Texas is No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports springtime college football re-rank as the hype continues to build around the Longhorns and new starting quarterback Arch Manning.
After back-to-back College Football Playoff berths, including a trip to last year’s national semifinals, Texas is poised to take the next step and capture the program’s first championship since 2005.
Rounding out the top six are Clemson, Penn State, Georgia, Notre Dame and Ohio State. The Buckeyes have to rebuild on both lines while settling the ongoing quarterback competition between Lincoln Kienholz and Julian Sayin.
This group is followed by No. 7 LSU, No. 8 Oregon, No. 9 Miami, No. 10 Alabama, No. 11 Illinois and No. 12 Tennessee. The Illini are poised to make a playoff run with one of the most experienced rosters in the country.
COACHES RANKINGS: SEC | Big Ten | Big 12 | ACC
LOOKING AHEAD: Big Ten leads too-early Top 25 after spring
As expected, the Top 25 is dominated by the Big Ten and the SEC. The two power conferences combine for 11 of the top 15 teams and 13 of the top 21.
Teams predicted to rise in this year’s re-rank are No. 17 TCU, No. 18 Nebraska, No. 22 Texas Tech, No. 25 Oklahoma and No. 35 Auburn. Farther down the re-rank, look for No. 50 Florida State to rebound after a miserable 2024 and teams such as No. 45 Kansas and No. 59 UCLA to reach the postseason after coming up one win shy last season.
One thing hasn’t changed since the end of last year: Kent State continues to sit last in the Bowl Subdivision. The Golden Flashes went winless last season and recently made a coaching change, dismissing Kenni Burns and promoting offensive coordinator Mark Carney on an interim basis for the 2025 season.
But Kent State now sits at No. 136 with the addition of two newcomers to the FBS. Delaware and Missouri State will join Conference USA this season but not be eligible for the conference championship or the postseason while transitioning from the Championship Subdivision.