2025 SID Sports Final Regular Season Top 25

Ranking the top programs after Rivalry Week's action

Dec 02, 2025

Author’s Note: Sorry for the delay on this one, things have been crazy at work for me recently. Tomorrow you’ll get a massive coaching update piece, Thursday Bracketology and Friday will have previews of all the FBS Conference Championships. Let’s have a great week!

Just like that, the regular season has come and gone. And boy was it a good one. This was the most unpredictable regular season in recent memory with contenders taking until the very end of the season to separate themselves from the pack.

So, with 12 games down and conference championships coming this weekend, let’s take a gander at how the sport looks overall. For each team, we’ll recap their season as a whole and how it led to their ranking where it is now.

2025 Week Conference Championships Top 25

Ohio State (12-0) LW: 1
You go unbeaten, end the streak against Michigan and have one of the best defenses in modern college football history, you get the top spot. Easy as that.
Indiana (12-0) LW: 2
The Big Ten Championship is going to be a lot of fun, isn’t it? Indiana would be a top ranked team in any other year aside from the one where Ohio State has one of the best modern defenses. Still, the Hoosier offense is elite by their own marks and the Heisman race might be determined by who of Julian Sayin and Fernando Mendoza have a better Big Ten Championship.
Georgia (11-1) LW: 4
Kirby Smart has his team peaking when it’s best. Their loss to Alabama isn’t great, but a smooth rivalry win against Georgia Tech slots the Dawgs as the best one-loss team in the country.
Oregon (11-1) LW: 5
Oregon has a pesky 10-point loss to Indiana on the resume, but the Ducks have weathered plenty of trials, tribulations and severe weather. Wins over then-No. 3 Penn State as well as currently ranked Iowa and USC make Oregon-Georgia an interesting seeding debate.
Texas Tech (11-1) LW: 6
Wins over BYU and Utah don’t quite compare to Oregon’s resume, so Texas Tech is locked into fifth place. Not a bad spot to be with a Big 12 Championship rematch against BYU on deck.
Texas A&M (11-1) LW: 3
The loss to Texas but a big mark on a great second season for Mike Elko in Bryan-College Station, but the Aggies are still one of the nation’s best. They have solid wins over Notre Dame, then-ranked LSU and then-ranked Missouri. But, because two of the three have fallen out of the rankings, A&M gets the rougher end of the one-loss stick.
Ole Miss (11-1) LW: 7
Losing Lane Kiffin is a major blow. How that affects the rankings and everything is up in the air. I’m not taking that too much into account, as I’m ranking teams based on their whole season. And Ole Miss has had a great season overall. Wins over then-ranked LSU and Oklahoma are solid marks. With only one ranked win and Oklahoma behind Notre Dame, Ole Miss slots below Texas A&M.
BYU (11-1) LW: 11
Like the teams above them, BYU has only one ranked win: Utah. Their loss to Texas Tech was non-competitive, so it doesn’t veer into quality loss territory. BYU isn’t getting too much love from the committee, so a win in the Big 12 Championship might be their only path. But I think they’re at-large consideration worthy.
Alabama (10-2) LW: 10
Here begins the two-loss shuffle. Alabama, to me, gets the top spot. They’ve looked like the most complete team. They won four consecutive ranked SEC games, including wins over Georgia and Vanderbilt. I believe the Tide firmly have the best resume of the two-loss teams.
Miami (10-2) LW: 13
Yeah, Miami’s climbing up the rankings. The Canes have some horrific losses - meltdowns against Louisville and SMU - but have looked a contender aside from those. They have one ranked win over Notre Dame and I’m calling that head-to-head a great determinant. After all, if we’re going to settle things on the field, shouldn’t on the field results settle these debates?
Notre Dame (10-2) LW: 10
The Irish fall behind Miami by virtue of their head-to-head loss. They have some solid wins over USC and then-ranked Pittsburgh, but their one ranked win doesn’t stack up against Alabama or Miami’s resume. Sure, Notre Dame is peaking at the right time and absolutely beating down lesser foes, but that head-to-head result is damning. We can get into quality loss and margin of victory metrics and all that jazz, but like I said with Miami, we’re here to settle this on the field. It’s settled.
Texas (9-3) LW: 22
And here comes three-loss Texas. One of those was a one-score defeat at the hands of Ohio State. One was an annihilation at the hands of Georgia. And one was a frankly horrendous loss to a bad Florida team. But there’s also a two-score win over Oklahoma, a win over Vanderbilt, and a two-score win over rival Texas A&M to close out the season. Like it or not, the three-loss Longhorns have asserted themselves as a playoff at-large threat.
Oklahoma (10-2) LW: 8
It’s rare to see a team that won their game fall this far, but circumstances are circumstances. The Sooners lost to Texas. They lost to Ole Miss. Their big wins are against Michigan (still decent), Auburn (fired their coach), Alabama (big time win), Tennessee (overrated team that isn’t great), and Missouri (third-string quarterback). The offense is bad and the defense is shaky most days and elite some days. We don’t need to see this in the playoff. Let’s move along.
Vanderbilt (10-2) LW: 12
