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Mike's top 25 college football power rankings. His top 25 teams following the Spring transfer portal and spring practice for 2025.
College Football Top 25 Rankings
College football rosters are about as finalized as they can be in this day and age. We are only a little over three months from the beginning of the college football season. While some battles will still be decided in practice, coaches will be as tight-lipped about that as possible. We know what the rosters look like now for all 134 FBS teams, and mostly what the starting lineups will look like.
For now, these rankings are based on rosters only. I’ll have a more comprehensive list as we get closer to the season and after I have my futures bets posted. We’ll take a closer look at the schedules then. Some teams lost a whole lot of talent. Some, like Central Florida, imported more than 15 new starters. Where does everyone stand after the dust has settled? Let’s find out! The 2024 record is in parentheses.
Just Missed The Cut
Illinois – Closed strong, but I have questions about the RB room.
Georgia Tech – Eric Rivers is a great addition. Haynes King and Jamal Haynes are in for big years.
Duke – Maalik Murphy was never a good fit, but Darian Mensah will be. Andrel Anthony is a big addition to the WR corps.
Kansas State – An influx of unproven receivers could help, but is Avery Johnson really that dude?
Arizona – I love the addition of Ismail Mahdi, but Noah Fifita regressed last year, and he’s playing without Tetairoa McMillan for the first time since grade school.
UTSA – Could be this year’s Boise State. UTSA has the best Go5 QB in Owen McCown and a loaded receiver room.
Colorado – A revamped OL and the addition of Kaidon Salter should keep the offense rolling. The defense is still a question mark.
25. Memphis Tigers (11-2)
Memphis loses the three big stars of its offense in QB Seth Henigan, RB Mario Anderson Jr., and WR Roc Taylor. Replacing them are former Colorado and Nevada QB Brendon Lewis, former Cincinnati WR Jadon Thompson, and Greg Desrosiers Jr., who ran for 228 yards last season. Memphis had a deep RB room last year, and all of the RBs on the four-deep were with the team in 2024.
The big question with Memphis — and the reason why UTSA might overtake them — is the defense. Memphis only returns one defensive starter (DE William Whitlow Jr.) and has 17 new players on the two-deep depth chart. The good news for Memphis is that the defense can’t be much worse than it was last year. If Lewis continues the growth that he showed with Nevada in 2024, the Tigers will once again finish in the top 25.
24. Florida State (2-10)
There’s nowhere to go but up. FSU is coming off its worst season in 50 years. D.J. Uiagalelei was never a good fit. Thomas Castellanos got a raw deal at Boston College and comes with a chip on his shoulder. USC’s Duce Robinson and Tennessee’s Squirrel White are monster playmakers at receiver. The RB room looks good. The Seminoles also overhauled a lot of the front seven. I’m intrigued by this team, and many are sleeping on them after the disastrous 2024 season. I expect an eight-win season out of FSU this year.
23. Missouri (10-3)
Replacing Luther Burden III — the best WR in school history and arguably the best player in school history — won’t be an easy task. Career backup Beau Pribula comes in from Penn State to take over the starting QB role from career Tiger Brady Cook. Four-star freshman Donovan Olugbode and Louisville transfer Kevin Coleman will try to fill in for Burden, but Missouri is still going to lose something there. Ahmad Hardy from Louisiana-Monroe is one of the most unheralded transfer portal members and should have a huge sophomore season for Missouri after a monster freshman season (1,351 rushing yards and 13 TD) for the Warhawks.
22. Mississippi (10-3)
Ole Miss has to replace nearly 5,000 yards of total offense, not to mention the great leadership of Jaxson Dart. Sophomore Austin Simmons is expected to start, but Ole Miss brought in Trinidad Chambliss from Ferris State and Maealiuaki Smith from Oklahoma State as insurance. Simmons only attempted 32 passes last year as the backup to Dart. Henry Parrish Jr., Ulysses Bentley IV, and Matt Jones are also gone, giving the Rebels an all-new depth chart at RB. I love the additions of De’Zhaun Stribling from Washington State and Harrison Wallace III from Penn State to replace Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins, and Juice Wells.
The linebacking corps is still one of the best in the SEC, and the addition of Princewill Umanmielen from Nebraska only strengthens the position. The Ole Miss defense won’t miss a beat. It’s the offense that I’m worried about, mainly the leadership of Dart and the depth of the RB position. It wouldn’t shock me to see Ole Miss flirt with the playoff again, but Simmons is too unproven for me to raise the Rebels up to that level yet.
