2025 NCAA Division I FBS season
Number of teams	136
Duration	August 23, 2025 – December 13, 2025
Preseason AP No. 1	Texas
Postseason
Duration	December 13, 2025 – January 19, 2026
Bowl games	41[a]
AP Poll No. 1	Indiana
Coaches Poll No. 1	Indiana
Heisman Trophy	Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
College Football Playoff
2026 College Football Playoff National Championship
Site	Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida)
Champion(s)	Indiana
NCAA Division I FBS football seasons
← 2024 2026 →

The 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 156th season of college football in the United States, the 120th season organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the 50th of the highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 23 and ended on December 13. The postseason began on December 13, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, ended on January 19, 2026, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

The Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes by a score of 27–21 to claim their first national championship in school history. The Hoosiers became the first FBS team since the 1894 Yale Bulldogs to have a perfect 16–0 season. This was the second season of the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) system.

Two schools played their first FBS seasons in 2025; Delaware (from the Coastal Athletic Association) and Missouri State (from the Missouri Valley conference) began their transitions from Division I FCS in 2024 and joined Conference USA (CUSA) in July 2025.^[1][2] One formerly independent school, UMass, rejoined the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 2025, but this time as a full member instead of football-only.^[3][4]

Team	Conference in 2024	Conference in 2025
Delaware	CAA Football (FCS)	CUSA
Missouri State	Missouri Valley (FCS)	CUSA
UMass	Independent (FBS)	MAC

The 2025 season was the last for eight FBS teams in their then-current conferences.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} On February 9th, 2026 Both The Mountain West and North Dakota State Confirmed a deal to let the Bison in the Conference by the 2026 season.

School	Current conference	Future conference
Boise State	Mountain West	Pac-12
Colorado State	Mountain West	Pac-12
Fresno State	Mountain West	Pac-12
Northern Illinois	MAC	Mountain West
North Dakota State	Missouri Valley (FCS)	Mountain West
Sacramento State	Big Sky (FCS)	MAC
San Diego State	Mountain West	Pac-12
Texas State	Sun Belt	Pac-12
Utah State	Mountain West	Pac-12
UTEP	CUSA	Mountain West

The following playing rule changes were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Committee on April 17, 2025:^[10]

• In an effort to reduce feigned injuries, if medical personnel have to enter the field to tend to an injured player after the ball is spotted by officials ready for play, that team will be charged a timeout (or a five-yard delay of game penalty if out of timeouts). If this occurs after the two-minute timeout (and the injury is the only reason for the clock to stop), a 10-second runoff applies if the team is out of timeouts.
• Starting with the third overtime period, teams will only be permitted one timeout to use until the game is concluded. Previously teams received a timeout for each overtime period, including the two-point attempts that begin with the third overtime.
• Eliminating media timeouts after the second overtime period, and reducing the mandatory rest periods in games without media timeouts to only after the second overtime period (instead of after the second and fourth overtimes).
• Once a decision is made on instant replay reviews, the referee will only use the terms "Overturned" and "Upheld". "Confirmed" or "Stands" will no longer be used.
• On punt formations, no player can be directly in line of the snap to a potential kicker and no player can be inside of the frame of the snapper to qualify as a legal scrimmage kick formation. If these requirements are not met, five players numbered 50–79 must be on the line of scrimmage. Also, if the snapper is on the end of a line, he loses the scrimmage kick protection and the defense can line up a player over the snapper.
• If a player on the kickoff return team gives a "T" signal with his arms, the team gives up their right to return the kickoff and the play will be whistled dead once the ball is caught or recovered.
• Enhanced rules regarding words or signals used to distract opponents trying to put the ball in play. The terms "stem" and "move" would only be permitted for defenses, and defenses cannot use cadence or sounds that simulate offensive team signals.
• Included players attempting to recover a loose ball to the list of "defenseless players".
• Contact to an offensive player in a passing posture is now considered "Roughing the Passer". If targeting occurs with this act, the roughing the passer penalty would remain even if the targeting penalty is overturned on replay.
• Added "simulating brandishing a weapon" to the list of acts considered unsportsmanlike conduct.
• Codifying the rule change from 2024's Ohio State at Oregon game, after the two-minute timeout, teams called for having 12 or more players participating in a down will be penalized five yards, and the offense would have the option to reset the game clock to the time at the start of the play. If the 12th or more player(s) were running off the field and had no influence on the play, the yardage penalty would apply but no clock reset option would be available. The clock reset option is also available without accepting the penalty.
• The Coach to Player (C2P green dot) communication technology currently used in FBS will be a permissible option for the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). In 2026, the C2P technology will be allowed in Divisions II and III.

• Continued focus on protection of defenseless players, concussions, pre-snap actions from both offense/defense, and feigning injuries.^[11]
• Focus on penalizing taunting actions by players and pre-game actions between teams that become unsportsmanlike conduct.
• Sideline control, including leaving the playing area to dispute an officiating decision.
• Illegal contact against a passer.
• Pace of play and substituting during up-tempo offenses, ensuring defenses are not at a disadvantage before the snap.

• April 25, 2025 – The University of Kentucky (UK) board of trustees approved a proposal to transfer the UK athletic program to a separate though related non-profit company known as Champions Blue, LLC. Both UK and outside media characterized the move, believed to be the first of its type by a major university, as a reaction to the then-impending settlement of the House v. NCAA legal case, which led to a formal revenue-sharing arrangement between athletic programs and student-athletes.^[12][13][14]
• July 21 – The American Athletic Conference announced a name change to the American Conference as part of a comprehensive rebranding strategy. The conference will also no longer use an initialism, opting for "American" as its short form.^[15]
• September 4 – The NCAA FBS Oversight Committee voted on major changes to the transfer portal. Under the proposal, the current 30-day period for players to enter the portal, divided into a 20-day December window and a 10-day April window, would be replaced by a single 10-day window that would run from January 2–11. This new 10-day window would apply to both undergraduate and graduate transfers. The committee also recommended that the month of December become a recruiting "dead period" during which coaches and recruits cannot meet in person, and that the signing date for new recruits change from August 1 to November 15 of a recruit's senior year in high school.^[16]
• September 17 – The NCAA Division I Administrative Committee approved the proposed single January transfer portal, but chose not to adopt the proposed January 2–11 dates. In response to feedback from FBS and FCS players, the oversight committees for both subdivisions were to discuss the dates and duration of the portal, with the Administrative Committee to set the final parameters at its scheduled October meeting. Players still competing in postseason play when the new portal closes will have a 5-day portal after their teams' final games, and the existing 30-day window for players undergoing a head coaching change will tentatively remain in place.^[17]
• September 29 – The FBS Oversight Committee recommended that the single January transfer portal be open for 15 days from January 2–16 instead of the originally proposed 10-day window. The revised recommendation also creates a 5-day window for players involved in postseason contests on or after January 12, with the window opening on the day after the team's last game. The Administrative Committee, whose next meeting was October 7–8, had to approve these changes before they took effect. The committee also discussed possible changes to the 30-day window for players undergoing a head coaching change, with continuing discussions set for its next scheduled meeting.^[18]
• October 8:
  • The Administrative Committee, which officially renamed itself the Division I Cabinet at its scheduled meeting, introduced a proposal to expand allowed logos on student-athletes' uniforms and equipment beyond those of the manufacturer. It also approved the following changes to the transfer portal, effective immediately:^[19]
    • The committee approved the previously recommended single window running from January 2–16. This only affects entry into the portal.
    • The window for players undergoing a head coaching change was modified. The window for these players will open five calendar days after the hiring or public announcement of a new head coach, and run for 15 days. Should a school not hire or announce a new head coach after 30 days from the previous coach's departure, a separate 15-day window will open on the 31st day, provided that the 31st day is on or after January 3. The opportunity for such a window will exist through June 30.
• October 12 – James Franklin was fired at Penn State after 12 seasons with the school. Franklin's contract had called for a buyout of more than $49 million, at the time the second biggest buyout in college football history, but a much lower buyout of $9 million was later negotiated when Franklin was hired for the vacancy at Virginia Tech.^[20] Franklin was 4–21 against AP top-10 opponents in his time at Penn State. Associate head coach Terry Smith served as the Nittany Lions' interim head coach for the remainder of the season.^[21][22]
• December 10 – Sherrone Moore was fired for cause by Michigan after 2 seasons as the head coach, due to evidence he allegedly engaged in an inapproriate relationship with a staff member.^[23] Immediately following his firing, Moore spiralled out of control, went to the house of the staff member he was alleged to have an affair with, and threatened to take both her life and his own life.^[24] He was soon arrested and charged for three crimes: felonious third-degree home invasion, stalking in a domestic relationship, and breaking and entering.^[25]

