The 2025-26 College Football season will begin shortly and, once again, ScoresandStats is here to guide you through the season. From Week 0 to the National Championship game on Monday, January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, our expert team of handicappers is here to provide you with the best analysis, previews, predictions, and picks all season long.

The ScoresandStats team of handicappers is working hard to prepare for the upcoming season. Our experts provide quality College Football picks each and every week of the college football season. Whether it’s moneyline, point spread, totals, or even props picks, the guys at ScoresandStats are the ultimate professionals.

The 2025-26 season should be another exciting one. The Ohio State Buckeyes enters as the defending national champion. The Buckeyes are among the top contenders to win this season’s national title. Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and several other FBS schools will be the subject of several articles in the College Football section of ScoresandStats. Make sure to check it out every week during the season.

College Football Championship Odds

Check out the latest College Football Championship odds, courtesy of Scores and Stats:

It’s not all that surprising that the Texas Longhorns are the early favorite to win the 2025-26 college football national championship. The Longhorns did lose QB Quinn Ewers, but will start the highly hyped Arch Manning this season. Much of their defense returns, especially in the secondary which could be the nation’s best by season’s end.

Ohio State lost a ton of talent to the NFL and to the transfer portal. Still, the Buckeyes program is elite and that is why they are No. 2 on the betting board. The top 16 teams and their NCAAF odds are littered with college football’s best programs over the past decade (or longer). It’s interesting to see Auburn (+4900) in the top 16 after a 5-7 season last year. Remember, you can check these odds all season long at these online betting sites.

And, if you need any further assistance on this College Football futures bet, then check out the industry’s best handicapping membership and get access to thousands of College Football picks from the top handicappers all season long.

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College Football Championship Favorites

The following NCAAF teams are considered the odds-on favorites to win the 2026 College Football Championship:

Texas Longhorns

As mentioned, the Longhorns lost a very good quarterback in Quinn Ewers, who is now with the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. That won’t be a problem for Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian. He will turn the offense over to Arch Manning, the nephew of Hall of Famer Peyton.

Manning played enough last year for fans to get a glimpse of the talent he possesses. The Texas offense should continue to thrive with Manning at quarterback. Sarkisian did go to the transfer portal to restock the wide receiver corps, but the key to a Longhorns run to a national title will be the defense.

Only five starters return to one of the best defenses in the nation in 2024. Three of those starters are in the secondary. Malik Muhammad is the next Texas star in the defensive backfield. Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski beefed up the defensive line via the transfer portal. All eyes will be on Texas, the betting favorite to win the national championship this season.

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes will defend their national championship but will do so with some new faces in their lineup. It all begins at quarterback where Julian Sayin is the heir apparent. Head coach Ryan Day is giving up the play-calling duties and handing them to Brian Hartline.

Sayin doesn’t have much experience, but he will have one of the best returning players in the country to throw to in Jeremiah Smith. The Buckeyes high-powered offense may take some time to get up to speed, but the defense should start the season farther ahead.

New defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was Bill Belichick’s old DC back in New England’s heyday. Patricia will only have three starters returning, but he has a ton of talent. Ohio State gets the benefit of playing both Texas and Penn State at home this season. The season-ending clash with rival Michigan is on the road, but that game could determine the Big Ten champion.

Georgia Bulldogs

Kirby Smart will simply reload in 2025 and the Bulldogs will once again challenge for SEC and national supremacy. Over the last four seasons, Smart’s program is 53-5 with two national championships.

Last season, the Bulldogs won the SEC championship, beating Texas 22-19 in overtime. Georgia then qualified for the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff where they lost in the quarterfinals to Notre Dame.

The Bulldogs did it with a new quarterback, Gunnar Stockton. He’ll become the full-time starter this year and much of Georgia’s success will be determined by how Stockton plays. Of bigger concern to Smart is the defense. Only three starters are back but, as usual, the Bulldogs simply reload with guys like CB Daylen Everette and S KJ Bolden.

Penn State Nittany Lions

The one team that may have the best chance of upending Ohio State in the Big Ten is the Nittany Lions. Penn State returns QB Drew Allar, a Heisman Trophy candidate, and that alone makes the Nittany Lions a strong contender for both the Big Ten and national championships.

Allar said no to the NFL and returns as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He will have a trio of transfer portal receivers – Devonte Ross, Trebor Pena, and Kyron Hudson. Both of PSU’s star RBs – Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen – both passed up the draft as well. The offense is loaded.

Last year’s defense was one of the best in the country (16.2 ppg). This year’s unit could be even better. New DC Jim Knowles is the highest-paid assistant coach in the country. He’ll take over a defense that returns five starters and plenty of guys with game experience.

