Indiana beat Miami, 27-21, to win its first national championship in school history and cap one of the best seasons in the sport’s history.
The Hoosiers are obviously going to be No. 1 here. But who fills out the rest of the Top 25 at the end of the 2025-26 season?
One final ranking for the year.
Ranking the Top 25 résumés in college football
This will be the first update to this ranking since prior to conference championship games, and it’ll be the last of the season. What’s the goal here? To be less of a power ranking of team strength and more of a comparison tool to reflect who has accomplished what, who has beaten whom, and who has lost where.
Let’s get to it.
Dropped from the ranking: 21 Arizona, 23 Mizzou
25. Navy (11-2, 7-1 American)
BEST WIN: 41-38 vs. South FloridaPREVIOUS: NR
Head coach Brian Newberry closed his third season in charge of the program with a second-consecutive 10-win campaign. The Midshipmen were 11-23 in the 3 years prior to Newberry’s arrival, and just 3 years into his tenure he matched the program record for wins in a season. Navy closed with 4-straight wins, including a 17-16 win over Army to claim the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy and then a 35-13 demo of Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl. Cincy was a shell of itself, but Navy handled business all the same. Navy beat South Florida at home, and Memphis on the road. The only 2 losses all season were road defeats at North Texas and Notre Dame.
24. Houston (10-3, 6-3 Big 12)
BEST WIN: 23-7 at Arizona StatePREVIOUS: NR
The Cougars suffered a bad loss at home to a bad West Virginia team that kneecapped them in the Big 12 title race. The Texas Bowl win over LSU was their only win all year over a Sagarin-rated top 30 squad. Still, they’d gone 8-16 in their first 2 seasons in the Big 12 and coach Willie Fritz turned around a 10-win season that featured wins over both Arizona schools and an SEC squad, and included a 6-0 record away from home.
23. North Texas (12-2, 7-1 AAC)
BEST WIN: 59-10 vs. Washington StatePREVIOUS: 22
Since the previous update, North Texas lost to Tulane on the road in the AAC title game and beat San Diego State in the New Mexico Bowl. Minimal change to the UNT résumé; the drop in this case had more to do with what other teams around the Mean Green did.
22. Michigan (9-4, 7-2 B1G)
BEST WIN: 24-7 vs. WashingtonPREVIOUS: 20
After losing to Ohio State at home on Nov. 29, Michigan’s football program unraveled. A loss to Texas in the Citrus Bowl was expected, given the surrounding circumstances. Nevertheless, Michigan finished with just 1 win in 5 tries against Sagarin-rated top 30 teams. I have the Wolverines in the same spot the coaches do.
21. USC (9-4, 7-2 B1G)
BEST WIN: 31-13 vs. MichiganPREVIOUS: 17
Southern Cal went 2-3 against top-30 teams, and that includes the home runaway effort against Michigan. USC’s Alamo Bowl loss to TCU was disappointing, and it put a damper on what was an otherwise decent season from USC.
20. Virginia (11-3, 7-1 ACC)
BEST WIN: 13-7 vs. MizzouPREVIOUS: 19
Virginia lost to Duke by a touchdown in the ACC title game, then held Mizzou to only a touchdown in the Gator Bowl. I had my doubts about the Cavs all season, but they ended the year with a program-record 11 wins and a 2-0 mark against top-30 teams.
19. SMU (9-4, 6-2 ACC)
BEST WIN: 26-20 vs. MiamiPREVIOUS: 25
The Mustangs are not in the final AP Poll and I think that’s an oversight. SMU posted wins over Clemson, Miami, Louisville, and Arizona. It went 3-0 against top-30 teams and beat the only Sagarin-rated top-10 team it played (Miami). That also means the losses were to lower-quality teams, but those losses were by 3 points, 1 point on the road, and 3 points on the road. Two of the 4 losses were to 9-win teams. Three of the 4 were to bowl teams. There’s good and bad with this résumé, but a head-to-head win over the nation’s runner-up carries a ton of weight here.
18. James Madison (12-2, 8-0 Sun Belt)
BEST WIN: 63-27 vs. Old DominionPREVIOUS: 18
The Dukes scored almost as many points against Oregon (34) as the other 3 teams that lost in the CFP first round combined to score (37). Did Oregon spin its tires in the second half of that game? Absolutely, it did. But the point remains. James Madison won 12 games 2 years removed from losing one of the best coaches in the sport. The schedule stunk (79th in SOS, per SP+), but JMU mostly battered that schedule.
17. Vanderbilt (10-3, 6-2 SEC)
BEST WIN: 45-24 at TennesseePREVIOUS: 13
Vanderbilt ended with 4 wins over Sagarin-rated top-30 teams, but it was also the only 10-win SEC team that didn’t play a game against a Sagarin-rated top-10 team. (Texas, which beat Vandy, finished 11th. Alabama, which beat Vandy, finished 14th.) I love the road win over Tennessee, but that’s all you can really point to when it comes to tentpole victories from this 10-win squad. Beating Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl would have said a lot.
