Following Week 7 action, the top future market favorite for the college football national championship odds remains the same with the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes as the favorite.
But from there was some fluctuation, beginning with the #6 Alabama Crimson Tide. Since its Week 1 loss at Florida State, the Crimson Tide has hit its stride, led by quarterback Ty Simpson, who is emerging as one of the top signal callers in college football. Increasing numbers of gamblers have taken notice.
The #2 Miami Hurricanes enjoyed a bye week and will be hosting the Louisville Cardinals on Friday night. Moving up in the esteem of gamblers are the #3 Indiana Hoosiers and #9 Georgia Bulldogs after each team scored impressive road payouts.
On the other hand, the #14 Oklahoma Sooners took a tumble after their loss to #21 Texas in the Red River Shootout.
Week 8 in college football features several key games. Including the South Carolina Gamecocks vs. the Oklahoma Sooners, the #5 Ole Miss Rebels vs. the #9 Georgia Bulldogs, and the #11 Tennessee Volunteers vs. the Alabama Crimson Tide. Also, there is the #17 Vanderbilt Commodores vs. the #10 LSU Tigers, the Ohio State Buckeyes vs. the Wisconsin Badgers, and the Michigan State Spartans vs. the Indiana Hoosiers.
Concurrently, the favorite to win the 2025-2026 college football national championship is the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes.
The 2025-2026 College Football Season began on August 23, 2025. And then the National Championship Game is on Monday, January 19, 2026.
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes continue to impress at 6-0 straight up and 5-0-1 against the spread. Last week, Ohio State flexed its power in a 34-16 win and cover over the host Illinois Fighting Illini, who were touting the matchup as a “Giant Killer” opportunity. Consider that Ohio State has allowed the fewest points of any team in college football under defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Still, Ohio State has a lot of work to do offensively, with metrics of 44th for passing and 63rd for rushing.
This week, the Buckeyes head to Wisconsin to take on a Badgers team that is in free fall under head coach Luke Fickell. Namely, Fickell is the former Buckeye player, defensive coordinator, and interim head coach. Wisconsin is one of the weakest programs in the FBS and has nothing to worry about for Ohio State. Correlate that Wisconsin has lost its identity as a physical power football team.
The Buckeyes will take a week off after the game in Madison, WI. In turn, they will prepare for a home game against the fading fast Penn State Nittany Lions.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Following its humiliating loss at Florida State against a Seminole team that has been revealed as mediocre, the Crimson Tide has responded with five straight wins, covering the spread four times with one push. Last week, the Tide narrowly defeated the Missouri Tigers 27-24 in an impressive road victory. Mizzou was a potential trap game that Alabama survived with clutch play by quarterback Ty Simpson.
Alabama has the nation’s third-ranked pass defense, and that proved to be the difference against a good Mizzou team. Now, this week brings another pressure cooker against the visiting Tennessee Volunteers.
Indiana Hoosiers
Nobody took the possibility of Indiana winning on the road against the Oregon Ducks very seriously. Yet the Hoosiers managed to pull it off. Head coach Kurt Cignetti’s team did not win by accident. Instead, Indiana showed championship toughness. Now that the Hoosiers have achieved a landmark win, they are going to be taken much more seriously by gamblers, opponents, and the oddsmakers.
This week, a bad Michigan State Spartans team will visit the Hoosiers on homecoming weekend. It should be a festive atmosphere and potential blowout for Cignetti, who is getting a lot more Google traffic because he continues to win. Accordingly, Indiana has made school history by climbing to #3 in the AP poll, its best result ever.