The initial 2025 College Football Playoff rankings release tonight, and things will look a lot different than many expected heading into the year. As we hit November, these are the biggest surprises of the season so far.
North Carolina finding its footing under Bill Belichick
The thought was that legendary coach Bill Belichick would immediately have North Carolina competitive in the ACC. He’s an eight-time Super Bowl champion who obviously knows how to win. However, the roster put together by the Tar Heels just hasn’t looked good enough from the jump—starting with a blowout loss at TCU. That said, Belichick just got his first conference win over Syracuse, and the next North Carolina football spread has them as touchdown favorites over Stanford. So, there’s a realistic shot to get to 4-5 and push for bowl eligibility down the stretch; it’s just been a rockier start than expected as UNC looks to build the program.
Major struggles of preseason championship hopefuls
It seems every week the NCAAF latest news is dominated by big coaching moves. While no one really expected Auburn to make the College Football Playoff, their firing of head coach Hugh Freeze was the most recent domino, and Florida previously moving on from Billy Napier in the SEC wasn’t a stunner. But we’ve seen Penn State fire James Franklin and LSU fire Brian Kelly—two teams fully expected to be in the CFP mix in December. Clemson has shockingly started its season at 3-5 and just 2-4 in conference play. On top of that, Texas—though at 7-2 and still in it ahead of a matchup with Georgia—has not lived up to preseason expectations to this point.
Much more parity this season
Going hand in hand with some teams thought to be national title hopefuls struggling in 2025, there’s been a lot more parity this fall. Paying players and the transfer portal (leading to a lot more roster movement and management across the country) is no doubt a huge reason for the increase in parity. Things are more balanced, and top 10 teams are knocked off like it’s nothing. Texas, Penn State, Clemson, and Notre Dame (started 0-2 but has won six straight games) all started in the top six of the preseason AP poll, and two of them aren’t even close to being ranked. The gap has closed in a major way.
Indiana is here to stay
While many typical college football powers have slipped, an apparent new legitimate powerhouse has arrived. The undefeated Indiana Hoosiers are not only winning games but doing it in extremely convincing fashion. Take their most recent victory over Maryland. It was a bit of a slow start—including an interception by Heisman hopeful quarterback Fernando Mendoza—that didn’t last; Indiana won, 55-10. That’s what we’re seeing from Indiana now. Their average scoring margin of +31 points easily leads the nation. At Oregon—a very difficult place to win—they won by a relatively comfortable 10 points. Head coach Curt Cignetti is a confident guy, and his team backs it up.