16. Tulane (11-3, 7-1 AAC)
BEST WIN: 34-21 vs. North TexasPREVIOUS: 16
Tulane stays right where it was after winning the AAC title game and losing a CFP first-round road game. Good season for Jon Sumrall. The Green Wave took a 5-game winning streak into the CFP just 1 year removed from losing 3 straight to end a once-promising campaign.
15. Iowa (9-4, 6-3 Big Ten)
BEST WIN: 34-27 vs. VanderbiltPREVIOUS: 24
Iowa suffered 4 regular-season losses and it did not pick up its second win against a top-30 team until the bowl game. That being said, the 4 losses were to Indiana, Oregon, USC, and Iowa State. All 4 teams were ranked at the time. Three of the 4 are ranked in this piece. Two of the 4 were hosting Iowa. The other 2 made the CFP semifinals. And those 4 defeats featured a net margin of 15 points. Iowa is kind of the antithesis of Alabama — a really gritty team that perhaps doesn’t have an elite win but was right there in its defeats.
14. Utah (11-2, 7-2 Big 12)
BEST WIN: 45-14 vs. CincinnatiPREVIOUS: 15
Utah obliterated teams, and that is always going to juice the numbers for power models. The Utes ended the season eighth in FPI, eighth in SP+, and ninth in Sagarin. But they played only 2 Sagarin-rated top-30 teams all season (Texas Tech, BYU) and lost to both. In their 11 wins, Utah outscored its schedule by 318 points. Nine of the 11 wins were by 22 points or more. Good and bad.
13. BYU (12-2, 8-1 Big 12)
BEST WIN: 24-21 vs. UtahPREVIOUS: 14
The Cougs lost 2 games all year. One was to Texas Tech in Lubbock. One was to Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game. Tech had BYU’s number — neither game was close, with a sub 2% postgame win probability in each, per SP+ — but Tech had a lot of teams’ numbers. Like Utah, BYU didn’t get many other opportunities to beat top-end teams, with just 3 games against Sagarin-rated top-30 squads. Unlike Utah, BYU capitalized on at least one of those opportunities.
12. Oklahoma (10-3, 6-2 SEC)
BEST WIN: 23-21 at AlabamaPREVIOUS: 7
Weird season for the Sooners, who won 6 games against Sagarin-rated top-30 teams, who made a triumphant return to the College Football Playoff, and whose fans would rather watch 50 Cent perform in the end zone than their quarterback throw down the field. John Mateer giveth, and John Mateer taketh. That was the story of the season. The losses to Texas and Alabama were colored by Mateer’s faulty decision making. The wins over Michigan, Tennessee, and Alabama were colored by Mateer’s clutch play making. It certainly looked rough at times, but Oklahoma was truly hard to kill. In regular-season games that were within 8 points hading to the fourth quarter, OU went 5-2.
11. Alabama (11-4, 7-1 SEC)
BEST WIN: 24-21 at GeorgiaPREVIOUS: 9
Does anyone at Alabama feel good about the season that Kalen DeBoer put together in Year 2? The Crimson Tide won at Georgia and won a road Playoff game over Oklahoma. Great! The Tide also got punked by another pathetic Florida State team, lost a home game to Oklahoma, got demolished by Georgia in the SEC title game, and then got embarrassed by Indiana in the Rose Bowl. Bad! My question is this: If Alabama had played a team like Miami, or even Notre Dame, in the opening round of the Playoff, would it have won? Résumé aside, I don’t think Oklahoma was actually a good football team in 2025, and the saving grace for the Alabama season was that it beat Oklahoma to win a Playoff game. How much weight should that actually carry? Alabama had 7 wins over Sagarin-rated top-30 teams, which was second only to Indiana. The upside was there. But when it was bad, it was just bad.
10. Notre Dame (10-2)
BEST WIN: 34-24 vs. USCPREVIOUS: 11
Two things, I think, can be true. Notre Dame belonged in the discussion, but Notre Dame did not belong in the field. The Irish closed the season with 10 consecutive victories before opting to sit out on bowl season. Among those 10 wins, 8 were by more than 20 points. Belting teams week after week with no margin for error is an achievement on its own. But Notre Dame also played just 3 games against Sagarin-rated top-30 teams. It lost 2 of the 3. Every power conference team that made the Playoff had at least 3 wins over top-30 teams. Notre Dame’s scheduling carries with it risks. The Irish felt the weight of that this season.
9. Texas A&M (11-2, 7-1 SEC)
BEST WIN: 41-40 at Notre DamePREVIOUS: 6
From Aug. 30 through Nov. 22, Texas A&M played 4 teams that finished with a winning record — UTSA (7-6), Notre Dame (10-2), LSU (7-6), and Mizzou (8-5). A&M hammered the bad teams it played, but maybe we should have paid closer attention to the lack of high-end challenges during the regular season. When those challenges finally came, A&M failed miserably. The Aggies were helpless in losses to Texas and Miami to close the year out with a dud.
