Assuming the 7 teams with the best Vegas odds to win the College Football Championship in 2026-2027 are the only 7 teams we need to consider, here are my thoughts on how it will all play out... My first thought is...no Bama? Even without Nick Saban, that is a weird thing to grasp. But alas, they aren't among the favorites for Vegas, which are as followed (in order from best odds to worst): 1) Ohio State Buckeyes: +550 to +600 2) Notre Dame Fighting Irish: +700 3) Oregon Ducks: +700 to +800 4) Texas Longhorns: +700 to +800 5) Indiana Hoosiers: +800 6) Georgia Bulldogs: +850 to +900 7) Miami Hurricanes: +1200 to +2000 Now allow me to rerank these based on my thoughts... 7) Miami Hurricanes- We'll keep Miami here. I'm still shocked they made a championship appearance last season and this season, they lose Carson Beck. They also lose 2 key Offensive Linemen, WR CJ Daniels, and DE Rueben Bain Jr. They get phenom Darian Mensah from Duke at Quarterback, but I'll always be weary of a team's ability to reload and do it all over again. Malachi Toney and Mark Fletcher make the reloading a lot easier, but I really like the ball Beck was playing down the stretch for the Canes and as good as Mensah is, I'll have to see it to believe it first. In Miami's defense, it is really more about who I'll have in front of them who will have much less question marks going into the season. 6) Indiana Hoosiers- Considering they're in the Big Ten, I still like Indiana's schedule this season relatively speaking. It's not as light and easy as last season's, but it's still favorable for their playoff odds, particularly given their laughable Out of Conference matchups. It'll be much harder for Indiana to go into the CFP unblemished this time around, which means they could have one more game they'd have to win in postseason play. They have vs Ohio State, at Michigan, and vs Southern Cal, as well as the Big Ten Championship should they go. I'm thinking two losses and a Quarterfinal or Semifinal exit.

I've created a Playoff Model because last season really PISSED ME OFF! I'm all for smaller schools getting their shot. I went to Winthrop University for goodness sake! However, Tulane had 2 losses out of a Group of 5 Conference, and James Madison lost it's only real challenge of the season to Louisville. Yes, the same Louisville that went 8-4 out of the nation's weakest Power 5 Conference (the ACC). So, no- those teams should not have been in it. Bump this automatic bid crap! And bump this new "Notre Dame Exception." For those who don't know, it is an amendment made in light of last year's results which states that if Notre Dame, a team who refuses to join a conference, ends up in the Top 12 of the CFP Rankings, they are automatically in the playoffs. Right. Let's reward a team for being... Nevermind! I digress! Despite my opposition to that rule, Notre Dame should have been in last season in my opinion. They lost by 3 in Week 1 of the season to eventual National Runner-Up Miami and then by 1 to the team Miami knocked out of the playoffs, Texas A&M. From there they simply spanked everybody, with a particularly impressive win 70-7 over Syracuse the week before Rivalry Week. They were a Top 12 team, absolutely. But in running this model, without giving too much away, I found another team that should have been in and would have been in under my calculations. Before we get there, let's first show you how this model works. Gentlemen, I present to you "The LPM!"

I want to talk about my broader vision of About University. You see, the College Football Community is just scratching the surface. It's the big, shiny object that is used to gather men and women with a similar interest to the University. When I was in 7th Grade, I didn't care at all about going to church. I had only gone here and there as a kid, and it wasn't on my radar. But in 2000, this Youth Pastor at a local Baptist church created this recreation center kind of atmosphere equipped with XBoxes, Playstations, air hockey tables, ping pong tables, arcade games, a canteen area...the works! It didn't hurt that all the cute girls my age that I had a crush on were going here on Wednesday nights, too! Slowly but surely, my small town of just over 2,000 people heard about what was happening at what used to be The Rosewood Center. Youth would show up in numbers to the doors and we'd play to our hearts' content for those two hours. When the two hours were up, we made our way to the auditorium area for church service. It was brilliant! This Youth Pastor had found a way to attract the youth who had no desire to go to church or know Jesus, and gave them word after word of what they were missing in their lives. That Youth Pastor is now a local Pastor of one of the fastest growing churches in the nation per capita, and I, of course, go to that church. I am saved and blessed in large part to this one man's innovativeness and passion for leading others to Christ. What's the point of this story? It's simple, really! The point is that I'm taking a page out of that playbook to fulfill my purpose in life, and to help others find theirs as well. People will come to the About University Skool Community to talk college football, but within it they'll find courses from people with real life experiences and messages and lessons to share. Members will be able to take as many courses as they want for no extra expense outside of their $7/month membership. On top of that, there will be people to network with inside this community, and people to talk to, hang out with, grow with, learn with. It will be an online college for a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what college students pay these days. It will be a gold mine of do's and dont's for whatever profession or DIY project or fitness program you wish to dig into. And for you or your children, if what you/they want to do doesn't require an actual college degree, you'll/they'll be able to learn from excellent sources without student loans that you'll/they'll be paying on for the rest of your/their life.

If you're part of the Oregon Duck faithful and you've watched your football team win 12 or more games in 8-of-the-last-16 seasons, you have to at this point be wondering "if not now, when?" It'd be a fair question to ask. You've now watched your new Big Ten counterparts win the Natty three seasons in a row with Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana, respectively. So when is it your turn? Could THIS be the season? I'm on the record saying that if the Wolverines don't win it all in 2026, I want it to be Oregon. I was pleased with this in mind to see that Dante Moore felt like there was unfinished business and decided to come back for another round, and I was happy to watch Dylan Raiola transfer over as he can add another dimension to that offense when necessary. I was also glad for the Ducks when they brought in Iverson Hooks out of UAB, who had 72 receptions last season for 972 yards and 7 touchdowns. He's a welcome addition indeed. But man, it is absolutely tough to watch Malik Benson and Kenyon Sadiq leave when they still had eligibility, especially now in the NIL era of college football. You need people like that to be more loyal to the mission, and I stand by that. For Michigan prior to our championship year, we had a handful of guys who chose "The Team" over self, despite the fact that they would indeed go early in the draft had they chosen to do so. It paid off. We won it all! I would have liked to have seen Benson and Sadiq make the same choice. Oregon also loses their OC and DC from recent year's teams, so they'll be trying to figure that out as well. They come in with the 5th best Vegas odds in the nation to win the big one, behind Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, and Indiana. This is not unusual for them. They're typically among the Top 5 options, Top 10 at worst. But when will they end in the 1 spot? I've been wondering it for a long time now, going back as far as their Championship loss to Auburn in 2011, and I fear that if this isn't it, we may never see it. I mean, I'm sure we will, but at some point that lack of faith creeps in. As a Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers fan who was born in 1987, I know that to be true.

Analyzing the USC 2026 football schedule to project the Trojans' path in the Big Ten. We break down the key matchups and win-loss outlook. This analysis examines the full 2026 USC schedule, focusing on the team's transition into Big Ten conference play. We identify six games that appear to be favorable matchups for the Trojans while evaluating the difficulty of the remaining slate. This breakdown is designed for fans who want a clear projection of how the season might unfold based on the current conference alignment. We specifically look at critical games against Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Indiana to determine where the toughest tests lie. After weighing the talent level and home-field advantages, the data points toward a projected 9-3 record for the season. This USC football schedule review provides the context needed to understand the team's standing in their new conference landscape. Subscribe for weekly Big Ten schedule breakdowns, and comment below with your own win-loss prediction for the upcoming season.