Oregon Ducks

Ducks head coach Dan Lanning is doing a remarkable job in Eugene. In three seasons at Oregon, Lanning and the Ducks are 35-6 with a conference championship and one trip to the CFP. The Ducks were eliminated in last year’s playoff by eventual national champion Ohio State, a team Oregon had beaten in the regular season.

Lanning and his Ducks will be hard-pressed to repeat 2024. Oregon earned the No. 1 seed in the CFP last season. In 2025, Dante Moore takes over at quarterback. The Ducks will have former Tulane RB Makhi Hughes in the backfield, but the real issue is the defense.

Only three starters return on defense. Lanning went to the transfer portal to try and stock up some defensive talent. The Ducks and their head coach will find out pretty quickly how good they really are. Oregon will play at Penn State on September 27.

Best College Football Championship Betting Value

The following teams offer betting value based on their odds and potential for success in the 2025-26 NCAAF season:

Penn State Nittany Lions

The Nittany Lions are fourth on the CFP national championship betting board, given +800 odds to win it all. As mentioned earlier, the Nittany Lions have the best shot at dethroning both Oregon and Ohio State in the Big Ten.

Allar returns as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. Both running backs are back and three starters on the offensive line will make this offense one of the most prolific in the country this season.

Penn State’s defenses have always been among the nation’s best. Last season, they finished in the top 10 in numerous defensive categories. They should do so again in 2025-26. The Nittany Lions are loaded again at defensive end and should have another All-American in Dani Dennis-Sutton.

With an elite quarterback and one of the best defenses in the country, there is no reason why Penn State cannot compete for the national title.

Clemson Tigers

The Tigers are a lot like Penn State. They have an elite level quarterback with plenty of experience in Cade Klubnick. He accounted for 43 touchdowns last season and he will have all three – Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr., and T.J. Moore – of his wide receivers back. The offense returns eight starters.

The defense returns six starters after having some issues last season. Head coach Dabo Swinney fixed that when he hired former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen to run the Tigers defense.

Clemson kicks off the season against LSU and after that the Tigers schedule is favorable. Swinney’s team should contend for an ACC title, which will put the Tigers into the College Football Playoff. With an elite quarterback and tons of experienced players, the Tigers could pull a dramatic upset at +1400. Remember, Clemson has won two of the last nine national championships.

Best College Football Championship Longshot

It is extremely difficult to win a college football national championship. A lot of things have to go right. Things like injuries can rob teams of a chance at a championship. Most often, it’s the “blue-blood” type programs – Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State – that find themselves playing for titles.

Every so often, a team sneaks in under the radar. In 2025-26, that team could be the Arizona State Sun Devils (+14000). Head coach Kenny Dillingham is a rising star and he is slowly building the Sun Devils into a power. In just his second season, Dillingham led ASU to the Big 12 championship.

The Sun Devils then almost pulled an upset of Texas in the Peach Bowl, one of the CFP quarterfinals. ASU lost RB Cam Skattebo to the NFL, but the Sun Devils return QB Sam Leavitt and WR Jordyn Tyson. The defense returns nine starters to a unit that allowed 22.6 points per game and finished No. 1 in the Big 12 against the run.

At +14000, Arizona State is a serious longshot to win the national championship. If they get on a roll early like they did last year, anything is possible.

College Football Championship Predictions

Each year, the college football national champion has a set of characteristics and a number of qualities. Year after year, champions have elite quarterbacks. Is Arch Manning elite? He very well could be. He just doesn’t have enough experience yet.

Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, and Alabama will all have new starting quarterbacks in 2025. Last year, Notre Dame had a new quarterback and went on to play for a national championship. But, the Irish quarterback had plenty of FBS experience playing at Duke. That quarterback was Riley Leonard.

No contender really has a Riley Leonard this season, but one has an experienced winner – Penn State. Allar could have gone pro but decided to stay at PSU and give it one more try. Singleton and Allen decided to stay too. The Nittany Lions offense should be outstanding.

Year after year, the Penn State defense is among the best in the country. The 2025-26 season should be no different. The Nittany Lions will have a new coordinator in Knowles, but the results should be the same. S Zakee Wheatley and CB A.J. Harris are high-end NFL prospects and Dani Dennis-Sutton is the next great Penn State pass rusher.

The Nittany Lions begin the season with Nevada, FIU, and FCS Villanova. Then, they get Oregon at home. PSU plays at Ohio State, but avoids Michigan and gets Indiana and Nebraska at home. A Big Ten title and national championship are definitely within reach for PSU head coach James Franklin.

Bet: Penn State Nittany Lions (+800)

Recent College Football Championship Winners

The following is a list of the most recent College Football Championship winners: