CFB Top 25: Week 1

My Top 25 for the first week of the 2025 season, and I put every team in the FBS into tiers:

1. Texas Longhorns 0-0: at 3 Ohio State
2. Alabama Crimson Tide 0-0: at Florida State
3. Ohio State Buckeyes 0-0: vs 1 Texas
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 0-0: at 16 Miami
5. Penn State Nittany Lions 0-0: vs Nevada
6. LSU Tigers 0-0: at 8 Clemson
7. Georgia Bulldogs 0-0: vs Marshall
8. Clemson Tigers 0-0: vs 6 LSU
9. Florida Gators 0-0: vs LIU
10. Oregon Ducks 0-0: vs Montana State
11. Oklahoma Sooners 0-0: vs Illinois State
12. South Carolina Gamecocks 0-0: vs Virginia Tech
13. Ole Miss Rebels 0-0: vs Georgia State
14. Texas A&M Aggies 0-0: vs UTSA
15. Texas Tech Red Raiders 0-0: vs Arkansas Pine-Bluff
16. Miami Hurricanes 0-0: vs 4 Notre Dame
17. Arizona State Sun Devils 0-0: vs Northern Arizona
18. Indiana Hoosiers 0-0: vs Old Dominion
19. Louisville Cardinals 0-0: vs Eastern Kentucky
20. Tennessee Volunteers 0-0: vs Syracuse
21. Auburn Tigers 0-0: at 24 Baylor
22. Nebraska Corn Huskers 0-0: at Cincinnati
23. Illinois Fighting Illini 0-0: vs Western Illinois
24. Baylor Bears 0-0: vs 21 Auburn
25. Kansas State Wildcats 0-0: vs Iowa State / vs North Dakota

Just Missed

• SMU Mustangs
• USC Trojans
• Michigan Wolverines
• Missouri Tigers
• Boise State Broncos

Conference Comparison

SEC: 11 (1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 20, 21)

Big Ten: 6 (3, 5, 10, 18, 22, 23)

Big 12: 4 (15, 17, 24, 25)

ACC: 3 (8, 16, 19)

Independent: 1 (4)

Playoff Preview

1 Texas

2 Alabama

3 Ohio State

4 Notre Dame

5 Penn State vs 12 Boise State

6 LSU vs 11 Texas Tech

7 Georgia vs 10 Oregon

8 Clemson vs 9 Florida

FBS Tiers

If teams are in the same tier, then I think they could be ranked in any order, and it would still make sense with the right reasoning:

Tier 1: Championship Contenders

• Texas
• Alabama
• Ohio State
• Notre Dame
• Penn State
• LSU
• Georgia

Tier 2: Could Make a Run in the Playoffs

• Clemson
• Florida
• Oregon
• Oklahoma

Tier 3: Darkhorse Playoff Contenders/ACC or Big 12 Contenders

• South Carolina
• Ole Miss
• Texas A&M
• Texas Tech
• Miami (FL)
• Arizona State

Tier 4: Spoilers (can beat top teams, but not consistent enough to make the playoffs)/2nd tier Big 12 and ACC contenders

• Indiana
• Louisville
• Tennessee
• Auburn
• Nebraska
• Illinois
• Baylor
• Kansas State
• SMU
• USC
• Michigan
• Missouri
• Boise State
• Iowa State

Tier 5: Good but not Great

• Washington
• Georgia Tech
• Utah
• Florida State
• Pittsburgh
• BYU
• Iowa
• Arkansas
• Vanderbilt
• NCST
• North Carolina
• Duke
• Minnesota
• TCU
• Kansas
• Michigan State
• Kentucky

Tier 6: Contending for a Bowl P4/Top of the G5

• Arizona
• UTSA
• Rutgers
• UCLA
• Boston College
• Oklahoma State
• Cincinnati
• Wisconsin
• Mississippi State
• USF
• Memphis
• Tulane

Tier 7: Bowl Game Ceiling P4/Dark Horse G5 Bid Contenders

• San Jose State
• California
• Syracuse
• UNLV
• Houston
• Maryland
• Virginia Tech
• Northwestern
• Georgia Southern
• Toledo
• Liberty
• Louisiana
• Colorado State
• Air Force
• Army
• Navy
• West Virginia
• James Madison
• UCF
• Colorado
• Oregon State

Tier 8: Bottom of P4/Good G5

• Buffalo
• Virginia
• Southern Miss
• Western Kentucky
• Texas State
• Wake Forest
• Coastal Carolina
• Purdue
• East Carolina
• North Texas
• Fresno State
• San Diego State
• Washington State

Tier 10: Stanford and Mediocre G5

• Old Dominion
• Hawaii
• UConn
• Rice
• Stanford
• Ohio
• Appalachian State
• Miami (OH)
• South Alabama
• Utah State
• Western Michigan

Tier 11: Bowl Game If They’re Lucky (or in the C-USA)

• Bowling Green
• Northern Illinois
• UAB
• Wyoming
• Louisiana Tech
• MTSU
• Troy
• Georgia State
• UL Monroe
• Central Michigan
• Eastern Michigan
• Nevada

Tier 12: Pretty Bad (Can still make a bowl in the C-USA)

• UTEP
• Jax State
• New Mexico State
• Akron
• Charlotte
• FAU
• Temple
• Arkansas State
• New Mexico
• FIU
• Delaware

Tier 13: Booty Cheeks

• Tulsa
• Kennesaw State
• Ball State
• UMass
• Marshall
• Sam Houston
• Kent State
• Missouri State