- Several experts predict Clemson or Texas will win the national championship, with Alabama and Penn State also receiving votes.
- Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik is the popular pick for the Heisman Trophy.
- Experts are divided on which team will be the biggest surprise and biggest disappointment.
It’s a glorious time of year for college football fans. The official return of the game we love comes in Week 1 after months of speculation about how the season will play out.
There’s been changes galore with movement in the transfer portal to weigh, plus additions from the high school ranks and potential emergence of players already on the roster. Coaches have been on the move, too, with a new face at North Carolina that made his name in the NFL and a familiar one at West Virginia among the hires.
There’s also the matter of unpredictability that makes the sport so great. Last year, nobody was thinking about Indiana or SMU as serious College Football Playoff contenders. Yet, the Hoosiers and Mustangs were in the field when and Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina were all left out on the final day.
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Put this all together and trying to forecast in August how the season will play out over the next three months can be quite the challenge. But the college football experts at USA TODAY Sports are here to give it their best shot. Our predictions for the biggest questions ahead of the season.
Who makes the College Football Playoff?
Who will win the national championship?
Matt Hayes: Penn State. We’ve seen coach James Franklin’s infamous troubles against Top 10 opponents (4-20), and that the Lions had the easiest road to the CFP final last season — and couldn’t close out Notre Dame to get there. A motivated quarterback (Drew Allar) with some new weapons, and a nasty defense under new coordinator Jim Knowles, does it this time around.
Jordan Mendoza: Georgia. The Bulldogs won’t be perfect, but much like Ohio State last season, the offense clicks at the right time. The defense remains strong and Kirby Smart cements himself as one of the best coaches this century.
Paul Myerberg: Texas. The Longhorns are one of only a very few teams with the talent and depth to survive the playoff. Even if Texas doesn’t win the SEC, it can follow Ohio States’s path from last season.
Erick Smith: Alabama. With so many unproven quarterbacks among the other top contenders, it’s been interesting how most people are overlooking the Crimson Tide and new starter Ty Simpson. There’s plenty of skill people and offensive line talent to have a very good offense, and the defense should be one of the country’s best. Sounds like perfect recipe to win a title.
Eddie Timanus: Clemson. A lot has happened since Clemson and Alabama squared off in the championship game – but who wouldn’t sign up for more of that? Well, OK, Ohio State fans wouldn’t to name a few, but we wouldn’t mind seeing another instant classic, even if some of the folks on the sidelines have changed. The Tigers win a close one.
Blake Toppmeyer: Texas. The Longhorns have the quarterback, the roster and the coach to prevail. Their schedule might stand between them and the No. 1 seed, but, as we saw last season, a top seed isn’t essential. Just make the bracket.
Who will win the Heisman Trophy?
Hayes: Cade Klubnick, Clemson. He’s a quarterback, he’ll have huge numbers, he’ll be playing for one of the top two teams in college football. That’s about as perfect a Heisman scenario as you can get.
Mendoza: Behren Morton, Texas Tech. Texas Tech has put all of its chips into a successful 2025. Morton benefits from it as he puts up ridiculous numbers en route to a College Football Playoff appearance.
Myerberg: Cade Klubnik, Clemson. Texas QB Arch Manning has enormous name recognition and an outstanding supporting cast. But Klubnik could steal Manning’s thunder as a highly productive starter for one of the top contenders for the national championship. His growth from 2023 to 2024 paves the way for a terrific senior season.
Smith: Garrett Nussmeier, LSU. He’s got experience and the wide receiver group to put up big numers, and the Tigers are primed to make a College Football Playoff run. A win in the opener at Clemson would move him to the top of the favorites list and an appearance in the SEC title game might be enough to lock up the award.
Timanus: Cade Klubnik, Clemson. One of these years, my pick of a third-year starting quarterback for the Tigers is going to pan out in this spot. Klubnik looks poised for a big season with the requisite weapons on offense. And the Clemson defense should help keep the title in the title hunt throughout the season.
Toppmeyer: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State. There’s no shortage of quality quarterbacks who will contend for the award, but star Buckeyes wide receiver is the nation’s most incomparable player, and the Buckeyes will win enough to keep him on voters’ radar.
What will be the game of the year?
Hayes: Penn State at Ohio State, Nov. 1. Penn State has lost eight consecutive to the Buckeyes, and the one win under Franklin came with a whole lot of funky to it (big special teams plays, turnovers). Penn State hasn’t won at Ohio State since 2011, but this one will leave no doubt. Knowles’ return to Columbus is the hype, Allar’s big game redemption is the story.
Mendoza: Alabama at Georgia, Sept. 27. Why not deliver an encore? With several explosive playmakers on both sides of the ball, the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs put up another instant classic.
Myerberg: Penn State at Ohio State, Nov. 1. This one should determine the fate of the Big Ten and which team draws an opening-round bye in the playoff. A win in Columbus would also represent one of the biggest moments of the James Franklin era and provide a huge boost heading into the home stretch of the regular season.
Smith: Texas at Georgia, Nov. 15. This should be a decisive game in the SEC race. While Arch Manning will face tough environments at Ohio State and Florida and against Oklahoma in Dallas, this likely will be his toughest assignment. Should he navigate the early schedule, a winning performance here could be the final piece of a Heisman push. However, should the Longhorns arrive with blemishes on their record, it could be a game that knocks them out of the playoff race.
