The 2025-2026 College Football Playoff (Graphic by the College Football Playoff)
NC State, Tulane, Houston, and Rutgers join this week’s power rankings, while Tennessee, South Carolina, South Florida, and Arkansas fall from the ranked. The Big Ten and SEC still own the top six slots, while the Big 12 and ACC are still given more respect here than in the major polls. It’s also between Navy, North Texas, Tulane, Memphis, and USF in the American as the favorite Group of Five teams and conference to send its champion to the College Football Playoff in December.
1. Ohio State (3-0) (Last Week #1) (Ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Buckeyes had a game with their share of hiccups. They struggled in the Red Zone, threw a couple of interceptions, and only beat Ohio by 28. I know Ohio is as solid a team as you’ll find in the Group of Five, but it felt like the #1 team left some points off the scoreboard. Still, they’re #1, undefeated, and defending their crown. Next, Ohio State will have a week off before traveling to Washington to try to break the Huskies’ 22-game winning streak.
2. Penn State (3-0) (Last Week #2) (Ranked #2 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Another layup game and another blowout in favor of Penn State. They did what they needed to in these early games, and now the tune-ups are over. They have a week off to rest, but next game they welcome the #4 Ducks to Happy Valley for the vaunted Penn State White Out. That is something an opposing team can’t quite understand until they’ve experienced it.
3. Georgia (3-0) (Last Week #3) (Ranked #5 and #3 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
I know the mainstream media will say that this 44-41 overtime win over rival Tennessee just shows how good Georgia, Tennessee, and the SEC are. They said the same thing about LSU and Clemson, and it wasn’t true, and this game felt a lot like that one. It could age very well for the pompom wavers of the SEC, but I saw a lot of room for Georgia to improve, and a lot of Tennessee mistakes kept Georgia alive. Georgia has a week off before they face Alabama.
4. Oregon (3-0) (Last Week #4) (Ranked #6 and #5 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Northwestern scored a couple of times late to make this game look closer than it was. This was another dominating performance by Oregon. They were on the road, at a 10:00 AM kickoff in Eugene time, and they had a 30-point lead in the fourth quarter. Next week, they have a big game in the 129th installment of the Civil War and Battle for the Platypus Trophy against rival Oregon State.
5. LSU (3-0) (Last Week #5) (Ranked #3 and #4 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
LSU beat their Gulf Coast rivals from Florida, 20-10. The Tigers won a defensive battle in which they picked off the Gators’ quarterback, DJ Lagway, a whopping five times. Despite Brian Kelly’s post-game remarks, LSU is winning but still looking unsure. Kelly turning purple only highlights that, rather than minimizing it.
6. Illinois (3-0) (Last Week #6) (Ranked #9 and #8 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Illinois just continues to play Bielema Ball and slowly grind opposing teams down. It’s an old style of football, but Illinois, in a nutshell, is like that running back that just gets stronger as the game goes on and as the defense gets more worn out. Led by quarterback Luke Atlmyer, they beat Western Michigan 38-0. Illinois plays at Indiana in a big-time, ranked matchup next Saturday.
7. BYU (2-0) (Last Week #8) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Cougars had this week off before they go on the road to the East Coast to play the Pirates of East Carolina on the 20th. After that, they’ll return to the mountains where they’ll take on their Alamo Bowl opponent, Colorado. They’ll play Coach Prime’s team in Boulder.
8. Miami (3-0) (Last Week #9) (Ranked #4 and #6 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Canes have another good early-season win. USF crushed Boise State, outlasted Florida, but got absolutely rocked by Carson Beck and Miami. USF is still a favorite to be the Group of Five team in the College Football Playoff this year, even with the loss. Beck had 340 yards and three touchdowns passing. Next, the Canes play another Sunshine State rival in Florida.
9. Iowa State (4-0) (Last Week #10) (Ranked #12 and #13 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
It was closer than they wanted or expected it to be, but ISU went on the road to visit Arkansas State in the Sun Belt, got tested, but still won. Their experienced quarterback, Rocco Becht, was a big reason they came away with a win. Despite an interception, Becht had 265 passing yards, a passing touchdown, and a rushing touchdown. ISU will have a week off before playing undefeated Arizona.
10. Indiana (3-0) (Last Week #11) (Ranked #19 and #17 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Hoosiers and Curt Cignetti are proving every week that their success in the 2024 season was no fluke. The layup games are over, however, and next week they play another resurgent Big Ten team out to prove that their recent success was no fluke and is a harbinger of things to come. Their game against Illinois should be a great one.
11. Navy (3-0) (Last Week #12) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
After a slow start in the first quarter, Navy blew Tulsa out of the water. The Midshipmen weathered the Golden Hurricanes’ 14-7 first quarter lead and, behind star quarterback Blake Horvath, won, 42-23. Navy is the flagship for the American Conference and their hopes to have one of their teams win a College Football Playoff berth.
12. Texas A&M (3-0) (Last Week #14) (Ranked #10 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
That game in South Bend was something else. The Aggies have a great triple threat on offense in quarterback Marcel Reed, running back Le’Veon Moss, and wide receiver Mario Craver. Reed had 360 passing yards and two touchdown passes. Moss had three rushing touchdowns. Craver had 207 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven catches. A&M is looking very good, and plays Auburn on September 27th after a bye week this Saturday.
13. Louisville (2-0) (Last Week #15) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Louisville had this week off. The Cards will play Bowling Green in their last non-conference game next week before traveling up the Ohio River to start their ACC schedule against Pittsburgh.
14. TCU (2-0) (Last Week #16) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Horned Frogs picked up where they left off from their beatdown of North Carolina. TCU beat Abilene 42-21. Quarterback Josh Hoover had a great game, going 21 of 27 for 334 yards and four touchdowns. TCU will battle SMU this week for the Iron Skillet!
