Just one SEC team remains in the College Football Playoff field, and Ole Miss is a three-point underdog tonight in the Fiesta Bowl against Miami, 4:30 p.m. PT on ESPN.
If the Rebels fall it'll make three seasons in a row that the conference where it just means more has been shut out, though that didn't prevent the college football cognoscenti from choosing them to win the crown back in August.
Preseason, Paul Finebaum, Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman and Will Compton picked Texas. That prediction blew up when the Longhorns lost to Florida on October 4 after dropping their opener to Ohio State.
Josh Pate, Jake Crain and Brooks Austin tabbed Alabama, which finished a disappointing 11-4 this season. LSU got preseason nods from Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and J.D. Pickell in the summer; the Tigers wound up firing their coach while slumping to 7-6.
Among the national voices of college football only Taylor Lewan of the "Bussin With the Boys" podcast picked Oregon to win a national championship, and no one picked Indiana, the current favorite. In fact, the Hoosiers were a distant No. 20 in the preseason AP Poll.
College Football Media Preseason National Champion Predictions🏆
— On3 (@On3sports) January 8, 2026
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Over the next 30 hours or so the airwaves will be full of expert analysis telling fans who will win Friday night in Atlanta, and most of them will be touting the hot team of the moment, Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers, the team they completely ignored back in Fall Camp.
They'll mention all the ways this game is a bad matchup for Oregon, how Indiana dominated them back in Eugene, how precise Fernando Mendoza is and how stifling the IU defense has become, forgetting that the first game was tied 20-20 in the fourth quarter.
While the Hoosiers ARE a formidable opponent, disciplined and well-coached, just remember all these experts didn't know anything to begin with.