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The college football season is over and Ohio State has won the national championship, but does that mean the Buckeyes are the favorites in 2025?
It's never too early to look ahead to next season, right? With that in mind, let's look to next fall and talk about how the top teams in college football stack up.
Below is our way-too-early look at next season's college football top 25. What team will take the No. 1 spot? Read on to find out.
(25) Boise State
Ashton Jeanty might be gone, but the Broncos still have a great shot to finish next season as the best G5 team in the nation once again. Quarterback Maddux Madsen will get a chance to build on what was quietly a very impressive 2024 season.
(24) Indiana
2024 was the best season Indiana's ever had, but the team will lose the quarterback that led them there. In his place, expect former Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza to take over the offense. The return of wide receivers Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr. will give Mendoza a chance to have a strong year, but the concern is that he's no Kurtis Rourke.
(23) Baylor
Baylor was on fire late in the season, winning six in a row before a bowl game loss against LSU. The Bears ranked 19th in the country in points per game as Sawyer Robertson threw 28 touchdowns. The team needs to figure out how to stop opposing offenses, but it did hold its final two conference opponents under 20 points.
(22) Kansas State
The Wildcats had a disappointing end to the season, losing three of their final four games during the regular season, which knocked the team out of Big 12 contention.
An early prospect to keep an eye on that my QB model really likes is Avery Johnson from Kansas State. He’s only played 2 seasons, however this 4 star recruit is showing signs of a future star. He still has plenty of room to grow, but his future is looking bright. pic.twitter.com/ZkoRdmVNLF
— Breaking the QB Code (@GameOver3xh) January 17, 2025
Quarterback Avery Johnson had a solid first year as the full-time starter for Kansas State, though he'll need to improve his consistency as a passer after completing 58.3% of his passes and throwing 10 interceptions in 2024.
(21) Texas A&M
A&M went a frustrating 8-5 last season, but the team did learn that freshman quarterback Marcel Reed is a pretty good football player. With another offseason under his belt, Reed could be a breakout star. A pair of Texas high school football legends should have strong campaigns as well: running back Reuben Owens and wide receiver Terry Bussey.
(20) Michigan
One year after winning a national title, Michigan fell to 8-5 in Sherrone Moore's first season as the head coach. The offense was among the worst in college football, averaging 22.0 points per game, 113th in the country. That should change next season, though, as either experienced transfer quarterback Mikey Keene or hyped freshman Bryce Underwood will be under center.
(19) Iowa State
Matt Campbell deserves massive credit for the success of the 2024 Cyclones. After three straight seasons with at least six losses, Iowa State went 11-3 last season, ultimately winning the Pop-Tarts Bowl over Miami. The battle for the Big 12 title is going to be a tight one and the Cyclones will be right in the thick of that battle.
(18) Ole Miss
The Rebels have the unenviable task of replacing Jaxson Dart next season, but Lane Kiffin has shown he can win with other quarterbacks, like in 2021 when Ole Miss won 10 games with Matt Corral under center. The bigger concern is the schedule, as the Rebels play LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida, all teams ranked higher than them in these way-too-early power rankings.
(17) Florida
Looking for a Heisman dark horse pick for 2025? Look at DJ Lagway, who ended the 2024 season on a strong run. Lagway took the QB job full-time, starting against LSU, and led the Gators to back-to-back wins over LSU and Ole Miss. The team has a tough schedule, but Lagway looks like a transcendent talent.
(16) SMU
The Mustangs crashed the playoff party last year in the team's first season in the ACC. Now, the team will look to prove it wasn't just a one-off. Quarterback Kevin Jennings is the real deal, but the Mustangs will have to hope it can find new weapons around him with its top-2 receivers gone.
(15) Illinois
The Fighting Illini appears to be one of the trendier picks for next season after a 2024 campaign that saw the program win double-digit games for the first time since 2001. Luke Altmyer proved he can be a big-time college quarterback and will return for his third season with the team. The team also brings back its entire offensive line and adds talented West Virginia wide receiver Hudson Clement.
(14) Arizona State
The biggest surprise of 2024 was Arizona State winning the Big 12. The team entered the year with almost no hype around the program, but by the end of the season, the team was sitting there as the No. 4 seed in the playoff.
The bad news is that running back Cam Skattebo is off for the NFL. The good news is that quarterback Sam Leavitt returns, as do most of the other top players on the team, including eight returning defensive starters.
(13) Alabama
It's weird to see Alabama this far down in a preseason ranking, but the Nick Saban era is over. The Crimson Tide went 9-4 last season, failing to win double-digit games for the first time since 2007, Saban's first year in Tuscaloosa.
TY SIMPSON ESCAPES THE SACK AND THROWS UP A PRAYER TO JOSH CUEVAS pic.twitter.com/PKrBFtlVnm
— Recruits Bama (@RecruitsBama) November 16, 2024
But this is still a talented team. If Ty Simpson plays well in his first year as Alabama's quarterback, this team could easily find itself back in the CFP after just missing out in 2024.