21. Texas Tech (8-5)
Tahj Brooks departs as one of the best running backs in school history, but the Red Raiders brought in USC’s Quinten Joyner to soften the blow. If he falters, J’Koby Williams had a good bowl game in his first start for the Red Raiders. Tech replaces leading receiver Josh Kelly with an unsung receiver from the MAC in Miami-Ohio’s Reggie Virgil. Virgil had 816 yards and nine touchdowns from a run-first team with an average quarterback. He could have a big year with Behren Morton back again in Lubbock.
Tech has an all-new front four, but leading tacklers Jacob Rodriguez and Ben Roberts are back at linebacker. The two leading defensive backs, Maurion Horn and Chapman Lewis, also return to give some continuity to the defense. Tech was an under-the-radar team in 2024, but we may have been a year ahead of schedule. If Morton can stay healthy, this team is capable of winning a wide-open Big 12 (16).
20. Oklahoma (6-7)
Oklahoma suffered from a myriad of injuries last year and poor quarterback play. The Sooners hit the portal hard, bringing in John Mateer from Washington State and Jadyn Ott from Cal. Both players had a lot of success on the West Coast. Can they repeat that in the SEC? Oklahoma’s season depends on it. Arkansas-Pine Bluff transfer Javonnie Gibson joins Deion Burks to give Oklahoma downfield threats. On paper, this offense is more than sufficient if they can avoid the injuries that plagued the team in 2024.
Adding Marvin Jones Jr. from Florida State gives Oklahoma one of the better defensive ends of the last decade in Norman. Replacing Danny Stutsman won’t be easy, but 10 of the 11 defensive starters were on the team last year, and the defense wasn’t (always) the problem. I’m cautiously optimistic.
19. Miami (FL) (10-3)
Replacing the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and the best receiver (Xavier Restrepo) in school history won’t be easy. The Hurricanes grabbed the best QB in the portal in Georgia’s Carson Beck and jumped on Liberty’s CJ Daniels to replace Restrepo. Mark Fletcher Jr. and Jordan Lyle return in the backfield, and four starters on the OL return. Miami overhauled the secondary, but the front seven remains largely intact from a solid defensive unit last year.
Miami looks good enough to win the ACC if Clemson stumbles, but a lot of that depends on how well Beck’s right elbow has healed from a torn UCL in the SEC Championship last year.
18. Arizona State (11-3)
Sam Leavitt made some big plays for Arizona State down the stretch and in the playoff game, but replacing Cam Skattebo is going to be next to impossible for the Sun Devils. We’ll see a bit of a different look out of Sparky this year with Fresno State transfer Jalen Moss pairing with returning receivers Jordyn Tyson and Malik McClain. Army’s Kanye Udoh joins Kyson Brown (who ran for 351 yards behind Skattebo last year) to make up the RB rotation.
Arizona State returns leading tacklers Myles Rowser and Xavion Alford to make up one of the better secondaries in the Big 12 (16). The only starter on defense that wasn’t with Arizona State last year is starting nickelback Kyndrich Breedlove, who came in from Purdue. Cam Skattebo left an unfillable hole in this offense, but Arizona State has done its best to move on with a little more of a lean to the passing game. Leavitt is good enough to maximize those three receivers.
17. Texas A&M (8-5)
The Aggies turned to Marcel Reed at quarterback after the first month last season, and that turned out to be a good decision. Leading rusher Le’Veon Moss returns, along with backups Amari Daniels and EJ Smith. A receiving corps that struggled last year got the best receiver in the portal in North Carolina State’s KC Concepcion. Mario Craver from Mississippi State joins him. The Aggies did a lot to help out Reed, including adding TE Amari Niblack from Alabama.
Taurean York and Scooby Williams return at linebacker with Dalton Brooks in the secondary. The Aggies brought in T.J. Searcy from Florida to replace Cashius Howell and Nic Scourton. Reed has the weapons on offense to compete in the SEC. If the defense holds up, the Aggies have an outside shot at making the playoff.
16. BYU (11-2)
I know, I know. The only major piece that BYU loses from the offense is Darius Lassiter. BYU filled the holes on defense with players who played on last year’s team, except for Keanu Tanuvasa, who transferred in from Utah. So why do I have the Cougars this low? The sexual assault allegation against QB Jake Retzlaff could derail the whole season.
