College Football Betting News This Week | Ohio State Back to Favorites, Market Watch & Analysis | May, 2026

It’s graduation time across college campuses, and student-athletes are now moving on to their professional careers, while their teammates are continuing preparation for the next season. As our previous report notes, the Indiana Hoosiers return as one of the top favorites to take home the championship next season after a dominant campaign in 2025-26. Of course, other competition from the Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 are in strong contention to make a run. This includes conference mate Ohio State moving into co-favorite status by some outlets, or even the overall favorite by some metrics. For even more analysis on the sport in this report from OSB, the college football betting sites guide is a must-read resource. This includes all kinds of fantastic insights and even more additional notes on the sport.

With the NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, a couple of new storylines have taken center stage for the month of May.

Last year, during the 2026-26 campaign, Ole Miss had arguably its best season in modern program history. This included an 11-win regular season, its first-ever CFP appearance, along with fantastic victories over Tulane and Georgia in the CFP. Meanwhile, LSU had grown frustrated with where things stood with former head coach Brian Kelly. So, after not fulfilling expectations once again, the Tigers had put together a massive deal for Kiffin projected at $91 million over seven years. This is where things got confusing and messy for both sides.

After the Egg Bowl win over Mississippi State, Ole Miss was heading into the CFP and dealing with rumors of Kiffin leaving. Reports leaked of Kiffin also intending to take a large portion of his staff to LSU. This left defensive coordinator Pete Golding to be elevated to permanent head coach for the Rebels. More recently, Kiffin sparked even more fire here by telling Vanity Fair that he thought some recruits and their families viewed Baton Rouge as more comfortable and diverse than Oxford. So, with this fueling even more animosity between the two, these two SEC foes have a lot of gambling eyes on them for this year, and as things move through the offseason with the social media-minded Kiffin.

Largest NCAAF line moves and total changes this week

• CJ Carr (+750) is now the current favorite to win the Heisman Trophy next season. In our prior report, he was noted at +800 with his odds shifting subtly.
• Carr is the starting quarterback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and took over as the starting quarterback for the Irish last year.
• After sitting behind Riley Leonard, he threw for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns last year in 2025. This cemented him as one of the nation’s most efficient passers and a notable NFL Draft prospect.

Concurrently, some other sportsbooks have tabbed Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr as another contender here at +800. A redshirt sophomore, he had a strong campaign last year with 2,741 passing yards, 24 passing scores, and three rushing touchdowns. The Irish are also in a strong position to compete in the CFP next year (-650). Indeed, head coach Marcus Freeman has his team primed for a potential breakthrough season.

NCAAF prospect news, pro days, and betting impact

Following a fantastic NFL Draft, a couple of new storylines have emerged as the best in college football from last season are set to take the stage as pro football’s next generation. Of course, these top picks all have huge ramifications on the NFL Rookie of the Year Awards for both offensive and defensive players.

• David Bailey, going No.2 overall to the New York Jets, surprised a lot of observers, given the premium context of the position and value of the draft pick. However, the league clearly views him as a difference maker and a foundational defensive superstar in some contexts. He is the leading candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year at around +450 to +550.
• Meanwhile, running back Jeremiyah Love has become one of the faces of the rookie class thanks to landing with Arizona. Accordingly, many sportsbooks opened him as the Offensive Rookie of the Year because of his explosiveness and expected workload in the Cardinals’ system. His current odds for winning the award in the future are around +300 to +320.
• Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza was selected by the Raiders first overall and is currently in second place for the Offensive Rookie of the Year race. His odds are just behind those of Love at around +350 to +400.  He of course, has generated a lot of buzz and has a chance to start immediately. However, being a quarterback for the Silver and Black has not always been very hospitable for young players, so perhaps there is an incubation period to be expected by the talented signal-caller.

Most bet NCAAF props and markets

A variety of schools also have early markets on how many wins they achieve in 2026. This includes teams in the Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, and more.

• Ohio State is the new projected winner to win the Big Ten Conference championship at +190. Indiana is following closely behind at +260, while Oregon at +280, is in hot pursuit.
• The Miami Hurricanes at -140 are the current favorites to win the ACC and it’s not even close. The next closest in this category is Louisville at +750 who is also tied with SMU at +750.
• Texas A&M has an 8.5-win total, with the over favored at -118 in our last OSB update, but the over is now valued at -120.