• Sam Houston played its 2025 home games at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston during construction of a new press box at Bowers Stadium.^[26]
• The UCF Knights announced new naming rights as following the name change of FBC Mortage to Acrisure Mortgage, the FBC Mortgage Stadium was renamed to the Acrisure Bounce House.^[27]
• Following a donation of $100 million by businessman and Illinois alumnus Larry Gies to the school's athletic department, the Fighting Illini's stadium was renamed Gies Memorial Stadium in memory of his late father Larry Sr. shortly after the start of the season.^[28]
• As part of a project to better connect Rice University with the adjacent Rice Village shopping and restaurant district, the university announced that it would downsize Rice Stadium from its current capacity of about 47,000. By project completion, set for 2028, the new capacity is expected to be slightly over 30,000.^[29]
• On November 11, the University of Arizona announced a 20-year naming rights deal with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, with the venue now being called Casino Del Sol Stadium.^[30]

The regular season began on Saturday, August 23 with five games in Week 0.

• Aer Lingus College Football Classic (at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland):
  • No. 22 Iowa State 24, No. 17 Kansas State 21
• Kansas 31, Fresno State 7
• Western Kentucky 41, Sam Houston 24
• Hawaii 23, Stanford 20
• UNLV 38, Idaho State 31

• Aflac Kickoff Game (at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia):
  • No. 24 Tennessee 45, Syracuse 26
  • No. 13 South Carolina 24, Virginia Tech 11
• Duke's Mayo Classic (at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina):
  • Appalachian State 34, Charlotte 11

Rankings through Week 10 reflect the AP poll. Rankings for Week 11 and beyond list College Football Playoff Rankings first and AP poll rankings second; teams that were not ranked in the top 10 of both polls are noted.

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Ref.
August 30	No. 1 Texas	No. 3 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio (College GameDay, Big Noon Kickoff)	7–14	107,524	[31]
August 30	No. 9 LSU	No. 4 Clemson	Memorial Stadium • Clemson, South Carolina	17–10	81,500	[32]
August 31	No. 6 Notre Dame	No. 10 Miami (FL)	Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida (rivalry)	24–27	66,793	[33]
September 27	No. 6 Oregon	No. 3 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, Pennsylvania (College GameDay)	30–24 2OT	111,015	[34]
October 11	No. 7 Indiana	No. 3 Oregon	Autzen Stadium • Eugene, Oregon (College GameDay)	30–20	59,625	[35]
October 18	No. 5 Ole Miss	No. 9 Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia (College GameDay)	35–43	93,033	[36]
November 8	No. 7/8 BYU	No. 8/9 Texas Tech	Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, Texas (College GameDay)	7–29	60,229	[37]
November 15	No. 10/10 Texas	No. 5/5 Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia (SEC Nation)	10–35	93,033	[38]
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 6	No. 2/2 Indiana	No. 1/1 Ohio State	Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, Indiana (Big Ten Championship Game, Big Noon Kickoff)	13–10	68,214	[39][40]
December 6	No. 3/3 Georgia	No. 9/10 Alabama	Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia (SEC Championship Game, rivalry, College GameDay, SEC Nation)	28–7	77,247	[41][42]
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 19	8:00 pm ET	No. 9/11 Alabama	No. 8/8 Oklahoma	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma (CFP first round, College GameDay, SEC Nation)	ABC/ESPN	ALA 34–24	83,550	[43]
December 20	12:00 pm ET	No. 10/10 Miami	No. 7/7 Texas A&M	Kyle Field • College Station, Texas (CFP first round, College GameDay)	ABC/ESPN	MIA 10–3	104,122	[44]
December 31	7:30 pm ET	No. 10/10 Miami	No. 2/2 Ohio State	AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas (CFP quarterfinals)	ESPN	MIA 24–14	71,323
January 1	12:00 pm	No. 5/5 Oregon	No. 4/4 Texas Tech	Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida (CFP quarterfinals)	ESPN	ORE 23–0	65,021
January 1	4:00 pm ET	No. 9/11 Alabama	No. 1/1 Indiana	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California (CFP quarterfinals, College Gameday)	ESPN	IU 38–3	90,278
January 1	8:00 pm ET	No. 6/6 Ole Miss	No. 3/3 Georgia	Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana (CFP quarterfinals)	ESPN	MISS 39–34	68,371
January 8	7:30 pm ET	No. 10/10 Miami	No. 6/6 Ole Miss	State Farm Stadium • Glendale, Arizona (CFP semifinals, College Gameday)	ESPN	MIA 31–27	67,928
January 9	7:30 pm ET	No. 5/5 Oregon	No. 1/1 Indiana	Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia (CFP semifinals, College Gameday)	ESPN	IU 56–22	75,604
January 19	7:30 pm ET	No. 10/10 Miami	No. 1/1 Indiana	Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida (CFP National Championship Game, College Gameday)	ESPN	IU 27–21	67,227
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.

Italics denotes FCS teams.

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Ref.
August 29	No. 10 (FCS) Tarleton State	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, New York	30–27 2OT	23,032	[45][46]
August 30	Austin Peay	Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, Tennessee	34–14	18,505	[45][47]
September 6	Bryant	UMass	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Amherst, Massachusetts	27–26	3,714	[45][48]
September 6	LIU	Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium • Ypsilanti, Michigan	28–23	15,313	[45][49]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

This section lists unranked teams defeating AP poll-ranked teams during the season.

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Ref.
August 28	No. 25 Boise State	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, Florida	7–34	34,707	[50]
August 30	No. 8 Alabama	Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida	17–31	67,277	[51]
September 6	No. 12 Arizona State	Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi[n 1]	20–24	50,808	[52]
September 6	South Florida	No. 13 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida	18–16	89,909	[53]
September 6	Baylor	No. 17 SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, Texas[n 2]	48–45 2OT	34,852	[54]
September 13	Vanderbilt	No. 11 South Carolina	Williams–Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina	31–7	79,873	[55]
September 13	No. 12 Clemson	Georgia Tech	Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia (rivalry)	21–24	48,059	[56]
September 26	No. 8 Florida State	Virginia	Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, Virginia (Jefferson–Eppes Trophy)	38–46 2OT	50,107	[57]
September 26	No. 24 TCU	Arizona State	Mountain America Stadium • Tempe, Arizona	24–27	53,774	[58]
October 4	No. 7 Penn State	UCLA	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California	37–42	39,256	[59]
October 4	No. 9 Texas	Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida (SEC Nation)	21–29	90,714	[60]
October 4	No. 14 Iowa State	Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio	30–38	38,007	[61]
October 11	No. 6 Oklahoma	Texas	Cotton Bowl • Dallas, Texas (Red River Rivalry)	6–23	92,100	[62]
October 11	No. 15 Michigan	USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, California	13–31	75,500	[63]
October 11	No. 21 Arizona State	Utah	Rice–Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, Utah	10–42	51,444	[64]
October 11	No. 22 Iowa State	Colorado	Folsom Field • Boulder, Colorado	17–24	52,698	[65]
October 11	Pittsburgh	No. 25 Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida	34–31	65,256	[66]
October 17	Louisville	No. 2 Miami (FL)	Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida (Schnellenberger Trophy)	24–21	66,573	[67]
October 17	No. 25 Nebraska	Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota ($5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy)	6–24	48,549	[68]
October 18	No. 7 Texas Tech	Arizona State	Mountain America Stadium • Tempe, Arizona	22–26	54,177	[69]
October 18	No. 22 Memphis	UAB	Protective Stadium • Birmingham, Alabama (Battle for the Bones)	24–31	19,037	[70]
October 25	No. 18 South Florida	Memphis	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee	31–34	30,940	[71]
October 25	No. 23 Illinois	Washington	Husky Stadium • Seattle, Washington	25–42	68,630	[72]
October 25	Houston	No. 24 Arizona State	Mountain America Stadium • Tempe, Arizona	24–16	54,256	[73]
November 1	No. 8 Georgia Tech	NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, North Carolina	36–48	56,919	[74]
November 1	No. 10т Miami (FL)	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, Texas[n 2]	20–26 OT	35,074	[75]
November 1	West Virginia	No. 22 Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, Texas	45–35	25,049	[76]
November 7	Tulane	No. 22 Memphis	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee	38–32	30,384	[77]
November 8	Wake Forest	No. 12 Virginia	Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, Virginia	16–9	55,568	[78]
November 8	California	No. 14 Louisville	L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium • Louisville, Kentucky	29–26 OT	51,381	[79]
November 8	No. 24 Washington	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin	10–13	71,217	[80]
November 14	Clemson	No. 19 Louisville	L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium • Louisville, Kentucky	20–19	51,234	[81]
November 15	Arizona	No. 22 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio	30–24	37,099	[82]
November 15	No. 25 South Florida	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland	38–41	34,856	[83]
November 22	Pittsburgh	No. 15 Georgia Tech	Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia	42–28	52,413	[84]
November 22	TCU	No. 25 Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, Texas	17–14	30,852	[85]
November 29	No. 25 SMU	California	California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, California	35–38	28,956	[86]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 6	Duke	No. 16 Virginia	Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, North Carolina (ACC Championship Game)	27–20 OT	41,672	[87]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 30	No. 16 USC	TCU	Alamodome • San Antonio, Texas (Alamo Bowl)	27–30 OT	54,751	[88]
January 2, 2026	No. 21 Arizona	SMU	Snapdragon Stadium • San Diego, California (Holiday Bowl)	19–24	30,602	[89]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

