The Offsides Radio Show’s preseason Top 25 rankings feature Ohio State at the top, followed closely by Texas. Oregon, Georgia, and Notre Dame round out the top five. Other notable teams in the top 10 include Alabama, Penn State, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. The rankings also list several “CFP Bubble” teams, such as Clemson, Indiana, Boise State, SMU, Miami, Kansas State, Illinois, Duke, Arizona State, Iowa, TCU, Louisville, and South Carolina.
The article provides details for each ranked team, including the coach’s name, their win-loss record entering the season, the number of returning offensive and defensive players, and key opponents for 2025. It also specifies each team’s Week 1 opponent. The table at the end of the document provides additional metrics such as “Last 30,” “NIL,” “Coach,” “Strength,” and “Overall” scores for each team.
1. Ohio State – Coach Day 66-8 enter his 7th year
- Returning offense – 6
- Returning defense – 3
- 2025 Key Opponents: Texas, Penn St. and Michigan
- Week 1 opponent – vs. Texas
2. Texas – Coach Sariskian 32-14 entering his 5th year
- Returning offense: 3
- Returning defense: 6
- 2025 Key Opponents: Ohio State, Georgia, and Texas A&M
- Week 1 opponent – @ Ohio State
3. Oregon – Coach Lanning 31-5 entering his 4th year
- Returning offense: 2
- Returning defense: 3
- 2025 Key Opponents: Penn St, Indiana, and USC
- Week 1 opponent – Montana St.
4. Georgia – coach Smart 105-19 entering his 10th year
- Returning offense: 4
- Returning defense: 3
- 2025 Key Opponents: Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas
- Week 1 opponent – Marshall
5. Notre Dame – Coach Freeman 33- 10 entering his 4th season
- Returning offense: 5 (Love RB)
- Returning defense: 6
- 2025 Key Opponents: Miami, Texas A&M, and Boise St.
- Week 1 opponent – Miami
6. Alabama – Coach DeBoer, 9-4 entering his 2nd year
- Returning offense: 6
- Returning defense: 8
- 2025 Key Opponents: Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, South Carolina
- Week 1 opponent –
7. Penn State – Coach Franklin 101-42 entering his 12th year
- Returning offense: 9 (Allar QB)
- Returning defense: 5
- 2025 Key Opponents: Oregon, Iowa, Ohio State, and Indiana
- Week 1 opponent – Nevada
8. Tennessee – Coach Hueple 37-15 entering his 5th year
- Returning offense: 3
- Returning defense: 7
- 2025 Key Opponents: Georgia, Alabama
- Week 1 opponent – Syracuse
9. Ole Miss – Coach Kiffin 44-18 entering his 6th year
- Returning offense: 3
- Returning defense: 2
- 2025 Key Opponents: LSU, Georgia, and South Carolina
- Week 1 opponent – Georgia St.
10. Texas A&M – Coach Elko 8-5 entering his 2nd year
- Returning offense: 7 (Reed QB)
- Returning defense: 8
- 2025 Key Opponents: Notre Dame, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas
- Week 1 opponent – UTSA
11. Missouri – Coach Drinkwitz 38-24 entering his 6th season
- Returning offense: 5
- Returning defense: 8
- 2025 Key Opponents: South Carolina, Alabama, Texas A&M
- Week 1 opponent – Central Arkansas
12. LSU Coach Kelly 29-11 entering his 4th season
- Returning offense: 4 (Mussmeier QB)
- Returning defense: 3
- 2025 Key Opponents: Clemson, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Alabama
- Week 1 opponent – @ Clemson
CFP Bubble
13. Clemson – Coach Swinney 180-47 entering his 18th season
- Returning offense: 8
- Returning defense: 8
- 2025 Key Opponents: LSU, Duke, Louisville, and South Carolina
- Week 1 opponent – vs LSU
14. Indiana – Coach Cignetti 10-1 entering his 2nd season
- Returning offense: 4
- Returning defense: 4
- 2025 Key Opponents: Illinois, Iowa, Oregon, Penn State
- Week 1 opponent – Old Dominion
15. Boise St.- Coach Danielson 15-3 entering his 3rd season
- Returning offense
- Returning defense
- 2025 Key Opponents: Notre Dame
- Week 1 opponent – South Florida
16. SMU – Coach Lashlee 29-12 entering his 4th season
- Returning offense: 6
- Returning defense: 2
- 2025 Key Opponents: TCU. Clemson, Miami and Louisville
- Week 1 opponent – East Texas A&M
17. Miami – Coach Cristobal 22-16 entering his 4th year
- Returning offense: 3
- Returning defense: 5
- 2025 Key Opponents: Notre Dame, Louisville
- Week 1 opponent – Notre Dame
18. Kansas St. – Coach Kliemen 48-28 entering his 7th year
- Returning offense: 6 (Johnson QB)
- Returning defense: 5
- 2025 Key Opponents: TCU
- Week 1 opponent – Iowa St.
19. Illinois- Coach Bielema 28-22 entering his 5th year
- Returning offense: 9 (Altmyer QB)
- Returning defense: 7
- 2025 Key Opponents: Duke, Indiana, and Ohio St.
- Week 1 opponent – West Illinois
20. Duke – Coach Diaz 9-4 entering his 2nd year
- Returning offense: 6
- Returning defense: 5
- 2025 Key Opponents: Illinois and Clemon
- Week 1 opponent – Elon
21. Arizona St. – Coach Dillingham 14-12 entering his 3rd year
- Returning offense: 7 (Leavitt QB)
- Returning defense: 10
- 2025 Key Opponents: TCU
- Week 1 opponent – Northern Arizona
22. Iowa – Coach Ferentz 204-124 entering his 25th year
- Returning offense: 5
- Returning defense: 5
- 2025 Key Opponents: Indiana, Penn St., and Oregon
- Week 1 opponent – Univ of Albany
23. TCU – Coach Dykes 27-13 entering his 4th year
- Returning offense: 4 (Hoover QB)
- Returning defense: 5
- 2025 Key Opponents: Kansas St.
- Week 1 opponent – North Carolina
24. Louisville – Coach Brohm 19-8 enter his 3rd year
- Returning offense: 4
- Returning defense: 4
- 2025 Key Opponents: Miami, Clemson, SMU
- Week 1 opponent – Eastern Kentucky
25. South Carolina – Coach Beamer 29-22 entering his 5th season
- Returning offense: 5 (Sellers QB)
- Returning defense: 4
- 2025 Key Opponents: Missouri, LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Clemson
- Week 1 opponent – Virginia Tech
