The Way Too Early Mocking of the Way Too Early 2025 Top 25
The Tailgators' resident-college-football expert takes a peak at next season's Top 25 - and looks at what teams will be the hunters and which will be the hunted
Let’s be honest, if you came here expecting me to spout off about who looks like they’re going to contend next year, you haven’t been paying attention to this show!
So instead, I’m going to show you exactly why it’s a fruitless endeavor to even try by using ESPN’s own Way Too Early Top 25 to do so.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
Ohio State Buckeyes — They were defending National Champions for all of 7 mins before they were christened the heir apparent for next season. And all-world mega-star, Jeremiah Smith, returns to lead the offense. But who is throwing him the ball? Will Howard moves on. Backups Devin Brown and Air Noland have transferred. That leaves Alabama transfer Julian Sayin. He’s a terrific prospect, but he hasn’t played much. And he gets a baptism by fire in the season opener against Texas. The defense loses a ton of talent as well — Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau to name a few, are gone. That’s a huge leadership void to fill as well. I’m not saying they won’t be good, but what’s the Buckeyes’ floor or ceiling, truly?
Texas Longhorns — A great introctory season to the SEC, but they lose QB Quinn Ewers and their top two receivers, Isaiah Bond and Michael Golden. But it does usher in the Arch Manning era (I know Brian is excited!). And Arch got to play some this past season, but not against SEC competition. But…who is protecting him? Kelvin Banks and three other starting O-lineman are gone too. RB Quintrevion Wisner will be asked to help out a lot, but again, the line questions will persist there. The defense returns a bunch but loses three of their top four CB’s. And again, they don’t get a tune up game, they travel to the Horseshoe to take on the defending National Champs in Week 1.
Source: ESPN.com Illustration Penn State Nittany Lions — Drew Allar is back! But Tyler Warren isn’t. Based upon their exit from the College Football Playoffs, when a receiver didn’t have a reception, that’s a huge problem (and the team’s “top 2” WRs from 2024 have already transferred). They have weapons in the returning RB’s, but with no one to catch the ball, Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith could be back there and it wouldn’t matter. Losing Abdul Carter isn’t a good start on a defense that will be replacing a coordinator and learning a new playbook.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish — Riley Leonard is gone. That will be the glaring hole, as at times, it seemed he was their whole offense. Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price return in the backfield with a good offensive line, so that will help, but again, finding receivers and someone to get them the ball will be imperative. The defense loses some leadership so they will need guys to step up and replace those losses.
Georgia Bulldogs — This may be addition-by-subtraction if you believe the rumors coming out of the Georgia camp. QB Carson Beck was serviceable at best, and horrific at worst, last season. Gunner Stockton has big shoes to fill nevertheless. And it won’t be easy if Georgia continues to drop passes left and right. And the defense takes major hits with Smael London, Jalon Walker, Malaki Starks and Mikel Williams moving on. Can Georgia return to form? But on top of all of the above, can Georgia survive a brutal schedule yet again?
Oregon Ducks — This program shook-up the Big Ten by coming in and winning the conference title in its first year. But gone is Dillon Gabriel after 23 years as college athlete. Gone are the top 2 WRs, Tez Johnson and Traeshon Holden. And gone is top RB Jordan James. The Ducks will be relying on a bunch of very talented, super youngins. That’s a lot to ask for. The defensive line took a couple of hits and how fast the replacements can get up to speed will show how far the defense can take them.
Clemson Tigers — Cade Klubnik is back! Clemson likes him, but I’m not sold. And he’s got a plethora of WRs coming back. But RB Phil Mafah is gone and back Jay Haynes will miss the entire season with a torn ACL suffered in the ACC title game. Finding a RB will be of the utmost importance. The defense is solid and even (get this) added a couple of edge rushers from the transfer portal! Playing in the weaker ACC helps them too. But their season will be reliant on Klubnik continuing to improve.
LSU Tigers — QB Garrett Nussmeier returns and head coach Brian Kelly has already declared they’re a title contender. But they lose four starters on the O-Line, including Will Campbell. They also lose TE Mason Taylor, who was Nussmeier’s safety blanket. And their defense is still mediocre at best. Brian Kelly alone leaves a bad taste in your mouth for saying the Tigers will be contenders.
BYU Cougars — Look, kudos for BYU’s 2024 season, but as the year wore on, they wore down. They weren’t sneaking up on anyone anymore. Even with QB Jake Retzlaff coming back, people will be ready for them from the beginning this coming year, and that will cost them.
South Carolina Gamecocks — LaNorris Sellers is a great up-and-coming QB. But losing RB Rocket Sanders will be hard to replace. And the defense took a bunch of huge hits, especially edge rusher Kyle Kennard. I like the direction Beamer has this team moving, but there’s a whole host of questions that will need to be answered this upcoming season.
Iowa State Cyclones — QB Rocco Becht is back with good RBs with him in the backfield. That said, their top 2 WRs are gone. They have a solid secondary, so building the defensive front will be important. But the Cyclones are another team that won’t be able to sneak up on folks this year. So how they handle being the ‘hunted’ may be even more imperative
Photo by Ricky Bowden/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images .
