The USA TODAY Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 poll debuted two weeks ago, setting the stage for what many anticipate could be one of the most exciting college football seasons to date. Of course, that initial coaches poll was the first to formally crown Texas as the country’s No. 1 team entering the 2025 college football season.
The Associated Press followed suit a week later when the Longhorns narrowly beat out second-ranked Penn State for the No. 1 spot in its annual Preseason Top 25 Poll, as voted on by the media. But with the 2025 season set to debut Saturday with Week 0 action, highlighted by Saturday’s Noon ET kickoff between No. 22 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State from Dublin, Ireland.
In the meantime, USA Today decided to expand its college football rankings beyond the Top 25 to include all 136 FBS programs, and in the process re-ranked the entire list with some rather interesting results. This is not the same as the USA Today Coaches Poll, but does provide a new look at how the Power Four conferences could play out this upcoming season.
The Nittany Lions overtake Texas for the top overall spot in USA Today’s re-ranking after both the AP and Coaches polls picked the Longhorns as the consensus preseason No. 1.
USA Today’s Paul Myerberg explained the move by calling Penn State “more of a sure thing than Ohio State, which has a new quarterback, new backfield, and largely remade defensive front seven.” The Nittany Lions return much of last season’s Playoff semifinalist, including senior QB Drew Allar and dynamic RBs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton.
As previously mentioned above, the defending CFP national champion Buckeyes fall from the No. 2 spot in the Coaches Poll to No. 6 overall and the Big Ten’s second-highest ranked team entering the season.
Myerberg cited Ohio State’s new starting QB in redshirt freshman Julian Sayin, as well as its rebuilt defense as the Buckeyes replace much of a unit that helped lead it to the national title last season. Of course, Ohio State still has star WR Jeremiah Smith and superstar DB Caleb Downs leading the way.
The Ducks were college football’s only undefeated team at the end of the 2024 regular season, breezing through its first season in the Big Ten to claim the outright conference championship over Penn State.
Now, though, Oregon enters 2025 having to replace multiple star players, including at quarterback, where redshirt sophomore Dante Moore takes over for Dillon Gabriel as the Ducks’ QB1. Dan Lanning‘s defense also underwent turnover, but returns star pass rusher Matayo Uiagalelei after securing 10.5 sacks in 2024.
The Big Ten’s most popular darkhorse of the offseason is the Illini, which is coming off a 10-win season a year ago and returns much of that roster in its fifth season under Bret Bielema.
Among Illinois’ most prominent returners is star QB Luke Altmyer, who threw for 2,717 passing yards and 22 touchdowns in 2024, as well as elite pass rusher Gabe Jacas after racking up 8 sacks a year ago. A favorable Big Ten schedule that doesn’t include Penn State or Oregon also helps.
The Wolverines enter Year 2 under head coach Sherrone Moore with heightened hype despite the NCAA recently levying a hefty fine among other penalties stemming from the 2023 Conor Stalions scheme.
Much of that hype centers around Five-Star Plus+ quarterback and No. 1 overall 2025 recruit Bryce Underwood, who is expected to be the Wolverines’ starting QB early this season. Along with Underwood, Michigan has a talented roster that added former Alabama RB Justice Haynes out of the transfer portal.
The Huskers enter Year 3 under head coach Matt Rhule with heightened expectations, especially with another year with star sophomore Dylan Raiola leading the team out of the tunnel as QB1.
Nebraska returned to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016 with a 7-6 record, ending the 2024 season with a 20-15 win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. If Rhule can continue to get the most out of his roster, the Huskers could challenge Illinois as a Big Ten darkhorse in 2025.
The Hoosiers overperformed in Year 1 under head coach Curt Cignetti, who had Indiana rolling to wins through his first 10 games and securing the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff appearance, only losing to the two CFP national finalists: at Ohio State and vs. Notre Dame.
Cignetti replaced QB Kurtis Rourke with star transfer Fernando Mendoza out of Cal, who was the No. 12-ranked transfer in the 2025 cycle per the On3 | Rivals Transfer Portal ranking, as part of a Top 15 portal class that also included former Maryland RB Roman Hemby and a rebuilt offensive line.
The Hawkeyes find themselves just outside the Top 25 overall in USA Today’s re-ranking ahead of what will be Kirk Ferentz‘s 27th season as the 70-year-old coach continues to go strong in Iowa City.
Like others on this list, Iowa replaced its QB1 with a talented transfer in the form of former South Dakoka State star Mark Gronowski, who won the Walter Payton Award after leading the Jackrabbits to back-to-back FCS national championships with 2,721 yards and 23 touchdowns last season.
The Huskies enter Year 2 under coach Jedd Fisch, who continues to rebuild a roster that was decimated after Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama following its stellar run to the 2023 CFP national championship game.
Washington struggled in its first season apart of the Big Ten, managing a 4-5 conference record, but returns second-year QB Demond Williams Jr., who took over as QB1 late last season and is poised for a potential breakout season in 2025.
Lincoln Riley enters his fourth season in Los Angeles needing to return the Trojans to national contention after a pair of disappointing seasons the past two years that saw USC’s record fall each year.
Riley overhauled the USC staff this offseason, including new OC Luke Huard, but returns QB1 Jayden Maiava, who went 3-1 in four games as the Trojans’ starting quarterback late last year. USC is hopeful a second year under DC D’Anton Lynn does wonders for its rebuilt defense.
11. Minnesota Golden Gophers (46)
12. Wisconsin Badgers (57)
13. UCLA Bruins (59)
14. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (61)
15. Michigan State Spartans (74)
16. Maryland Terrapins (94)
17. Northwestern Wildcats (106)
18. Purdue Boilermakers (127)
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