Where Texas Football Stands in Latest National Championship Odds

The Texas Longhorns are already seen as the favorite to win the national championship in 2026.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian leads his team on to the field before a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The 2026 college football season is still five months away from commencing, but the speculation is already running rampant as to who will raise the national title trophy at the end of the year in January 2027.

The blue bloods are obviously the front runner for the gold, with the Texas Longhorns very much included in that group, but just who exactly is the true favorite at this point in the middle of the offseason?

According to one betting site, 2026 could be the year that Steve Sarkisian can finally call himself a national championship-winning head coach, and the Horns could end a 20-year championship drought.

Kalshi Favors the Texas Longhorns to Win 2026 National Title

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) runs with the ball against the Michigan Wolverines during the first half at Camping World Stadium. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

In a post on X by the betting site Kalshi, they released their early favorites to win the national championship in the 2026 season, and sitting as the favorite with 13 percent was none other than the Texas Longhorns.

The Longhorns led the current champion Indiana Hoosiers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the Ohio State Buckeyes, all who were given an 11 percent chance of taking home the title.

Early Favorites to win the College Football Playoff, via Kalshi:

13% — Texas
11% — Indiana, Notre Dame, Ohio St
9% — Oregon
7% — Miami, Georgia
6% — LSU, Texas Tech
4% — Texas A&M
3% — Alabama, Michigan
2% — USC, Ole Miss, Florida, Penn St, Tennessee, Auburn pic.twitter.com/g8yV35XDRm

— Kalshi Sports (@KalshiSports) March 30, 2026

Rival Texas A&M was given a four percent chance to taste the glory of a national title, though given their past two games against the Longhorns on the gridiron, that may be easier said than done.

The favoring of the Longhorns shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to anybody, as the 2023 and 2024 seasons saw the Horns make it all the way to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, losing out to the Washington Huskies and Ohio State Buckeyes, respectively.

Last year may have seen Sarkisian's men miss the 12-team field entirely, largely in part due to Arch Manning adjusting to his new full-time starting role, but now that Manning has fully come out of his shell, as shown in the games against A&M at DKR and the Michigan Wolverines, the hype surrounding Manning and the Horns as a whole is now completely warranted, and you can expect Texas to be back in the national championship picture this year.

In the Lone Star Showdown, Manning recorded 179 yards and a touchdown, but his biggest impact was the 35-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter to fully put the game out of reach for the Horns in the 27-17 victory.

The Citrus Bowl saw even higher levels of production from the junior both with his arms and his legs, throwing for 221 yards and two touchdowns and running for 155 yards and two more scores, including a 60-yard score that also put the game on ice for Texas, later resulting in the 41-27 win for the team.

Texas starts its 2026 slate with a hosting of the Texas State Bobcats at DKR on September 5.

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