Alabama Crimson Tide — This will be a gut check season for the Tide. Jalen Milroe is gone, which may be good for Kaleb DeBoer to find a QB that better fits his system. But there is no clear-cut favorite for the job. They need to find a solid starting running back and hope WR Ryan Williams has help on the outside. The defense needs to remember who they are if they want to live up to “Alabama standards.” Or, we may find out that they were really Nick Saban standards.
Illinois Fighting Illini — QB Luke Altmyer is back following a breakout season. All five starters on the O-Line are back. They got WR reinforcements from the transfer portal. The defense, especially the secondary is back. But can they handle being the ‘hunted’? It will be another run-it-back season of can you be better than you were last year?
Arizona State Sun Devils — I love the Fighting Dillinghams! QB Sam Leavitt is back. But the loss of the manchild, Cam Skattebo, will be massive. Dude was a one man war machine for this team. The defense needs to take a step forward too. And they are part of the theme of ‘hunted’ teams now.
SMU Mustangs — QB Kevin Jennings is one of the only returners on offense. Their top RB, two top WRs and starting center are moving on. The defense took some hits, too. Another one of those ‘hunted’ teams. But the biggest concern to me is, what is the team’s psyche after getting trounced in the first round of the CFP? Head coach Rhett Lashlee has a tough job ahead of him.
Kansas State Wildcats — These guys are always in contention. I think after Bill Snyder being there for so long it’s just instilled in them. Losses on the defensive side are rough, so that’s the patchwork that will need to be done this offseason to determine how far this team will actually go. They’ll be a thorn in everyone’s side, but can they make a run to the top?
Indiana Hoosiers — Curt Cignetti did a masterful job this season. But they are back to raiding the portal to put a team together. New QB Fernando Mendoza will be the key to see if they can continue to be in the upper echelon of the Big Ten. All Cignetti does is win — Google it. But it’ll be rougher this season.
Source: OnlyGators.com Florida Gators — Ah, my boys! So much promise after the finish the Gators had at the end of the year. DJ Lagway may finally be the answer at QB. They have a pretty stacked WR and RB room. The O-Line is anchored by All-American Jake Slaughter. But while the defense made huge strides, they lost a lot of players to the portal. Now they’re reliant on youth, again, on the defensive side of the ball, and hoping the unit can take the next step forward. Oh, and they still have the same brutal schedule from last season to contend with too.
Tennessee Volunteers — QB Nico Iamaleava returns. But RB Dylan Sampson is gone as the safety valve for him in the backfield. And to be honest, as good as Tennessee was last season, they just never looked right on offense. Their hyper-offense just wasn’t there. On top of Sampson’s departure, they lose their top three WRs, and three starters on the O-Line. The defense loses a couple of guys, most importantly, edge rusher James Pearce. Making up his presence will be important.
Louisville Cardinals — This team will go as far as Miller Moss can take them. They have a terrific RB returning in Isaac Brown. The defense didn’t lose too much. They have added 20 players from the portal this offseason, so how well those guys mesh and get acclimated will be paramount to see what kind of season the Cardinals have.
Michigan Wolverines — The biggest losses here were on the defensive side of the ball. Replacing DT Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant will be massive. QB wasn’t exactly a bright spot this past season. They seem to be going with true freshmen QB Bryce Underwood, so that’s a lot of pressure to put on a youngster in his first college season. They’ll need to find him some help in the backfield as well with Donovan Edwards moving on.
Texas A&M Aggies — QB Marcel Reed showed out when he took over early last season. They have great RBs and the entire O-Line is returning. They dove hard into the portal for WRs. But the defense took massive hits on the line and in the secondary. Plugging those holes will make or break this team.
Miami Hurricanes — Is $4 million really what you need to spend on an already injured QB who already had questions lingering about him through the last season? In Carson Beck Miami trusts! If he can play. And if he can, they lost a lot of worms, so who’s catching the ball. And they’ve brought in a bunch of CBs from the portal to try and fix a porous secondary. This one just seems like a recipe for disaster. On par with FSU’s fall this past season.
Boise State Broncos — RB Ashton Jeanty is off to the NFL. So how do you recover from that? Guy was incredible, but it leaves the same issues ASU will have with Skattebo leaving. They bring back four O-Linemen. But they’ll need QB Maddox Madsen to take a step forward passing the ball to stay competitive. The defense looks solid. Another team that will have being the ‘hunted’ on its backs all season.
Ole Miss Rebels — The biggest question here is, can Lane Kiffin continue to capture transfer portal lightning in a bottle and continue to get better? QB Jaxson Dart is gone. Walter Nolan is gone from the D-Line. The top three WRs are gone. Four offensive lineman are gone. This team is taking massive hits everywhere. Yikes!
Listen, I’m not saying that any of these teams won’t be good to great. I’m simply pointing out logical reasons why ranking teams 8 months before a game is played is ridiculous.
Who in 2025 will be the next Indiana or Arizona State?
Who will be the next FSU?
Too many unknowns, especially with lots of top teams having to break-in new QBs.
I’ve said it before, and I will preach it from whatever very tiny mountain tops I can find in Florida, “Stop. Preseason. Rankings!”
They are a detriment to teams that aren’t apart of the initial rankings, and that’s a detriment to the playoffs we are all trying to get right!
End soapbox rant.