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2025 College Football National Championship Futures Odds with Expert Betting Predictions

by Mike Allen - 8/7/2025

College football national championship odds and predictions Arch Manning Texas Longhorns

August is already starting to roll. When we were kids, trying to savor every minute of Summer  break, this always seemed to be the month that flew the fastest. That said, the College Football Playoff and National Championship Game won’t be played for another 5 months.

So, why are we doing yet another futures update? We’ve had a chance to see a lot of these “kids” who stepped into the transfer portal get accustomed to their new surroundings a bit.

We’ve also seen the betting market move, maybe not so much the National Championship winner odds, but more so the win totals.

This is also our first year after the first year of the 12-Team College Football Playoff. Did it go more or less according to plan? More or less, yes. I believe if the Texas Longhorns had committed to making Arch Manning the starter and he got some wins under his belt, they could have beaten the eventual national champion, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Former Georgia Bulldog and current Miami Hurricane quarterback Carson Beck proved to be overrated, which is something myself, and many others saw coming.

Penn State did what they have always done under their current head coach, beat the bad, mediocre, and good teams, only to lose to another top 5 or top 10 powerhouse. They are seriously stacked this year, with many players spurning the NFL Draft for a chance to come back and win a national title for their coach, who has yet to get over the hump. Look up gatekeeper in the dictionary, and you’ll see a picture of James Franklin.

Boy, Ohio State looked awfully good by the end of it, though, didn’t they? Not long after the manicured face of Ryan Day began to pop up on self-hating Buckeye forums everywhere, he led his band of blue chips to a national title and made it look easy.

With potentially the best athlete in college football, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, now all of 19 years old, the potential of a back-to-back national championship for Ohio State seems highly plausible.

Of the top 8 betting favorites to win it all, we'll see six new starters under center. Some of these guys won't work out, and a vital component of the formula to win the College Football Playoff lately has been an experienced signal caller returning, not transferring in.  

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Betting Odds to Win the College Football National Championship

Ohio State: +500

Texas: +500

Georgia: +650

Penn State: +700

Alabama: +1000

Clemson: +1000

Oregon: +1200

Notre Dame: +1200

LSU: +1600

Michigan: +2500

Ole Miss: +3000

Florida: +3000

Miami: +3500

Texas A&M: +3500

Tennessee: +5000

South Carolina: +5000

Oklahoma: +5000

Auburn: +6000

USC: +8000

Betting Picks to Win the College Football National Championship

Texas: +500

Boy, we get to see what Manning and the Texas Longhorns are made of very early this season, in the month of August, when they travel to Columbus to The Ohio State University for what could be the game of the year in the first full week of football. 

This game is important, yes, but both teams are heavily favored to make the Playoff, and a potential second meeting could be even better. Win or lose, I love this opportunity for Manning. He gets to play the #1 team, the defending champs, on their turf in his first game against anyone any good. If he’s anything like his uncles, the young man will grow immensely from the experience.

With all that said, the Longhorns’ defense may be the better unit most weeks. They filled in the holes they had through the transfer portal, and return a star player at every level.

Clemson: +1000

Well, well, Dabo Swinney finally listened to his handlers, if you will, and finally put some effort into the transfer portal. Hey, we don't like it either, but a successful effort at recruiting other college athletes to join your team is a massive part of the winning process now.

What I love more than the potential portal success for the Tigers is the return of Cade Klubnik. The senior will be 22 by January. He passed up a spot in the NFL Draft to come back and do nothing less than win a national title for the fans who pack Death Valley to its teeth six Saturdays a season.

We know the coach can win the big game, and Klubnik carved up the Longhorns’ defense in his hometown of Austin. In the end, his efforts weren’t enough. However, this is a new season, and the Tigers have a better chance than most to finish the season undefeated or with one loss, as their schedule is one of the lightest.

LSU: +1600

Lastly, we have the LSU Tigers at 16-1. First, let me say that I love the Penn State Nittany Lions this season to make the playoffs and potentially play in the national title game. However, as we eluded to in the opener, putting your money on Franklin to beat a top 5 or even 10 team is an asinine move to put it lightly.

I didn't go with Notre Dame even though their betting odds at 12-1 are in the same ballpark because their QB, Riley Leonard, was a gigantic part of their success as he fit perfectly into their style of play. Replacing him will be tough, but let's wait and see on the Fighting Irish.

We went with other Death Valley Tigers for the same reason, a senior returning starter at quarterback, who projects to contend for the Heisman Trophy.

He completed 73% of his passes over his final three games of the season last year while throwing only one interception. They brought in some studs through the portal on defense. If they can make a difference, this kid can take them to the playoffs, and from there, we have a 16-1 ticket in our hopeful hands.

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