The staff of The Athletic expect a first-time champion in the 2026 season.
The 2025 season ended with a longshot national champion. Indiana was a 100-1 preseason underdog to win the championship and it was the school's first college football title. But ahead of the 2026 season, a poll of the staff ofrevealed another first-time college football title winner as their internal favorite for 2026.
Seven of the nine teams have already claimed national titles, with several being teams with recent title history . But the ultimate favorite is a team without championship history.The Oregon Ducks nabbed 9 of the 28 total votes to claim the edge as the consensus 2026 championship pick. Notre Dame came in second with five votes, with Texas third with four votes. Indiana and Ohio State each drew three votes, and then single votes were counted in favor of Georgia, LSU, Miami, and Texas Tech. Tech is the other program with no prior national title history.picks. Withi15 of the 28 total votes going for Big Ten schools, the team that emerges at the top of that league should have a healthy advantage. With three straight CFP title victories for the league, that withstands reason.Moore, who was considered a likely top five pick in the NFL Draft, elected to return to college rather than pursue his pro future and launched Oregon as a potential title favorite. Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola has signed as a transfer option, giving Oregon a tremendously deep quarterback room. Running backs Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill give Oregon a talented 1-2 group attack. Evan Stewart will lead a talented receving crew and defensively, Oregon did well to keep defensive linemen Teitum Tuioti and Matayo Uiagalelei up front. Oregon will also miss defending champion Indiana and Penn State in their league schedule, with the toughest run being back-to-back games at Ohio State and at home against Michigan in the first two weekends of November.Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame team has its own superb quarterback returning for 2026 with sophomore CJ Carr back on campus. Texas was the preseason No. 1 a season ago and Arch Manning is returning to try to deliver on the massive potential he occasionally flashes. The Longhorns have put together an impressive transfer portal class of depth. Still, Oregon's overall balance and top-level QB give the Ducks the edge in this earliest of preseason looks. A fourth different Big Ten champ in a row and a second straight first-time winner could well be in the cards. Coach Dan Lanning and Oregon drew the preseason nod for 2026 title winners from The Athletic. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesJoe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.David Pollack reveals No. 1 college football transfer WR is getting QB moneyArch Manning to Return to Texas for 2026 Season
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