Even if the encounter was deemed to be consensual, it defies the BYU Honor Code. Should the university pursue this, it could go as far as Retzlaff’s removal from the team. The issue with this from BYU’s standpoint is that in the NIL era, should Retzlaff ultimately be found not to be in violation of the Honor Code, he could sue the university for lost NIL earnings.
The Cougars do have players with experience (McCae Hillstead at Utah State and Treyson Bourguet at Western Michigan) to soften the blow, but neither is Retzlaff. BYU is likely still a top 25 team without Retzlaff, which is why I’m keeping the Cougars in the rankings.
15. Tennessee (10-3)
This ranking has nothing to do with the Nico Iamaleava saga. Tennessee not only made the right decision, but they also brought in Appalachian State’s Joey Aguilar to replace Nico. Aguilar was a winner at App State and will be in Knoxville. He’s not as physically gifted as Iamaleava, but his attitude is infinitely better. My issues are the losses of Dylan Sampson, Dont’e Thornton, Squirrel White, and Bru McCoy. Those are massive losses on offense. Need I remind you of how awful this offense looked when Sampson got hurt?
The return of Arion Carter and Jermod McCoy is big for the defense. All 11 starters and all 11 backups were on this team last season. That kind of continuity could be huge for the Tennessee defense. If the Vols don’t lose much in the run game, there’s no reason that the Vols can’t make the playoff.
14. Alabama (9-4)
How important is a generational talent at receiver if the team can’t get him the ball? We saw some of that with Jalen Milroe and the lack of another receiver to take attention away from Ryan Williams last year. The Tide added Isaiah Horton from Miami to help Germie Bernard out with getting some coverage off of Williams. The bigger issue for me is that Milroe led the team in rushing last year. Do you really want Ty Simpson leading this team in rushing? Simpson is largely an unproven commodity.
He was decent when Bama let him play last year, but he only threw 25 passes. Jam Miller will once again lead the backfield, but the loss of Justice Haynes might be a big deal. The linebacking corps is strong, but the team didn’t noticeably improve a defensive line that didn’t produce much of a pass rush last year. If Kalen DeBoer can turn Ty Simpson into Michael Penix Jr., the Tide have a chance. If not, nine wins is the ceiling again. I’m not convinced this team is better than the 2024 version.
13. Baylor (8-5)
The Bears won six straight games to close out the regular season before falling to a good LSU team in the Texas Bowl. Moving on from Dequan Finn to Sawyer Robertson at quarterback at the end of September turned out to be the right move. Robertson and leading rusher Bryson Washington return, as does the whole offensive line. The Bears brought in Alabama’s Kobe Prentice to pair with last year’s leading receiver (Josh Cameron).
Leading tackler Keaton Thomas returns, and Baylor brought in three more portal linebackers to help him out. Baylor has a great blend of incumbents and portal acquisitions. This could be Baylor’s best team since RGIII was in Waco.
12. Oregon (13-1)
Oregon lost Dillon Gabriel (3,857 passing yards, 149 rushing yards), Jordan James (1,267 rushing yards, 200 receiving yards), Tez Johnson (898 receiving yards), and Traeshon Holden (718 receiving yards) from the team that won the Big Ten (18) last year. That’s a ton of production.
Former UCLA QB Dante Moore (who struggled with the Bruins in 2023) will take over after throwing just eight passes last season. The addition of Makhi Hughes from Tulane is huge for the run game, but they are relying on last year’s impact transfer (Evan Stewart from Texas A&M) and Florida State’s Malik Benson to duplicate the production of Johnson and Holden. That’s a big ask, especially with a new quarterback. Oregon didn’t import a Heisman candidate to lead the team this year.
The front seven got better with the addition of Bear Alexander from USC. Big Ten (18) transfers Dillon Thieneman (Purdue) and Theran Johnson (Northwestern) shore up the secondary. We’ll find out how good of a coach Dan Lanning is this year. If he brings out the best in Dante Moore, Oregon is going to the playoff again.
11. Iowa State (11-3)
The Cyclones return Rocco Becht and their rushing attack of Carson Hansen and Abu Sama III. The bad news is that they lost 2,377 yards and 17 touchdowns between Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins to the NFL. The Cyclones brought in Xavier Townsend from Central Florida and Chase Sowell from East Carolina to try and replicate that production. It won’t be easy, but we saw how good of a QB that Becht can be last season. How much of it was his receivers making him look good?
