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David Purdum, ESPN Staff Writer
The top two favorites to win next season’s College Football Playoff will square off in Week 1, when Ohio State hosts Texas on Aug. 30.
The Longhorns and defending-champion Buckeyes enter the offseason as the favorites to win the 2025-26 College Football Playoff at sportsbooks. Texas, which is poised to begin the Arch Manning era, opened as the national title favorite at +450 at ESPN BET, followed by the Buckeyes (+500) and Georgia (+600). Ohio State is the favorite at other sportsbooks, but those three teams top the early odds across the betting market.
Oregon and Penn State, each at +750, and round out the teams with odds shorter than 10-1 in ESPN BET’s opening numbers.
Ohio State held off Notre Dame in Monday’s championship game to win the national title, capping a dominant CFP run. The Fighting Irish opened at +1500 to win next season’s title at ESPN BET.
Manning is expected to be the Longhorns’ starter with quarterback Quinn Ewers declaring for the NFL draft. FanDuel has Manning as the second-favorite to win next season’s Heisman Trophy, behind LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.
The transfer portal has added to the challenges sportsbooks face when creating odds to win the next season’s championship.
“We will take our power ratings for 2025 and make the proper adjustments to account for recruiting, returning production and transfer portal changes,” Joey Feazel, trader at Caesars Sportsbook, said. “It is a challenging process at times, but year after year, we are getting better at it.” The preseason betting favorite to win the national championship has not won it since Alabama in 2017.
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