2026 College Football Playoff Predictions: Will Big Ten’s Dominance Come To An End?

It’s about that time, as the offseason winds down, and predictions start looming. Which teams are bound to make waves this college football season?

As Oregon returns plenty of production from their 2025 team and Indiana aims for a repeat title, the competition for conference championships and a national title are wide open. 

Here are Klatt’s predictions for every Power Four conference champion, 12-team bracket and his national champion prediction:

Conference Championship Game Predictions

Klatt’s thoughts: “I do think that the Big Ten is absolutely loaded at the top. I think all of us know that after all these preseason rankings have finally come out. We saw Ohio State at the top of the AP [Top 25 Poll]. Oregon was at the top of my preseason poll. And you still have Indiana, the defending national champion. You’ve got teams like USC, Penn State and Michigan, who will all be in there vying and trying to level up into that rarefied air of those top three teams in the Big Ten. 

“Ohio State’s schedule is going to be too difficult. … They’ve got to play at Iowa after opening on the road in Week 2 against Texas. They’ve got to play on the road several times against very difficult opponents. They’ve got to go to USC. They’ve got to go to Indiana. These are all very difficult places to play. That’s why I don’t think Ohio State will make it to Indianapolis.

“Oregon’s also got a difficult schedule, but I think they’re going to be prepared to handle it. I think Indiana gets back into that spot. … I’m going to take Dan Lanning and the Ducks.”

Kirby Smart and Steve Sarkisian have led their respective programs to plenty of success. (Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Klatt’s thoughts: “This is a very deep conference — we all know that. I think there are two, at least in this month, that are maybe better than the rest. We’ll see how it plays out, particularly with a team like LSU. But I really, really like Georgia and Texas. I really like Texas a lot. My wild card is LSU. 

“You start to wonder to yourself if [Texas coach Steve Sarkisian] can get over the hump. Let’s just say if Ohio State were to beat them early in the season, that could be a real defining moment for that program. For them to turn things around and break some of those barriers later in the season — one of those barriers being Georgia and Kirby Smart. I don’t want to bet against Georgia and Kirby Smart, but I don’t know if they’re going to have the firepower to keep up with what could be a very good offense in Texas.  

“I think Texas and Steve Sarkisian can get over that hump.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “This one’s pretty easy. Texas Tech is the most talented team in the league, and they’ve got a pretty soft schedule. They only have one ranked opponent on their schedule as it stands right now: Week 3 against Houston. 

“Who will Texas Tech face? I like Arizona a lot, but I just don’t love their schedule in the Big 12. They’ve got quarterback Noah Fifita coming back. I really like what they’ve done with their program. … You just look at these schedules and I just don’t love it for Arizona. They’ve got at BYU, at Texas Tech and home against Utah.

“I think the second spot goes to the winner of the Holy War, BYU and Utah. As was the case a year ago, I’m going to lean toward BYU. A lot of turnover at Utah. Meanwhile, BYU, they still have head coach Kelani Sitake, quarterback Bear Bachmaier and running back LJ Martin.

“Texas Tech is just at a different level in terms of the roster compilation against the other Big 12 schools.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Miami has a similar gap over the ACC. I don’t see them losing an ACC game this year. They might lose to Notre Dame. I’ll predict that they do lose to Notre Dame. But Miami is not going to have a large issue when it comes to the ACC schedule.

“The real question is who is Miami going to face? You start to throw out those teams you think might have the talent and schedule to get themselves into the ACC Championship Game. I have four teams I considered here: Clemson, Virginia Tech, SMU and Louisville. With Clemson and Virginia Tech, I just don’t know. … Louisville and SMU happen to play each other in a monster game in September. I’m going to go with SMU because they’re 14-2 in ACC play since joining the conference a year ago. 

“But SMU is not in Miami’s hemisphere, at least as it currently stands.”

The 12-Team Bracket

Klatt’s thoughts: “If Oregon were to win the Big Ten with only one loss, then I think the Ducks take the No. 1 seed. They’re rewarded for winning the Big Ten.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “I think Notre Dame goes undefeated, but their schedule is just not anywhere close to Oregon’s.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “With only one loss to an undefeated Notre Dame on the road, I think Miami gets the No. 3 seed. … They’re 12-1 with an ACC championship.”