2025 American Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 18 Tulane y$^   7 – 1     11 – 3   No. 24 North Texas y   7 – 1     12 – 2   No. 23 Navy   7 – 1     11 – 2   South Florida   6 – 2     9 – 4   East Carolina   6 – 2     9 – 4   Memphis   4 – 4     8 – 5   Army   4 – 4     7 – 6   UTSA   4 – 4     7 – 6   Temple   3 – 5     5 – 7   Florida Atlantic   3 – 5     4 – 8   Rice   2 – 6     5 – 8   UAB   2 – 6     4 – 8   Tulsa   1 – 7     4 – 8   Charlotte   0 – 8     1 – 11   Championship: Tulane 34, North Texas 21 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2025 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 16 Virginia y   7 – 1     11 – 3   Duke y$   6 – 2     9 – 5   No. 2 Miami (FL) ^   6 – 2     13 – 3   Georgia Tech   6 – 2     9 – 4   SMU   6 – 2     9 – 4   Pittsburgh   6 – 2     8 – 5   Louisville   4 – 4     9 – 4   Wake Forest   4 – 4     9 – 4   NC State   4 – 4     8 – 5   California   4 – 4     7 – 6   Clemson   4 – 4     7 – 6   Stanford   3 – 5     4 – 8   Florida State   2 – 6     5 – 7   Virginia Tech   2 – 6     3 – 9   North Carolina   2 – 6     4 – 8   Boston College   1 – 7     2 – 10   Syracuse   1 – 7     3 – 9   Championship: Duke 27, Virginia 20OT ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of March 13, 2026 Rankings from AP Poll	2025 Big Ten Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 1 Indiana y$#^   9 – 0     16 – 0   No. 5 Ohio State y^   9 – 0     12 – 2   No. 4 Oregon ^   8 – 1     13 – 2   No. 20 USC   7 – 2     9 – 4   No. 21 Michigan   7 – 2     9 – 4   No. 17 Iowa   6 – 3     9 – 4   Washington   5 – 4     9 – 4   Illinois   5 – 4     9 – 4   Minnesota   5 – 4     8 – 5   Nebraska   4 – 5     7 – 6   Northwestern   4 – 5     7 – 6   UCLA   3 – 6     3 – 9   Penn State   3 – 6     7 – 6   Wisconsin   2 – 7     4 – 8   Rutgers   2 – 7     5 – 7   Michigan State   1 – 8     4 – 8   Maryland   1 – 8     4 – 8   Purdue   0 – 9     2 – 10   Championship: Indiana 13, Ohio State 10 # – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant As of March 13, 2026 Rankings from AP Poll
2025 Big 12 Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 7 Texas Tech y$^   8 – 1     12 – 2   No. 11 BYU y   8 – 1     12 – 2   No. 14 Utah   7 – 2     11 – 2   No. 22 Houston   6 – 3     10 – 3   Arizona   6 – 3     9 – 4   Arizona State   6 – 3     8 – 5   No. 25 TCU   5 – 4     9 – 4   Iowa State   5 – 4     8 – 4   Cincinnati   5 – 4     7 – 6   Kansas State   5 – 4     6 – 6   Baylor   3 – 6     5 – 7   Kansas   3 – 6     5 – 7   UCF   2 – 7     5 – 7   West Virginia   2 – 7     4 – 8   Colorado   1 – 8     3 – 9   Oklahoma State   0 – 9     1 – 11   Championship: Texas Tech 34, BYU 7 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2025 Conference USA football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Jacksonville State y   7 – 1     9 – 5   Kennesaw State y$   7 – 1     10 – 4   Western Kentucky   6 – 2     9 – 4   Missouri State   5 – 3     7 – 6   FIU   5 – 3     7 – 6   Louisiana Tech   5 – 3     8 – 5   Delaware   4 – 4     7 – 6   Liberty   3 – 5     4 – 8   Middle Tennessee   2 – 6     3 – 9   New Mexico State   2 – 6     4 – 8   UTEP   1 – 7     2 – 10   Sam Houston   1 – 7     2 – 10   Championship: Kennesaw State 19, Jacksonville State 15 $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant	2025 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Western Michigan y$   7 – 1     10 – 4   Miami (OH) y   6 – 2     7 – 7   Ohio   6 – 2     9 – 4   Toledo   6 – 2     8 – 5   Central Michigan   5 – 3     7 – 6   Akron*   4 – 4     5 – 7   Buffalo   4 – 4     5 – 7   Kent State   4 – 4     5 – 7   Eastern Michigan   3 – 5     4 – 8   Ball State   3 – 5     4 – 8   Bowling Green   2 – 6     4 – 8   Northern Illinois   2 – 6     3 – 9   UMass   0 – 8     0 – 12   Championship: Western Michigan 23, Miami (OH) 13 $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant * Ineligible for postseason play due to low APR score
2025 Mountain West Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Boise State y$   6 – 2     9 – 5   UNLV y   6 – 2     10 – 4   San Diego State   6 – 2     9 – 4   New Mexico   6 – 2     9 – 4   Fresno State   5 – 3     9 – 4   Hawaii   5 – 3     9 – 4   Utah State   4 – 4     6 – 7   Air Force   3 – 5     4 – 8   Nevada   2 – 6     3 – 9   Wyoming   2 – 6     4 – 8   San Jose State   2 – 6     3 – 9   Colorado State   1 – 7     2 – 10   Championship: Boise State 38, UNLV 21 $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from CFP Rankings	2025 Pac-12 Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Washington State   1 – 0     7 – 6   Oregon State   0 – 1     2 – 10   Rankings from CFP Rankings	2025 Southeastern Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 9 Alabama y^   7 – 1     11 – 4   No. 6 Georgia y$^   7 – 1     12 – 2   No. 3 Ole Miss ^   7 – 1     13 – 2   No. 8 Texas A&M ^   7 – 1     11 – 2   No. 12 Texas   6 – 2     10 – 3   No. 13 Oklahoma ^   6 – 2     10 – 3   No. 15 Vanderbilt   6 – 2     10 – 3   Tennessee   4 – 4     8 – 5   Missouri   4 – 4     8 – 5   LSU   3 – 5     7 – 6   Kentucky   2 – 6     5 – 7   Florida   2 – 6     4 – 8   South Carolina   1 – 7     4 – 8   Auburn   1 – 7     5 – 7   Mississippi State   1 – 7     5 – 8   Arkansas   0 – 8     2 – 10   Championship: Georgia 28, Alabama 7 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll
2025 Sun Belt Conference football standings Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division No. 19 James Madison xy$^   8 – 0     12 – 2   Old Dominion   6 – 2     10 – 3   Coastal Carolina   5 – 3     6 – 7   Georgia Southern   4 – 4     7 – 6   Marshall   3 – 5     5 – 7   Appalachian State   2 – 6     5 – 8   Georgia State   0 – 8     1 – 11   West Division Troy xy   6 – 2     8 – 6   Southern Miss   5 – 3     7 – 6   Louisiana   5 – 3     6 – 7   Arkansas State   5 – 3     7 – 6   Texas State   3 – 5     7 – 6   South Alabama   3 – 5     4 – 8   Louisiana–Monroe   1 – 7     3 – 9   Championship: James Madison 31, Troy 14 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2025 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records Conf. Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 10 Notre Dame   –     10 – 2   UConn   –     9 – 4   Rankings from AP Poll

