2027 National Title Odds: Which Longshot Could Be Next Year’s Indiana?

• The 2027 National Title Odds are live and there‘s one longshot that’s caught my attention
• Houston has the ingredients to shock the college football world, as they look to follow in Indiana’s footsteps
• See the 2027 National Title Odds below, and find out which longshot could be next year’s Indiana

Make no mistake, this year’s Indiana Hoosiers are a complete outlier. Indiana is just the second team to reach the National Championship Game with preseason title odds of +10000 or longer since 2001, and the first team to win it all.

Few people saw the Hoosiers incredible run coming, but there were definitely signs suggesting they might exceed expectation. Indiana’s hire of Curt Cignetti was a game changer, and he did a masterful job of using the transfer portal to quickly build up the program. Plenty of teams will be looking to replicate the Hoosiers strategy next season, which got us wondering if there’s another longshot ready to make an extraordinary leap.

Below you’ll find the latest 2027 National Title odds, along with the longshot I think could be next year’s Indiana.

2027 National Title Odds

The Hoosiers won’t be catching anyone off guard in the 2027 National Championship odds, as they’re the current co-favorite with Ohio State.

Outside the 1999 LA Rams (+15000), Indiana is the only other champion across the six major American sports leagues that won a title after boasting a preseason championship price tag of 100-1 or longer.

TCU came close in 2022 at +20000 to win the Natty, but ultimately fell short to Georgia in the title game. The Horned Frogs navigated the Big 12 to reach the final that season, and I like another Big 12 program with +20000 odds to make an unlikely run in 2027.

Odds from DraftKings on Jan. 19. Claim the DraftKings promo code for a bonus to use on College Football Futures.

Houston is Replicating Indiana’s Blueprint

There are quite a few parallels between what’s going on with Houston and how Indiana turned its program around. Cignetti inherited a 3-9 squad and immediately turned them into a playoff team the following season. He used the transfer portal as much as he could to reshape the roster, and the Hoosiers boosters opened up their wallets to entice key recruits.

Cignetti doubled down on that strategy this past offseason, bolstering the glaring holes and solidifying the QB position with Fernando Mendoza, the eventual Heisman winner. That led to a perfect season, and the program’s first title.

The Cougars are following suit. They brought in Willie Fritz from Tulane, and it took him only two seasons to turn Houston from a 4 win team into a 10 win program that finished 21st in the AP rankings.

Fritz’s transfer portal haul turned heads last season, and this year he upped the ante. He landed one of the nation’s best transfer classes, pillaging top talent from his former Green Wave stomping ground, and shoring up running back and tight end, two positions he’s graduating talent from to the NFL.

The Cougars are fresh off a Texas Bowl victory over LSU, and there are signs this team is just getting started. Dual threat Connor Weigman is returning at QB, as is his top receiver Amare Thomas. Weigman is a Heisman Trophy odds dark horse, and he’ll operate behind an experienced offensive line.

Defensively, this is an above average unit, and the transfer additions have significantly bolstered their ceiling. They already contended for the Big 12 title this season, and project to be right back in the mix next fall.

Fritz may not be the next Cignetti, but he’s a proven winner with a history of elevating the programs he takes over. The Big 12 is wide open, and the path to a conference title and an automatic bid into the College Football Playoff is right in front of them.

Biggest Longshots to Reach the CFP Final Four

At the end of the day, any program with odds as long as Indiana had or that Houston currently boasts aren’t likely to hang a banner. But every so often, one of these true longshots come through and shocks the sport. Indiana accomplished the feat in a very specific way, and Houston is a team that’s on the rise, looking to emulate that formula.

200-1 is an outrageous price for them to win it all, and I’ll gladly take a sprinkle on them hitting their ceiling outcome.