The college football season is almost here, and the schedule is loaded with marquee matchups that could have major implications on conference races and the College Football Playoff. And even though kickoff is still months away for many of these matchups, bettors can already get in on the action. While plenty can change between now and the latter portion of the season, sportsbooks have already released early lines for some of the biggest games of the season.
Here is a look at our rankings of the biggest games on the 2026 college football schedule, along with the early odds for each matchup. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated.
Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. Date: Oct. 17Spread: Michigan -6.5Moneyline: Michigan -265, Penn State +215O/U: 51.5 What To Know: A preseason top-20 matchup featuring two Big Ten rivals at the Big House.
This mid-October showdown should have major conference and playoff implications. The last time these two teams met, Michigan beat Penn State 24-15 in Happy Valley behind a dominant rushing attack. The Wolverines open as a 6.5-point favorite.
Date: Nov. 14Spread: Oregon -13.5Moneyline: Oregon -535, Penn State +400O/U: 53.5 What To Know: A Big Ten matchup featuring preseason No. 2 Oregon and No.
16 Michigan. This late-season clash should have plenty on the line. This will be the second time these two historic programs have met since conference realignment, with Oregon going into Ann Arbor as the No.
1 team in the country in 2024 and winning 38-17. Vegas expects another big Oregon win. Date: Sept.
19Spread: Texas Tech -13.5Moneyline: Texas Tech -550, Houston +410O/U: 54.5 What To Know: This matchup may not carry the same name recognition as some of the others, but it should have major implications in the Big 12. Texas Tech is the heavy conference favorite coming off a 12-2 season, while Houston enters the year ranked and is expected to take a major step forward in 2026. Date: Nov.
7Spread: Georgia -4.5Moneyline: Georgia -205, Ole Miss +170O/U: 54.5 What To Know: A rematch of last season's thrilling playoff quarterfinal matchup in which Ole Miss shocked Georgia in New Orleans. Most of the stars from that game will return in 2026, with Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy leading Ole Miss' offensive attack and Gunnar Stockton returning for the Bulldogs. This early-November matchup will be crucial in a loaded SEC race.
Despite being on the road, vegas believes the Dawgs will turn the tables on the Rebels this year. Date: Nov. 14Spread: Indiana -10Moneyline: Indiana -425, USC +330O/U: 58.5 What To Know: The defending national champions take on the preseason No.
15-ranked Trojans. Many believe this is the year USC takes that next step. To prove it, the Trojans will have to beat a team like Indiana in a hostile road environment, something they haven't done in their first few seasons in the Big Ten.
Date: Nov. 14Spread: Texas -3Moneyline: Texas -155, LSU +130O/U: 54.5 What To Know: This mid-November matchup should have major playoff implications, with two of the SEC's top teams going at it in Death Valley. Lane Kiffin vs.
Steve Sarkisian under the lights. The Longhorns open as slight road favorites. Date: Oct.
10Spread: Penn State -1.5Moneyline: Penn State -120, USC +100O/U: 56.5 What To Know: Another Big Ten matchup, this time featuring a West Coast vs. East Coast battle between two teams looking to break into the top tier of the conference. While they may not carry the same expectations as Ohio State, Indiana or Oregon, both are among the best of the next tier.
Can either make the jump in 2026? This game opens as essentially a pick 'em. Date: Oct.
31Spread: Ohio State -7.5Moneyline: Ohio State -285, USC +230O/U: 54.5 What To Know: The last time Ohio State and USC played was in 2017, when the Buckeyes defeated the Trojans in the Cotton Bowl. The preseason No. 1 Buckeyes will travel to the Coliseum, where USC went undefeated in 2025 and is 22-5 over the last four seasons.
Ohio State opens as just over a touchdown favorite in a massive matchup between two of college football's historic powerhouses. Date: Nov. 7Spread: LSU -3.5Moneyline: LSU -185, Alabama +154O/U: 54.5 What To Know: Same rivalry, different look.
Kalen DeBoer vs. Lane Kiffin. Kiffin served as Alabama's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2014-2016.
Now, he's LSU's head coach. This early-November showdown features two teams that should be hovering around the CFP bubble. LSU opens as a slight home favorite.
Date: Oct. 24Spread: Indiana -6Moneyline: Indiana -245, Michigan +200O/U: 52.5 What To Know: This will probably be Michigan's biggest home game of the season. With a tough schedule that features Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana, this might be the Wolverines' best chance to take down one of the Big Ten's top dogs and earn the marquee win they could need to make the CFP in Year 1 under Kyle Whittingham.
However, the defending champion Hoosiers open as six-point road favorites. Date: Sept. 12Spread: Michigan -1.5Moneyline: Michigan -122, Oklahoma +102O/U: 46.5 What To Know: An early-season Big Noon Kickoff matchup on FOX between No.
10 Oklahoma and No. 16 Michigan. The Wolverines open as slight home favorites in a rematch of last year's Week 2 game, when the Sooners beat Michigan 24-13 in Norman.