Timanus: LSU at Alabama, Nov. 8. There are a metric ton of games to choose from, but we expect this one will have SEC title and playoff implications by the time Week 11 rolls around. And these two rivals have had some spirited matchups that have been dramatic throughout.
Toppmeyer: Penn State at Ohio State, Nov. 1. Is this the year James Franklin finally beats Ryan Day? He might get multiple chances at achieving that feat, but the game on Nov. 1 in Columbus is the only guaranteed opportunity.
What will be the biggest surprise team?
Hayes: Georgia Tech. Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, the top two quarterbacks selected in the 2023 NFL draft, arrived at college the same time as Georgia Tech’s Haynes King. Young and Stroud will begin their third seasons in the NFL, and King will begin his sixth in college football. He’ll do it after coach Brent Key kept coveted offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner in the fold, and added impact players from the portal (WR Eric Rivers, RB Malachi Hosley, DB Jon Mitchell). But this is all about King: if he stays healthy, the Jackets will be the surprise story of the season.
Mendoza: Louisville. Jeff Brohm has quietly put up solid teams in Louisville, but this feels like his best offense yet. Led by Issac Brown, the Cardinals get themselves in the College Football Playoff.
Myerberg: Utah. The Utes are poised for a big-time rebound after a rare misfire in 2025. While there are a bunch of Big 12 teams in the mix for the conference title, Utah’s offseason upgrades at quarterback and elsewhere make them a contender to double last year’s five-win finish.
Smith: Florida State. The Seminoles probably won’t make it to the ACC title game but they’re poised to make a rebound with quarterback Thomas Castellanos taking the helm of the offense and a host of transfers arriving. Getting to eight wins would quadruple last year’s win total, which would be quite the improvement.
Timanus: Iowa State. The Cyclones played for the Big 12 title last year, so they’ll only be a surprise to people who haven’t been paying attention to what Matt Campbell has been doing in Ames. The win against Kansas State in Dublin could be huge as the league race takes shape.
Toppmeyer: Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are an unranked sleeper team to watch with second-year starting quarterback Dylan Raiola. Matt Rhule’s track record in his third year is also another positive.
Who will be the biggest disappointment?
Hayes: LSU. Brian Kelly has talked all offseason about this being the most talented LSU team he has coached. So a disappointment would be not reaching the CFP. The offensive line that struggled to protect last season has been retooled, and QB Garrett Nussmeier — while uber-talented — must prove he can limit turnovers. Does LB Harold Perkins return to freshman form? Does transfer edge Patrick Payton avoid getting lost in games?
Mendoza: LSU. Brian Kelly loses another Week 1 game (shocker). The Tigers aren’t able to fully recover, losing another slew of games they should win.
Myerberg: LSU. Given all that’s at stake in 2025, failing to make the playoff would make the Tigers the biggest disappointment in the SEC and the Power Four. There are a bunch of things to like, including a potential first-round quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier, but LSU still has to show growth on defense and manage a schedule that kicks off with a bang with a trip to Clemson in Week 1.
Smith: Miami. The notiion that you can just plug in Carson Beck and all will be well with the Hurricanes seems overly optimistic. The former Georgia quarterback coming off a down year and a serous arm injury. And there’s the matter of Miami struggling when the pressure is the greatest. That’s why the Hurricanes will miss the College Football Playoff.
Timanus: Florida. The Gators’ strong 2024 finish has them ranked higher than they perhaps should be. There’s no disputing they have talent, but their killer schedule will have them out of the Top 25 by season’s end, especially if DJ Lagway can’t stay healthy.
Toppmeyer: South Carolina. The 13th-ranked Gamecocks will fall victim to last season’s success, plus a schedule that includes six games against preseason ranked opponents.
Who will be coach of year?
Hayes: Brent Venables, Oklahoma: A year after the worst conference record at OU in three decades, Venables made critical offseason moves of adding the hottest young offensive coordinator in the game (Ben Arbuckle), and the best quarterback in the portal (John Mateer). The defense will be as salty as last season, and an efficient, big-play offense will bring it all together. OU, not Texas, will be the first Big 12 transfer to win the SEC.
Mendoza: James Franklin, Penn State. After years of just falling short, Franklin finally fields a team that has a real good shot at a perfect season and a national championship.
Myerberg: Brent Venables, Oklahoma. This honor typically doesn’t go to the coach of the nation’s best team but a coach who exceeds preseason expectations in the flashiest way. That could be Venables, who is on a bit of a warmer seat after a rough SEC debut for the Sooners but has a team capable of earning an at-large playoff bid.
Smith: Kyle Whittingham, Utah. This might be Whittingham’s last season and to make sure it wasn’t a major disappointment he brought in a new offensive coordinator and quarterback that should address the biggest issues from last season. The defense again will be stout, and the Utes will reach the College Football Playoff by winning the Big 12.
Timanus: Kalen DeBoer, Alabama – Big things are expected when you’re the head coach of the Crimson Tide. But year two in Tuscaloosa will go a lot better for the new staff with deep playoff run.
Toppmeyer: Steve Sarkisian. The Longhorns winning their first national championship in two decades will cement what Sarkisian has building toward the past few seasons: Texas is back.