(12) BYU
Somehow, we're heading into a 2025 season where BYU is the Big 12 favorite. The Cougars aren't guaranteed to be the conference champions, but quarterback Jake Retzlaff will try his hardest to make sure the team gets there. The offense shouldn't miss a beat in 2025, though the defense has to rebuild a bit.
(11) South Carolina
While most people considered Alabama to be the biggest snub from the first 12-team playoff, the actual biggest snub might have been its fellow SEC program, South Carolina.
219 days until gamecock football!
With College Gameday on hand, Lanorris Sellers accounted for 219 total yards in just one half of football against LSU. South Carolina would go on to lose this game 36-33 pic.twitter.com/Y0zAHcSYYK
— Michael Cobbs (@MCobbs900) January 24, 2025
Quarterback LaNorris Sellers led the team to six wins in a row and had multiple 300-yard passing games, including throwing for 353 yards and five touchdowns against Missouri. He'll be a Heisman contender in 2025.
(10) Miami
Miami will downgrade at quarterback this season, going from Heisman finalist Cam Ward to former Georgia passer Carson Beck. But here's the thing: the quarterback position across college is in flux, so adding Beck out of the portal might be enough to get Miami to the playoff after just missing out in 2024.
(9) Tennessee
It feels like a lot of people are dismissing Tennesee next season after the blowout loss to Ohio State, but the team still brings back Nico Iamaleava, who is set for a true breakout campaign. Josh Heupel has to replace a lot of talent around Iamaleava, but a return playoff trip is easily within reach.
(8) LSU
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier enters the offseason with the top odds to be next year's Heisman winner. He finished the year strong, leading LSU to wins in its final three games while completing over 70% of his passes in each contest. The team hit the transfer portal hard, putting together a deep team that should be the best since Brian Kelly took over the Tigers.
(7) Clemson
The demise of Clemson seems to have been greatly exaggerated. The Tigers upset SMU in the ACC title game to earn a spot in the playoff and then played respectably in a first-round loss to Texas.
There were a lot of questions about Cade Klubnik at the start of the 2024 season, but he proved over the course of the year that he could be a top college QB. Expect big things from Klubnik in 2025, especially with wide receiver Antonio Williams returning as well.
(6) Georgia
This ranking reflects a lack of confidence in quarterback Gunner Stockton, who was fine in the playoff loss to Notre Dame but didn't lead a touchdown drive until midway through the third quarter. Stockton will need to take a big leap forward, but he'll have plenty of help after the team added wide receiver Noah Thomas, who caught eight touchdown passes for Texas A&M last season.
(5) Notre Dame
Figuring out the quarterback position will be the big issue for Notre Dame, just as it is for a number of teams. Barring a portal addition, CJ Carr should take over. He brings a lot of hype, as he was one of the best pocket passers in his recruiting class.
His transition into the starting role will be made easy by the fact that a number of offensive talents are back, including leading receiver Jaden Greathouse. The team added Virginia wide receiver Malachi Fields, who finished last season with 55 catches for 808 yards and five touchdowns.
(4) Oregon
Oregon's stunning blowout playoff loss to Ohio State spoiled an undefeated season, but a relatively easy schedule in 2025 will give the Ducks another shot at the title.
There have been a lot of positive comments regarding the future of Dante Moore from players like Tez and Traeshon.
Are those affirmations similar to what we heard about Mariota in '11 & Herbert in '16? @AaronJFentress had some interesting comps on the latest @talkinducksshow pic.twitter.com/6t10UCfNtB
— That Show Out West (@ThatShowOutWest) January 10, 2025
The big question for Oregon is if Dante Moore can continue the legacy of Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel, two very good quarterbacks who arrived at Oregon with some concerns about their game and left with those concerns answered.
(3) Penn State
Drew Allar stepped up big time for the Nittany Lions in 2024, and now he's back for one final season in Happy Valley. Losing star tight end Tyler Warren to the NFL will be tough, but a strong run game led by the return of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton should help make up for that. If wide receiver Devonte Ross, a transfer from Troy, adapts to the Big Ten game quickly, this team will be a title threat.
(2) Ohio State
The Buckeyes won the championship, but losing Emeka Egbuka and Will Howard makes the path to a repeat a little tougher. Still, if Julian Sayin is as good a quarterback as all the hype around him suggests and Jeremiah Smith just continues to be Smith, the Buckeyes will be in a neck-and-neck battle for the No. 1 spot in 2025.
(1) Texas
Disappointing playoff exit aside, Texas had an impressive 2024 season and will look to build on that in 2025 when the Arch Manning era begins. Many top teams will make quarterback changes in 2025, but none are as confident that the new QB will work out as the Horns are.
Every play from Arch Manning in 2024...we're in GOOD hands 🤘 pic.twitter.com/HlgMEkiNQI
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) January 25, 2025
It also won't take long to determine who the real No. 1 team in the country is, as Texas and Ohio State open the season against each other on Aug. 30. That game is in Columbus, but Manning and a strong returning defense should put Texas in position to compete for the victory.
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