College Football National Championship Odds 2026: Ohio State Holds Top Spot Despite Loss to Indiana

The Ohio State Buckeyes are still favored, albeit by a razor-thin margin, over the Big Ten champion Indiana Hoosiers. Check out the National Championship odds for all 12 CFP teams.

Robert Criscola - Betting Analyst at Covers.com
Robert Criscola • Betting Analyst
Dec 7, 2025 • 13:07 ET • 4 min read
Julian Sayin Ohio State Buckeyes Big Ten college football
Photo By - Imagn Images. Julian Sayin of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Indiana Hoosiers earned the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff by virtue of a 13-10 win over the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game.

However, Indiana is still looking up at Ohio State in the latest National Championship odds.

Here's a look at the latest college football odds to win the National Championship with the final 12 teams left standing.

2025-26 CFP National Championship odds

Team Record FanDuel
Ohio State Ohio State Buckeyes 12-1 +250
Indiana Indiana Hoosiers 13-0 +260
Georgia Georgia Bulldogs 12-1 +550
Oregon Oregon Ducks 11-1 +850
Texas Tech Texas Tech Red Raiders 12-1 +850
Texas A&M Texas A&M Aggies 11-1 +1400
Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide 10-3 +2200
Mississippi Mississippi Rebels 11-1 +2200
Miami Miami Hurricanes 10-2 +2700
Oklahoma Oklahoma Sooners 10-2 +5000
James Madison James Madison Dukes 12-1 +35000
Tulane Tulane Green Wave 11-2 +60000

Odds last updated on 12-7.

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College Football Playoff odds

NCAA College Football Playoff odds are determined by professional oddsmakers at sportsbooks or betting sites. This year, the College Football Playoff bracket has expanded to 12 teams. The odds reflect the probability of a particular outcome and are set to attract balanced betting action on both sides of a wager. Here are some of the factors oddsmakers consider before releasing lines to the public:

Team performance: Oddsmakers assess the performance of the teams throughout the season, including their win-loss records and strength of schedule

Injuries: The status of key players, especially quarterbacks and other impact positions, can have a major impact on the odds.

Head-to-head matchups: The historical performance of teams against each other, as well as their most recent matchups, can influence the odds.

Public perception: Oddsmakers take into account public sentiment and betting patterns. If a popular team like Notre Dame or Ohio State is playing, odds may be adjusted to limit the sportsbook's risk.

Venue: The location of the game (neutral site or home-field advantage) can affect the odds.

Coaching: The reputation and experience of the coaches can play a big role in setting odds.

Once these factors are considered, oddsmakers set an initial line, known as the opening line. This line is adjusted based on betting activity to ensure the sportsbook has a balanced amount of money on both sides of the wager. If too much money is coming in on one side, the odds may be adjusted to encourage betting on the other side.

College Football Playoff final rankings

  1. Indiana (13-0)
  2. Ohio State (12-1)
  3. Georgia (12-1)
  4. Texas Tech (12-1)
  5. Oregon (11-1)
  6. Mississippi (11-1)
  7. Texas A&M (11-1)
  8. Oklahoma (10-2)
  9. Alabama (10-3)
  10. Miami (10-2)
  11. Tulane (11-2)
  12. James Madison (12-1)

College Football National Championship history

Season Team Record Rank
2024 Ohio State Ohio State Buckeyes 14-2 6
2023 Michigan Michigan Wolverines 15-0 1
2022 Georgia Georgia Bulldogs 15-0 1
2021 Georgia Georgia Bulldogs 14-1 3
2020 Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide 13-0 1
2019 LSU LSU Tigers 15-0 1
2018 Clemson Clemson Tigers 15-0 2
2017 Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide 13-1 4
2016 Clemson Clemson Tigers 14-1 2
2015 Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide 14-1 2

College Football National Championship trends

  • The CFP National Championship has been won by an SEC team in six of the last 10 years. 
  • An SEC team has played in the National Championship game in seven of the last nine years.
  • The No. 1-ranked team has won just four of the last 11 National Championships.
  • Only two teams outside of the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC have made an appearance in the National Championship (2014 Oregon, 2023 Washington).

Understanding college football futures odds

Sportsbooks release college football futures odds as soon as the clock hits zero in the previous season's national championship game. There are many ways to wager on NCAA football futures but picking the outright winner of the national championship is definitely the most popular. During the offseason and preseason, you'll be able to get a plus-money price on basically any team in the nation as there is so much uncertainty around what will happen next year.

NCAA football championship odds will usually look like this:

  • Alabama Crimson Tide +700

This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to win $700 if the Crimson Tide win the national title. If it's close to the end of the regular season and there is a particularly dominant program, you might see that a team is has a minus sign (-) ahead of its odds. 

  • Georgia Bulldogs -145

This means that if you bet on Georgia you would need to bet $145 to profit $100 if the Bulldogs won the championship.

Of course, futures odds are a fluid market. They can change every day based on news, injuries, suspensions, transfers, etc. In college football there generally isn't too much movement in the futures market during the offseason, but once the season begins, look for huge changes week-to-week based on wins and losses.

All the odds seen above are in American format. Should you find decimal format or fractional format easier to read, simply convert the odds using our simple odds converter tool.

College Football National Championship Odds FAQs

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Robert Criscola - Covers.com
Betting Analyst

Robert M. Criscola’s road to becoming a Covers publishing editor began with an internship at Metro New York, which eventually turned into a freelance job at MetroBet covering many sports from a wagering angle, including horse racing. He continued to focus on “The Sport of Kings” by writing for shapperdacapper.com, danonymousracing.com, and informer.fanxt.com before joining the team at the TwinSpires Edge in 2019 as a regular contributor and weekend editor. “Crisco” began writing game previews for Covers in 2022 and joined the editing team in 2023.

His best advice for sports bettors? Bet with your head, not over it.

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