1 dark-horse team that could win every Power 4 conference
By Adam Spencer
Published:
When it comes to predicting which teams will win each major conference this season, the safe bet is to choose one of the favorites.
The Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns are far and away the favorites in the SEC. Miami is the favorite in the ACC. Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon are the big 3 in the Big Ten. And Texas Tech and BYU lead the charge in the Big 12.
I’m going to attempt to highlight teams that I think can challenge for the league title (or at least a spot in the championship games) in each of the Power 4 conferences. It wouldn’t be fun to pick any of the aforementioned favorites, so I’ll look elsewhere.
Don’t worry, though — I’m not going to go as crazy as 1 media member did by picking Kentucky to win the SEC title, no matter how much I might love the Wildcats’ hiring of Will Stein.
Let’s dive into it, starting with the ACC:
ACC: Louisville
We’ll know if the Louisville Cardinals are for real pretty early in the season as they face a major résumé-boosting test against the Ole Miss Rebels in Week 1. Pete Golding led the Rebels to 2 Playoff wins last year before falling to Miami in a thrilling game and returns star QB Trinidad Chambliss and RB Kewan Lacy to the offense this fall. The Week 1 showdown will be held in Nashville, which is actually a reasonably “neutral” site based on where these 2 schools are located.
Win that game and the Cardinals will be cooking. Jeff Brohm’s squad hosts SMU in Week 3 and avoids ACC powers Miami and Clemson entirely. That’s a pretty manageable schedule if transfer QB Lincoln Kienholz and a rebuilt offense can hit the ground running in Week 1.
Currently, Louisville has a 9% chance to win the ACC championship, according to Kalshi. Use Kalshi promo code SDS when you sign up today and you’ll receive a bonus of up to $500:
Big 12: Arizona
This is my longest shot. Texas Tech is by far the favorite in the Big 12, and BYU is a distant second place. But I have always liked QB Noah Fifita and the way he can impact a game. Two of his top receivers are back and there are some key pieces returning on defense, including second-leading tackler Taye Brown.
The Big 12 no longer releases an official preseason media poll, but an unofficial one has the Wildcats tied for third, behind the Red Raiders and Cougars. The problem is that Arizona is going to have to work to get to the Big 12 title game. The Wildcats travel to both Lubbock and Provo and host Utah and TCU. That might be the toughest schedule in the conference.
Arizona only has a 2% chance to win the Big 12, per Kalshi. Check out the full market below:
Big Ten: Michigan
It’s going to be tough to unseat the big 3 I mentioned in the opening section — Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon. But Kyle Whittingham is a proven veteran coach and was about the best possible hire Michigan could have made following major offseason drama.
The key will be seeing major improvement from second-year starting QB Bryce Underwood. He has to play better against tough opponents. He has his leading receiver coming back in Andrew Marsh. Leading rusher Jordan Marshall is also back in the fold. The defense should be solid enough to win games with better QB play.
Michigan has to head to Oregon in Week 11 and visits rival Ohio State for The Game in Week 13, so it’ll be important to be flawless in the early part of the season when the tougher opponents like Oklahoma, Penn State and Indiana head to Ann Arbor.
Michigan has a 6% chance to win the B1G title this year, per Kalshi:
SEC: Oklahoma
Brent Venables can coach a defense, and the Oklahoma Sooners are once again loaded on that side of the ball heading into 2026. They did lose some star power in R Mason Thomas, Robert Spears-Jennings and others, but they return their top 2 tacklers in Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke, star DL David Stone, and a loaded secondary that features Courtland Guillory, Eli Bowen and Peyton Bowen. That could be a top-2 defense in the SEC.
Offensively, the key is QB John Mateer. He was great in the early part of last season before suffering a hand injury he rushed back from. If he can revert to that early-2025 level, the offense has the talent to succeed. The line should be better and the receiving corps is deep with Isaiah Sategna III, Trell Harris and Texas transfer Parker Livingstone.
Like Arizona, the Sooners have a tough schedule, going to Michigan and Georgia, facing Texas in Dallas and hosting Ole Miss and Texas A&M. But there’s still a lot to like in Norman. Pull off an upset or 2 in the first half of the season and the road to Atlanta gets a bit easier to see.
Oklahoma has an 8% chance to win the SEC title, per the folks at Kalshi:
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Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