Can Michigan flip the script in 2026? This game should be a pivotal matchup early in the season. Date: Sept.
26Spread: Oregon -5.5Moneyline: Oregon -250, USC +205O/U: 58.5 What To Know: Two former Pac-12 teams now in the Big Ten will square off at the Coliseum in late September. This Week 4 matchup could be Oregon's first major test of the season. Last year, the Ducks beat USC 42-27 in Eugene.
Despite USC's perfect home record last season, the Trojans open as 5.5-point underdogs. Date: Oct. 10Spread: Texas -6Moneyline: Texas -225, Oklahoma +185O/U: 48.5 What To Know: The Red River Rivalry returns with a preseason top-10 matchup.
In 2025, the Longhorns' 23-6 win over Oklahoma helped turn their season around after a slow 3-2 start. Texas' defense forced Sooners QB John Mateer into three interceptions and gave Oklahoma's offensive fits all day. This time around, the Longhorns open as six-point favorites.
Date: Oct. 10Spread: Georgia -3Moneyline: Georgia -155, Alabama +130O/U: 50.5 What To Know: Alabama has won the last three regular-season matchups against Georgia. However, in last year's SEC Championship Game, Georgia dismantled Alabama 28-7.
The Dawgs open as three-point road favorites. The last time these two teams met in Tuscaloosa, Alabama won a 41-34 thriller in 2024. Date: Sept.
12Spread: Texas -1.5Moneyline: Texas -118, Ohio State -102O/U: 47.5 What To Know: These two teams met in a thrilling CFP semifinal that ended with Jack Sawyer's memorable 83-yard scoop-and-score to send the Buckeyes to the national title game. Ohio State followed that up in 2025 by beating Texas again, this time in Week 1 at home when the Longhorns were the No. 1 team in the country.
Once again, this matchup opens as essentially a pick 'em, with the books giving the home Longhorns a slight edge. This game should set the tone for the season for both prestigious programs. Date: Nov.
7Spread: Notre Dame -6.5Moneyline: Notre Dame -218, Miami +180O/U: 54.5 What To Know: These two teams were at the center of the debate over the final playoff spot last season. Ultimately, Miami got the nod and turned it into a run to the national championship game before falling to Indiana. Notre Dame has been thinking about that decision all offseason, setting the stage for a massive preseason No.
4 vs. No. 7 matchup that could have even bigger implications by the time they meet.
The Irish open as 6.5-point home favorites, but Miami defeated Notre Dame 27-24 in Week 1 of 2025, a loss that ultimately came back to haunt the Irish and helped keep them out of the playoff. Date: Sept. 19Spread: Ole Miss -1.5Moneyline: Ole Miss -130, LSU +110O/U: 57.5 What To Know: Can you script it any better in Hollywood?
Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss last November in dramatic fashion to join conference rival LSU. Kiffin led the Rebels to new heights during his tenure, going 55-19 with four 10-win seasons and the program's first-ever CFP appearance in 2025. Now, he will walk back into enemy territory in one of the most hostile environments the sport may ever see.
And lucky for us, we won't have to wait long for this highly anticipated matchup. The Week 3 showdown is practically a pick 'em, with Kiffin returning to Oxford as the slightest of underdogs. Date: Nov.
7Spread: Ohio State -6Moneyline: Ohio State -230, Oregon +190O/U: 52.5 What To Know: Preseason No. 1 and No. 2 will square off in an early-November showdown in Columbus.
The two schools did not meet last season, but they faced off twice in 2024. Oregon defeated Ohio State 32-31 in a midseason thriller in Eugene before the Buckeyes got their revenge, throttling the Ducks 41-21 in the Rose Bowl on their way to winning the national championship. Dante Moore, Julian Sayin, Dakorien Moore, Jeremiah Smith — what more can you ask for?
Date: Nov. 28Spread: Ohio State -13.5Moneyline: Ohio State -550, Michigan +410O/U: 46.5 What To Know: THE. GAME.
After 2,191 days and four straight losses to the Wolverines, Ohio State finally beat Michigan in 2025. The Buckeyes open as double-digit favorites this year, but they also entered the 2024 matchup as 20.5-point favorites before being upset by Michigan at home. The Game always delivers, and it should once again on Thanksgiving weekend on FOX.
Date: Oct. 17Spread: Ohio State -1.5Moneyline: Ohio State -110, Indiana -110O/U: 48.5 What To Know: The last two national champions will square off in a mid-October showdown that could be the "Game of the Year." The two teams last met in the Big Ten Championship Game, with the Hoosiers pulling off the upset over the then defending champs. Indiana carried that momentum all the way to a perfect 16-0 season and its first-ever national championship.
Could this matchup once again determine the No. 1 overall seed in the CFP? Who will win the battle of the past two champs?
The game opens as essentially a pick 'em.
