The 2026 College Football season is like the past two in the 12-team CFP era: a crapshoot. It's hard to predict right now who can win it all, mainly since sportsbooks have four favorites with the same exact futures odds right now.
CBS Sports' Brad Crawford believes three of those teams, the Ohio State Buckeyes, Texas Longhorns, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, will all be the No. 1 overall team in the country in polls at some point this fall. The other Crawford named was the CFP runner-up, the Miami Hurricanes, which have the eighth-highest odds.
The team that Crawford isn't convinced about being No. 1 all season is the defending champion Indiana Hoosiers. Crawford's reasoning? Indiana may not get past Ohio State in their Week 7 matchup in Bloomington. Crawford added that the Oregon Ducks could be undefeated by early November, but wouldn't commit to Dan Lanning's program being No. 1 in the country at any point.
"Entering November, several unbeatens should remain, including Notre Dame, Miami, and Oregon. Those three could split first-place votes, but keeping Notre Dame at No. 1 would set up a massive Nov. 7 showdown with Miami. Defending Big Ten champion Indiana could also still be undefeated if the Hoosiers handle Ohio State in Week 7, though it's difficult to envision the Buckeyes entering November with two losses," Crawford wrote.
Ohio State predicted to lose No. 1 spot for good after loss to Texas
The Buckeyes are being picked by most to lose to the Longhorns when Ohio State travels to Darrell K Royal Stadium in Austin in Week 2 for the rematch of last year's 14-7 win over Texas. Crawford sees OSU losing its No. 1 spot after having it in the preseason and after a Week 1 win over the Ball State Cardinals, a win over an overmatched MAC squad in which Crawford predicts Arthur Smith's offense to put up 50-plus points.
Being No. 1 doesn't matter for the Buckeyes, though. At all. Ohio State hovered as high as No. 2, and as low as No. 7 in the AP Poll after losing in "The Game" against TTUN at the "Shoe." Then, they beat every team in the CFP by double digits.
As long as the Buckeyes get their 10 regular-season wins, the rest doesn't matter. The Longhorns, Fighting Irish, and Canes could all use a No. 1 regular-season ranking way more than Ohio State at this point.