NCAAF CFP Odds 2026: Best Bets To Win The National Championship Next Season

Congratulations to the Indiana Hoosiers on winning the 2025 season national championship. But as one season ends, another begins. NCAAF CFP odds for the 2026 national championship have been posted at sportsbooks. That means it is time to ask and answer one very important question:

As the 2025 season ends, what are the best bets to win the 2026 college football national championship?

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

NCAAF 2026 CFP Championship Odds: Top 15 Teams

Theoretically, every team has an equal shot at the 2026 title, since they are all 0-0. If you want to see the odds for Kent State, Western Michigan, or Connecticut, they are available online at most (if not all) sportsbooks.

Our focus here will be on the top 15 teams on the DraftKings betting board:

• Ohio State +700
• Indiana +700
• Notre Dame +750
• Texas +750
• Oregon +850
• Georgia +900
• LSU +1200
• Texas Tech +1400
• Texas A&M +1600
• Alabama +1800
• Miami FL +2000
• Oklahoma +3500
• USC +3500
• Ole Miss +4000
• Michigan +4000

If this list looks familiar, well — it should. These are all teams ranked inside the top 25 to end the season. It is understandable for the opening odds for the following season be a reflection of the final standings of the previous one.

They were the best, and while they’ll lose players to the portal, graduation and the NFL. We know many of these teams will replace their losses via the transfer portal and their incoming class of recruits. But there is a better reason to go ahead and put money down on one or more of these teams. If history is any indication, one of these teams will probably win the national championship next season.

Prior to Indiana, the last five national champions and nine of the last 10 had preseason odds shorter than +1000. Dating back to 2001, 17 eventual champions had preseason odds of +1000 or shorter. Seven had odds from +1200 to +4000, and the longest was — Auburn in 2010 (+5000).

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Don’t Overlook the 2026 Long Shots, Next Year's Indiana

We all want to bet on a long shot and win, but those teams have long odds for a reason. They were not very good the year before, and there is no reason to believe this year will be different. While that may be true in most cases, there are always exceptions to the rule:

• Indiana had +10000 preseason odds to win the national championship.
• LSU (2019) opened the season around +2000 but had odds as high as +6000 in the offseason.
• Auburn (2010) had +5000 odds entering the season.

Several long shots had a chance at the national championship only to fall short in the end:

• TCU (2022) lost in the national championship game (+20000 preseason odds).
• Cincinnati (2021) lost in the CFP Semifinal (preseason odds +15000).
• Michigan (2021) lost in the CFP Semifinal (preseason odds +10000).

NCAAF 2026 CFP Odds: Best Bets to Win the National Championship

At this point, all we have to go on is how teams played this past season and their reputations. Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, Oregon, and Georgia will lose players to the NFL draft and portal, but we know they’ll reload. Those with returning quarterbacks will certainly have an advantage.

Indiana is new to the upper echelon and will lose several players to the draft. But the Hoosiers also have a lot of talent coming back, and we know Curt Cignetti will reload with talent from the portal. Put money down on any of those teams, and no one will fault you for it. But those are not the picks we are interested in right now. We want to know who the next Indiana could be, right?

We’ve got a couple of ideas:

• Houston +20000

Head coach Willie Fritz has taken a four-win team and turned it into a 10-win one, which finished this year ranked No. 21, in two seasons. Fritz had a great transfer portal class last season and may have an even better one this year. With Connor Weigman returning, he’ll have a potential Heisman Trophy candidate at QB.

• South Carolina +10000

A lot has to go their way for the Gamecocks to turn into contenders. But if LaNorris Sellers can continue to grow and mature, South Carolina’s QB could become the leader and dynamic playmaker national championship contenders tend to have.

• Penn State +7000

Matt Campbell is a good coach and should be able to pick up the pieces at Penn State and get it back on track quickly. With Rocco Becht following him to Happy Valley from Iowa State, the offense will have a solid leader and playmaker at quarterback.