ESPN's Heather Dinich Makes College Football National Championship Prediction

Ohio State opens the 2026 season as the preseason No. 1 team in the preseason AP Top 25, but Texas and Notre Dame are drawing plenty of their own buzz heading into fall camp.

That kind of positioning has plenty of college football insiders willing to put their names on early championship predictions, and Heather Dinich is no exception. The ESPN college football reporter has thrown her pick into the ring for this year's national title game, and she is not shy about defending it.

Heather Dinich picks national title game teams, winner

Dinich shared her prediction in a video posted to social media, framing it as an easy call. "I pick Texas versus, drumroll please, Notre Dame," she said. She had some fun with the comment section, saying, "If I'm wrong, and I'm never wrong, let me know."

Dinich also picked a winner between the two teams, "I'm going with the Longhorns," she said.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr (13) looks to pass against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Texas returns quarterback Arch Manning for a second season as the starter after an 11-2 finish in 2025, while Notre Dame is working in C.J. Carr under center following Riley Leonard's departure to the NFL.

Both programs are viewed as top contenders entering the year, and Dinich's pick lines up with ESPN Analytics' ranking of the two teams among the favorites to reach Atlanta. Dinich closed her prediction by asking her followers to weigh in with their own picks for the matchup and the eventual champion, inviting the same kind of debate that follows nearly every prediction she makes during the season.

How Dinich's predictions have fared

Dinich's track record on national title predictions leans more miss than hit in recent years. Ahead of the 2022 season stretch run, she backed Ohio State to win it all over Georgia, citing quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Buckeyes' turnover margin. Ohio State lost in the College Football Playoff semifinal that season, and Georgia went on to beat TCU for the title.

Two years later, ahead of the 2024 season, Dinich picked Georgia, saying on ESPN's Get Up, "Of course, how can I pick against Georgia?"

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud — Heather Dinich predicted Ohio State and quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) would win it all ahead of the 2022 college football season. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Georgia lost in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal that season, and Ohio State won the national championship instead.

The 2025 season followed the same pattern. In her preseason College Football Playoff predictions published by ESPN, Dinich projected a 12-team field of Penn State, Clemson, Texas, LSU, Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Alabama, Miami, Oregon, Kansas State and Boise State.

Indiana was not among them. The Hoosiers went on to finish a perfect 16-0 and won the national championship, a result that caught much of the sport off guard and left Dinich's preseason field well off the mark, like most other analysts last year.

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