The Top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls

AP Ranking Team 1 Texas (25) 2 Penn State (23) 3 Ohio State (11) 4 Clemson (4) 5 Georgia (1) 6 Notre Dame 7 Oregon (1) 8 Alabama 9 LSU 10 Miami (FL) 11 Arizona State 12 Illinois 13 South Carolina 14 Michigan 15 Florida 16 SMU 17 Kansas State 18 Oklahoma 19 Texas A&M 20 Indiana 21 Ole Miss 22 Iowa State 23 Texas Tech 24 Tennessee 25 Boise State

USA Today Coaches Ranking Team 1 Texas (28) 2 Ohio State (20) 3 Penn State (14) 4 Georgia (3) 5 Notre Dame 6 Clemson (2) 7 Oregon 8 Alabama 9 LSU 10 Miami (FL) 11 Arizona State 12 Illinois 13 South Carolina 14 Michigan 15 Ole Miss 16 SMU 17 Florida 18 Tennessee 19 Indiana 20 Kansas State 21т Texas A&M Iowa State 23 BYU 24 Texas Tech 25 Boise State

The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee announced its final rankings on December 7, 2025.

The top five ranked conference champions, along with the seven highest ranked at-large teams, will be selected to compete in the College Football Playoff. The top four ranked teams will receive a first-round bye. This is a change from the 2025–26 season, when the top four ranked conference champions got a first-round bye.^{[citation needed]}

This was the first time that two Group of Five teams – Tulane and James Madison – were included in the playoff.^[90][91]

Rank	Team	W–L	Conference and standing	Bowl game
1	Indiana Hoosiers	13–0	Big Ten champions	Rose Bowl (CFP quarterfinal)
2	Ohio State Buckeyes	12–1	Big Ten first place (tie)	Cotton Bowl (CFP quarterfinal)
3	Georgia Bulldogs	12–1	SEC champions	Sugar Bowl (CFP quarterfinal)
4	Texas Tech Red Raiders	12–1	Big 12 champions	Orange Bowl (CFP quarterfinal)
5	Oregon Ducks	11–1	Big Ten third place	CFP first-round game
6	Ole Miss Rebels	11–1	SEC first place (tie)	CFP first-round game
7	Texas A&M Aggies	11–1	SEC first place (tie)	CFP first-round game
8	Oklahoma Sooners	10–2	SEC fifth place (tie)	CFP first-round game
9	Alabama Crimson Tide	10–3	SEC first place (tie)	CFP first-round game
10	Miami Hurricanes	10–2	ACC second place (tie)	CFP first-round game
11	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	10–2	Independent	Declined bowl bid
12	BYU Cougars	11–2	Big 12 first place (tie)	Pop-Tarts Bowl
13	Texas Longhorns	9–3	SEC fifth place (tie)	Citrus Bowl
14	Vanderbilt Commodores	10–2	SEC fifth place (tie)	ReliaQuest Bowl
15	Utah Utes	10–2	Big 12 third place	Las Vegas Bowl
16	USC Trojans	9–3	Big Ten fourth place (tie)	Alamo Bowl
17	Arizona Wildcats	9–3	Big 12 fourth place (tie)	Holiday Bowl
18	Michigan Wolverines	9–3	Big Ten fourth place (tie)	Citrus Bowl
19	Virginia Cavaliers	10–3	ACC first place	Gator Bowl
20	Tulane Green Wave	11–2	American champions	CFP first-round game
21	Houston Cougars	9–3	Big 12 fourth place (tie)	Texas Bowl
22	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	9–3	ACC second place (tie)	Pop-Tarts Bowl
23	Iowa Hawkeyes	8–4	Big Ten sixth place	ReliaQuest Bowl
24	James Madison Dukes	12–1	Sun Belt champions	CFP first-round game
25	North Texas Mean Green	11–2	American first place (tie)	New Mexico Bowl

Unranked conference champions' bowl games

Rank	Team	W–L	Conference and standing	Bowl game
–	Kennesaw State Owls	10–4	CUSA champions	Myrtle Beach Bowl
–	Western Michigan Broncos	10–4	MAC champions	Myrtle Beach Bowl
–	Boise State Broncos	9–5	Mountain West champions	LA Bowl
–	Duke Blue Devils	8–5	ACC champions	Sun Bowl

Rank	Associated Press	Coaches' Poll
1	Indiana (66)	Indiana (62)
2	Miami (FL)	Miami (FL)
3	Ole Miss	Ole Miss
4	Oregon	Oregon
5	Ohio State	Georgia
6	Georgia	Ohio State
7	Texas Tech	Texas Tech
8	Texas A&M	Texas A&M
9	Alabama	Alabama
10	Notre Dame	Oklahoma
11	BYU	Notre Dame
12	Texas	BYU
13	Oklahoma	Texas
14	Utah	Utah
15	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt
16	Virginia	Virginia
17	Iowa	Iowa
18	Tulane	Tulane
19	James Madison	Houston
20	USC	James Madison
21	Michigan	USC
22	Houston	Michigan
23	Navy	Navy
24	North Texas	Georgia Tech
25	TCU	Illinois

Team	Conference	Record	Qualification method	College Football Playoff
				Appearance	Last bid	Result of last appearance
Alabama	Southeastern Conference	10–3 (7–1)	At-large	9th	2023	Lost to Michigan in the semifinals
Georgia	Southeastern Conference	12–1 (7–1)	Conference champion	5th	2024	Lost to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals
Indiana	Big Ten Conference	13–0 (9–0)	Conference champion	2nd	2024	Lost to Notre Dame in the first round
James Madison	Sun Belt Conference	12–1 (8–0)	Conference champion	First appearance
Miami (FL)	Atlantic Coast Conference	10–2 (6–2)	At-large	First appearance
Ohio State	Big Ten Conference	12–1 (9–0)	At-large	7th	2024	Won National Championship against Notre Dame
Oklahoma	Southeastern Conference	10–2 (6–2)	At-large	5th	2019	Lost to LSU in the semifinals
Ole Miss	Southeastern Conference	11–1 (7–1)	At-large	First appearance
Oregon	Big Ten Conference	11–1 (8–1)	At-large	3rd	2024	Lost to Ohio State in the quarterfinals
Texas A&M	Southeastern Conference	11–1 (7–1)	At-large	First appearance
Texas Tech	Big 12 Conference	12–1 (8–1)	Conference champion	First appearance
Tulane	American Conference	11–2 (7–1)	Conference champion	First appearance

This is the second year under the expanded College Football Playoff format. Under this format, the five highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids, while the next seven highest-ranked teams will receive at-large bids. In a change starting this season, the top four seeds receive first-round byes, even if they are not conference champions.^[92]

Winners are listed in boldface.

After the completion of the regular season and conference championship games, seven teams had secured CFP berths: American champion Tulane, Big Ten champion Indiana, Big 12 champion Texas Tech, SEC champion Georgia, and Sun Belt champion James Madison, who qualified as the highest-ranked CFP non-AQ conference champion.

