schedule, schedule, schedule. That's the key to the 18-team Big Ten: who you play and when. The Nittany Lions have the most favorable schedule among the five teams that have a legitimate chance at the conference trophy. If they beat the Wolverines and Huskies on the road, they have a strong chance at the conference championship game, where I see them toppling the Ducks.

• PREDICTION: Nittany Lions will run the table in conference play and upset Oregon in the Big Ten title game.