ESPN’s Jordan Rodgers names team with the ‘most pressure’ to win national championship
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ESPN’s Jordan Rodgers brought a reality check to the passionate folks in Austin.
With the 2026 college football season arriving in Week 0 and No. 5 Texas about a week away from its season opener against Texas State, Rodgers dipped the Longhorns’ current plight in reality and proclaimed that Steve Sarkisian‘s team carries the most pressure of any program to capture the national title in January.
The Horns failed to seize the moment last season in Arch Manning’s first campaign as the starting quarterback, starting with a season-opening loss at Ohio State. This time around, Texas will get the top-ranked Buckeyes in Austin in a seismic Week 2 primetime collision, and a victory would theoretically set up the Horns for big-time success in 2026.
Rodgers believes the only big-time success that will really matter in January is if Texas and Manning are the ones raiing the national championship trophy.
“I think Steve Sarkisian and Texas have the most pressure on them to win the national championship. If not now, then when?” Rodgers said.
With that immense pressure is immense talent, and Rodgers believes that talent needs to shine through this fall.
“The talent on this roster is unbelievable, but you still have to go out there and do it,” Rodgers said. “If you don’t win with Arch, I don’t know if you’re gonna.”
While Rodgers weighed in on the national championship picture as the 2026 season starts, here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about which teams have the inside track on answering the bell and capturing that coveted national title:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
