The Worldwide Leader in Sports has locked in its early prediction for the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Last season marked the first year of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff National Championship.The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23 in the final to claim their first national championship since 2014.
With the 2025 season approaching, ESPN has shared its Football Power Index ratings and computer simulations. For those unfamiliar with the Football Power Index, here’s how it’s used by the Worldwide Leader In Sports:
“The FPI is a predictive rating system that estimates each FBS team’s strength (in points per game relative to the national average) on offense, defense and special teams, making adjustments for starters lost, recruiting talent and other personnel changes.
Those numbers are then plugged into the schedule, and everything is simulated 20,000 times to track each team’s odds of winning its conference, making the playoff and advancing through to the national title.”
So, which teams does the FPI have playing in the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship Game? That would be a marquee showdown featuring Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns (ranked No. 1 by the FPI) against the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Longhorns were given the best championship odds at 22.2 percent, followed by the Bulldogs at 17.5 percent. Texas has 10.4 projected wins in ESPN’s computer simulations, and Georgia has 10.1.
The defending champion Buckeyes have the third-best championship odds from the FPI at 11.6 percent, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide at 10.4 percent.
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Ohio State Begins College Football Playoff National Championship vs. Texas
Ryan Day and his Buckeyes will kick off their national championship defense against Manning and the Longhorns on Aug. 30 (12:00 p.m. EST). This will be a rematch of the 2024 Cotton Bowl and CFP semifinal, in which Ohio State won 28-14.
With Arch Manning finally getting his chance to shine in Texas, this promises to be a true Game of the Year candidate.
Also Read: Arch Manning Will Reportedly Skip The 2026 NFL Draft