Head-to-head results matter and the loss to Texas might’ve sunk Vandy’s title hopes. Still, the Commodores put together a great season. They have four wins against then-ranked teams, but all four of South Carolina, LSU, Missouri and Tennessee have fallen from the rankings. Their only two ranked foes were losses to Alabama and Texas. I’m pulling for a Diego Pavia Heisman because he deserves it, but the magic may have run out on this season.
Utah (10-2) LW: 15
They lost their two big games to Texas Tech and BYU. Their two ranked wins - Arizona State and Cincinnati - have fallen from the rankings. Still, like Notre Dame, the Utes are beating down the teams unlucky enough to cross their paths. That still counts for something, doesn’t it?
Virginia (10-2) LW: 14
The Hoos have made it through and are heading to the ACC Championship as one of the most improbable turnarounds of the season. They don’t have any ranked wins after Florida State cratered, but they’ve played great ball overall. Still, their weak resume puts Virginia at the bottom of the two-loss Power Four schools.
USC (9-3) LW: 21
All around a solid season for a USC team I didn’t expect much out of. The offense was among the nation’s best, and the defense was better than I had expected as a whole. They got solid wins over Michigan and Iowa, but struggled against other ranked foes like Notre Dame and Oregon. Still, it’s solid progress for the Trojans.
James Madison (11-1) LW: 19
JMU remains the top Group of Six school in my eyes. Their only loss was a two-score defeat by Louisville when the Dukes were still knee-deep in a silly two-quarterback system. Now, with Alonza Barnett III fully healthy and dealing, the Dukes are even more dangerous. They rank in the top 10 in both scoring offense and defense, so their balanced game could translate well to upper-level competition.
North Texas (11-1) LW: 23
But the Dukes will always have to worry about the American’s champion, and I think the Mean Green are the best in the league. They have what I believe is the nation’s best offense and can run up the scoreboard on anyone. Well, except for South Florida, but I can overlook one game with the body of work North Texas has. The offense led by Eric Morris, Drew Mestemaker and Caleb Hawkins has covered up serious defensive concerns, but the Mean Green taking a scorched earth approach to opposing defenses is a lot of fun.
Tulane (10-2) LW: 20
Tulane has the Group of Six’s best resume with wins over Power Four Northwestern and Duke, but also a non-competitive loss to Ole Miss. They’re the opponent for North Texas in the American Championship Game. Tulane wins and dies by the play of quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who I can best describe as playing how you would want your user quarterback to play on the College Football video games with wear and tear turned off. They’re balanced, like JMU, but the Dukes have done better with that balance.
Georgia Tech (9-3) LW: 18
Well, it was a good run for the Yellow Jackets. The wheels fell off when the offense simply couldn’t keep up with what the defense was allowing to score. I was surprised when the defense showed up against Georgia, but Haynes King and the offense are out of gas.
Michigan (9-3) LW: 16
All in all, I’d call this season a win for the Wolverines. Bryce Underwood delivered on the hype that came with him to Ann Arbor, even if it didn’t turn into wins against ranked programs. The defense faltered a bit, but it sets the table well for a 2026 that I’m sure will be filled with tempered expectations for Sherrone Moore, Underwood and Wink Martindale.
Arizona (9-3) LW: Next Five Out
A Territorial Cup win over Arizona State is a great way to cap a stunning turnaround for the Wildcats under Brent Brennan. The offense, though, still has room to grow. The defense played as well as I’d expect them to under someone like Brennan. All around a great season for Arizona.
Navy (9-2) LW: 25
Another year, another stellar showing from Blake Horvath, Alex Tecza, Eli Heidenreich and the Midshipmen offense. It’s a shame that the computer rankings eliminated Navy from American contention because I think a service academy run to the playoff would’ve been a ton of fun. Alas, that fun was spoiled. You heard it here first - computers hate the troops!
Iowa (9-3) LW: NR
So, uh, yeah. That was a weird season, even by Iowa standards. The defense, as always, wasn’t the weird part. You best believe this offense is downright strange. They’ll flip from the traditionally incompetent Iowa offense into one that scores 40 points a game. I thought that was illegal in Iowa City!

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Next Five Out: Houston, UConn, Missouri, UNLV, South Florida

Houston hung on to a solid season as Willy Fritz just keeps building up every program that he’s got his hands on. I’m excited to see where Houston goes into the future under Fritz. Know who is the FBS leader in interception percentage? UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano at just 0.2 percent of his passes being interceptions. That translates to 412 attempts and just one interception. Yeah, the Husky offense was great. Missouri deserves plenty of credit for weathering a ton of quarterback injuries to stay in SEC contention for a good portion of the year. UNLV somehow got into the Mountain West title game from computer rankings - those pesky rankings again - and because a transfer-heavy gambling class came up sixes instead of snake eyes. That and a legit good coaching job by Dan Mullen. South Florida, our final school, was dominant in most of their games and then lost the other three. That’s how it goes sometimes, I suppose.

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