Notre Dame leads The Athletic’s preseason polling to win the 2026 College Football Playoff national championship. As the 12-team postseason structure enters its third year, analysts project the Fighting Irish, Ohio State, and Oregon as the top contenders heading into the season starting in December.
Notre Dame Leads Staff and Media Projections to End Title Drought
As college football programs prepare for kickoff, The Athletic polled 31 writers and editors alongside more than 2,000 readers to map out national title picks, Power 4 championships, and Heisman Trophy favorites. Notre Dame emerged as the clear front-runner for the publication’s staff, with 13 of the 31 surveyed experts picking the Fighting Irish to capture the program’s first national championship in 38 years.
The optimism around South Bend stems from a heavily returning roster. The team is anchored by a stacked defense featuring All-America cornerback Leonard Moore and guided by quarterback CJ Carr, who enters the season as a Heisman candidate. Head coach Marcus Freeman leads the squad following previous postseason experiences that included a 2024 national championship game appearance and a narrow playoff exclusion last season. Analysts note that the team benefits from a favorable schedule that minimizes early regular-season landmines, giving them a smooth runway into the postseason bracket.
It’s all aligning for the Irish in 2026. The defense is stacked, led by All-America cornerback Leonard Moore.
Ohio State and Oregon Anchor the Contender Tier Behind the Irish
While the staff leans toward Notre Dame, national models and betting markets place heavy expectations on Ohio State and Oregon. The Buckeyes sit at No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 and the coaches poll, and own the top national championship odds among all 138 FBS teams in Austin Mock’s CFP Predictor. Despite losing 11 players to the NFL draft, Ohio State returns sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin, who finished his first year as a starter as a Heisman finalist, alongside standout wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Oregon joins the tier of top favorites under head coach Dan Lanning, returning quarterback Dante Moore. However, Ohio State and Oregon face punishing regular-season slates, with the Buckeyes navigating a brutal stretch that includes road games against Indiana and USC before hosting the Ducks.
Heisman Trophy Contenders and Transfer Portal Impact
The race for the Heisman Trophy features an elite group of signal-callers and playmakers. Miami figures prominently in the offensive spotlight following the arrival of quarterback Darian Mensah. After leading Duke to an outright conference championship while throwing for 3,979 yards and 34 touchdowns last season, Mensah joins a Hurricanes offense equipped with 1,000-yard weapons Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate.
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Expanded Playoff Format Enters Third Year
As the 12-team College Football Playoff heads toward its third season, structural adjustments continue to shape the bracket landscape. Campus-site first-round games are scheduled to kick off on December 18, leading up to the national championship game on January 25, 2027, in Las Vegas. While major conference powerhouses like Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech reload through high-profile rosters, analysts anticipate fierce competition for the remaining at-large bids as bubble teams navigate conference schedules.
“The Audible” co-hosts Bruce Feldman, Ralph Russo and Stewart Mandel are here to run through their brackets, with three different predictions to win the national championship on Jan. 25 in Las Vegas.
Can the Big Ten make it four in a row? It feels possible with three teams having a legit shot in Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon. I actually think four Big Ten teams will make the CFP. The fourth probably isn’t who you think it is. Bruce
Last year, Indiana broke through and won its first national title. The three teams I feel the most confident about all felt like they were a year away in 2025: Oregon, Notre Dame and Texas. All are led by quarterbacks who were first-year starters for their schools in 2025, and each comes into this season as a Heisman Trophy contender with an improved receiving corps. Their teams all upgraded their defenses too. Reflecting
In evaluating the national title landscape, betting markets and expert analysis from publications like the New York Post highlight top picks such as Notre Dame (+650 at bet365). Analysts point to a roster that includes returning quarterback CJ Carr and an elite defense, led by head coach Marcus Freeman, who reached the national title game two years ago and ended last season on a 10-game win streak.
For the Heisman Trophy, additional expert consensus highlights Darian Mensah, QB at Miami, building on the historical statistic that a quarterback has claimed the Heisman 22 times since 2000.
Regarding other prominent Heisman candidates such as Julian Sayin at Ohio State, analysis points out his path to the award: “The veteran quarterback who finished fourth in the Heisman balloting last year will either make or break his campaign at Texas early on, at Indiana and at USC in the middle of the season, and against Oregon in early November. Once again, his stats will be amazing.”
As the College Football Playoff moves forward into its third year under the 12-team model, structural tweaks continue to adjust to favor programs like Notre Dame and mid-level champions of major conferences, while the ongoing debates over strength of schedule and 10-2 records remain central to the weekly ranking discussions.
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