The extremely talented Ohio State Buckeyes won the 12-team College Football Playoff for the first time in history with a 34-23 win over Notre on Monday night, en route to their second national championship in the past decade. , made the most of its $20 million roster. dam.
And while the Buckeyes are certain to lose that talent quickly in the NFL Draft, there’s no doubt that Ohio State deserves to remain at the top of the nation’s rankings in ESPN’s premature 2025 Top 25.
Check out the rest of ESPN’s premature Top 25 rankings for the 2025 season below.
Main returners: RB Quinshon Judkins, WR Jeremiah Smith, WR Carnell Tate, S Caleb Downs.
Major losses: RB Treveyon Henderson, WR Emeka Egbuka, QB Will Howard, G Donovan Jackson, LB Cody Simon, S Lathan Ransom, DE Jack Sawyer, DEJT Tuimorow, CB Denzel Burke.
2025 Outlook: Despite suffering a number of key losses from the 2024 CFP National Championship winning squad, the still-rich Buckeyes start 2025 in first place and advance to the highly competitive Big Ten Conference and CFP. But he should be a strong candidate again. Ohio State will likely rely on former five-star QB Julian Sane, a transfer from Alabama who redshirted last season, to run the offense. And the Sans will have plenty of options, with Judkins, who has not yet announced his future plans, as well as Smith and Tate potentially returning. The Buckeyes’ defense will take a hit, but OSU has talent on the wings on that side of the ball as well.
Main 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 Jade Barron, TE Gunnar Helm.
2025 Outlook: The long-awaited Arch Manning era is finally here in Austin. With Steve Sarkisian finally handing over the reins of the offense to a traditional quarterback in the SEC and NFL, it could be add or subtract at QB for the Longhorns. Texas will need to find replacements for other key offensive standouts, including along the offensive line, where four of the five starters are moving. But having a quality core back on defense, especially in the front seven, could go a long way toward making the Longhorns SEC and national championship contenders in 2025.
Key returners: QB Drew Aller, RB Caitron Allen, RB Nick Singleton, C Nick Dawkins, DE Dani Dennis Sutton, S Zaky Wheatley, CB AJ Harris.
Key losses: DE Abdul Carter, TE Tyler Warren, S Jalen Reed, G Sal Wormley, DT Dovon J. Thomas, LB Kobe King.
2025 Outlook: The Nittany Lions are expected to be back in the Big Ten and National Championship discussions in 2025 with a number of star players returning from last season. Key among them are veteran backfield mates Aller, Allen, and Singleton, who combined for 5,836 yards and 50 total touchdowns in 2024, including Allen and Singleton’s 2,200-plus total. Also includes rushing yards. Penn State’s defense has taken a hit, especially with the loss of DC Tom Allen to Clemson, but a favorable schedule could be the key to weathering growing pains on that front.
Main returners: RB Jeremiah Love, RB Jadarian Price, WR Jordan Faison, WR Jayden Greathouse, LB Drake Bowen, S Adon Shuler.
Major losses: QB Riley Leonard, TE Mitchell Evans, S Xavier Watts, CB Benjamin Morrison, LB Jack Kiser, DT Howard Cross III, DT Riley Mills.
2025 Outlook: Despite losing in the national championship, Notre Dame has a lot to be optimistic about and build on in 2025. Losing QB Leonard is tough, but the Irish have redshirt freshman CJ Carr, a former four-star signee, and backup Steve. Angeli is ready to compete for the QB1 spot. Add to this the offensive return of running backs Love and Price, the key transfer arrivals of WRs Malachi Fields (Virginia) and Will Paulding (Wisconsin), and the arrival of DLs Jared Dawson (Louisville) and Added defensive reinforcement in Elijah Hughes (USC). and safety DeVonta Smith (Alabama).
Main returners: QB Gunner Stockton, RB Nate Frazier, TE Oscar Delp, TE Lawson Lackey, LB CJ Allen, LB Raylen Wilson, S KJ Bolden, CB Daylen Everett.
Major losses: QB Carson Beck, G Tate Rutledge, RB Trevor Etienne, LB Jaylon Walker, S Malachi Starks, S Dan Jackson, LB Smale Mondon Jr., DE Mikel Williams.
2025 Outlook: Despite a roller-coaster 2024 in which the Bulldogs won the SEC Championship but lost in the CFP, ESPN still ranks Georgia as a top-five team in 2025. A lot of that is based on the Bulldogs coming back with Stockton. Frazier and Delp on offense, Allen, Bolden, Everett and Wilson on defense. Kirby Smart added two WRs in Noah Thomas (Texas A&M) and Zachariah Branch (USC) and brought DBs Jaden Harris (Miami) and Adrian Maddox (UAB) out of the portal to fill important holes. added. Still, Georgia will need to show improvement at the line of scrimmage if it is to bounce back next season.
