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Urban Meyer Names College Football's Top 3 Teams In 2025

Originally posted on The Spun | By Kameron Duncan | Last updated Feb 13, 2025 12:58 PM ET

The Ohio State Buckeyes conquered the college football world this season, making their way through the first-ever 12-team playoff and winning the national title in impressive fashion.

Ohio State defeated Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame on their way to capturing the national championship, one of the most impressive runs in the sport's history when it comes to the postseason.

They'll look to repeat in 2025, but one former Buckeyes coach is naming his top three teams well before the next college football season gets underway.

During this week's episode of the "Triple Option" podcast with Rob Stone and Mark Ingram, former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer selected Texas, Ohio State and Oregon - in that order - as his national championship favorites for 2025.

“I’m going to go with Texas, two,” Meyer said after initially mentioning Penn State as a "dark horse" title contender due to returning quarterback Drew Allar.

“Ohio State, obviously they’re loaded and they recruit their tails off. Julian Sayin,, I keep hearing great things. I stood next to him, he’s very slight. But he’s got a great arm, great release, ball gets out fast. Keep hearing great things about him."

Meyer didn't put Tennessee in his top three, but he gave a lot of praise to Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava during the podcast, mentioning Tennessee as another dark horse team for the national title.

“I remember when I first started studying them last year and I called Brady Quinn and Matt Leinart and said, ‘What am I missing here? This guy looks like a bonafide … he looks like Aaron Rodgers.’ The ball comes out of his hand like a tennis ball," Meyer said.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 23: The College Football Playoff (CFP) Championship trophy sits on display during the 2024 Big Ten Media Days on July 23, 2024 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Meyer explained that Iamaleava's continued growth and evolution as a quarterback will directly affect their chances to return to the College Football Playoff.

“He got really inconsistent and that team around him got a little inconsistent, and they still had a heck of a year,” the former head coach said.

“If that kid grows as a quarterback … I asked the question after watching, and I know he wasn’t playing great teams, but just his physical ability, his size, speed, athleticism, (the way) the ball comes out, I saw him as a high first-round draft pick."

We'll see if Iamaleava can continue to improve while leading Tennessee back to the playoff, and we'll also find out if Meyer's championship picks all end up in the final four.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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