College football conference champion odds are now widely available. Spring games are nearly in the books, and soon, we’ll start to get some camp information about teams for the upcoming season.
This year has unprecedented turnover, even by college football standards, as just 16 teams return their head coach, both coordinators and starting quarterback. In fact, only 43 teams return their starting QB at all.
With so much movement and turnover comes opportunity in the futures market. I found two teams I’m looking at for college football conference winner bets from the Power 4.
My methodology here is to get ahead of the offseason and early-season market. Lines have already moved with early offseason action and will continue to do so as the offseason progresses.
I anticipate these two teams currently offer the best odds today and warrant bets. With that said, let's take a look at my college football futures and NCAAF picks for the conference champions market.
Michigan to Win Big Ten (+1200)
Last season, Michigan went 9-3 in the regular season while being headed by an atrocity of a head coach in Sherrone Moore (off-field stuff aside, seriously). Part of that was due to a favorable schedule, but it was also due to serious talent on the roster.
New head coach Kyle Whittingham brings a staff full of adults to Ann Arbor, including two intriguing coordinators in OC Jason Beck (whom he brought along from Utah) and DC Jay Hill (whom he poached from rival BYU).
Hill took BYU from the 117th-ranked defense in Points Per Drive to 37th in just three seasons.
With Whittingham comes defensive end John Henry Daley (17.5 TFLs, 11.5 sacks in 11 games) and starting cornerback Smith Snowden.
The front four needs some faces to emerge, but the secondary could be one of the Big Ten’s best again with Snowden and Zeke Berry leading the way.
The schedule gets a lot tougher as Michigan draws Iowa, Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State (plus a wild card in Penn State). That gives it opportunities for losses, but also opportunities to show its strength.
Of course, the big name is Bryce Underwood, who decided to stay in Ann Arbor after a disappointing first season.
Beck put together one of the best rushing attacks in the country at Utah — and before that at New Mexico. His addition to the staff is enormous for Underwood, who previously wasn’t being developed at all.
Running back Jordan Marshall and wide receiver Andrew Marsh are the top weapons who return for Beck.
Since the NIL era kicked off, Michigan hasn’t been shy about its financial dedication to athletics. With another championship banner heading to Ann Arbor, it’s clear that having the wealthy alumni base Michigan does is a huge advantage.
With big spenders, retaining talent at key positions and a massive upgrade among the coaching ranks, Michigan has the pieces to be really strong in college football’s top conference.
LSU to Win SEC (+700)
Regardless of public opinion of Lane Kiffin the person, LSU made an enormous upgrade at head coach by replacing Brian Kelly with him.
Defensive coordinator Blake Baker, the country’s second-highest paid coordinator, keeps his spot in Baton Rouge after leading LSU to the 21st-ranked Points Per Drive defense in 2025, up from 74th in 2024.
This season is the one where the pieces should come together.
Since the historic 2019 championship team, LSU hasn’t been able to field both a competent offense and defense at the same time, resulting in a playoff drought.
At Ole Miss, Kiffin never finished outside the top 30 in Points Per Drive, and it improved every year, topping out at ninth last season.
Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt joins forces with Kiffin and a host of transfer weapons like Jayce Brown (Kansas State) and Winston Watkins Jr. (Ole Miss).
Tackle Jordan Seaton (Colorado), safety Ty Benefield (Boise State), and edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen round out a solid roster. 247Sports ranks LSU’s transfer haul at the top in the country.
The schedule’s no walk in the park, but Alabama and Ole Miss turn over rosters.
There are really two tough spurts — one to start SEC play (at Ole Miss, vs. Texas A&M) and to close the season (vs. Alabama and Texas, at Tennessee); However, three of LSU’s four toughest games come at Tiger Stadium.
The SEC is wide open. Six teams — Texas, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Alabama — are priced at +1000 or shorter to win the conference.
Only one of those teams makes a jump at coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback: LSU.
Long Shot: Oklahoma State to Win Big 12 (+3500)
Is Eric Morris the next Curt Cignetti? Almost certainly not, but he does bring a host of talent both on the roster and coaching staff to Stillwater next season.
Drew Mestemaker was phenomenal last season and garnered headlines, but the real secret stuff was an extremely efficient run game orchestrated by Morris and offensive coordinator Sean Brophy.
Running back Caleb Hawkins, a certified true freshman freak, transfers along with Morris after racking up over 1,800 scrimmage yards and 29 touchdowns.
How the offensive and defensive fronts hold up remains to be seen, but the Pokes did draw a favorable conference slate.
Texas Tech comes to Stillwater, Arizona State appears to be on the decline, and Iowa State is the same team as last year in name only.
There’s no Utah or BYU, and Oklahoma State avoids five of the top seven Big 12 teams, per preseason odds.
The 2026 Pokes may not see the same rocket ship success Indiana did in 2024, but they’re a strong favorite to be the most improved team in 2026.
Aside from Texas Tech, the Big 12 is wide open, and I’m not convinced Tech is deserving of being the odds-on favorite in the conference.