10. Clemson (10-4)
Once again, Clemson largely ignored the transfer portal. They are relying on true freshman Gideon Davidson to fill the shoes of Phil Mafah, who was a huge piece of this team last season. For all of the Cade Klubnik slander that was around last year, he really had a very good season (3,639 yards, 36 TD, just six INT). All three starting receivers return this year.
Clemson did import Will Heldt from Purdue to help the pass rush. The linebackers look strong again this year, as does the secondary. It’s unusual for Clemson to put so much on the shoulders of a true freshman at RB, but this passing game is strong enough to let Davidson get acclimated before the ACC grind. Nothing really stands out about Clemson, but that may not be a bad thing. This is a solid team from top to bottom.
9. South Carolina (9-4)
Despite the loss to Illinois in the bowl last year, I still believe in South Carolina. The loss of Raheim Sanders is a big deal. Bringing in Rahsul Faison from Utah State is a great move that will help ease that loss. Leading receiver Joshua Simon is gone, but the two starting receivers (Mazeo Bennett and Nyck Harbor) return. LaNorris Sellers will be fine in this offense.
The issue might be the defense. Nick Emmanwori was such a big part of this unit last season, and he’s gone. So are Demetrius Knight, Debo Williams, and Bam Martin-Scott. The Gamecocks brought in Brandon Cisse from North Carolina State and seldom-used Justin Okoronkwo from Alabama. To me, these are big downgrades. If the South Carolina defense turns in another great effort, this is a playoff team.
8. Georgia (11-3)
Gunner Stockton was solid after Carson Beck went down. If that were all that the Bulldogs lost on offense, I would still buy into them as a top-5 team. That’s not the case. Trevor Etienne, Arian Smith, and Dominic Lovett are all gone. Leading rusher Nate Frazier is back, as are key TEs Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie. Illinois transfer Josh McCray will try to replace Etienne. The Bulldogs pulled in Zachariah Branch from USC to give them a true deep threat.
The Bulldogs only return four defensive starters, and most of last year’s outstanding pass rush is gone. Most of this year’s starters played key roles last year, so there is reason to believe that the defense won’t fall off much, if at all. This ranking hinges on how much we believe in Stockton. I understand that Carson Beck had his limitations, but Stockton has only started one college game. Will Georgia lose a game or two due to inexperience at QB?
7. Indiana (11-2)
How will the Hoosiers follow up their most successful season since Lee Corso was their head coach? It shouldn’t be much different. The Hoosiers dodge Ohio State and Michigan this year but get Penn State and Oregon, both on the road. As we saw last year, losing two games isn’t a deal-breaker anymore. Indiana loses Kurtis Rourke, but they hit the portal and brought in Cal’s Fernando Mendoza — who was very good on a very bad team as a freshman.
Maryland transfer Roman Hemby will help out Kaelon Black in the backfield. Leading receiver Elijah Sarratt is back, as is Omar Cooper Jr. This offense likely won’t miss a beat. Leading tackler Aiden Fisher is back at LB, as is sack-master Mikail Kamara. The Hoosiers added a couple of transfers to an already strong defense. If this team can beat Oregon, they may contend for the Big Ten (18) title.
6. Notre Dame (14-2)
I’m a little concerned that Notre Dame is content with CJ Carr at quarterback. Riley Leonard may not have been a great passer, but he ran for over 900 yards last season. That’s the only complaint with the Notre Dame offense. Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are a great 1-2 punch at RB. Joran Faison and Jaden Greathouse are joined by Virginia transfer Malachi Fields. The Irish have their best WR room in a while this year. We just need to know if Carr can get it to them.
The Irish lose Jack Kaiser and Xavier Watts from last year, but Drayk Bowen and Adon Shuler can fill those shoes. 10 of the 11 defensive starters were in the defensive rotation for the Irish last year. The defense carried them to the title game. If its anywhere near as good as last year and Carr doesn’t make crippling mistakes, the Irish are going to be in the playoff again.
5. LSU (9-4)
Garrett Nussmeier is a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback. Transfers Barion Brown from Kentucky and Nic Anderson from Oklahoma will form a formidable trio of targets with Aaron Anderson. Seriously, the WR room is one of the best in the country, at least at the top. Caden Durham took over the starting RB job halfway through his freshman season and helped turn around LSU’s season. He will be one of the best backs in the SEC this year.
