2025 College football futures: National championship odds, picks and best bets

The 2025 college football season will be here before you can say Arch Manning, and this year's battle to raise the 3-foot-tall College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy figures to be a wide-open affair.

No one team team enters the season as the overwhelming favorite, according to the sportsbooks. Reigning national champion Ohio State and CFP semifinalist Texas are co-favorites, according to BetMGM and FanDuel, which list the teams at +500 and +600, respectively. Meanwhile DraftKings has the Buckeyes (+500) as slight favorites over the Longhorns (+550) and Georgia (+650). Caesars sees the title chase much the same way, with Ohio State (+500) just ahead of Texas (+525) and the Bulldogs (+675).

But the Buckeyes, Longhorns and Bulldogs, who combined to have 39 players selected in April's NFL Draft, have significant holes to fill. All three teams will have a new starting quarterback and will need to replace most of their offensive line as well as stars on defense. That makes none of them a lock to win the national title.

The national championship odds, however, do offer some value on teams further down the board. Here are five of them:

1. Clemson (+1600 at DraftKings and BetMGM)

If you're going to tie up your money for more than seven months to place a futures bet on the eventual national champion, there's no reason to take a short price on one of the favorites such as Ohio State, Texas or Georgia. You're very likely to get a better price on those teams during the season after a loss. Instead, this is a time to look for value, and there's arguably no team that provides more of that than Clemson.

The Tigers are loaded with Sunday-level talent, with up to six possible 2026 NFL first-round picks returning from last season's ACC championship squad that finished the season 10-4 and pushed Texas in the CFP quarterfinals in Austin. Quarterback Cade Klubnik enters his third season as starter as a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate after ranking third in the country in passing touchdowns (36) in 2024 and compiling a 19-9 record in his career. He'll have arguably the best receiver corps in college football, led by Antonio Williams.

Tom Allen takes over as defensive coordinator after helping Penn State finish seventh last season in total defense (294.8) and eighth in scoring defense (16.5). He inherits a loaded group with talent at all three levels, including 6-foot-3, 315-pound menace in the middle Peter Woods.

Most importantly, the schedule is tailor made to make a run. Clemson's toughest opponent figures to be LSU, but that game will be played at Clemson in the season opener. Dabo Swinney and Co. avoid Miami in ACC play and get SMU at home. The Tigers close out the season at South Carolina. A top-three seed in the College Football Playoff would not be a stretch for this group.

2. LSU (+2000 at DraftKings and BetMGM)

Clemson's opponent in the season opener, LSU, deserves a look as well. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who is one of the favorites to go No. 1 overall in next year's NFL Draft, is coming off a season in which he ranked fifth in the country in passing yards (4,052). He could be even better this year in his second season as the starter.

The Tigers also have filled their holes in their roster by adding an 18-player transfer portal class that ranks No. 1 overall, according to the 247Sports Transfer Team Rankings. That class includes two playmakers on the outside for Nussmeier: Nic Anderson (formerly of Oklahoma) and Barion Brown (Kentucky). They will join Aaron Anderson, who led the team in receptions (61) and receiving yards (884) last season, to form one of the best receiver rooms in the country.

The defense will need to improve after ranking 59th in scoring defense (24.3 points per game) last season. But that was an actual improvement over 2023 (28.0 points per game, 78th). With Blake Baker in his second season as defensive coordinator and linebacker Whit Weeks, the SEC's leading tackler last season, on track to return after his gnarly injury in the Texas Bowl, the pieces are there for the Tigers defense to be better in the fall.

As always, the schedule could either help or hinder LSU's cause. In addition to playing at Clemson, the Tigers also have to face Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma -- but only the last two are on the road. A 9-3 record may just be good enough to get LSU into the playoff. A savvy bettor may consider waiting until the Tigers lose a regular season game in order to lock down a better number.

3. Penn State (+800 at FanDuel)

Arguably none of the major national title contenders bring back more from last season's team than the Nittany Lions. While Penn State will have to replace Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and No. 3 overall pick Abdul Carter and do-it-all tight end Tyler Warren, the team brings back quarterback Drew Allar, top running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, four of five starters on the offensive line and defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, among others.

Maybe most importantly, coach James Franklin has addressed his team's most glaring need at receiver. After the Nittany Lions receivers failed to catch even one ball in the CFP semifinal loss to Notre Dame, the team added impact pass catchers in Kyron Hudson (formerly of USC), Devonte Ross (Troy) and Trebor Pena (Syracuse) through the transfer portal.

The defense will be under a new coordinator in Jim Knowles, who directed Ohio State's unit last season when the Buckeyes led the nation in both scoring (12.9) and total defense (254.6) en route to winning the national championship.

The schedule works in Penn State's favor as well. The Nittany Lions don't play Michigan, and their toughest two games, on paper at least, are Oregon (Sept. 27 in State College) and at Ohio State on Nov. 1.

Penn State should enter the showdown against the Ducks 3-0, and if you think the Nittany Lions will win that contest, then this +750 on Penn State to win the national title figures to be the best price on the Nittany Lions for a while.

4. Oregon (+850 at DraftKings)

The Ducks have been squarely in the national title hunt the last two seasons, and they have the roster to do so again despite heavy losses at key positions. Oregon has gone 25-3 over the last two years, and the only two teams to have beaten the Ducks over that time either played for the national title (Washington in 2023) or won it (Ohio State last season).

Quarterback Dante Moore takes over for Dillion Gabriel, and Moore, a former five-star recruit, has the physical tools to thrive. The offense will also have big-play receiver Evan Stewart and transfer running back Makhi Hughes, who rushed for 1,401 yards at Tulane last season (10th most in the FBS). The defense will need to find answers for its late-season collapse (37 points to Penn State and 41 to Ohio State over its last two games), but there's no lack of talent on that side of the ball the way coach Dan Lanning has attacked recruiting and the transfer portal since arriving in Eugene.

Most importantly, the schedule is built for a championship run. Oregon does not play either Michigan or Ohio State in Big Ten play, and the one game that sticks out more than any other is the showdown at Penn State on Sept. 27. But even with a loss to the Nittany Lions, all signs point to the Ducks earning a spot in the 12-team bracket in December.

5. South Carolina (+5000 at DraftKings)

Arguably no team was hotter to end last season than the Gamecocks, who closed the regular season with six straight wins -- including three victories over ranked teams: Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson -- to almost make the playoffs. Illinois ended South Carolina's run in the Citrus Bowl, but coach Shane Beamer and Co. enter the 2025 season with lofty goals.

Much of the reason for optimism stems from having one of the best returning quarterbacks in college football in LaNorris Sellers. A 6-foot-3, 240-pound running-and-passing wizard, Sellers has the ability to carry a team if necessary. He may have to as the Gamecocks need to replace a lot of production from last season, particularly on the defensive side of the ball which no longer features Nagurski Award winner Kyle Kennard and first-team All-America safety Nick Emmanwori, among others.

The schedule is as manageable as an SEC schedule can be. South Carolina could very well be 5-0 entering its Oct. 11 game at LSU. The Gamecocks also play Alabama (in Columbia), at Texas A&M and Clemson (in Columbia). Ten wins surely gets South Carolina into the playoffs, and nine may be enough. And, if the Gamecocks get there, no one will want to face the unique Sellers.