Major college football program predicted to win first national championship in 2026

The 2025 season ended with a longshot national champion. Indiana was a 100-1 preseason underdog to win the championship and it was the school's first college football title. But ahead of the 2026 season, a poll of the staff of The Athletic revealed another first-time college football title winner as their internal favorite for 2026.

Nine different teams were picked as potential title winners by the staff of The Athletic. Seven of the nine teams have already claimed national titles, with several being teams with recent title history (Indiana got three of the 28 total votes to repeat as the champion, for instance). But the ultimate favorite is a team without championship history.

The preseason title pick

The Oregon Ducks nabbed 9 of the 28 total votes to claim the edge as the consensus 2026 championship pick. Notre Dame came in second with five votes, with Texas third with four votes. Indiana and Ohio State each drew three votes, and then single votes were counted in favor of Georgia, LSU, Miami, and Texas Tech. Tech is the other program with no prior national title history.

The return of Dante Moore likely boosted Oregon over the top of The Athletic's picks. Withi15 of the 28 total votes going for Big Ten schools, the team that emerges at the top of that league should have a healthy advantage. With three straight CFP title victories for the league, that withstands reason.

Oregon's strengths

Moore, who was considered a likely top five pick in the NFL Draft, elected to return to college rather than pursue his pro future and launched Oregon as a potential title favorite. Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola has signed as a transfer option, giving Oregon a tremendously deep quarterback room.

Running backs Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill give Oregon a talented 1-2 group attack. Evan Stewart will lead a talented receving crew and defensively, Oregon did well to keep defensive linemen Teitum Tuioti and Matayo Uiagalelei up front. Oregon will also miss defending champion Indiana and Penn State in their league schedule, with the toughest run being back-to-back games at Ohio State and at home against Michigan in the first two weekends of November.

Other contenders

Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame team has its own superb quarterback returning for 2026 with sophomore CJ Carr back on campus. Texas was the preseason No. 1 a season ago and Arch Manning is returning to try to deliver on the massive potential he occasionally flashes. The Longhorns have put together an impressive transfer portal class of depth.

Still, Oregon's overall balance and top-level QB give the Ducks the edge in this earliest of preseason looks. A fourth different Big Ten champ in a row and a second straight first-time winner could well be in the cards.

Coach Dan Lanning and Oregon drew the preseason nod for 2026 title winners from The Athletic. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images