Arch Manning is entering his second season as Texas’ starting quarterback.(Photo by Dustin Markland/Getty Images)

Klatt’s thoughts: “The fourth spot is a tough call. I think it’ll come down to a team that did not play in their conference championship game, but beat a conference champion. Texas is going to get the fourth spot because the SEC championship, fresh off a win against Kirby Smart and Georgia, will help give Texas all the love that they want, and they’re going to be one spot ahead of a team that beat them: Ohio State.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Ohio State is going to be rated one spot ahead of the sixth-place team, Indiana, because in this prediction, I’ve got Ohio State with a win over Indiana. Ohio State would have wins over Texas and Indiana, but loses on the final bye seed because Texas has the SEC championship.”

Curt Cignetti is 27-2 at Indiana. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Klatt’s thoughts: “Indiana would have the sixth seed because of their loss to Ohio State as an 11-2 team.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Georgia would be No. 7 after the loss to Texas in the SEC Championship Game.” 

Klatt’s thoughts: “Texas Tech’s strength of schedule is not anywhere close. So, even as a conference champion, unless they were undefeated and beating everyone by 20 or 25 — I could see them losing a game in the Big 12 slate — I’ve got them as the eighth seed.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Now, it starts to get interesting. I think everyone can agree that the first eight teams are the best eight teams. Who in the world is going to play themselves into the final at-large spots? I’m bullish on [USC]. … I think USC is going to have a real fantastic year. I like what they’re doing at the line of scrimmage, both offensively and defensively. I love the fact that they’re going to run the football. I love the fact that they’re returning their starting quarterback. I’ve got them going 10-2 with loss to Oregon and Indiana, but they pick up a huge resume-building win against Ohio State.” 

Lane Kiffin enters his first year at LSU after a 55-19 tenure at Ole Miss. (Photo by Gus Stark/LSU/University Images via Getty Images)

Klatt’s thoughts: “I just think LSU is going to come out and play very solid football. That doesn’t mean they’re going to win their conference. I don’t know if they’re going to go to that echelon. But I can certainly see them fixing what happened on the offensive side of the football. … Lane Kiffin’s going to have them generating 500 yards of offense, week in and week out. This idea that it’s somehow a question or anomaly of how this is going to come together with all these players from the transfer portal, let’s not act like Kiffin hasn’t done this before. … LSU is going to be a 10-2 team.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “I’ve got three teams going for the final at-large spot in the College Football Playoff: Penn State (they’re going to be 10-2), Alabama (at 10-2) and the winner of the Michigan-Oklahoma game. I think the winner of that game will go 9-3. So, they’re going to have a huge resume-building win out of conference, but they’re still 9-3. … I think Penn State gets thrown out right away because they won’t have a resume-building win. In this scenario, they would have lost to Michigan and USC and there’s not a marquee win on their schedule. Alabama would be 10-2 against either 9-3 Michigan or Oklahoma. 

“This team should be excellent on defense. … This is a team that I think can get back to that Alabama defensive identity.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Let’s just go with Boise State. Can anyone predict the Group of 5? These rosters turn over with such a huge degree. … I think Boise State will get rewarded with a tougher strength of schedule.”

First Round

Klatt’s thoughts: “Ohio State should win this game pretty handily.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Kalen DeBoer and company go up to Bloomington and guess what? They still can’t stop Indiana from running the football. Indiana might run it 55 times in the weather up there.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “Great year for Lane Kiffin. I do think they need to win a playoff game for them to reach their expectations. … But Georgia moves on.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “I don’t think Texas Tech, based on what we saw last year in the postseason when it got shut out by Oregon, will be up to par with a team like USC, who’ll be very tested by that point.”

Quarterfinals

Klatt’s thoughts: “I like USC a lot, but not in this game. Oregon’s my No. 1 overall seed for a reason.”

Gunnar Stockton and Georgia lost to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff two seasons ago. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Klatt’s thoughts: “I think Notre Dame is going to be incredible. They’re going to play against Georgia, and they’re going to win. Notre Dame is going to win that game for the second time in three years.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “I thought it was a coin flip… but Miami is just building something. I think Miami wins that game.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “This would be the fourth meeting in the last three years. I have to take Ohio State. I think they have something over Texas.”

Semifinals

Will Oregon get revenge over Ohio State for its loss in the 2025 Rose Bowl?(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Klatt’s thoughts: “I said that Oregon is super talented… at this point, who knows what the depth looks like for Ohio State?… Give me Oregon.”

Klatt’s thoughts: “A rematch of that game in South Bend this year. I think Notre Dame wins the first one, I think Notre Dame wins the second one. Notre Dame is that good.”

National Championship

Klatt’s thoughts: “It might be a curse to be the team that I pick as the national champ. Last year, I picked Clemson. 

“My national champ in my very first bracket prediction of the year is [drumroll please]: the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.”