Main returners: WR Evan Stewart, LB Devon Jackson, LB Tatum Tuioti, LB Matayo Uiagalelei, RB Noah Whittington, C Iapani LaRoll.
Key losses: QB Dillon Gabriel, WR Tez Johnson, WR Traeshon Holden, RB Jordan James, OT Josh Connally Jr., OT Ajani Cornelius, DE Jordan Burch, DT Derrick Harmon, CB Jabbar. Muhammad.
2025 Outlook: The Ducks were the only team to go through championship week undefeated, winning the Big Ten Championship in their first year in the league. Dan Lanning faces a major overhaul on both sides entering his fourth year, losing several key players, led by Gabriel and James on offense and Birch, Harmon and Muhammad on defense. Nevertheless, there are high expectations for Eugene, which has former five-star transfer Dante Moore at QB after redshirting in 2024.
Key returners: QB Cade Klubnik, WR Antonio Williams, WR Bryant Wesco Jr., LB Sammy Brown, LB Wade Udaz, DL TJ Parker, DL Peter Woods, OT Blake Miller.
Major losses: RB Phil Mafa, LB Barrett Carter, SRJ Mickens, TE Jake Bringstool, G Marcus Tate, DL Peyton Page.
2025 Outlook: ESPN believes Clemson, which rebounded to win the league in 2024, will once again be a “beatable team” in the ACC. What certainly helps matters is the return of Krbnyk, who ranks third in the ACC with 3,639 passing yards and 36 TDs. Last season. Add to that a solid defense that returns two of the top three tacklers in Brown and Udaz, and the return of Parker and Woods from the DL, who had a combined 28 tackles for loss and 14 sacks last season, and the team is looking forward to 2025. It would be hard to argue against the Tigers. .
Key returners: QB Garrett Nussmeier, RB Kayden Durham, WR Aaron Anderson, LB Whit Weeks, CB Ashton Stamps, LB Harold Perkins Jr., S Jardine 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 their fourth year under coach Brian Kelly and need to rebuild an offensive line that lost multi-year starters Campbell, Dillinger and Jones. But other than that, LSU appears to be in great shape with the return of offensive stars like Anderson, Durham and Nussmeier, who ranks second in the SEC with 4,052 passing yards and 29 touchdowns in 2024. . Kelly was also very active in the transfer portal. DE Patrick Payton (FSU) and Jack Pyburn (Florida) and star WR Nick Anderson (Oklahoma), plus Barion Brown (Kentucky).
Key returners: QB Jake Retzlaff, RB LJ Martin, WR Chase Roberts, WR/KR Kieran Marion, LB Harrison Taggart, LB Isaiah Glasker, LB Jack Kelly, S Tanner Wall.
Key losses: CB Jacob Robinson, DE Tyler Batty, DE Isaiah Bagna, CB Mark Collins, S Crew Wakley, OT Brayden Keim, C Connor Paye.
2025 Outlook: ESPN rates the Cougars’ chances of making it to the Big 12 in 2025 as high, especially given the abundance of quality offensive returners in Rezlaff, Martin, Marion and Roberts. Additionally, they will have four of their top five tacklers back in 2024, but will need to rebuild their defense. ESPN also likes the Cougars’ 2025 schedule, which doesn’t feature fellow Big 12 contenders Arizona State and Kansas State.
Key returners: QB Lanoris Sellers, DE Dylan Stewart, DE Brian Thomas Jr., WR Mazzeo Bennett Jr., LT Josiah Thompson, S Jaron Kilgore, S DQ Smith.
Key losses: S Nick Emanwori, DT TJ Sanders, DE Kyle Kennard, LB Debo Williams, LB Demetrius Knight Jr., G Kamar Bell, C Vershon Lee, G Torricelli Simpkins III, RB Raheim.・Sanders.
2025 Outlook: ESPN notes that the Shamcocks are losing the “heart and soul” of their defense with Kennard and other key standouts. In addition, they lost top rusher “Rocket” Sanders, who had 881 rushing yards and 11 TDs in 2024 after transferring from Arkansas State. The saving grace is Sellers’ return. Sellers will work under new offensive coordinator Mike Shula after a breakout season as a redshirt freshman in 2024, totaling 3,208 yards and 25 total TDs.
ESPN’s Early Top 25 No. 11-25
11. Iowa Cyclones
12. Alabama Crimson Tide
13. Illinois Fighting Illini
14. Arizona State Sun Devils
15. SMU Mustang
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
