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College Football Championship Odds 2025-26: Track The Favorites
By Chris Wright
Last Updated:
On this page you’ll find the live national championship odds for many of the top teams as well as complete information about the CFP national championship both this year and in years past.
The 2024-25 national championship has come and gone, with Ohio State standing coming out on top. The Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame on January 20, 34-23. By doing so, head coach Ryan Day won his first championship at the helm of the Buckeyes program.
National Championship Odds
Now that spring football has passed, it’s time to really start preparing for the 2025-26 season. DraftKings Sportsbook has already released initial lines for the 2025-26 national champion. Here are the latest odds, as of May 20, 2025.
Check it out below:
Texas is among the preseason betting favorites, in large part because the Longhorns return quarterback Arch Manning. With odds of +550, if you bet $10 on the Longhorns to win the college football national championship and they do, your payout will be $65.
LSU is more of a betting longshot. The Tigers have odds of +2000, so if you bet $10 on LSU to win the national championship and the Tigers do, your payout would be $210.
Who’s Favored To Win The National Championship?
Defending national champion Ohio State (+500) and Texas (+550) are the early betting favorites to win the 2025-26 college football national championship.
Both teams will have a new starting quarterback in 2025. Ohio State fill finalize its quarterback situation during preseason camp. Texas will turn to Arch Manning after Quinn Ewers left for the NFL.
Georgia, which also reached the College Football Playoff in 2024-25, has odds of +650 to win the national championship. The Dawgs also will have a new starting quarterback after Carson Beck transferred to Miami.
If you are looking for a championship contender that returns its starting quarterback, you might be interested in Penn State at +750. The Nittany Lions return Drew Allar, who guided Penn State to the Playoff in 2024.
Clemson (+1600) and LSU (+2000) also return talented starting quarterbacks. Cade Klubnik led Clemson to the ACC championship and Playoff spot last season. Garrett Nussmeier threw for 4,042 yards last season for LSU, easily adding his name to the list of SEC quarterbacks who have thrown for 3,000 yards.
2025-26 National Championship Key Dates
College Football Playoff Dates for 2025-26 season
- First Round (1 Game): December 19, 2025
- First Round (3 Games): December 20, 2025
- Quarterfinals (Cotton Bowl): Wednesday, December 31, 2025:
- Quarterfinals (Orange Bowl): Tuesday, January 1, 2026
- Quarterfinals (Rose Bowl): Tuesday, January 1, 2026
- Quarterfinals (Sugar Bowl): Tuesday, January 1, 2026
- Semifinal Game (Fiesta Bowl): Thursday, January 8, 2026
- Semifinal Game (Peach Bowl): Friday, January 9, 2026
- CFP National Championship Game: Monday, January 19, 2026
Of course, exact kickoff time and TV schedules will be released later.
Where Can You Bet on National Championship Odds?
The following sportsbooks let you bet on college football futures such as national championship odds, Heisman Trophy odds, and more.
College Football Playoff Selection Committee
The College Football Playoff rankings and selections ultimately for the 12-team playoff are made by the selection committee. The selection committee is made up of athletic directors, journalists, coaches and administrators.
The make-up of the 2024-25 selection committee was:
- Chris Ault
- Randall McDaniel
- Mack Rhoades
- Gary Pinkel
- Chet Gladchuk
- Jim Grobe
- Warde Manuel
- David Sayler
- Will Shields
- Hunter Yuracheck
- Mike Riley
- Carla Williams
- Kelly Whiteside
National Championship Game Scores
Saturday Down South has a separate page with every college football national champion, scores and more. Here is a recent look at the national champions:
Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Era
- 1998-99: Tennessee 23, Florida State 16
- 1999-2000: Florida State 46, Virginia Tech 29
- 2000-01: Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2
- 2001-02: Miami 37, Nebraska 14
- 2002-03: Ohio State 31, Miami 24
- 2003-04: LSU 21, Oklahoma 14
- 2004-05: USC 55, Oklahoma 19
- 2005-06: Texas 41, USC 38
- 2006-07: Florida 41, Ohio State 14
- 2007-08: LSU 38, Ohio State 24
- 2008-09: Florida 24, Oklahoma 14
- 2009-10: Alabama 37, Texas 21
- 2010-11: Auburn 22, Oregon 19
- 2011-12: Alabama 21, LSU 0
- 2012-13: Alabama 42, Notre Dame 14
- 2013-14: Florida State 34, Auburn 31
College Football Playoff Era
- 2014-15: Ohio State 42, Oregon 20
- 2015-16: Alabama 45, Clemson 40
- 2016-17: Clemson 35, Alabama 31
- 2017-18: Alabama 26, Georgia 23
- 2018-19: Clemson 44, Alabama 16
- 2019-20: LSU 42, Clemson 25
- 2020-21: Alabama 52, Ohio State 24
- 2021-22: Georgia 33, Alabama 18
- 2022-23: Georgia 65, TCU 7
- 2023-24: Michigan 34, Washington 13
- 2024-25: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 23
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
