Colin Cowherd Again Predicts College Football’s National Championship Game

Colin Cowherd Again Predicts College Football’s National Championship Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

At the start of the week, the preseason college football rankings were released. In the preseason Coaches Poll, Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia and Notre Dame rounded out the top-five teams.

College football analyst Joel Klatt also released his, and he had Penn State, Texas, Ohio State, Clemson and Oregon in his top five.

Klatt also joined fellow analyst Colin Cowherd on "The Herd", and Cowherd didn't hesitate to double down on his national title pick.

Colin Cowherd Doubles Down on National Title Prediction

During a segment of the show with Klatt, Cowherd spoke about the rankings and his pick.

"I've said before, I think Texas-Penn State play for the national championship," Cowherd said. "Michigan's a lot of fools gold, I don't buy LSU, I think Notre Dame and Ohio State could, I just need to see their quarterback play. Same with Georgia."

So, Cowherd feels strongly about Penn State and Texas facing off in the title game, and this isn't the first time he said that.

In the middle of July, Cowherd revealed his "national championship bubble" of Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Penn State and Ohio State while mentioning that Alabama and Notre Dame were "really close."

But, Cowherd made his prediction then: "I think Penn State and Texas are going to play for the national championship. I think Drew Allar is going to be the second-best quarterback in the country behind Arch Manning."

.@colincowherd reveals his 5️⃣ potential CFB National Champions pic.twitter.com/NzrJ9zObwX

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 16, 2025

Now, after the preseason rankings dropped, Cowherd isn't hesitating and is still sticking by his Texas-Penn State pick.

Can Texas and Penn State Get Over the Hump?

Last year, both Texas and Penn State made the College Football Playoff semifinal round. Penn State defeated SMU and Boise State before losing to Notre Dame, and Texas topped Clemson and Arizona State before falling to Ohio State.

In 2025, Manning is the new QB1 for Texas, and Allar's return to Penn State has the Nittany Lions as a serious title contender this time around, although questions remain for both teams.

Can Manning live up to the hype and handle a brutal SEC schedule? Can Penn State defeat Oregon and Ohio State in conference play to snag a Big Ten title game spot?

Nonetheless, these two teams were one win away from a national title appearance a year ago, so it's not a far-fetched scenario by any means.

Related: Historic College Football Program Unranked In Preseason Coaches Poll For First Time Since 1999

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 6, 2025, where it first appeared.