Bold Bets Stir the 2026 College Football Landscape

A FOX Sports panel lays out 12 audacious predictions for the 2026 college football season, including Indiana repeating as Big Ten champions, North Dakota State moving to FBS and aiming for the CFP, Arch Manning steering Texas to a national title, Jeremiah Smith mounting a historic receiving season, LSU overachieving under Lane Kiffin and earning a CFP bid, USC making the playoff, multiple non‑QB Heisman finalists, Virginia Tech improving enough to challenge Penn State in Franklin’s debut, Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama era facing pressure, the ACC likely sending only one team to the CFP, and Indiana returning to another national title-game run.