ESPN analysts unanimously predict College Football Playoff national champion

SEC Network analysts Gene Chizik, Roman Harper and Chris Doering reviewed the College Football Playoff bracket and unanimously predicted one team to win the national championship.

SEC Network analyst Roman Harper (pictured), along with Gene Chizik and Chris Doering, predicted the Georgia Bulldogs would be this year's national champions. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The release of the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket sparked immediate debate across the sports landscape regarding who will eventually lift the trophy. Analysts and fans alike began plotting potential paths to the title game in Miami while dissecting the matchups that could define the postseason. The expanded field offers more variables than ever before, creating a wide range of possible outcomes for the tournament.

A panel of experts on ESPN’s SEC Network gathered to break down the bracket and offer their projections for the national champion. The group included former head coach Gene Chizik, along with analysts Roman Harper and Chris Doering.

While their projected title-game opponents varied throughout the discussion, the trio reached consensus on which program would win it all.

The analysts looked beyond the opening-round matchups to identify the team playing its best football at the right time. They weighed factors such as championship experience, recent performance trends and physical dominance. After deliberating over the bracket, the three personalities finalized their picks for the national championship winner.

ESPN's SEC Network Panel Selects Georgia Bulldogs To Win National Title

The entire panel selected the Georgia Bulldogs to capture the national championship. Chizik projected the Bulldogs would defeat the Indiana Hoosiers in the final game. He pointed to the program's history in high-stakes moments as a deciding factor.

"It's their championship DNA that takes over," Chizik said. "Georgia, again, is playing the best football of the year. They're ascending. And every week, they've incrementally gotten better."

Harper agreed with the projection of a title game matchup between the Bulldogs and the Hoosiers. He praised the coaching job done by Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti but ultimately favored the SEC champion. Harper noted the Bulldogs' ability to find playmakers regardless of the situation.

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) and the Bulldogs were the unanimous choice of SEC Network analysts Gene Chizik, Roman Harper and Chrie Doering to win this year's national championship. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"Give me the Dawgs. I got the Dawgs over Indiana," Harper said. "It's not always fancy. It's just when you need the moment or the play, they have somebody that always steps up. So I like Indiana to get there. And I like Georgia to take it overall."

Doering offered a different opponent for the Bulldogs but the same ultimate result. He predicted the Oklahoma Sooners would reach the final stage to face their conference rival. Doering emphasized the conference's recent absence from the sport's biggest stage as a motivating factor.

"We haven't had an SEC team in the national championship game in two years now," Doering said. "There is some pent up demand there. So not only are we going to get one team, we're going to get two. Georgia is going to beat the Oklahoma Sooners."

The National Championship predictions are in 👀

🏈 @CoachGeneChizik: Georgia over Indiana

🏈 @Harp41: Georgia over Indiana

🏈 @ChrisDoering: Georgia over Oklahoma pic.twitter.com/JvOgP9Uri2

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 8, 2025

The Bulldogs enter the playoff as the No. 3 seed after securing a 28-7 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship. That win earned the program a first-round bye and a direct path to the quarterfinals.

Georgia (12-1, 7-1 SEC) is making its 13th appearance in the Sugar Bowl, which ties for the second most all-time. The program has recorded 31 seasons with 10 or more victories and has achieved that mark in each of the past six years.

The Georgia Bulldogs will face the winner of the first round contest between the Ole Miss Rebels and Tulane Green Wave in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.