ESPN Lists Kansas State Football with Best Big 12 Odds to Win National Championship

College football’s postseason rankings have long been dominated by the usual suspects, those with the largest brand.

However, in 2025, many more teams will have a chance to reach the College Football Playoff and win it all, including one team from the Big 12 Conference, which ESPN listed as having top 20 odds to win the National Championship.

That team is Chris Klieman and the Kansas State Wildcats, who were awarded the nation’s 20th-best odds to win it all, with a 0.5% chance to hoist the National Championship Trophy at the end of the season.

ESPN’s full title odds are listed below

• Texas – 22.2%
• Georgia – 17.5%
• Ohio State – 11.6%
• Alabama – 10.4%
• Penn State – 7.6%
• Oregon – 4.8%
• Clemson – 3.8%
• Miami – 3.2%
• Notre Dame – 2.4%
• Tennessee – 2.3%
• Texas A&M – 2.1%
• LSU – 1.8%
• Ole Miss – 1.5%
• Auburn – 1.1%
• Michigan – 1%
• South Carolina – 0.8%
• Oklahoma – 0.7%
• SMU – 0.6%
• Florida – 0.6%
• Kansas State – 0.5%

For that to become a reality, though, junior quarterback Avery Johnson will need to take another step forward. He was dynamic in his first season as a starter for Kansas State, but turnovers and mistakes that young quarterbacks often make plagued the team’s chances of advancing to the playoff.

Still, he broke the single-season passing touchdowns record (set by Will Howard in ’24) with 25 scores through the air, and more than 2700 yards passing. He also showed up in a big way in the ground game, recording 605 yards and seven scores rushing.

Kansas State will be tested early as they open the 2025 season in Dublin, Ireland, against Matt Campbell and the Iowa State Cyclones. That game kicks off on Saturday, August 23rd at 11 AM Central on ESPN.