College Football Expert Picks: Best Futures, Heisman Bets, National Champions, and More

Week 0 got the juices flowing.

Now it's time to for the full shebang.

Week 1 of the 2025 college football season is here, meaning it's our final chance to lock in preseason futures for most teams.

That darkhorse Heisman pick, an underrated Big Ten team, or your bet to win the playoffs? You've got your pick of futures in FanDuel Sportsbook's college football betting odds.

We polled our college football writing staff at FanDuel Research to get their favorite futures for this upcoming season: their favorite Heisman bet, the best value to win the whole dang thing, and one market of their choosing.

Here's what they like for what should be a thrilling season.

Best College Football Futures Bets for 2025

Austin Swaim

Favorite Heisman Bet: John Mateer, Oklahoma (+2500)

Favorite National Championship Bet: Penn State (+700)

Other Future to Target: Texas Tech to Make the College Football Playoff (+390)

Money talks. The Texas Tech Red Raiders added 21 transfer portal recruits with one of the best-funded NIL programs in the country, so I've got to favor them in a soft Big 12 conference. In addition to retaining quarterback Behren Morton (63.3% completion in 2024), the Red Raiders added significant front seven and wide receiver help in the portal. They quietly went 8-4 last year, so an influx of elite talent could easily add two or three wins to that total. This prop leaves wiggle room as an at-large bid if another Big 12 dark horse emerges from Arlington.

Riley Thomas

Favorite Heisman Bet: LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina (+1800)

Favorite National Championship Bet: Georgia (+650)

Other Future to Target: Indiana Over 8.5 Wins (+108)

The Indiana Hoosiers come off their best season in program history, going 11-2 while appearing in the College Football Playoff. While the Hoosiers replace quarterback Kurtis Rourke, they landed one of the best transfer signal-callers and a potential first-round pick in Fernando Mendoza. Indiana has key contributors back, too, including wide receiver Elijah Sarratt and edge rusher Mikail Kamara. Outside of three top-12 opponents on the schedule, the Hoosiers have plenty of winnable games in the 2025 season.

Skyler Carlin

Favorite Heisman Bet: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (+1200)

We've seen a non-quarterback win the Heisman in two of the last five seasons, and superstar Jeremiah Smith can be next in line with Julian Sayin (the top quarterback transfer in 2024, according to 247sports) taking over at quarterback for the Buckeyes. According to PFF, Smith posted the 3rd-most receiving yards (1,311), 2nd-most receiving touchdowns (15), and 10th-most yards per route run (3.15) among college wideouts with 50-plus targets in 2024, and I expect his volume to rise from the 105 targets he saw a season ago following the departures of Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins.

Favorite National Championship Bet: Georgia (+650)

Other Future to Target: Illinois Over 8.5 Wins (+138)

Futures Day is coming August 26th. Learn more here.

The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.