The 2026 college football season is upon us, and some of the RotoWire betting staff has put together its favorite future picks leading up to the 2026 campaign, including power conference winners, champion and Heisman trophy bets.
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College Football Future Bets
From the Writers
Chris Morgan
The Big 12 already felt a bit like the Wild West even before Brendan Sorsby's saga unfolded. It is a wide-open conference, and Willie Fritz is one of the best head coaches in college football. Conner Weigman is back, Makhi Hughes has reunited with his old Tulane head coach, and the Cougars have as good a chance of winning the Big 12 as any program in 2026.
Jeff Edgerton
The Ducks will sail through a fairly easy conference schedule before running into Ohio State in early November. If they can survive that game, they are odds-on favorites in every other game on the schedule. With a superior defense and explosive offensive playmakers led by Dante Moore, the sky's the limit.
Chris Bennett
When choosing a conference champ, most will look at schedules to find favorable odds and roll the dice. In the SEC, that really doesn't happen; they are all going to lose, probably twice. That said, 'Bama gets Georgia, A&M and Auburn at home, and has manageable road trips to Tennessee and/or LSU. If Keelon Russell is the real deal, I'd be tempted by his Heisman odds.
Jake Blanchard
Before getting injured a year ago, Mateer was a Heisman frontrunner. After coming back this season, adding weight, Mateer has put himself in a better position to handle the rigors of an SEC schedule. With plenty of Heisman-worthy moments lined up on the schedule and a successful 2027 campaign, Mateer could accumulate the success and signature wins to find himself hoisting the Heisman at the end of the season.
Greg Vara
Hate to go chalk out of the gate on Miami, but it's the weakest conference and the Hurricanes should be very strong again. Oregon is loaded as always, and I think it will be tough for Indiana to repeat, as now the Hoosiers are the hunted. Too many distractions for Texas Tech, so I'm going with a high-powered Cougar offense to outscore everyone. It's probably too much to expect Lane Kiffin to get LSU back to the top of the SEC in his first season, but this is the best position he's ever been in, and it's only a matter of time before he gets the Tigers back on top. Heck, look what he did at Ole Miss. If you don't like Miami's odds to win the conference, perhaps you can take them to win the entire thing. The Hurricanes are loaded again, and the coaching staff knows how to navigate a playoff. As for the Heisman, we've seen this script before - an extremely talented QB goes to a better team and takes off. I expect that to happen with Mensah this season.
Steve Bulanda
No team in college football is a bigger favorite to win its division than Miami. I was ahead of the curve on Miami last year, placing my only National Champs bet on the Hurricanes to win it all, so I'm certainly a believer in the program. But I could see a path for SMU to edge them out. After all, SMU did hand Miami one of its losses last season. Head Coach Rhett Lashlee and his staff have proven year after year that SMU has to be taken seriously as ACC contenders. The continuity with the coaching staff and their veteran starting quarterback Kevin Jennings shouldn't be taken lightly.
John McKechnie
Has he started a game yet? No. Will he be regarded as the best quarterback in the SEC come December? I'm willing to bet yes on that when it comes to Alabama's Keelon Russell. The team itself has some warts and question marks -- which Ryan Coleman-Williams is going to show up? Where did the run game go? -- but Russell could be the type of game-changer that fixes all of that himself. Looking at the odds board, I just don't see the gap between Alabama and the top of the board being as wide as the bookmakers have it. Texas has the roster, but plenty of questions of its own, and Georgia needs to see a big step forward from Gunner Stockton. Alabama at +850 to win the conference? We haven't seen odds like this since George W, Bush was in office.
Chris Benzine
I'm a sucker for the longshot, and Penn State's path to a Big Ten Championship Game appearance is reasonably clear. The Nittany Lions get USC on home turf and would just have to win one of two games either at Michigan or at Washington. They should be favored in every other game on their schedule, and anything can happen if you get there. It seems like a lot to take a new team to the title game in his first season, but Matt Campbell will have more talent to work with in Happy Valley, including an improved defense to pair with a Tayler Mouser-led offense that came into its own last season in Ames and should produce yet again in 2026.
