College Football Rankings 2025: CFN Preseason Top 10 - True National Title Contenders

Originally posted on College Football News | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 4:19 AM ET

The College Football News preseason rankings are based on how good the teams appear to be going into the season.

Who has the most talent, the best depth, and the parts in place to make the strongest run to a national title? Last year was a breeze - it was Ohio State. This year?

Go ahead and make your case for any of the ten teams on this list, and you'll probably be right. With all of that said, Florida State and Utah were both in our preseason top ten last year, and ... oops.

As we keep saying, this isn't supposed to be predictive. Before it all gets going, the ten best teams in college football appear to be ...

College Football Rankings CFN Preseason Top 10

CFN Preview 2025 Rankings
101-136 | 76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50
11-25 | @ColFootballNews
CFN Previews of All 136 Teams

One thing to note. The Player You Need To Know isn't always the star. It's usually the top guy outside of the skill parts who'll get the spotlight.

10 Miami

Miami Preview
Player You Need To Know
Francis Mauigoa, OT Jr.
Season Opener: Notre Dame
2024 Preseason Rank: 13
2024 Final Rank: 23
2023: 33, 2022: 62
2021: 49, 2020: 20
2019: 60, 2018: 60

9 Clemson

Clemson Preview
Player You Need To Know
TJ Parker, EDGE Jr.
Season Opener: LSU
2024 Preseason Rank: 12
2024 Final Rank: 24
2023: 20, 2022: 13
2021: 16, 2020: 3
2019: 3, 2018: 1

8 LSU

LSU Preview
Player You Need To Know
Whit Weeks, LB Jr.
Season Opener: at Clemson
2024 Preseason Rank: 14
2024 Final Rank: 22
2023: 9, 2022: 15
2021: 35, 2020: 29
2019: 1, 2018: 10

7 Oregon

Oregon Preview
Player You Need To Know
Isaiah World, OT Sr.
Season Opener: Montana State
2024 Preseason Rank: 6
2024 Final Rank: 2
2023: 6, 2022: 19
2021: 31, 2020: 28
2019: 7, 2018: 31

6 Georgia

Georgia Preview
Player You Need To Know
Christian Miller, DT Jr.
Season Opener: Marshall
2024 Preseason Rank: 2
2024 Final Rank: 5
2023: 5, 2022: 1
2021: 1, 2020: 8
2019: 4, 2018: 4

5 Notre Dame

Notre Dame Preview
Player You Need To Know
Leonard Moore, CB Soph.
Season Opener: at Miami
2024 Preseason Rank: 11
2024 Final Rank: 3
2023: 22, 2022: 11
2021: 8, 2020: 5
2019: 12, 2018: 7

4 Ohio State

Ohio State Preview
Player You Need To Know
Sonny Styles, LB Sr.
Season Opener: Texas
2024 Preseason Rank: 1
2024 Final Rank: 1
2023: 11, 2022: 4
2021: 4, 2020: 2
2019: 2, 2018: 3

3 Alabama

Alabama Preview
Player You Need To Know
Kaydyn Proctor, OT Jr.
Season Opener: at Florida State
2024 Preseason Rank: 4
2024 Final Rank: 16
2023: 4, 2022: 7
2021: 2, 2020: 1
2019: 15, 2018: 2

2 Texas

Texas Preview
Player You Need To Know
Anthony Hill Jr., LB Jr.
Season Opener: at Ohio State
2024 Preseason Rank: 3
2024 Final Rank: 6
2023: 3, 2022: 22
2021: 20, 2020: 18
2019: 29, 2018: 13

1 Penn State

Penn State Preview
Player You Need To Know
Dani Dennis-Sutton, DE Sr.
Season Opener: Nevada
2024 Preseason Rank: 7
2024 Final Rank: 4
2023: 12, 2022: 5
2021: 32, 2020: 56
2019: 5, 2018: 26

CFN Preview 2025 Rankings
101-136 | 76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50
11-25 | @ColFootballNews
CFN Previews of All 136 Teams