Last night, the 2025/26 college football season came to a close when Fernando Mendoza and the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers kneeled the ball to secure a 27-21 championship victory over the No. 10 ranked Miami Hurricanes.
In an epic game that featured multiple momentum-swinging big plays and a 4th-and-5 quarterback draw that will go down in the history books, Indiana became just the second team in history to finish a season 16-0, joining the 1894 Yale Bulldogs.
It was a tremendous showing from both teams who each ran through the gauntlet of the College Football Playoff to get to this point. Both teams followed a similar philosophy that might set the precedent for how dominant teams are crafted in this era: Build the trenches, attack veteran talent in the transfer portal, and recruit freshmen who can play immediately.
Head coach Curt Cignetti led the Hoosiers to their first playoff appearance in program history in his first year last season National Championship title in program history, and they're gearing up to become a dynasty. Let's see if anyone can stop them.
Here's a look at the odds for the winner of the 2026/27 College Football National Championship, provided by bet365:
NCAAF Championship 2026/27: Outright Winner
Ohio State | +650 |
Indiana | +700 |
Notre Dame | +700 |
Texas | +750 |
Oregon | +900 |
Georgia | +1000 |
LSU | +1200 |
Texas Tech | +1400 |
Texas A&M | +1600 |
Alabama | +2000 |
Miami (FL) | +2000 |
Ohio State (+650) returns Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Innis, and Bo Jackson on offense, but lose Caleb Downs, Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, and more on defense to the 2026 NFL Draft. The Buckeyes have an extremely tough regular season schedule that could help prepare them for the playoffs.
Indiana is +700 to repeat as champs. Mendoza will go No. 1 overall in the draft, but the Hoosiers will reload with plenty of talented transfers that include former TCU quarterback Josh Hoover to lead the way.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are also +700 as the program has a huge chip on their shoulder after missing out on the playoffs this year. Running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are NFL-bound, but QB C.J. Carr and a ferocious defense return in 2026.
Texas (+750) is the first SEC team listed. Arch Manning had a fantastic close to the 2025 season that included a victory over No. 7 Texas A&M, and he'll have some serious weapons to work with (Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo and more).
Dante Moore's announcement to return to Oregon (+900) was huge for Lanning and the program. They've yet to take the next step after losing in embarrassing fashion two years in a row in the playoffs, but five-stars are littered everywhere and are yearning to make an impact.
Gunner Stockton will be back for his senior year at Georgia (+1000) which will have an elite run game and sound defense as usual.
In his first year as LSU's head coach, Lane Kiffin will try to lead the Tigers (+1200) to the talent level of his Ole Miss Rebels that climbed to the semifinal and may have advanced further if Kiffin chose to stay the full year.
Two Texas schools with loads of NIL money at their disposal (Texas Tech at +1400 and Texas A&M at +1600) are in the top-ten favorites. Marcel Reed will be back for the Aggies while Tech added top transfer QB Brendan Sorsby to replace Behren Morton.
Alabama and Miami (+2000) round out the top-ten. Former Washington QB Austin Mack and highly-touted prospect Keelon Russell will battle for the Crimson Tide's QB position in 2026 after Ty Simpson declared for the draft.
The Canes will need to find a quarterback after Carson Beck ran out of eligibility. Duke quarterback Darian Mensah is currently in the portal and could very well be on his way to Miami. Expect the Canes to jump up the odds board if they do land Mensah.
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All odds written in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
