College Football Rankings: ESPN releases Way-Too Early Top 25 for 2025 season

The uber-talented Ohio State Buckeyes made the most of their $20 million roster by dominating in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff en route to winning the program’s second national championship in the last decade with Monday night’s 34-23 victory over Notre Dame.

And while the Buckeyes are certain to lose quick a bit of that talent to the NFL Draft, there’s no doubt Ohio State is deserving of staying atop the national rankings in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early 2025 Top 25.

Check out the rest of ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings for the 2025 season below:

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

Key returners: RB Quinshon Judkins, WR Jeremiah Smith, WR Carnell Tate, S Caleb Downs.
Key losses: RB TreVeyon Henderson, WR Emeka Egbuka, QB Will Howard, G Donovan Jackson, LB Cody Simon, S Lathan Ransom, DE Jack Sawyer, DE JT Tuimoloau, CB Denzel Burke.

2025 Outlook: Despite a multitude of key losses off its 2024 CFP National Championship-winning roster, the still-loaded Buckeyes should start 2025 at No.1 and once again be serious contenders in the highly-competitive Big Ten Conference as well the CFP. Ohio State will likely turn its offense over to former five-star QB Julian Sayin, who redshirted last season after transferring from Alabama. And Sayin will have plenty of options with Judkins, who has yet to announce his future plans, as well as Smith and Tate all potentially back. The Buckeyes defense will take a hit, but OSU has talent waiting in the wings on that side of the ball too.

2. Texas Longhorns

Key returners: QB Arch Manning, RB Quintrevion Wisner, LB Anthony Hill Jr., DE Colin Simmons, DE Trey Moore, S Michael Taaffe.
Key losses: QB Quinn Ewers, WR Matthew Golden, OT Kelvin Banks Jr., OT Cameron Williams, S Andrew Mukuba, CB Jahdae Barron, TE Gunnar Helm.

2025 Outlook: The highly-anticipated Arch Manning Era is finally here in Austin. It might be addition by subtraction at QB for the Longhorns, as Steve Sarkisian finally turns the offensive reins over to the SEC and NFL legacy quarterback. Texas must find replacements for several other key offensive standouts, including along the offensive line with four of the five starters moving on. But a quality nucleus returning on defense, especially in the front seven, will go a long way to helping the Longhorns be an SEC and national champion contender in 2025.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions

Key returners: QB Drew Allar, RB Kaytron Allen, RB Nick Singleton, C Nick Dawkins, DE Dani Dennis-Sutton, S Zakee Wheatley, CB AJ Harris.
Key losses: DE Abdul Carter, TE Tyler Warren, S Jaylen Reed, G Sal Wormley, DT Dvon J-Thomas, LB Kobe King.

2025 Outlook: Expect the Nittany Lions to be back in the Big Ten and national championship discussion again in 2025 with a litany of returning stars from this past season. Key among those are veteran backfield mates Allar, Allen and Singleton, who combined for 5,836 yards and 50 total touchdowns in 2024 — including more than 2,200 rushing yards from Allen and Singleton. Penn State’s defense takes a hit, especially losing DC Tom Allen to Clemson, but a favorable schedule could be key to weathering any growing pains on that side of the ball.

4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Key returners: RB Jeremiyah Love, RB Jadarian Price, WR Jordan Faison, WR Jaden Greathouse, LB Drayk Bowen, S Adon Shuler.
Key losses: QB Riley Leonard, TE Mitchell Evans, S Xavier Watts, CB Benjamin Morrison, LB Jack Kiser, DT Howard Cross III, DT Rylie Mills.

2025 Outlook: Despite the national championship loss, Notre Dame has plenty to be optimistic about and build upon in 2025. And while losing Leonard at QB is tough, the Irish have redshirt freshman CJ Carr, a former four-star signee, and backup Steve Angeli ready to compete for the QB1 job. That’s in addition to RBs Love and Price back offensively, as well as the arrivals of key transfers in WRs Malachi Fields (Virginia) and Will Paulding (Wisconsin), and defensive additions in DLs Jared Dawson (Louisville) and Elijah Hughes (USC), and safety DeVonta Smith (Alabama).

5. Georgia Bulldogs

Key returners: QB Gunner Stockton, RB Nate Frazier, TE Oscar Delp, TE Lawson Luckie, LB CJ Allen, LB Raylen Wilson, S KJ Bolden, CB Daylen Everette.
Key losses: QB Carson Beck, G Tate Ratledge, RB Trevor Etienne, LB Jalon Walker, S Malaki Starks, S Dan Jackson, LB Smael Mondon Jr., DE Mykel Williams.

2025 Outlook: Despite a rollercoaster 2024 that saw the Bulldogs win the SEC Championship but get bounced in the CFP, ESPN remains high on Georgia as a Top 5 team in 2025. Much of that is based on what the Bulldogs have coming back with Stockton, Frazier and Delp on offense and Allen, Bolden, Everette and Wilson on defense. Kirby Smart added a pair of WRs in Noah Thomas (Texas A&M) and Zachariah Branch (USC), as well as DBs Jaden Harris (Miami) and Adrian Maddox (UAB) out of the portal to fill key holes. Still, Georgia will need to show improvements on the line of scrimmage if its going to redeem itself next season.

