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Who wins the 2026 national title? We predict the CFP bracket

It's never too early to look ahead to next season. Some teams look like easy playoff picks, but who rounds out the field?

5hBill Connelly
Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images

Way-Too-Early Top 25: Sizing up the top contenders for next season

Who will raise the national championship trophy this time next year? We break down the teams to watch.

3dMark Schlabach

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EVALUATING THE DEFENSES

Final defensive stop rate for all 136 CFB teams

Our final defensive ranking based on how many times an opponent's drive ends without points.

5hMax Olson
Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire
College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T

CFP takeaways: Even as a favored Goliath, Indiana's win stands alone in sports history

Put it next to the Miracle on Ice or NC State and Villanova. In a wild title game, here's how Indiana beat Miami.

2dBill Connelly
Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images

Indiana -- yes, Indiana! -- is the national champ! How Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers did it

The program that was once the least successful in all of FBS is now the national champion.

2dAndrea Adelson

Fernando Mendoza absorbs contact for spectacular TD

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0:31

Miami's Mark Fletcher Jr. swings at Indiana player after the game

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0:27

Curt Cignetti cracks a smile after winning national championship

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0:25

Indiana raises its first football national championship trophy

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1:03

Carson Beck's costly INT hands Indiana the national title

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0:40

Indiana holds off Miami to win first national title in program history

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1:41

Indiana's Charlie Becker makes an amazing sideline grab on 4th-and-5

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0:28

Indiana blocks a punt for an electric TD

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1:11

    HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER SHINES

    Stephen A. calls Mendoza's TD run a 'play for the ages'

    2d
    1:11

    Jordan Rodgers: Fernando Mendoza put on a Heisman Trophy encore

    2d
    1:38

    ON THE MOVE

    Ranking the best players in the college football transfer portal

    The transfer portal officially opened Jan. 2 and closed Jan. 16. We ranked the best of the best to enter.

    22hMax Olson
    John Reed/Imagn Images

    Transfer portal trends: Rising costs, plenty of QBs, and 1,200 players without a home

    The transfer portal closed Friday for most players. Here are five things to know after two wild weeks.

    5dMax Olson

    NFL DRAFT

    APRIL 23-25

    Kiper's debut NFL mock draft for 2026: Let's project perfect fits for all 32 first-round picks

    Where will national title game standouts Fernando Mendoza and Akheem Mesidor land in Round 1? And could we really see six WRs in the opening 32 picks?

    1dMel Kiper Jr.
    ESPN Illustration

    Our reporters look ahead to the draft: Big questions for every team selecting in the top 10

    We're three months away from the 2026 NFL draft. What's the latest on each team picking in the top 10?

    1dNFL Nation

    A MOMENT TO REMEMBER

    Indiana fans erase forgettable history with unforgettable title

    Indiana had the most losses, a long Big Ten title drought, no Heismans and no national titles. No more.

    2dRyan McGee
    Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images

    Wetzel: Hoosiers delivered a national title for the everyman

    Curt Cignetti's relentless group of discards and misfits showed what the transfer portal made possible.

    2dDan Wetzel

    'ARE YOU HAPPY?'

    Cignetti's daughter revisits viral 2019 post after father's national title win

    After Cignetti's first Division I playoff win in 2019, Natalie asked her father if he was happy. He was not. Now, his answer to the same question is different.

    2dJ.J. Post
    AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

    Indiana LB Aidan Fisher explains what makes Coach Cignetti great

    20h
    1:14

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