8. Texas (10-3, 6-2 SEC)
BEST WIN: 27-17 vs. Texas A&MPREVIOUS: 12
What a turnaround for Texas, which opened the season with losses in 2 of its first 5 games to drop from No. 1 in the AP Poll to out of the poll entirely, and then closed with wins in 7 of its final 8 games. Along the way, the Longhorns beat Oklahoma on a neutral field, Vanderbilt at home, Texas A&M at home, and Michigan on a neutral field. Texas went 4-2 against Sagarin-rated top-30 teams — the same mark as A&M — and beat the Aggies in a head-to-head.
7. Texas Tech (12-2, 8-1 Big 12)
BEST WIN: 34-7 vs. BYUPREVIOUS: 4
The Red Raiders’ best wins came against BYU and Utah, and all 3 of the victories (they beat BYU twice) were by at least 20 points. Tech ended the year with a plus-27.6 net scoring margin. And that is factoring in the 23-0 shutout defeat it suffered in the Orange Bowl against Oregon. The Red Raiders had a great season. In a block with the Aggies and the Longhorns, I like the Red Raiders’ 3 best wins (as well as how those wins were acquired) the most.
6. Ohio State (12-2, 9-0 B1G)
BEST WIN: 27-9 at MichiganPREVIOUS: 2
If Ohio State could choose, it probably wouldn’t accept a first-round bye again in the CFP anytime soon. The Buckeyes saw what that bye did to Oregon in 2024 Playoff, then experienced the same thing first-hand this year. Miami stunned everyone when it knocked off the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl, sending the defending champs home with back-to-back losses to end the year. Nothing wrong with losing 2 games all season to the national champ and the national runner-up. Ohio State punished everyone else.
5. Oregon (13-2, 8-1 B1G)
BEST WIN: 23-0 vs. Texas TechPREVIOUS: 8
How do you account for a team that is so snakebitten in the biggest game of its season that the quarterback is bouncing the football off of his running back’s helmet for a first-half turnover? Oregon had giveaways on the first play of the game and 3 of its first 6 possessions to lose the Peach Bowl to Indiana. Who knows what that game looks like if it is played 8 more times? Oregon outgained Indiana in the game and lost by 34 points. The margin is probably misleading, but Oregon also came up far too short in both of its games against IU. The rest of it was great, to be clear. In Oregon’s other 13 games, the Ducks went 6-0 against Sagarin-rated top-30 teams and 2-0 against Sagarin-rated top-10 teams. If not for those darned Hoosiers…
4. Georgia (12-2, 7-1 SEC)
BEST WIN: 43-35 vs. Ole MissPREVIOUS: 3
Georgia won its third SEC Championship in 4 years and went 1-and-done in the CFP for a second-consecutive season. The Dawgs were really good. They beat Texas and Ole Miss at home, smashed Alabama in the conference title game to avenge the only regular-season defeat, and then gave us one heck of a Sugar Bowl. I was critical of Georgia early in the year. I still think most of that criticism was warranted. Kirby Smart found another gear after the Florida game. Hat’s off to him for that.
3. Ole Miss (13-2, 7-1 SEC)
BEST WIN: 39-34 vs. GeorgiaPREVIOUS: 5
Lane Kiffin may have left the best chance he’ll have to win a national championship. There are no guarantees in this sport. Not at LSU; just ask Brian Kelly. Not even when you put up video game numbers on the recruiting trail; just ask Dan Lanning. Ole Miss handled Tulane without Kiffin and then Georgia to make it to the CFP semifinals, avenging its only regular-season loss and doing it with an unprecedented amount of noise surrounding the team. The Rebels ended 4 points shy of a national title appearance. Outstanding season from all involved.
2. Miami (13-3, 6-2 ACC)
BEST WIN: 31-27 vs. Ole MissPREVIOUS: 10
Miami was the ACC’s best team all year. That was clear all year long. At the 11th hour, it was finally acknowledged by the CFP selection committee and the Hurricanes were granted a seat at the table. They then flipped the table as Michael Irvin spray-painted U signs and expletives all over the boardroom. Proverbially speaking, of course. Miami’s run was exactly what the Playoff was expanded to promote. The Hurricanes finished the regular season with 2 losses by a combined 9 points, but they were given a chance in the CFP and ended the year with a 3-1 record against Sagarin-rated top-10 teams.
1. Indiana (16-0, 9-0 B1G)
BEST WIN: 56-22 vs. OregonPREVIOUS: 1
I’m not sure if Indiana’s 2025 title season is better than LSU’s 2019 title season. Lots of people seemed interested in discussing that particular comparison in the aftermath of the Hoosiers’ title game win over Miami. I will say it’s a fair discussion. And, according to SP+, Indiana is the best title-winner we’ve seen since 2022 Georgia. Against 6 opponents that were ranked in the AP Poll at the time of the game, Indiana outscored its opposition 227-86. The Hoosiers went 8-0 against Sagarin-rated top-30 teams and 5-0 against the top 10. If they’re not the best title team of the modern era, they are certainly one of the best.
College football’s final Top 25 résumé ranking of the 2025 season Saturday Down South.
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