6. Oregon Ducks

Key returners: WR Evan Stewart, LB Devon Jackson, LB Teitum Tuioti, LB Matayo Uiagalelei, RB Noah Whittington, C Iapani Laloulu.
Key losses: QB Dillon Gabriel, WR Tez Johnson, WR Traeshon Holden, RB Jordan James, OT Josh Conerly Jr., OT Ajani Cornelius, DE Jordan Burch, DT Derrick Harmon, CB Jabbar Muhammad.

2025 Outlook: The Ducks were the only team to go undefeated through Championship Week, including winning the Big Ten Championship in their first season in the league. Dan Lanning faces a significant overhaul on both sides of the ball entering Year 4 after losing multiple key figures, led by Gabriel and James on offense and Burch, Harmon and Muhammad on defense. Neverthless, hopes are high in Eugene with former five-star transfer Dante Moore at QB after redshirting in 2024.

7. Clemson Tigers

Key returners: QB Cade Klubnik, WR Antonio Williams, WR Bryant Wesco Jr., LB Sammy Brown, LB Wade Woodaz, DL TJ Parker, DL Peter Woods, OT Blake Miller.
Key losses: RB Phil Mafah, LB Barrett Carter, S RJ Mickens, TE Jake Briningstool, G Marcus Tate, DL Payton Page.

2025 Outlook: ESPN believes Clemson is once again “the team to beat” in the ACC after rebounding to win the league championship in 2024. Certainly helping matters is the return of Klubnik, who ranked third in the ACC with 3,639 passing yards and 36 TDs last season. Add to that a loaded defense that returns two of its top three tacklers in Brown and Woodaz, as well as DLs Parker and Woods, who combined for 28 tackles for loss and 14 sacks last season, and it’s hard to argue against the Tigers in 2025.

8. LSU Tigers

Key returners: QB Garrett Nussmeier, RB Caden Durham, WR Aaron Anderson, LB Whit Weeks, CB Ashton Stamps, LB Harold Perkins Jr., S Jardin Gilbert.
Key losses: WR Kyren Lacy, WR CJ Daniels, OT Will Campbell, OT Emery Jones Jr., TE Mason Taylor, G Garrett Dellinger, G Miles Frazier, LB Greg Penn III, DE Bradyn Swinson.

2025 Outlook: The Tigers enter Year 4 under Brian Kelly needing to rebuild an offensive line that loses multi-year starters Campbell, Dellinger and Jones. But other than that, LSU appears in great shape with returning offensive stars like Anderson, Durham and Nussmeier, the latter of whom ranked second in the SEC with 4,052 passing yards and 29 touchdowns in 2024. Kelly was also quite active in the transfer portal, adding DEs Patrick Payton (FSU) and Jack Pyburn (Florida) and star WRs Nic Anderson (Oklahoma) and Barion Brown (Kentucky).

9. BYU Cougars

Key returners: QB Jake Retzlaff, RB LJ Martin, WR Chase Roberts, WR/KR Keelan Marion, LB Harrison Taggart, LB Isaiah Glasker, LB Jack Kelly, S Tanner Wall.
Key losses: CB Jakob Robinson, DE Tyler Batty, DE Isaiah Bagnah, CB Marque Collins, S Crew Wakley, OT Brayden Keim, C Conner Pay.

2025 Outlook: ESPN likes the Cougars’ chances in the Big 12 in 2025, especially given the wealth of quality offensive returners in Retzlaff, Martin, Marion and Roberts. Additionally, they return four of the top five tacklers from 2024 but will need to rebuild the defensive front. ESPN also likes the Cougars’ 2025 schedule, which doesn’t feature fellow Big 12 contenders Arizona State and Kansas State.

10. South Carolina Gamecocks

Key returners: QB LaNorris Sellers, DE Dylan Stewart, DE Bryan Thomas Jr., WR Mazeo Bennett Jr., LT Josiah Thompson, S Jalon Kilgore, S DQ Smith.
Key losses: S Nick Emmanwori, DT TJ Sanders, DE Kyle Kennard, LB Debo Williams, LB Demetrius Knight Jr., G Kamaar Bell, C Vershon Lee, G Torricelli Simpkins III, RB Raheim Sanders.

2025 Outlook: ESPN points out the Gamecocks are losing the “heart and soul” of their defense with Kennard and several other key standouts out the door. That’s in addition to losing leading rusher “Rocket” Sanders, who had 881 rushing yards and 11 TDs in 2024 after transferring from Arkansas. The saving grace is the return of Sellers, who will be working under new offensive coordinator Mike Shula after a breakout 2024 with a combined 3,208 yards and 25 total TDs as a redshirt freshman.

ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 Nos. 11-25

11. Iowa State Cyclones
12. Alabama Crimson Tide
13. Illinois Fighting Illini
14. Arizona State Sun Devils
15. SMU Mustangs
16. Kansas State Wildcats
17. Indiana Hoosiers
18. Florida Gators
19. Tennessee Volunteers
20. Louisville Cardinals
21. Michigan Wolverines
22. Texas A&M Aggies
23. Miami Hurricanes
24. Boise State Broncos
25. Ole Miss Rebels