Bowl Game	Date	Visitor	Home	Score	TV
Non-bowl game (First round) (Norman, OK - Campus site)	December 19	No. 9 Alabama	No. 8 Oklahoma	34−24	ABC/ESPN
Non-bowl game (First round) (College Station, TX - Campus site)	December 20	No. 10 Miami	No. 7 Texas A&M	10−3
Non-bowl game (First round) (Oxford, MS - Campus site)		(11) No. 20 Tulane	No. 6 Ole Miss	10–41	TNT/TruTV/TBS
Non-bowl game (First round) (Eugene, OR - Campus site)		(12) No. 24 James Madison	No. 5 Oregon	34–51
Cotton Bowl Classic (quarterfinal) (Arlington, TX)	December 31	No. 10 Miami	No. 2 Ohio State	24-14	ESPN
Capital One Orange Bowl (quarterfinal) (Miami Gardens, FL)	January 1	No. 5 Oregon	No. 4 Texas Tech	23-0
Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (quarterfinal) (Pasadena, CA)		No. 9 Alabama	No. 1 Indiana	3–38
Allstate Sugar Bowl (quarterfinal) (New Orleans, LA)		No. 6 Ole Miss	No. 3 Georgia	39-34
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (semifinal) (Glendale, AZ)	January 8	No. 10 Miami	No. 6 Ole Miss	31–27
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (semifinal) (Atlanta, GA)	January 9	No. 5 Oregon	No. 1 Indiana	22–56
College Football Playoff National Championship Game (Miami Gardens, FL)	January 19	No. 10 Miami	No. 1 Indiana	21–27

Normally, a team is required to have a .500 minimum winning percentage during the regular season to become bowl-eligible (six wins for an 11- or 12-game schedule, and seven wins for a 13-game schedule). If there are not enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records may be chosen to fill available bowl slots. Additionally, on the rare occasion in which a conference champion does not meet eligibility requirements, they are usually still chosen for bowl games via tie-ins for their conference.

Winners are listed in boldface.

The 2025–26 bowl game lineup had one change from the previous season: The Bahamas Bowl was replaced with the Xbox Bowl.^[93]

The bowl games that are not part of the College Football Playoff are:^{[94][95][96][97]}

Bowl Game	Date	Visitor	Home	Score	TV
LA Bowl (Inglewood, CA)	December 13	Boise State†	Washington	10−38	ABC
Salute to Veterans Bowl (Montgomery, AL)	December 16	Troy‡	Jacksonville State‡	13–17	ESPN
Cure Bowl (Orlando, FL)	December 17	Old Dominion	South Florida	24–10
68 Ventures Bowl (Mobile, AL)		Louisiana	Delaware	13–20
Xbox Bowl (Frisco, TX)	December 18	Missouri State	Arkansas State	28–34	ESPN2
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Conway, SC)	December 19	Kennesaw State†	Western Michigan†	6–41	ESPN
Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, FL)		Memphis	NC State	7–31
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, ID)	December 22	Washington State	Utah State	34–21
Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, FL)	December 23	Toledo	Louisville	22–27
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA)		Western Kentucky	Southern Miss	27–16
Frisco Bowl (Frisco, TX)		UNLV‡	Ohio	10–17
Sheraton Hawaiʻi Bowl (Honolulu, HI)	December 24	California	Hawaii	31–35
GameAbove Sports Bowl (Detroit, MI)	December 26	Central Michigan	Northwestern	7–34
Rate Bowl (Phoenix, AZ)		New Mexico	Minnesota	17–20 OT
First Responder Bowl (University Park, TX)[b]		FIU	UTSA	20–57
Military Bowl (Annapolis, MD)	December 27	Pittsburgh	East Carolina	17–23
Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, NY)		Penn State	Clemson	22–10	ABC
Fenway Bowl (Boston, MA)		UConn	Army	16–41	ESPN
Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando, FL)		No. 22 Georgia Tech	No. 12 BYU‡	21–25	ABC
Arizona Bowl (Tucson, AZ)		Miami (OH)‡	Fresno State	3–18	The CW
New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, NM)		No. 25 North Texas‡	San Diego State	49–47	ESPN
Taxslayer Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL)		No. 19 Virginia‡	Missouri	13–7	ABC
Texas Bowl (Houston, TX)		LSU	No. 21 Houston	35–38	ESPN
Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, AL)	December 29	Georgia Southern	Appalachian State	29–10
Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA)	December 30	Coastal Carolina	Louisiana Tech	14–23
Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN)		Tennessee	Illinois	28–30
Valero Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX)		No. 16 USC	TCU	27–30 OT
ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, FL)	December 31	No. 23 Iowa	No. 14 Vanderbilt	34–27
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX)		Arizona State	Duke†	39–42	CBS
Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL)		No. 18 Michigan	No. 13 Texas	27–41	ABC
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (Paradise, NV)[c]		Nebraska	No. 15 Utah	22–44	ESPN
Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX)	January 2	Rice	Texas State	10–41
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN)		Navy	Cincinnati	35–13
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, NC)		Wake Forest	Mississippi State	43–29
Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA)		No. 17 Arizona	SMU	19–24	FOX

† - Conference Champion ‡ - At Large Bid

The below lists of teams are based on team records as published by the NCAA and bowl eligibility criteria.

• ACC (11): California†, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (FL), NC State, Pittsburgh, SMU, Virginia, Wake Forest
• American (8): Army, East Carolina, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, South Florida, Tulane, UTSA
• Big Ten (12): Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon†, Penn State, USC†, Washington†
• Big 12 (10): Arizona†, Arizona State†, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State‡, Kansas State‡, TCU, Texas Tech, Utah†
• CUSA (7): Delaware^[b], FIU, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Louisiana Tech, Missouri State^[b], Western Kentucky
• MAC (5): Central Michigan, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
• Mountain West (7): Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah State
• Pac-12 (1): Washington State
• SEC (10): Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, LSU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
• SBC (9): Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, James Madison, Louisiana, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Texas State, Troy
• Independent (2): Notre Dame‡, UConn

†: Former Pac-12 teams were considered for bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins instead of their current conference for 2025.

†: Iowa State, Kansas State, and Notre Dame opted out of their bowl games, but they were still bowl-eligible.

Number of postseason berths available: 82
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 82

• ACC (6): Boston College, Florida State, North Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
• American (6): Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Rice‡, Temple, Tulsa, UAB
• Big Ten (6): Maryland, Michigan State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, Wisconsin
• Big 12 (6): Baylor, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma State, UCF, West Virginia
• CUSA (5): Liberty, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP
• MAC (8): Akron^[c], Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, UMass
• Mountain West (5): Air Force, Colorado State, Nevada, San Jose State, Wyoming
• Pac-12 (1): Oregon State
• SEC (6): Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State‡, South Carolina
• SBC (5): Appalachian State‡, Georgia State, Louisiana–Monroe, Marshall, South Alabama

Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 54

^† Appalachian State, Mississippi State, and Rice were not bowl-eligible, but they participated in a bowl game due to bowl-eligible teams opting out.

Rankings in this section are based on CFP rankings released prior to the games (Week 13–December 2).

Note: Clicking on a link in the Conference column will open an article about that conference's championship game, where applicable.

Conference	Championship game				Players of the year				Coach of the year
	Date	Venue (Location)	Matchup	Result	Overall/MVP	Offensive	Defensive	Special teams
American	Dec 5	Yulman Stadium (New Orleans, Louisiana)	No. 24 North Texas at No. 20 Tulane	Tulane 34–21	—N/a	Drew Mestemaker, QB, North Texas[112]	Landon Robinson, DL, Navy[112]	Patrick Durkin, K, Tulane[112]	Eric Morris, North Texas[112]
CUSA		AmFirst Stadium (Jacksonville, Alabama)	Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State	Kennesaw State 19–15	Cam Cook, RB, Jacksonville State[113]	Kejon Owens, RB, FIU[113]	Baron Hopson, LB, Kennesaw State[113] Jacob Fields, DB, Louisiana Tech	Cole Maynard, P, Western Kentucky[113]	Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State[113]
MW		Albertsons Stadium (Boise, Idaho)	UNLV at Boise State	Boise State 38–21	—N/a	Anthony Colandrea, QB, UNLV[114]	Jaxton Eck, LB, New Mexico[114] Chris Johnson, DB, San Diego State	Kansei Matsuzawa, K, Hawai‘i	Jason Eck, New Mexico
Sun Belt		Bridgeforth Stadium (Harrisonburg, Virginia)	Troy (West) at No. 25 James Madison (East)	James Madison 31–14	Alonza Barnett, QB, James Madison[115]	Colton Joseph, QB, Old Dominion[115]	Trent Hendrick, LB, James Madison[115]	—N/a	Bob Chesney, James Madison[115]
ACC	Dec 6	Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina)	No. 17 Virginia vs Duke	Duke 27–20 (OT)	Haynes King, QB, Georgia Tech[116]		Rueben Bain Jr., DE, Miami[116]	—N/a	Tony Elliott, Virginia[116]
Big Ten		Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, Indiana)	No. 1 Ohio State vs No. 2 Indiana	Indiana 13–10	—N/a	Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana[117]	Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State[117]	Nico Radicic, K, Indiana; Ryan Eckley, P, Michigan State; & Kaden Wetjen, RS, Iowa[117]	Curt Cignetti, Indiana[117]
Big 12		AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)	No. 4 Texas Tech vs No. 11 BYU	Texas Tech 34–7	—N/a	LJ Martin, RB, BYU[118]	Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech[118]	Palmer Williams, P, Baylor[118]	Kalani Sitake, BYU[118]
MAC		Ford Field (Detroit, Michigan)	Western Michigan vs Miami (OH)	Western Michigan 23–13	Nadame Tucker, DE, Western Michigan[119]	Broc Lowry, QB, Western Michigan[119]	Nadame Tucker, DE, Western Michigan[119]	Da’Realyst Clark, KOR, Kent State[119]	Lance Taylor, Western Michigan[119]
SEC		Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia)	No. 9 Alabama vs No. 3 Georgia	Georgia 28–7	—N/a	Diego Pavia, QB, Vanderbilt[120]	Cashius Howell, DE, Texas A&M[120]	Tate Sandell, K, Oklahoma[120]	Clark Lea, Vanderbilt[120]
Pac-12†	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	Anthony Hankerson, RB, Oregon State[121]	Parker McKenna, LB, Washington State[121]	Tony Freeman, PR, Washington State[121]	—N/a

