The college football season kicks off this week! This is the time to get all of your futures bets in before the season gets underway. From the National Championship to the Heisman, win totals and conference championship picks, there are plenty of ways to get in on the action.
To start things off, here is a look at my College Football Playoff bracket prediction:
This bracket reflects how I actually see the college football season playing out. However, when it comes to futures bets, it comes down to a combination of predictions and value. These are my best bets to win every conference, the national title and the Heisman Trophy, as well as my favorite win total bets.
Best Bet to Win the National Championship: Oregon (+750)
Dan Lanning has built a consistent winner at Oregon. However, this could be the year he finally breaks through. Dante Moore passed up the chance to be a top-10 NFL Draft pick to come back for one more year of college. He is going to be able to throw to one of the top two receiver groups in the country. Oregon is stacked on defense and Lanning is one of the best defensive coaches in the nation. This is the year for the Ducks.
Read my full College Football Playoff preview here.
Best Bets to Make the College Football Playoff
USC (+240)
Lincoln Riley has been trying to get USC to the College Football Playoff ever since leaving Oklahoma to come to Los Angeles. This could finally be his chance. Jayden Maiava will be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten and Gary Patterson is taking over a USC defense that is slowly improving year over year. If the Big Ten is going to get four teams into the CFP, USC has a great case to be that fourth team.
Alabama (+154)
Kalen DeBoer not only got his team to the CFP last year, but won a playoff game. The Crimson Tide have a good quarterback situation regardless of whether they go with Keelon Russell or Austin Mack. The schedule breaks well for Alabama, so DeBoer should get his team back to the postseason.
Best Bet to Win the Heisman Trophy: Dante Moore (+1100)
For the same reason that Oregon is my pick to win the national title, Dante Moore is my pick to win the Heisman. Moore was one of the best quarterbacks in the country last season, and he should be even better this season. He has an incredible stable of receivers to throw to and the Oregon offense should be firing on all cylinders from Week 1.
Read my full Heisman Trophy preview here.
Best Bet to Win the SEC: Georgia (+260)
Georgia has won the SEC in each of the past two seasons. While there is hype around teams like LSU and Texas, Kirby Smart is the sure thing in this conference. Gunner Stockton is incredibly experienced at quarterback now and Georgia will have one of the best defenses in the nation.
Read my full SEC season preview here.
Best Bet to Win the Big Ten: Oregon (+240)
I prefer the bet on Oregon to win the national title, with more value than this bet. However, if I had to pick, Oregon is my choice to win the conference as well.
Read my full Big Ten season preview here.
Best Bet to Win the ACC: Miami (-146)
Miami is the odds-on favorite to win the ACC, and for good reason. Mario Cristobal got the monkey off his back last season and took his team all the way to the national title game. Darian Mensah was a great get at quarterback and this team is far more talented than the rest of the conference.
Best Bet to Win the Big 12: Texas Tech (+100)
Texas Tech is another team that is deservedly a big favorite to win its conference. Texas Tech dominated the conference last season and should do so again this season. They have one of the best defenses in the nation. Even without Brendan Sorsby, the offense should be able to do enough to comfortably cruise through a weak Big 12 schedule.
Best Bet to Win the Pac-12: Boise State (+160)
Boise State is another deserving favorite to win its conference. The new-look Pac-12 features almost entirely former Mountain West schools. Boise State has won that conference in each of the past three seasons. They should start their Pac-12 tenure off with another conference title.
Read my full Pac-12 season preview here.
Best Bet to Win the American: UTSA (+420)
Navy is the favorite to win the American. They should have a great team, but UTSA is my pick to win the American. Jeff Traylor is in his seventh season in charge at UTSA and quarterback Owen McCown is into year three as the starting quarterback for the Roadrunners. UTSA avoids Army and East Carolina, and gets Navy at home. Everything sets up for them to have a great season.
Best Bet to Win the Sun Belt: Louisiana (+750)
The Sun Belt is the last conference in the FBS with two divisions. This year, the East is the superior division. James Madison and Old Dominion are the two best teams in the conference. The head-to-head game between them at Old Dominion to open the conference slate could be what decides that division. However, in the West, it’s a more wide-open race. My pick to make it out of that division is Louisiana. Quarterback Lunch Winfield is one of the best in the conference, and Michael Desormeaux has established his culture in Lafayette. This team should make the title game, making +750 a great price.
Best Bet to Win the MAC: Eastern Michigan (+1000)
The MAC is always a wide-open conference. It’s never a wise move to bet on the favorites because of the number of upsets that take place in this conference. My upset pick to win the conference this year is Eastern Michigan. Chris Creighton has established himself as one of the best coaches in the conference and EMU almost always exceeds expectations. They have a great quarterback this season, Noah Kim, and a couple of great pass catchers, Nick Devereaux and Joshua Long.
Best Bet to Win Conference USA: Jacksonville State (+520)
Jacksonville State moved up to the FBS level in 2023 and has been incredible since doing so. They won the Conference USA title in just their second season in the FBS and made the conference title game again last season. I’m backing Charles Kelly to get his group back to the conference title game again… and win it this time. Caden Creel is the best quarterback in the conference and should lead his team to a title.
Best Bet to Win the Mountain West: Hawaii (+700)
This is finally the year for Timmy Chang fans to rejoice. Chang was a fan favorite during his days playing quarterback at Hawaii and has taken over as head coach. He had his best year in charge last season, winning nine games, including a Hawaii Bowl against Cal. The incredible QB-WR duo of Micah Alejado and Pofele Ashlock returns for Hawaii after a great 2025 season. They will be hard for anyone in the Mountain West to slow down, and the island should be a fortress this year.