15. Florida State (2-0) (Last Week #17) (Ranked #7 and #9 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Noles had the week off before finishing their non-conference slate with Kent State next week. After that, the resurgent Seminoles will play rivals back-to-back. Florida State will play Virginia and Miami in consecutive weeks.
16. Auburn (3-0) (Last Week #18) (Ranked #22 and #25 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Tigers are off to a good start to the season. Their win over Baylor is aging well and giving Auburn more confidence going forward. Jackson Arnold is playing well, with four passing touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns, and no interceptions. Next week will be a game that he has circled this year as he leads Auburn on the road, returning to Norman to play his former team, the Oklahoma Sooners.
17. Georgia Tech (3-0) (Last Week #19) (Ranked #18 and #19 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
I called Tech’s upset of Clemson (I also thought in preseason Clemson would be good this year), but I had no idea it would be on a walk-off fire drill field goal. Haynes King was crucial and huge for the Yellowjackets. Just like in their season-opening victory on the road against Colorado, King was great, throwing and running the ball. King had 216 yards passing, 103 yards rushing, and a rushing touchdown.
18. Utah (3-0) (Last Week #20) (Ranked #16 and #18 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Devon Dampier is making the Utes offense more dynamic than it has been in a while. The Utes had a slow start (like plenty of ranked teams did this week), but Dampier had 230 passing yards, 86 rushing yards, and two passing touchdowns as Utah defeated Wyoming 31-6.
19. Texas Tech (3-0) (Last Week #21) (Ranked #17 and #16 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Another game, another offensive explosion from Texas Tech, and another big game from Behren Morton. Morton was 23 of 35 for 442 yards and four touchdowns. The Red Raiders quarterback has over 900 yards and 11 touchdown passes this season. Next up for Tech is their first road game, a trip to Salt Lake City to play the Utah Utes.
20. Oklahoma (3-0) (Last Week #23) (Ranked #11 and #12 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
John Mateer’s Heisman campaign continued on the road in Philadelphia against Temple. Mateer played where another Sooners Heisman finalist plays on Sundays and is looking to continue Oklahoma’s tradition of great quarterback play. Mateer had 282 passing yards and a touchdown, but it was the Sooners’ running game that pummeled Temple, 42-3. Oklahoma had 228 rushing yards and four touchdowns (Mateer had 63 yards and a rushing touchdown). Next week, Oklahoma will host Auburn in the Jackson Arnold Bowl.
21. Michigan State (3-0) (Last Week #24) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
MSU played a very tough FCS team in Youngstown State. YSU is a good team with a good quarterback, so there’s no fault-finding of MSU beating them ‘only’41-24. The Spartans continued to show improvement and build their team. Next, they travel out west to take on USC in an 11:00 PM Eastern Time kickoff against the Trojans.
22. NC State (3-0) (Last Week Unranked) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Wolfpack were down 14-0 to Wake Forest in the first quarter, but fought back to tie the game at 14-14. Wake took another double-digit lead, 24-14, and led 24-17 at the half. But the second half was all NC State. They shut out the Demon Deacons and added another 17 to their column on the scoreboard to win 34-24.
23. Tulane (3-0) (Last Week Unranked) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
BYU transfer Jake Retzlaff is working out well at quarterback for the Green Wave. They especially wanted him to in this matchup, as last year’s quarterback, Darian Mensah, came back to New Orleans with his new team, the Duke Blue Devils. Retzlaff again got it done in the air and on the ground. He had 245 passing yards, 111 rushing yards, and a Tulane record for a quarterback, four rushing touchdowns in the 34-27 win.
24. Rutgers (3-0) (Last Week Unranked) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Scarlet Knights are off to about as good a start as they could hope for, especially on the scoreboard. Scoring 34, 45, and 60 is pretty good for a defensive-minded program like Rutgers under Greg Schiano. Minnesota transfer quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis is working out well for Rutgers as they’ll face their biggest test so far in Iowa on Friday night.
25. Houston (3-0) (Last Week Unranked) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls
Willie Fritz has got Houston off to a good start after a 4-8 season in 2024. Texas A&M transfer Connor Weigman is playing very well for the Cougars and was key to their defeat of Colorado this past week. Houston hits the road this week to play Oregon State of the Pac-2.
Game of the Week
Playoff Projection
First Round
5. BYU vs. 12. Navy
Friday, December 18th, 2025 – Provo, Utah
6. Miami vs. 11. Indiana
Saturday, December 19th, 2025 – Miami, Florida
7. Oregon vs. 10. Texas A&M
Saturday, December 19th, 2025 – Eugene, Oregon
8. Illinois vs. 9. Iowa State
Saturday, December 19th, 2025 – Champaign, Illinois
Quarterfinals
1. Ohio State vs. 9. Iowa State
Thursday, January 1st, 2026 – Pasadena, California
2. Penn State vs. 7. Oregon
Thursday, January 1st, 2026 – Miami, Florida
3. Georgia vs. 6. Miami
Thursday, January 1st, 2026 – New Orleans, Louisiana
4. LSU vs. 5. BYU
Wednesday, December 31st, 2025 – Arlington, Texas
Semifinals
2. Penn State vs. 6. Miami
Thursday, January 8th, 2026 – Glendale, Arizona
1. Ohio State vs. 5. BYU
Friday, January 9th, 2026 – Atlanta, Georgia
National Championship
1. Ohio State vs. 2. Penn State
Monday, January 19th, 2026 – Miami, Florida
2025 National Champions
1. Ohio State repeats as your 2025 National Champions
