College Football 2026 Season PREDICTIONS: National Champion, Playoff Teams, Conference Title Winners
The Hard Count with J.D. PicKellShow Notes
Today on The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell ... It's the moment you've all been waiting for, our official prediction show for the 2026 college football season. J.D. predicts what the conference title race will look like for the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12, predicting who will play in and win each conference title game before revealing his Heisman Trophy finalists and winner. Closing the show with his College Football Playoff prediction, revealing his 12 teams in the field and going game by game through the bracket before revealing his 2026 National Champion.
The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell is presented by BetMGM! If you haven’t signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code "ON3" and you will get up to a $1500 First Bet Offer on your first wager with BetMGM and 50% off an On3 College Sports Network subscription.
See BetMGM.com for Terms. 21+ only. This promotional offer is not available in DC, Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET (Available in the US) . 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-981-0023 (PR). First Bet Offer for new customers only (if applicable). Subject to eligibility requirements. Rewards are non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 7 days. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel.
With a limited-time offer, get Huel today with an exclusive offer of 15% off online with the code HARDCOUNT15 at https://www.huel.com/hardcount15. New customers only.
Turn your conversations into shareable podcasts with ZenAI! ZenAI is currently in invite-only beta, so join the waitlist using the link below for a chance at early access.
bit.ly/zenAI_bpp_hardcount
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
More from The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell
Today on The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell ... The Hard Count Huddle! Producer Kaiden Smith joins J.D. to talk about which teams we're looking at differently following some fascinating performances Saturday. Diving into Ohio State after losing QB Julian Sayin, Notre Dame following their loss to BYU, Georgia after falling to Auburn, and Miami's overtime win over rival Florida State. Then the boys dive into some two-loss SEC teams with their backs against the wall like Texas, Alabama, LSU, and Florida. Breaking down the chances of them running the table and making a potential trip to the College Football Playoff. The Hard Count is presented by Polymarket! Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $25 bonus upon sign up. https://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3. Trading not available in all jurisdictions. Check local regulations before trading. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Trading Is Risky. 100% Loss Can Occur. With a limited-time offer, get Huel today with an exclusive offer of 15% off online with the code HARDCOUNT15 at https://www.huel.com/hardcount15. New customers only. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Gametime! Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Download Gametime today and use code HARDCOUNT for $20 off your first purchase.
Today on The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell ... Postseason Predictions 2.0! With half of the season in the rear view, J.D. re-racks his postseason predictions including each of the Power 4 conference title races, his 12 College Football Playoff teams, and how his new and improved bracket will shake out. It's also still a What's Being Missed Wednesday, as J.D. dives into what's not being talked about enough in Tennessee vs South Carolina, Indiana vs Michigan, and LSU vs Auburn. Finishing the show with a break down of what's going wrong with Texas and what's next for the Longhorns following a second straight loss highlighted by offensive woes. The Hard Count is presented by Polymarket! Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $25 bonus upon sign up. https://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3. Trading not available in all jurisdictions. Check local regulations before trading. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Trading Is Risky. 100% Loss Can Occur. With a limited-time offer, get Huel today with an exclusive offer of 15% off online with the code HARDCOUNT15 at https://www.huel.com/hardcount15. New customers only. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Gametime! Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Download Gametime today and use code HARDCOUNT for $20 off your first purchase.
Today on The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell ... Prediction Tuesday! J.D. breaks down and predicts all of the top games of the Week 8 College Football Slate like Ole Miss vs Texas, LSU vs Auburn, Tennessee vs South Carolina,Texas A&M vs Alabama, Indiana vs Michigan, and Houston vs Utah. The Hard Count is presented by Polymarket! Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $25 bonus upon sign up. https://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3
Welcome to The Sunday Sprint, a collection of J.D.'s takes following Saturday's college football action that have been taken from the On3 YouTube channel and tailored for The Hard Count's podcast audience. Today on the sprint we react to what J.D. is calling the best college football Saturday of his life. We break down every big time game we got weekend including (in order) Florida's upset over Texas, BYU's statement win over Notre Dame, Tennessee winning their Third Saturday matchup against Alabama, Ohio State beating Indiana by a step, Auburn knocking off top-ranked Georgia in Athens, Miami's controversial overtime win over Florida State, Kentucky keeping their winning ways going with a victory over Oklahoma, and Michigan edging out Penn State behind Tommy Carr instead of Bryce Underwood. J.D. also gives his updated Perfect CFP Rankings, reacts to the new AP Poll, and reflects on the best weekend of college football he's ever seen in his young life. The Hard Count is presented by Polymarket! Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $25 bonus upon sign up. https://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3. Trading not available in all jurisdictions. Check local regulations before trading. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Trading Is Risky. 100% Loss Can Occur.
Today on The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell ... J.D. unpacks Kyle Whittingham's interesting statement about quarterback Bryce Underwood before bringing out the Progrum Panic Meter. Revealing how concerned he is about Texas, Florida, and Oregon following their losses last weekend. J.D. also breaks down what we will finally learn about Notre Dame this weekend when they face BYU before ending the show with one last game prediction; Missouri vs Ole Miss. The Hard Count is presented by Polymarket! Trade on College Football games every week on Polymarket. Download the Polymarket App with code ON3 for a $25 bonus upon sign up. https://app.polymarket.us/S8ac/ON3. Trading not available in all jurisdictions. Check local regulations before trading. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Trading Is Risky. 100% Loss Can Occur. With a limited-time offer, get Huel today with an exclusive offer of 15% off online with the code HARDCOUNT15 at https://www.huel.com/hardcount15. New customers only. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Gametime! Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Download Gametime today and use code HARDCOUNT for $20 off your first purchase.