(EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

College Football 2025: Phil Steele Releases Bold Top 25

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 8:17 AM ET

Another day, and more college football preseason rankings are out. This time they're from the creator of what is annually the most anticipated college football preview magazine, Phil Steele.

Steele's magazine is now available for purchase, as it features the most up-to-date information of any of the preview magazines out there. Steele has also never had a problem going against the grain of what the nation tends to think, and does that again this season with his rankings.

Without further ado, here is Phil Steele's preseason top 25 for the 2025 college football season.

25-21:

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

25. Toledo
24. Kansas State
23. Arizona State
22. USC
21. Iowa State

Although there is still another pair of Big 12 teams to come in his rankings, Steele sees a logjammed race in the conference again this fall. Steele is also among the only ones to have USC listed in his top 25 season to start the year.

20-16:

Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

20. Indiana
19. Texas A&M
18. Utah
17. Florida
16. Illinois

Indiana was America's sweetheart in 2024, but coming off an impressive year themselves and with a more favorable schedule this fall, is Illinois going to crash the College Football Playoff party?

15-11:

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

15. Boise State
14. Miami (FL)
13. Baylor
12. SMU
11. LSU

Steele is sky-high on Boise State to get back to the College Football Playoff, even with the loss of Ashton Jeanty. Also, the closeness in the rankings begs the question: Is Mario Cristobal at Miami or Brian Kelly at LSU under more pressure in 2025?

10-6:

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

10. Michigan
9. Oklahoma
8. Oregon
7. Alabama
6. Georgia

The recurring theme among these five is that they all have a new full-time starting quarterback, which in some cases is a good thing, but in others, isn't so much.

5-1:

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

5. Ohio State
4. Texas
3. Notre Dame
2. Clemson
1. Penn State

I can see Penn State being the Big Ten favorite, but James Franklin winning the three playoff games necessary for a national championship is quite the ask, considering his resume. Texas is a bit lower than almost all other outlets have them, but if you look at the Longhorns' strengths, Notre Dame, Clemson, and the Nittany Lions are all built with the strengths that would seemingly make life difficult on them.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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