† The Pac-12 played the season with two teams – Washington State and Oregon State – and did not have a conference champion.

Four conference champions not part of the College Football Playoff.

Conference	Champion	W–L	Rank	Bowl game
ACC	Duke	8–5	—	Sun Bowl
CUSA	Kennesaw State	10–3	—	Myrtle Beach Bowl
MAC	Western Michigan	9–4	—	Myrtle Beach Bowl
Mountain West	Boise State	9–4	—	LA Bowl

At-Large Teams
School	Conference	Record	Result	Bowl game
North Texas	American	11–2	L 47–49	New Mexico Bowl
Virginia	ACC	10–3	W 13–7	Gator Bowl
BYU	Big 12	11–2	W 25–21	Pop-Tarts Bowl
Jacksonville State	Conference USA	8–5	W 17–13	Salute to Veterans Bowl
Miami (OH)	MAC	7–6	L 3–18	Arizona Bowl
UNLV	Mountain West	10–3	L 10–17	Frisco Bowl
Troy	Sun Belt	8–5	L 13–17	Salute to Veterans Bowl

Source:^[122]

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.

Player	School	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Fernando Mendoza	Indiana	QB	643	191	51	2,362
Diego Pavia	Vanderbilt	QB	189	352	164	1,435
Jeremiyah Love	Notre Dame	RB	46	157	267	719
Julian Sayin	Ohio State	QB	8	118	172	432
Jacob Rodriguez	Texas Tech	LB	17	56	132	295
Jeremiah Smith	Ohio State	WR	4	18	36	84
Gunner Stockton	Georgia	QB	3	6	22	31
Trinidad Chambliss	Ole Miss	QB	2	5	7	14
Caleb Downs	Ohio State	S	2	3	10	15
Haynes King	Georgia Tech	QB	2	1	10	13

Award	Winner	Position	School
AP Player of the Year	Fernando Mendoza[123]	QB	Indiana
Maxwell Award (college football player of the year)
Walter Camp Award (top back) [124]
Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback)
SN Player of the Year	Diego Pavia[125]		Vanderbilt
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Sr. quarterback) [126]
Doak Walker Award (running back)	Jeremiyah Love	RB	Notre Dame
Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver) [127]	Makai Lemon	WR	USC
John Mackey Award (tight end)	Eli Stowers	TE	Vanderbilt
Rimington Trophy (center)	Logan Jones	C	Iowa
Outland Trophy (interior lineman)	Spencer Fano	OT	Utah
Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player)	Jacob Rodriguez	LB	Texas Tech
Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player)
Dick Butkus Award (linebacker)
Lombardi Award (top lineman)
Lott Trophy (defensive impact)	Caleb Downs	S	Ohio State
Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back)
Lou Groza Award (placekicker)	Tate Sandell	PK	Oklahoma
Ray Guy Award (punter)	Brett Thorson	P	Georgia
AFCA Coach of the Year	Curt Cignetti[128]	HC	Indiana
AP Coach of the Year [129]
Home Depot Coach of the Year
Walter Camp Coach of the Year[130]
George Munger Award
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year	Clark Lea[131]		Vanderbilt
AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year[132]	Bryant Haines	DC	Indiana
Broyles Award

Award	Winner	Position	School
Manning Award	Fernando Mendoza[133]	QB	Indiana
Burlsworth Trophy (top player who began as walk-on)	Drew Mestemaker[134]		North Texas
Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player)	KC Concepcion[135]	WR/RS	Texas A&M
Polynesian Football Player of the Year Award (top Polynesian player)	Spencer Fano	OT	Utah
	Makai Lemon	WR	USC
Jon Cornish Trophy (top Canadian player)	Antwan Raymond[136]	RB	Rutgers
Campbell Trophy ("academic Heisman")	Eli Stowers[137]	TE	Vanderbilt
Academic All-American of the Year	Blake Horvath	QB	Navy
Wuerffel Trophy (humanitarian-athlete)	Michael Taaffe	DB	Texas
Joe Moore Award	N/A	OL	Iowa
Ted Hendricks Award	Rueben Bain Jr.	DE	Miami (FL)
Jet Award	Kaden Wetjen	RS	Iowa
Patrick Mannelly Award	Beau Gardner	LS	Georgia

The following players were recognized as consensus All-Americans for 2025. Unanimous selections are followed by an asterisk (*).

2025 Consensus All-Americans

Name	Position	Year	University
Fernando Mendoza	Quarterback	Junior	Indiana
Ahmad Hardy	Running back	Sophomore	Missouri
Jeremiyah Love*		Junior	Notre Dame
Skyler Bell	Wide receiver	Senior	UConn
Makai Lemon*		Junior	USC
Jeremiah Smith*		Sophomore	Ohio State
Eli Stowers*	Tight end	Senior	Vanderbilt
Spencer Fano*	Offensive Line	Junior	Utah
Logan Jones*		Senior	Iowa
Francis Mauigoa		Junior	Miami (FL)
Kadyn Proctor			Alabama
Carter Smith		Junior	Indiana
David Bailey*	Defensive line	Senior	Texas Tech
Rueben Bain Jr.		Junior	Miami (FL)
Cashius Howell*		Senior	Texas A&M
Kayden McDonald*		Junior	Ohio State
CJ Allen	Linebacker		Georgia
Arvell Reese			Ohio State
Jacob Rodriguez*		Senior	Texas Tech
Mansoor Delane*	Defensive back		LSU
Caleb Downs*		Junior	Ohio State
Bishop Fitzgerald		Senior	USC
Leonard Moore*		Sophomore	Notre Dame
Kansei Matsuzawa	Kicker	Senior	Hawaii
Cole Maynard	Punter	Senior	Western Kentucky
KC Concepcion	All-purpose, return specialist	Junior	Texas A&M
Kaden Wetjen		Senior	Iowa

This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2025, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled game before its bowl game. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2025, see 2024 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

