Ohio State Enters Week 1 as the CFP Title Favorite — The Odds, the Ranking and the Tune-Up

The Favorite, on Paper

Ohio State opens the 2026 season as the betting favorite to win the College Football Playoff title, per FOX Sports — a market position that matches the preseason power polls at the top of the sport. The Buckeyes are the No. 1-ranked team nationally entering Week 1, and the two signals agree with each other: the ranking says best team in the country, the odds say most likely to finish there.

The Week 1 Tune-Up

The schedule cooperates. Ohio State hosts Ball State in its opener (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network), with the Buckeyes sitting around a 50-point favorite in the betting market — a game designed to build the season's baseline before the conference gauntlet begins. For a team with title ambitions, the opener is about health, rhythm and the backup rotation getting live reps.

The Big Ten QB Outlook

CBS Sports' Big Ten quarterback rankings place Ohio State and Oregon in the league's elite tier at the position entering 2026 — a useful reminder that the two teams most often picked to meet in the Big Ten Championship Game also have the two quarterbacks most capable of carrying a title run through December.

The Expert Consensus

National-title prediction content published this week — CBS Sports' CFP picks and national expert predictions included — starts from the same premise: the top of the bracket is a Buckeyes story until someone beats them. The value of tracking the early market is measuring how much of that consensus is priced in and what would have to happen for the picture to change.

What This Means for CFB 27

In CFB 27, Ohio State's roster is the highest-rated national championship package in most data files — the game has been generous to the Buckeyes' talent ratings — so the market favorite and the game simulation usually agree. The Ball State opener is a clean opportunity to test offensive scripting against a clearly inferior defense before the first real defensive test. Dynasty players holding OSU positions can expect the week's player ratings floor to hold; the interesting trade is any Ohio State quarterback form in the week-two window, when the schedule data starts to bite.