Early Longshot Picks to Win the 2027 College Football National Championship

Even though the 2025 season just concluded, it’s never too early to start looking ahead to the upcoming college football season.

Especially with how wide open the national championship race appears at the onset of the offseason.

Four teams — defending champion Indiana, Texas, Ohio State and Notre Dame — are tied for the best odds to win the 2026 national title at +700 on DraftKings. On FanDuel, Notre Dame is a slight favorite at +650, with the other three locked at +700.

But who are some under-the-radar picks to win it all next season? Let’s take a look at some longer-shot candidates.

Georgia

(+1100 on DraftKings and FanDuel)

It’s been three years since a Southeastern Conference team even competed in the national championship, with three different Big Ten teams winning the last three seasons.

I get why Texas is the betting favorite among SEC teams, but it’s impossible to deny Georgia’s track record under Kirby Smart.

The Bulldogs have won three of the last four SEC championships and been in the College Football Playoff four of the last five years.

Quarterback Gunner Stockton is back, and while Georgia is losing plenty of key pieces from last season’s roster, the Bulldogs are restocking the cabinets with another elite high school recruiting class and a small but effective transfer haul.

Georgia is likely to be right back in the CFP next season. If the Bulldogs can once again turn SEC dominance into postseason success, they’re a legitimate national title contender.

Miami

(+1300 on FanDuel, +1500 on DraftKings)

Miami was one of the best stories of the 2025 season, going from missing the CFP entirely to a run all the way to the national championship game, where it fell to Indiana.

The 2026 Hurricanes will look significantly different. Carson Beck is gone, along with multiple starting offensive linemen and key contributors at every level of their elite defense — most notably pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr., a likely top-five pick in April’s draft.

Still, Miami has reloaded in a major way. Freshman breakout wide receiver Malachi Toney and standout running back Mark Fletcher Jr. return, and the Hurricanes added Duke quarterback transfer Darian Mensah, who led the ACC with 3,973 passing yards and 34 touchdowns last season.

Defensively, Missouri defensive end transfer Damon Wilson (nine sacks in 2025) helps replace some of the lost production up front, alongside another strong recruiting class in the trenches.

The national championship loser hasn’t returned to the CFP the following season since Alabama in 2022–23. But Miami appears to be the clear ACC frontrunner and has already shown it can make a deep postseason run.

Southern California

(+3500 on DraftKings and FanDuel)

The Trojans still haven’t fully reached their ceiling under Lincoln Riley. USC went 11–3 in Riley’s first season in 2022 but hasn’t recorded a double-digit-win season since. Last year’s 9–4 finish included losses in three of four games against ranked opponents.

And yet, there’s legitimate buzz surrounding USC entering this offseason.

Quarterback Jayden Maiava returns for his third season with the Trojans after breaking out in his first full year as a starter. He ranked fifth nationally in passing yards (3,711) while accounting for 30 total touchdowns and throwing 10 interceptions.

USC also signed the top-ranked high school recruiting class in December, headlined by one five-star prospect and 21 four-stars. Riley’s move from Oklahoma was always about access to elite talent, and this class is proof of that advantage.

The Trojans will lose their top two receivers — including Biletnikoff Trophy winner Makai Lemon — along with defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who departed for Penn State.

Still, talent wins in the College Football Playoff era, and USC appears poised to have plenty of it in 2026.