With the 2025 college football season just a few months away, CBS Sports has used power rankings from several outlets to create one definitive top 25.
Back in May, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach named Penn State the No. 1 team in the country. That decision shocked plenty of fans considering most outlets, including Athlon Sports, have Ohio State ranked ahead of the pack. After all, the Buckeyes are the reigning national champions.
Similar to Athlon Sports, CBS has Ohio State ranked No. 1 in its preseason top 25.
Bleacher Report, on the other hand, has Texas at No. 1 for now. There’s plenty of hype surrounding the Longhorns since they have Arch Manning at quarterback.
Although there are plenty of analysts who favor Penn State and Texas, the composite rankings still have Ohio State in the top spot.
“One of three teams to receive two first-place votes this spring, the defending national champions edged out Texas for top billing amongst college football media,” Brad Crawford of CBS Sports wrote. “Ryan Day has an embarrassment of riches at wideout with the explosive Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate and much will be placed on the shoulders of two new coordinators – Brian Hartline and Matt Patricia.”
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Penn State and Texas are ranked No. 2 and 3, respectively. Clemson and Georgia, meanwhile, rounded out the top five for the composite rankings.
Here are the composite rankings from CBS Sports:
Ohio StateTexasPenn StateClemsonGeorgiaNotre DameOregonLSUAlabamaIllinoisArizona StateBYUFloridaSouth CarolinaMichiganKansas StateIowa StateOle MissSMUIndianaTexas TechTennesseeTexas A&MOklahomaLouisville
There’s no doubt these rankings will change dramatically after Week 1, especially since Ohio State and Texas will square off on Aug. 30.
For now though, Ohio State belongs at the top of the mountain.
Related: ESPN Releases Its First Football Power Index Top 25 Rankings
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