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RotoBaller's list of nine college football programs that will be better in 2025. Which teams will improve from 2024 to 2025? Read the NCAA CFB analysis and rankings.
Clemson Tigers
After several years of offensive struggles in the post-Trevor Lawrence era at Clemson, the Tigers enjoyed one of the best offensive attacks in the nation in 2024. Quarterback Cade Klubnik seems to have finally put it all together, completing 63.4 percent of his passes for 3,639 yards, 36 touchdowns, and just six interceptions in his junior season. He added seven scores as a runner.
We expect him to build on that performance in 2025, and the hiring of former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen should provide a much-needed upgrade on that side of the ball. Clemson qualified for the 12-team College Football Playoff in its first year of existence, but the program barely snuck in. Dabo Swinney’s team should firmly be a playoff contender in 2025, and it won’t be a surprise if the Tigers are a top-four seed this time around.
LSU Tigers
Head coach Brian Kelly has compiled a 29-11 record in three seasons with the Tigers. For many programs, that’s a solid start. At LSU, that’s a raging disappointment. There is no reason LSU should ever miss the 12-team College Football Playoff, and the program is hitting the transfer portal hard to ensure it does not happen in 2025. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is back for another season and is the current Heisman Trophy favorite entering next season.
Meanwhile, the Tigers have added over a dozen players in the transfer portal, including wide receivers Barion Brown (Kentucky) and Nic Anderson (Oklahoma), along with several other key players from Power Four programs. Kelly is likely to be let go if he can’t get the Tigers into National Championship contention next season, so it’s now or never time.
Alabama Crimson Tide
In the first season since 2006 without Nick Saban at the helm of the Crimson Tide program, Alabama posted a 9-4 record. Talk about failing to miss expectations. However, there is reason for optimism in Tuscaloosa. Quarterback Jalen Milroe is headed to the NFL, and while he was an explosive runner and had plenty of flashy performances, he wasn’t consistent enough as a passer to carry the Tide offense.
Head coach Kalen Deboer adapted his offense to fit Milroe’s strengths, but we’ll likely see a more dynamic and balanced offense with a new quarterback under center. This Milroe-Deboer pairing was an odd one from the start. Bama continues to have one of the most talented rosters in the country, and anything short of double-digit wins next year would put Deboer firmly on the hot seat.
South Carolina Gamecocks
Shane Beamer’s Gamecock squad was on the doorstep of the College Football Playoff in 2024, and while South Carolina loses some key players from that team, quarterback LaNorris Sellers remains in place.
In his redshirt freshman campaign, Sellers posted 2,534 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions, 674 rushing yards, and seven rushing touchdowns. He heated up as the year went on, highlighted by a 353-yard passing game against Missouri and a 166-yard rushing day against Clemson. After winning last year’s campaign’s final six regular-season games, South Carolina looks to carry the momentum into next season behind a strong defense and a game-changing signal caller.
Florida Gators
Florida faced the No. 1 preseason strength of schedule last season, and the expectation was a 4-8 or 5-7 campaign that ended in head coach Billy Napier getting fired. After a blowout loss to Miami in Week 1, the program looked to be headed in that direction. However, following the Week 3 loss to Texas A&M, the Gators rallied and became a competitive team in most of their contests.
The Gators finished the season strong with wins over No. 22 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss, effectively eliminating both schools from playoff contention before defeating arch-rival Florida State and taking down Tulane in the Gasparilla Bowl. Momentum is building in Gainesville, and the roster is loaded with young talent including quarterback DJ Lagway and running back Jadan Baugh, who were both true freshmen in 2024. This is a potential dark horse playoff contender in 2025.
Michigan Wolverines
Following a 2023-24 College Football Playoff National Championship for Michigan, the 2024-25 season did not go as planned. However, the Wolverines lost a significant amount of that title team, so some regression was expected. A 4-3 start signed that head coach Sherrone Moore could be a “one-and-done” coach in Ann Arbor, but the way the campaign ended brings reason to believe in 2025. Michigan took down No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus and defeated No. 11 Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl in its final two games. Michigan was a significant underdog in both contests.
The Wolverines continued to have a solid defense last season, but its offense was a dumpster fire. Now, the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class, quarterback Bryce Underwood, is headed to lead the program. And next season, Michigan does not face Penn State or Oregon but gets Ohio State at home. Moore’s squad should be back in the playoff conversation.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Head coach Matt Rhule has not won big at Nebraska yet, but you get the feeling that it is coming. He brought the Cornhuskers to their first bowl game since 2016 last year, and Year 3 is when Rhule has historically taken the biggest leap. Rhule started 8-16 in his first two seasons at Temple before back-to-back 10-win campaigns in Years 3 and 4. At Baylor, he started 8-17 through two seasons before an 11-victory campaign in Year 3.
Between his history of success after a few seasons under his belt and the potential rise of soon-to-be sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola, Husker fans can be excited and hopeful for the first time in nearly a decade. The program avoids Big Ten matchups with Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana in 2025.
Washington Huskies
While Oregon won a conference title in their first year in the Big Ten, Washington struggled coming off a College Football Playoff appearance. Obviously, it’s tough to replace the production of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and wideouts Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, and Ja’Lynn Polk. That said, the Huskies still qualified for a bowl game, and the flashes shown by freshman quarterback Desmond Williams Jr. late in the year give us reason to believe.
In limited action, Williams completed a whopping 78.1% of his passes for 944 yards, eight touchdowns, and one interception. He’s also a threat on the ground, as shown by his 282 rushing yards and two end zone trips. Washington is yet another program that is bringing in a solid transfer portal class, and expecting them to surpass the six wins from 2024 is not a tall ask.
North Carolina Tar Heels
In the final year of Mack Brown’s tenure, North Carolina posted a 6-7 record. In hopes of improving things right away, UNC hired the greatest NFL coach of all time, Bill Belichick. While the Tar Heels don’t have the best group of high school recruits coming in, 24/7 ranks its transfer portal class as the No. 16 group in the country. With Belichick strolling the sidelines, it’s fair to expect North Carolina to quickly be one of the most well-coached and disciplined teams in the nation.
Will the Tar Heels compete for a national championship in 2025? That’s highly unlikely. However, don’t be shocked if the program is in the race for the ACC crown late in the season. The league as a whole is down, and we’d be shocked if Belichick won fewer than seven games right away.
