UK & Ireland College Football Media Top 25 Rankings: Preseason
By Simon Carroll
College Football, more than any other code of the sport, is a game of opinions. Even in the modern era that includes a 12 team playoff, there is still no mathematical way of definitively ranking every football program in the nation. Instead, a select few privileged figures hide behind closed doors, measuring performance with flawed insight and dubious metrics – and ultimately hold the power to determine who has a shot of glory when all is said and done.
Well, anyone can do that. And if the AP or CFP committe can’t get it right, then perhaps we can!
Since the start of the 2022 season, some of the UK & Ireland’s most talented writers, content creators and students of the college game have combined to deliver their own weekly set of rankings. The UK & Ireland CFB Media Top 25 is announced every Tuesday evening, and we begin this campaign with our 2025 preseason rankings. Buckle up – there’s a surprise or two!
2025 - Preseason Rankings
- TEXAS LONGHORNS
- PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
- OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
- CLEMSON TIGERS
- GEORGIA BULLDOGS
- OREGON DUCKS
- NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH
- ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
- MIAMI HURRICANES
- LSU TIGERS
- SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
- ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS
- ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI
- KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
- OLE MISS REBELS
- INDIANA HOOSIERS
- SMU MUSTANGS
- MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
- TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
- BOISE STATE BRONCOS
- FLORIDA GATORS
- IOWA STATE CYCLONES
- TEXAS A&M AGGIES
- TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
- OKLAHOMA SOONERS
TAKEAWAYS
In Arch We Trust
Steve Sarkisian has dragged Texas back to the upper echelons of college football. Playoff participants for the last two years, the Longhorns are once again delivering a level of football commensurate with the size and resources of their program. Sark has done a great job of adapting to the modern game, recruiting tenaciously whilst adorning his roster with transfer additions. And there’s no doubt they boast one of the deepest and most taleted roster in the sport.
But are they SURE they’re set at quarterback? Arch Manning has done well in cameo appearances in 2024, stepping in for the injured Quinn Ewers and keeping the show on the road. His name alone commands respect, and these brief glimpses of his dual threat abilities have whetted the appetite for what he could deliver in burnt orange.
Compared to other quarterbacks in 2025 (Cade Klubnik, Drew Allar, Carson Beck to name just three), Manning doesn’t come with as much experience. Meaning we don’t for sure know what we’re getting from the third generation of this quarterback family. The signs are good, but the panel have taken a leap of faith by anointing Texas as the team to beat – and the promise under center is a big reason for that.
SEC Lead The Way - Again
Death, taxes and the SEC dominating the Top 25; considering all the change in college football the last few years, some things are just set in stone. All the talk this offseason has been between the SEC and Big Ten dictating how many playoff berths they deserve each – and yet, when you look at both these conference’s out-of-conference record against other P4 schools in 2024, the results don’t suggest they were particularly dominant (SEC 52.5% win rate, Big Ten 35.3%). Despite those numbers, the voters have not been deterred in backing Greg Sankey’s army once again…
Ten of the top 25 hail from the SEC, an astonishing show of faith in the strength in depth of this conference. The nature of college football means that it will be almost impossible for this number to be in the rankings come the end of the year; the SEC will beat itself up as every conference does. But for now, they reign supreme – in the South East, it really does mean more.
2024: Gone, But Not Forgotten
As is only right, the UK & Ireland panel have not been shy in rewarding programs who showed incredible growth last season. Notable inclusions in this regard include Arizona State, Illinois, Indiana, SMU and Boise State; five schools who usually wouldn’t receive such shine. Four of these made the first ever 12-team playoff, and with strong recruitment and consistency in coaching staff are fancied to be strong again.
That’s not to say every school who showed promise got the nod. Other factors need to be considered when looking at teams like Syracuse, BYU & Duke, who delivered campaigns to remember but have seen some serious roster attrition at key spots – not to mention some seriously ugly schedules to contend with. If you thought voting for the 25 best teams in college football was easy, think again; the number of factors to be considered make this a challenging task.
Top 25 Dublin Matchup
See you in 15 days @kstatesports pic.twitter.com/cYPK9VpPWN
— Iowa State Athletics (@CycloneATH) August 8, 2025
The Big 12 may be the most fun and interesting Power 4 conference in college football. Last year, Arizona State were picked to prop up the division and ended up topping it. There are sixteen teams in this affiliation, and sitting here today, perhaps twelve of them have a shot at a playoff spot in 2025.
ASU rightly lead this conference in the rankings following their exploits last year. But two of the other schools that join them in the top 25 kick off the season in Dublin, Ireland in a matchup that could have huge consequences not just for the Big 12, but for the race for the playoffs too. Iowa State and Kansas State do battle in less than two weeks at the Avivia Stadium, pitting two of the best coaches in college football against one another. Despite less resources than their bigger in-state rivals, Matt Campbell and Chris Klieman routinely have their programs ranked and fighting for conference honours.
It should be one hell of a shootout too. Avery Johnson (K-State) and Rocco Becht (Iowa State) are two talented quarterbacks; both considered dual threat QB’s with the ability to hurt defenses in multiple ways. As is the case every year, you shouldn’t count out other teams in the Big 12; Colorado, Texas Tech and Utah will undoubtedly have ambitions of their own in 2025. But it would be a big shock if these two schools weren’t in the mix when it’s all said and done – and it all begins on the Emerald Isle in Week 0.
SIMON CARROLL
Lead Writer, Head Of Content
PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST AND COVERS THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS FOR SB NATION.