Add The New York Post on Google The Post’s sports betting and college football experts share their best bets to win the national championship and Heisman Trophy:
Ignore Indiana’s improbable run. Since 2015 — the second year of the playoff era — only two seasons have ended with a national champion that wasn’t a top-four preseason favorite.
The Fighting Irish have one of the most talented rosters — including returning quarterback CJ Carr and an elite defense — and a head coach (Marcus Freeman) who reached the national title game two years ago and ended last season on a 10-game win streak.
Unlike last season, Notre Dame faces no early landmines on the schedule, allowing the Irish to find their form against a soft slate, fueled by last season’s exclusion from the postseason.
A quarterback has claimed the Heisman 22 times since 2000, with nearly every winner coming from playoff/title contenders. The new leader of the heavy favorite in the ACC is set up for a trip to New York.
Mensah, who took Tulane to the AAC title game in 2024 and then led Duke to its first outright conference championship since 1962, finished last season ranked second in the nation in passing yards (3,979 passing yards) and touchdown passes (34), while only throwing six interceptions on 500 passing attempts.
In addition to being guided by a coaching staff that helped transfer Cam Ward become the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, Mensah will benefit from a soft schedule and a loaded supporting cast, including two of the top-10 receiving leaders in the nation last season: star sophomore Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate, Mensah’s go-to target at Duke.
Here’s a simple way to see the value on the Irish: On paper, Notre Dame’s roster and coaching staff grade out comparably to the other juggernauts, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, etc. If any of those other bluebloods had the path in front of them that the Fighting Irish do, they would probably be half this price.
It’s hard to imagine that Marcus Freeman doesn’t lead this roster to the College Football Playoff, and I suspect they’ll do some serious damage when they get there.
You don’t have to be on one of the best teams in the country to win the Heisman Trophy.
Jayden Daniels and Travis Hunter, two recent winners, were not on title contenders, and I don’t expect Byrum Brown to lead Auburn back to the promised land, either.
That said, he is set up to bring some serious excitement back to The Plains this season.
A dynamic dual-threat quarterback, Brown racked up 3,158 passing yards and 28 touchdowns, plus 1,121 rushing yards (not including sacks) and 14 touchdowns for South Florida in 2025.
It was the second time in three years that Brown threw for at least 3,000 yards and rushed for at least 1,000 more in the same campaign.
More good news? Brown’s head coach at USF, Alex Golesh, is with him at Auburn. War Eagle.
It’s not a splashy choice, but it’s hard not to see the Buckeyes pounding their way to at least the national championship.
From there, no challenger can match Julian Sayin’s connection with Jeremiah Smith, a loaded defense that has led college football for back-to-back seasons and a feral trench identity with veteran continuity.
They’ve got a rocky schedule with Texas, Oregon, Indiana and USC in their way, but the system and talent are there to survive a loss without derailing a title run.
Even as a primary breeding ground for the NFL, Ohio State doesn’t rebuild, it reloads.
Dante Moore didn’t forgo the 2025 NFL Draft for nothing.
Oregon’s smooth pocket passer could have claimed a top-five spot in the draft, but he’s returning to Eugene to build on the Heisman-caliber numbers he posted. If the supporting cast stays healthy this season, the team has even higher upside with Evan Stewart returning from injury to join Dekorien Moore and Jeremiah McClellan as a stacked receiving corps.
Oregon’s schedule offers Moore prime Heisman stages with Ohio State, Michigan and USC on tap, and if he’s the driving force behind one of the nation’s best, his candidacy will build itself.
The Buckeyes were the best team in the country last year for 12 games before a close loss to eventual champion Indiana and then the surprising flop against Miami in the CFP. They return the best player in the country, receiver Jeremiah Smith, and also have Julian Sayin back under center.
While the Buckeyes lost plenty in the draft, I trust their overall talent. Getting Oregon at home could set them up to potentially win the Big Ten title game and get a better CFP seed, which is critical.
I also trust them more than the other teams priced around them.
Notre Dame has not shown it can win the big game. I have yet to see why you should trust a Steve Sarkisian team despite the boatload of talent in Austin this year. Oregon is very good and has a strong quarterback in Dante Moore, but Ohio State probably has the slightly better roster.
It’s boring, but back the preseason favorites with the best player in the country.
