- Ohio State is the number one-ranked team in the coaches' poll.
- Six teams received first-place votes in the coaches' poll.
- Ohio State is also favored to win the National Championship.
ATLANTA – The preseason American Football Coaches Association’s (AFCA) coaches’ poll was released on Tuesday, with Ohio State topping the rankings with 38 total votes.
We’ll look and see how the poll compares to National Championship odds on college football prop betting sites. Things are consistent at the top with Ohio State ranked first and favored to win the National Championship with +600 odds.
Coaches Poll + National Championship Odds
| Team | Coaches Poll (1st place votes) | National Championship Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 1 (38) | +600 |
| Oregon | 2 (6) | +800 |
| Georgia | 3 (7) | +900 |
| Texas | 4 (2) | +775 |
| Notre Dame | 5 (14) | +700 |
| Indiana | 6 (14) | +900 |
| Miami | 7 | +1100 |
| Texas A&M | 8 | +2200 |
| Oklahoma | 9 | +2000 |
| Ole Miss | 10 | +2500 |
| Alabama | 11 | +2500 |
| Texas Tech | 12 | +2500 |
| LSU | 13 | +2200 |
| USC | 14 | +3300 |
| BYU | 15 | +10000 |
| Michigan | 16 | +4500 |
| Penn State | 17 | +12500 |
| Tennessee | 18 | +5500 |
| Washington | 19 | +10000 |
| SMU | 20 | +10000 |
| Utah | 21 | +15000 |
| Iowa | 22 | +10000 |
| Clemson | 23 | +10000 |
| Houston | 24 | +60000 |
| Missouri | 25 | +12500 |
Surprises, Longshots, & Hot Takes
The biggest surprise here is that LSU’s ranking isn’t higher with the amount of hype surrounding the team in the preseason and Lane Kiffin’s successful track record. Poll voters are not sold just yet on LSU’s $40 million roster and would prefer to see how things pan out before ranking them any higher.
Down the board, Houston at no. 24 has the longest odds of any team in the poll on Texas prop betting sites. This Cougars team really turned things around last season in Willie Fritz's second year as head coach. He turned this team from 4-8 in 2024 to 10-3 last season and in fourth place in the Big 12. They had the second-ranked portal class and sixth recruiting class in the Big 12, highlighted by the No. 1 QB in the class, Keisean Henderson.
Lastly, while some might argue that it isn’t a hot take, Tennessee is ranked far too high here and could end up off the board by the end of the season. It starts with the questions under center and who will start for the Vols in Week 1 between George MacIntyre and true freshman Brandon Faizon. This is also an extremely young team with seven offensive players expected to have key roles in 2026.