School	Outgoing Coach	Date	Reason	Contract Buyout	Replacement
Virginia Tech	Brent Pry	September 14, 2025	Fired[138]	$6 million[139]	Philip Montgomery (interim)
UCLA	DeShaun Foster	September 14, 2025	Fired[140]	$5 million[139]	Tim Skipper (interim)
Oklahoma State	Mike Gundy	September 23, 2025	Fired[141]	$15 million[139]	Doug Meacham (interim)
Arkansas	Sam Pittman	September 28, 2025	Fired[142]	$9.8 million[139]	Bobby Petrino (interim)
Oregon State	Trent Bray	October 12, 2025	Fired[143]	$4 million[139]	Robb Akey (interim)
Penn State	James Franklin	October 12, 2025	Fired[144]	$9 million[145][a]	Terry Smith (interim)
UAB	Trent Dilfer	October 12, 2025	Fired[146]	$2.4 million[139]	Alex Mortensen
Florida	Billy Napier	October 19, 2025	Fired[147]	$21 million[139]	Billy Gonzales (interim)
Colorado State	Jay Norvell	October 19, 2025	Fired[148]	$1.5 million[139]	Tyson Summers (interim)
LSU	Brian Kelly	October 26, 2025	Fired[149]	$54 million[139]	Frank Wilson (interim)
Auburn	Hugh Freeze	November 2, 2025	Fired[150]	$15.8 million[151]	D. J. Durkin (interim)
California	Justin Wilcox	November 23, 2025	Fired[152]	$10.9 million[152]	Nick Rolovich (interim, bowl)
North Texas	Eric Morris	November 25, 2025	Hired by Oklahoma State[153]	N/A	Drew Svoboda (interim, bowl)[154]
UConn	Jim L. Mora	November 26, 2025	Hired by Colorado State[155]	N/A	Gordon Sammis (interim, bowl)
South Florida	Alex Golesh	November 30, 2025	Hired by Auburn[156]	N/A	Kevin Patrick (interim, bowl)
Memphis	Ryan Silverfield	November 30, 2025	Hired by Arkansas[157]	N/A	Reggie Howard (interim, bowl)
Coastal Carolina	Tim Beck	November 30, 2025	Fired[158]	$1.7 million[159]	Jeremiah Johnson (interim, bowl)
Ole Miss	Lane Kiffin	November 30, 2025	Hired by LSU[160]	N/A	Pete Golding[161]
Washington State	Jimmy Rogers	December 5, 2025	Hired by Iowa State[162]	N/A	Jesse Bobbit (interim, bowl)
Southern Miss	Charles Huff	December 6, 2025	Hired by Memphis[163]	N/A	Blake Anderson[164]
Toledo	Jason Candle	December 6, 2025	Hired by UConn[165]	N/A	Robert Weiner (interim, bowl)
Michigan	Sherrone Moore	December 10, 2025	Fired[166]	N/A	Biff Poggi (interim, bowl)
Missouri State	Ryan Beard	December 11, 2025	Hired by Coastal Carolina[167]	N/A	Nick Petrino (interim, bowl)
Utah	Kyle Whittingham	December 12, 2025	Stepped down[168]	N/A	Morgan Scalley[169]
Ohio	Brian Smith	December 17, 2025	Fired[170]	N/A	John Hauser[171]

The list includes coaching changes announced during the season that will not take effect until the end of the season.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement	Previous position
Virginia Tech	Philip Montgomery (interim)	November 17, 2025	Permanent replacement	James Franklin[172]	Penn State head coach
Oklahoma State	Doug Meacham (interim)	November 25, 2025	Permanent replacement	Eric Morris[153]	North Texas head coach
North Texas	Drew Svoboda[154] (interim, bowl)	November 25, 2025	Permanent replacement	Neal Brown[173]	Texas special assistant
Colorado State	Tyson Summers (interim)	November 26, 2025	Permanent replacement	Jim L. Mora[155]	UConn head coach
Oregon State	Robb Akey (interim)	November 28, 2025	Permanent replacement	JaMarcus Shephard[174]	Alabama co-offensive coordinator
Stanford	Frank Reich (interim)	November 28, 2025	Permanent replacement	Tavita Pritchard[175]	Washington Commanders quarterbacks coach
Auburn	D. J. Durkin (interim)	November 30, 2025	Permanent replacement	Alex Golesh[156]	South Florida head coach
Arkansas	Bobby Petrino (interim)	November 30, 2025	Permanent replacement	Ryan Silverfield[157]	Memphis head coach
Florida	Billy Gonzales (interim)	November 30, 2025	Permanent replacement	Jon Sumrall[176]	Tulane head coach
Tulane	Jon Sumrall	November 30, 2025	Hired by Florida[176]	Will Hall[177]	Tulane passing game coordinator
Michigan State	Jonathan Smith	November 30, 2025	Fired[178]	Pat Fitzgerald[179]	Northwestern head coach (2022)
LSU	Frank Wilson (interim, bowl)	November 30, 2025	Permanent replacement	Lane Kiffin[160]	Ole Miss head coach
Kentucky	Mark Stoops	November 30, 2025	Fired[180]	Will Stein[181]	Oregon offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
South Florida	Kevin Patrick (interim, bowl)	December 3, 2025	Permanent replacement	Brian Hartline[182]	Ohio State offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach
Kansas State	Chris Klieman	December 3, 2025	Retired[183]	Collin Klein[184]	Texas A&M offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
California	Nick Rolovich (interim, bowl)	December 5, 2025	Permanent replacement	Tosh Lupoi[185]	Oregon defensive coordinator/linebackers coach
Penn State	Terry Smith (interim, bowl)	December 5, 2025	Permanent replacement	Matt Campbell[186]	Iowa State head coach
Iowa State	Matt Campbell	December 5, 2025	Hired by Penn State[186]	Jimmy Rogers[162]	Washington State head coach
UConn	Gordon Sammis (interim, bowl)	December 6, 2025	Permanent replacement	Jason Candle[165]	Toledo head coach
UCLA	Tim Skipper (interim)	December 6, 2025	Permanent replacement	Bob Chesney[187]	James Madison head coach
James Madison	Bob Chesney	December 6, 2025	Hired by UCLA[187]	Billy Napier[188]	Florida head coach
Memphis	Reggie Howard (interim, bowl)	December 6, 2025	Permanent replacement	Charles Huff[163]	Southern Miss head coach
Toledo	Robert Weiner (interim, bowl)	December 10, 2025	Permanent replacement	Mike Jacobs[189]	Mercer head coach
Coastal Carolina	Jeremiah Johnson (interim, bowl)	December 11, 2025	Permanent replacement	Ryan Beard[167]	Missouri State head coach
Washington State	Jesse Bobbit (interim, bowl)	December 12, 2025	Permanent replacement	Kirby Moore[190]	Missouri offensive coordinator
Missouri State	Nick Petrino (interim, bowl)	December 19, 2025	Permanent replacement	Casey Woods[191]	SMU offensive coordinator/tight ends coach
Michigan	Biff Poggi (interim, bowl)	December 26, 2025	Permanent replacement	Kyle Whittingham[192]	Utah head coach
Northern Illinois	Thomas Hammock	February 18, 2026	Hired as RB coach by Seattle Seahawks[193]

All times Eastern. Rankings are from the AP Poll (before 11/4) and CFP Rankings (thereafter).

Rank	Date	Time	Matchup				Network	Viewers (millions)[194][195]	Location	Significance
1	November 29, 2025	12:00 p.m.	No. 1 Ohio State	27	No. 15 Michigan	9	FOX	18.42	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	Rivalry, Big Noon Kickoff
2	August 30, 2025	12:00 p.m.	No. 1 Texas	7	No. 3 Ohio State	14		16.62	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	College GameDay, Big Noon Kickoff
3	November 28, 2025	7:30 p.m.	No. 3 Texas A&M	17	No. 16 Texas	27	ABC	13.04	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	Rivalry
4	September 13, 2025	3:30 p.m.	No. 6 Georgia	44	No. 15 Tennessee	41		12.58	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	Rivalry, College GameDay
5	November 29, 2025	7:30 p.m.	No. 10 Alabama	27	Auburn	20		11.31	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	Rivalry
6	August 31, 2025	7:30 p.m.	No. 6 Notre Dame	24	No. 10 Miami	27		10.80	Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL	Rivalry, Kickoff game (Week 1)
7	August 30, 2025	3:30 p.m.	No. 8 Alabama	17	Florida State	31		10.66	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL
8	November 15, 2025	3:30 p.m.	No. 11 Oklahoma	23	No. 4 Alabama	21		10.48	Saban Field at Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL
9	August 30, 2025	7:30 p.m.	No. 9 LSU	17	No. 4 Clemson	10		10.45	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	Kickoff game (Week 1)
10	November 15, 2025	7:30 p.m.	No. 10 Texas	10	No. 5 Georgia	35		10.43	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA

All times Eastern. Rankings are from the CFP Rankings.^[196]

