Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica’s 5 College Football Futures Best Bets

And just like that, we’ve got football. 

I can’t wait to see what the SEC and Big Ten — among many other conferences — have in store this season. With that, here are my five best futures bets for the college football 2026-27 season.

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I think there’s a bit of denial in the SEC as a whole that nearly everyone in the league is going to fall in that 8-4/9-3 slot. Obviously, that’s where the Tide figure to be and most people I’ve heard seem to fall on the side of Bama being a solid Over team. 

I’m not quite there. 

Alabama has had a non-existent running game the past two years and I have to see it to believe it this year with regard to improvement. There’s inexperience — and great potential — at quarterback with Keelon Russell, but last year, with Ty Simpson, there was experience and a guy who went in the top 15 of the NFL Draft. We also saw Bama survive four one-possession wins and get blasted by a terrible Florida State team in Tallahassee, and the lasting impression of Bama was them getting manhandled by Indiana in the Rose Bowl. 

There are a lot of questions to ask of this Tide roster and staff entering 2026, and while on paper it looks like Bama should open 5-0, can we say with great confidence it will? Outside the Chattanooga game, any of the remaining seven games are losable. 

Find the best price on the Under and bet accordingly — and with confidence.

Everyone’s favorite FCS power has made the jump to FBS, and I’m curious to see how it goes. It’s a bit different being the plucky FCS underdog taking on a Power 4 in a one-off game than it is playing an FBS slate. 

Granted, the new-look MWC isn’t the greatest league out there, but the Bison have just nine returning starters — with QB not being one of them — and couldn’t do much in the portal. NDSU projects to be solid underdogs at UNLV and New Mexico and in virtual toss-up games at Air Force and Hawaii. It could lose all four and certainly isn’t immune to being picked off as a favorite either.

I think 9-3 feels like a pretty common landing spot when you go through Texas’ schedule. 

Sure, the Longhorns have one of the top rosters in the country, but there are at least five games where the spread projects to be within a touchdown. This is what Steve Sarkisian was talking about when comparing the slate Texas Tech faces in comparison to Texas. How would the CFP handle a 9-3 Texas? There’s a chance the Longhorns might face Ohio State without star tackle Trevor Goolsby, which wouldn’t be great. 

If Texas is 9-3, there could even be a chance to grab some plus money on the yes during the season, which would put you in a position to lock in a profit.

I know John Mateer would have gone Over this total last year even with the injury, but off the schedule are Illinois State, Temple and Kent State (which Mateer DNP), and now OU adds a ninth SEC game, along with a road trip to Michigan. 

I think we could see a lot more running from both Mateer and OU in general this year and that would keep Mateer’s passing total in check. Between Georgia, Texas and others, OU will face some pretty salty defenses.

LaNorris Sellers would have gone Under this total each of the last two years and, while there was a coordinator change with Kendall Briles, which in theory should help Sellers’ numbers, the Gamecocks are going to have to be a lot better on the offensive line. 

I think the improvement in Sellers’ numbers will come in the running game, which made him so dynamic in 2024 — rushing yards fell by 400 yards last year — and the talk of him being one of the top QB prospects out there. It could be a little sweaty, but I always feel like there are more ways to win an Under, whereas if you’re betting Overs, essentially everything has to go right.