Joel Klatt's 10 Games That Will Shape the 2025 College Football Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cami Griffin | Last updated Jun 28, 2025 2:58 PM ET

There's no shortage of exciting matchups on the schedule for the 2025 college football season.

Fox Sports' Joel Klatt, a well-respected college football analyst, recently ranked the 10 most impactful games in 2025. These are matchups that are likely to have major College Football Playoff implications and feature two highly ranked teams.

Texas only appears on Klatt's ranking once, but it takes the No. 1 spot. The season opener of Texas vs. Ohio State on Aug. 30 is one of the most anticipated games of the season.

It will be a rematch of the College Football Playoff semifinal last season. ESPN's College GameDay will be in attendance and it will mark Lee Corso's final broadcast. Both teams are expected to be ranked within the top five. The Buckeyes are the reigning national champions. It will be quarterback phenom Arch Manning's first game as the full-time starter for the Longhorns. The hype is clearly warranted.

No. 2 on Klatt's ranking is LSU vs. Clemson on Aug. 30. Both of these programs should contend for a national title this season. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik is the top returning signal-caller in college football and witnessing him battle LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier on the other side will be a sight to see.

Which 10 games will shape the 2025 season? @joelklatt shares his list. pic.twitter.com/ev9bzR6t0N
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) June 23, 2025

While it will certainly be nice to win a game of this nature early in the season, it shouldn't harm the losers College Football Playoff chances. Teams should be rewarded for scheduling tough non-conference opponents.

“In this day and age of the 12-team playoff, I surely hope the committee doesn’t punish either of the teams that play in that game for playing in that game,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “There’s a lot of teams that avoid these games.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Aug. 30 in Columbus.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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