The defense has a few question marks behind Harold Perkins and Ashton Stamps. Bradyn Swinson, Jardon Gilbert, Greg Penn III, and Sai’vion Jones are going to be tough to replace. Florida transfer Jack Plyburn and Florida State transfer Patrick Payton will beef up the line. LSU’s offense will likely be better than last year. The defense could hold it back.
4. Florida (8-5)
The greatest improvements in younger players seem to be between their freshman and sophomore seasons. DJ Lagway and Jadan Baugh both excelled as freshmen (and both made the mistakes of freshmen) last year. This year, they get Eugene Wilson III back and brought in J. Michael Sturdivant from UCLA (hey, he was a beast at Cal) to ease the loss of Elijhah Badger. Ja’Kobi Jackson is more than capable of filling the role of Montrell Johnson behind Baugh. This offense will be markedly better if Lagway can cut back on the turnovers.
Tyreak Sapp, George Gumbs Jr., and Caleb Banks return to arguably the best defensive line in the SEC. All 11 defensive starters played big roles on this team last year. Billy Napier brought in a gaggle of freshmen defenders who will also push for playing time in the secondary. The defense could be really good this year, and the offense should keep up. Florida’s wins over LSU and Mississippi saved Napier’s job. This is his chance to prove that he was the right hire for the Gators.
3. Ohio State (14-2)
One of the best offenses in college football must replace a 4,000-yard passer (and team leader) in Will Howard and 2,956 all-purpose yards between TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins (not to mention a 1,000-yard receiver in Emeka Egbuka). Jeremiah Smith is likely the best receiver in college football. Carnell Tate had a strong year last year as well. RB James Peoples and WR Brandon Inniss looked good when they played. The question mark on the offense is QB Julian Sayin. He only threw 12 passes last season.
Sayin was the top QB in the 2024 class. He transferred in from Alabama last January. Recruiting rankings aren’t always right, but they usually don’t miss on the top overall prospects at positions either. Sayin should be very good, but it could take some time to get acclimated. All of the returning talent at receiver can only help.
Future top-5 pick Caleb Downs (also an Alabama transfer) anchors the defense that is missing several key pieces (most notably Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau) from last year. Kenyatta Jackson and Sonny Styles played big roles last year, but aside from those three, there isn’t a lot of experience on the defense. That said, all players were in the program last season, and nine of the 11 starters are junior or seniors. The defense should be fine. Ohio State’s success will ride on the RB room and the right arm of Sayin.
2. Penn State (13-3)
When I look at this roster, there’s as much talent on it as just about any team in the country. We all know about Penn State’s shortcomings in the big games. These rankings are based solely on rosters at this point in the offseason. In my heart of hearts, I know that Penn State won’t win the Big Ten. However, they are a playoff team. They return the best RB duo in the country in Kaytron Allen and Nicolas Singleton. Drew Allar improved last year and should be better this year.
The big issue with Penn State is replacing Tyler Warren, whom they used all over the offense last year, and Abdul Carter, one of the best defensive players of this century, for the Nittany Lions. Dani Dennis-Sutton, Kaleb Artis, and Dom DeLuca will anchor the defense this year. All 11 starters were on the team last year, and 10 of them are juniors or seniors. This is a strong and experienced unit. Alas, we know Penn State will fail. We just don’t know when or where. That said, on paper, this is one of the teams that could be elite this year.
1. Texas (13-3)
Among the contenders that will have a new starter at QB this year (Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, and Notre Dame), Texas has the most proven new starter. Arch has the famous surname, but he has some wheels, too. That’s not a usual Manning trait. Arch finished with a 184 passer rating in 90 pass attempts last year. That is an impressive number. Quintrevion Wisner took over the starting job last year, but he could split time almost evenly with CJ Baxter, who was expected to be the starter last year after a strong 2023 campaign.
Baxter tore his LCL and PCL last year just before the start of the season, but from all reports, he has looked good in camp. Texas made no effort to replace Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond, or Silas Bolden from the outside. Ryan Wingo had a strong season last year. Texas is relying on seldom-used Parker Livingstone and DeAndre Moore Jr. to hold down the fort until true freshmen Daylan McCutcheon and Kaliq Lockett are ready to start.
The Texas defense is the most intact of the higher-ranked teams from last season. Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill Jr. had big years last year. So did Michael Taaffee. Trey Moore, Malik Muhammad, and Jelani McDonald played big roles on last year’s team. I hate to say it, but Texas is loaded again. Will Arch Manning live up to the hype and give Texas their first title since 2005?