While I believe Smith is the best player in the country, it’s going to be hard for a receiver to win the Heisman. Devonta Smith is the only pure receiver – Travis Hunter won the award for his two-way excellence at receiver and cornerback – to win the honor since the 1990s.
So, let’s go with America’s most famous prodigy.
Arch Manning did not have a great first season as Texas’ starter, but the narrative is building that those ups and downs have fueled him. He has a talented roster around him, particularly receiver Cam Coleman, and Texas should be one of the best teams in the country. There’s also the case for Dante Moore here, but we’ll back Manning due to the better playmakers around him to help him post gaudy stats.
Nothing beats a good redemption story, and the Hurricanes have a great chance to wash away the pain of last year’s loss in the CFP national title game.
Mario Cristobal’s offense is revamped, with a pair of Duke transfers in Darian Mensah under center and top target Cooper Barkate joining an already talented group. This lethal QB-to-WR duo, combined with speedster pass-catcher Malachi Toney and standout Mark Fletcher Jr. out of the backfield, should dominate the ACC.
The loss of Reuben Bain Jr. hurts their pass rush, but an experienced and deep secondary returns alongside Boston College transfer Omar Thornton.
The committee will certainly have its eyes on the Canes’ huge showdown with Notre Dame in early November. I’ll take a chance on Miami to end the Big Ten’s recent reign as CFP title winners.
Catch up on The Post’s college football betting predictions and previews for the 2026 season
Mateer and the Sooners started last season 4-0 before an injury to the thumb on his throwing hand disrupted Oklahoma’s early momentum. He may not be in the Dante Moore, Arch Manning or Trinidad Chambliss convos, but he showed competitiveness, finishing the season despite the ailment.
Before the injury, the dual-threat quarterback was considered a favorite over eventual Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. After a full offseason of recovery, Mateer was the talk of the Peyton Manning camp, showcasing a muscular physique and eager to demonstrate he’s among the best college football players.
Even though the Sooners are projected to finish seventh in the SEC preseason poll, some compare Mateer to Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, a dynamic, smaller quarterback known for creating impressive ad-lib plays.
With Isaiah Sategna III returning as his top target and senior Jake Maikkula leading the offensive line for Oklahoma, Mateer at 25/1 appears to be a promising bet.
Rather than go No. 2 overall to the Jets, Dante Moore chose to avoid Florham Park to go back to Oregon and try to lead the Ducks to the promised land. He’s not the only other star returning to Eugene, as star receivers Dakorien Moore and Evan Stewart will be back in the fold, too.
They are also set to return arguably the best defensive front in the FBS. When all is said and done, Oregon should be among the top schools in draft picks in the top two rounds of the NFL Draft.
The Ducks are undervalued going into what will be a wild college football season.
Mestemaker was basically not recruited out of high school while in North Austin, Texas. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder did not start at quarterback at all as a varsity high schooler, though he did begin training with Patrick Mahomes’ private QB coach, Jeff Christensen, who has developed him into a behemoth.
Mestemaker led all FBS passers with 4,379 passing yards and 34 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman at North Texas. He follows offensive guru Eric Morris to Oklahoma State as a prized transfer who will run a high-volume offense on a Big 12 stage that should give him the notoriety needed to get into the Heisman conversation.
It’s finally the Trojans’ time. USC returns 15 starters, the most among the major contenders, giving Lincoln Riley a much more experienced roster than he had a year ago.
Oregon and Ohio State both come to the Coliseum, while USC avoids Michigan entirely. The non-conference slate is also soft, with San Jose State, Fresno State, and Louisiana all at home.
The road trips to Penn State and Indiana are difficult, but if USC takes care of business at home, the path to 10 or 11 wins is very realistic.
At a long price, that’s exactly the profile I want.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is the type of long-shot Heisman bet worth taking before the season begins.
The Cal quarterback threw for 3,454 yards and 18 touchdowns as a true freshman, starting all 13 games. He also flashed his ceiling late in the season, throwing for a combined 653 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions in upset wins over ranked SMU and Louisville in a possible sign of things to come in 2026.
The biggest concern is whether Cal can win enough games to keep him in the national conversation, but that’s baked into this massive price.
If JKS makes a Year 2 jump and Cal becomes an ACC surprise, his odds could shorten dramatically by October.