Rank	Date	Time	Matchup				Network	Viewers (millions)[197][198]	Conference	Location
1	December 6	8:00 p.m.	No. 2 Indiana	13	No. 1 Ohio State	10	FOX	18.33	Big Ten	Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
2		4:00 p.m.	No. 3 Georgia	28	No. 9 Alabama	7	ABC	16.86	SEC	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
3		12:00 p.m.	No. 11 BYU	7	No. 4 Texas Tech	34		8.99	Big 12	AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
4		8:00 p.m.	Duke	27OT	No. 17 Virginia	20		3.88	ACC	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
5	December 5	8:00 p.m.	No. 24 North Texas	21	No. 20 Tulane	34		2.41	American	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana
6		8:00 p.m.	UNLV	21	Boise State	38	FOX	1.52	MW	Albertsons Stadium Boise, Idaho
7		7:00 p.m.	Troy	14	No. 25 James Madison	31	ESPN	1.15	Sun Belt	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, Virginia
8	December 6	12:00 p.m.	Miami (OH)	13	Western Michigan	23		1.06	MAC	Ford Field, Detroit, MI
9	December 5	7:00 p.m.	Kennesaw State	19	Jacksonville State	15	CBSSN	n.a.	CUSA	AmFirst Stadium Jacksonville, Alabama

All times Eastern. Rankings are from the CFP Rankings.^[196]

Rank	Date	Time	Matchup				Network	Viewers (millions)	Game	Location

Rank	Date	Time	Matchup				Network	Viewers (millions)	Game	Location
1	January 19	7:30 pm (ET)	No. 10 Miami	21	No. 1 Indiana	27	ESPN	30.1	College Football Playoff National Championship	Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida
2	January 1	5:00 pm (ET)	No. 9 Alabama	3	No. 1 Indiana	38		23.90	Rose Bowl (Quarterfinals)	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California
3	December 31	7:30 pm (ET)	No. 10 Miami	24	No. 2 Ohio State	14		19.02	Cotton Bowl Classic (Quarterfinals)	AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas
4	January 1	4:00 pm (ET)	No. 6 Ole Miss	39	No. 3 Georgia	34		18.66	Sugar Bowl (Quarterfinals)	Caesars Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
5	January 9	7:30 pm (ET)	No. 5 Oregon	22	No. 1 Indiana	56		18.0	Peach Bowl (Semifinals)	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia
6	January 1	1:00 pm (ET)	No. 5 Oregon	23	No. 4 Texas Tech	0		15.90	Orange Bowl (Quarterfinals)	Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida
7	January 8	7:30 pm (ET)	No. 10 Miami	31	No. 6 Ole Miss	27		15.8	Fiesta Bowl (Semifinals)	State Farm Stadium Glendale, Arizona
8	December 19	8:00 pm (ET)	No. 9 Alabama	34	No. 8 Oklahoma	24	ABC/ESPN	14.94	Non-bowl game (First round)	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Campus site)
9	December 20	12:00 pm (ET)	No. 10 Miami	10	No. 7 Texas A&M	3		14.72		Kyle Field College Station, TX (Campus site)
10		4:00 pm (ET)	No. 20 Tulane	10	No. 6 Ole Miss	41	TNT	6.20		Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Campus site)
11		8:00 pm (ET)	No. 24 James Madison	34	No. 5 Oregon	51		4.36		Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR (Campus site)

This is the first season of a new television contract for the Big 12 Conference with ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT Sports. ESPN hold the rights to the top four college football games per season, and twelve of the top twenty games, along with the Big 12 Championship Game. TNT Sports sublicense thirteen games from ESPN.^[199][200]

The Pac-12 Conference renewed their media partnership with The CW for the 2025 season, while also agreeing to two-game deals with ESPN and CBS Sports. While The CW will continue to carry majority of the home games for Oregon State and Washington State, ESPN will carry two Oregon State home games and CBS will carry one home game from each school in primetime.^[201]

This is the final year of the Mountain West Conference's broadcast agreement with Fox Sports and CBS Sports. The conference has not yet announced a new agreement.^[202] Despite being announced as a multi-year deal, the Mountain West did not continue an agreement with TNT Sports from 2024 to air 14 games on TruTV.^[203]

#	Team	Average
1	Michigan	110,842
2	Penn State	107,093
3	Texas A&M	106,159
4	Ohio State	104,105
5	Texas	102,367
6	Tennessee	101,915
7	LSU	101,575
8	Alabama	100,077
9	Georgia	93,033
10	Florida	90,125
11	Auburn	88,043
12	Nebraska	86,549
13	Oklahoma	83,532
14	South Carolina	79,334
15	Clemson	79,142
16	Notre Dame	77,622
17	Wisconsin	70,403
18	Michigan State	70,389
19	Arkansas	69,762
20	Iowa	69,250
21	Washington	68,238
22	USC	67,783
23	Ole Miss	66,772
24	Florida State	65,876
25	Miami Hurricanes	63,834
26	BYU	63,789
27	Iowa State	60,862
28	Texas Tech	60,143
29	Virginia Tech	59,946
30	Oregon	58,582
31	Illinois	58,350
32	Kentucky	57,779
33	Missouri	57,321
34	NC State	56,919
35	Purdue	56,581
36	West Virginia	54,506
37	Arizona State	54,444
38	Mississippi State	53,186
39	Pittsburgh	51,845
40	Kansas State	51,773
41	Utah	51,701
42	Indiana	51,184
43	North Carolina	50,500
44	Colorado	50,469
45	Louisville	50,292
46	Virginia	48,776
47	Rutgers	48,459
48	Georgia Tech	47,694
49	Minnesota	46,519
50	Oklahoma State	44,664
51	UCF	43,409
52	TCU	43,319
53	Arizona	41,782
54	Boston College	41,090
55	Maryland	40,765
56	Kansas	39,478
57	Baylor	39,447
58	Syracuse	38,605
59	Fresno State	38,030
60	UCLA	37,282
61	East Carolina	37,097
62	Cincinnati	36,052
63	California	34,991
64	Vanderbilt	34,813
65	SMU	33,530
66	South Florida	33,194
67	Boise State	32,891
68	Houston	32,215
69	Navy	31,960
70	Colorado State	31,901
71	Appalachian State	31,813
72	UNLV	31,589
73	UConn	30,444
74	Oregon State	30,145
75	Memphis	30,097
76	Wake Forest	29,433
77	Army	28,390
78	Stanford	28,171
79	Southern Miss	27,912
80	Air Force	26,665
81	Washington State	26,527
82	San Diego State	26,189
83	Marshall	25,298
84	New Mexico	25,252
85	James Madison	25,135
86	North Texas	24,493
87	UTSA	24,361
88	Duke	24,283
89	Tulane	24,068
90	Troy	24,053
91	Wyoming	23,433
92	Rice	23,423
93	Georgia Southern	22,541
94	Toledo	21,199
95	Ohio	21,007
96	Western Michigan	20,194
97	Jacksonville State	19,993
98	Louisiana	19,982
99	UAB	19,702
100	Utah State	18,855
101	Old Dominion	18,583
102	Texas State	18,565
103	Bowling Green	18,556
104	Liberty	18,371
105	Coastal Carolina	18,352
106	Nevada	17,875
107	FAU	17,667
108	Temple	17,566
109	Louisiana–Monroe	17,486
110	South Alabama	17,273
111	Arkansas State	16,964
112	Delaware	16,751
113	Tulsa	16,369
114	Central Michigan	16,277
115	UTEP	15,818
116	Georgia State	15,500
117	Eastern Michigan	14,842
118	Western Kentucky	14,772
119	San Jose State	13,997
120	FIU	13,864
121	Buffalo	13,808
122	Hawaii	13,708
123	Louisiana Tech	13,682
124	Charlotte	13,564
125	Middle Tennessee	12,252
126	Miami RedHawks	11,658
127	Northwestern	11,548
128	Missouri State	11,547
129	Kennesaw State	10,743
130	Kent State	9,875
131	New Mexico State	9,505
132	Northern Illinois	9,309
133	Ball State	8,968
134	UMass	8,789
135	Akron	7,729
136	Sam Houston	4,773

Source:^[204]

• 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season
• 2025 NCAA Division II football season
• 2025 NCAA Division III football season
• 2025 NAIA football season
• 2025 U Sports football season

Media related to 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season at Wikimedia Commons