American college football season
The 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season will be the 156th season of college football in the United States, the 120th season organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the 50th of the highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season will begin on August 23 and is scheduled to end on December 13. The postseason will begin on December 19, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, end on January 19, 2026, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida . This will be the second season of the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) system.
Conference realignment [ edit ] Two schools are playing their first FBS seasons in 2025; Delaware (from the Coastal Athletic Association ) and Missouri State (from the Missouri Valley conference) began their transitions from Division I FCS in 2024 and will join Conference USA (CUSA) in July 2025.[ 1] [ 2] independent school, UMass , will rejoin the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 2025.[ 3] [ 4]
The 2025 season will be the last for seven FBS teams in their current conferences.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9]
The regular season will begin on Saturday, August 23 with three games in Week 0 .
Rankings through Week 10 reflect the AP poll . Rankings for Week 11 and beyond list College Football Playoff Rankings first and AP poll rankings second; teams that were not ranked in the top 10 of both polls are noted.
Conference championship games [ edit ] FCS team wins over FBS teams [ edit ] This section lists unranked teams defeating AP Poll-ranked during the season.
Conference championship games [ edit ] Conference standings [ edit ] The Top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls
Rank
Associated Press
Coaches' Poll
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
CFB Playoff final rankings [ edit ] On December, 2025, the College Football Playoff selection committee announced its final team rankings for the year. It was the eleventh season of the CFP era, and the second in which the playoffs were expanded from four teams to twelve teams. The top five ranked conference champions were selected to compete, along with the seven highest ranked remaining teams. The top four conference champions received a first-round bye.[citation needed
Rank
Team
W–L
Conference and standing
Bowl game
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Rank
Associated Press
Coaches' Poll
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Team
Conference
Qualification method
College Football Playoff
Appearance
Last bid
Result of last appearance
This is the second year under the expanded College Football Playoff format. Under this format, the five highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids, while the next seven highest-ranked teams will receive at-large bids. The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive a first-round bye in the playoff.[ 10]
Normally, a team is required to have a .500 minimum winning percentage during the regular season to become bowl-eligible (six wins for an 11- or 12-game schedule, and seven wins for a 13-game schedule). If there are not enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records may be chosen to fill available bowl slots. Additionally, on the rare occasion in which a conference champion does not meet eligibility requirements, they are usually still chosen for bowl games via tie-ins for their conference.
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Page '2025–26 NCAA football bowl games' not found
Conference summaries [ edit ] Page '2025–26 NCAA football bowl games' not found
[ edit ] For conference champions not part of the College Football Playoff.
At-large bowl games [ edit ]
At-Large Teams
School
Conference
Record
Result
Bowl game
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Page '2025–26 NCAA football bowl games' not found
Heisman Trophy voting [ edit ] The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
Player
School
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
Total
Quarterback
Running back
Wide receiver
Tight end
Lineman
Defensive front
Defensive back
The following players were recognized as consensus All-Americans for 2025. Unanimous selections are followed by an asterisk (*).
2025 Consensus All-Americans
Name
Position
Year
University
Quarterback
Running back
Wide receiver
Tight end
Offensive line
Defensive line
Linebacker
Defensive back
Kicker
Punter
All-purpose/return specialist
Preseason and in-season [ edit ] This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2025, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled game but before its bowl game. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2025, see 2024 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes .
School
Outgoing coach
Date
Reason
Replacement
The list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.
School
Outgoing coach
Date
Reason
Replacement
Previous position
Television viewers and ratings [ edit ] Top 10 most watched regular season games [ edit ] All times Eastern .
Rankings are from the AP Poll (before 11/5) and CFP Rankings (thereafter). [ 11]
Rank
Date
Time
Matchup
Network
Viewers (millions)
Significance
Conference championship games [ edit ] All times Eastern .
Rankings are from the CFP Rankings . [ 11]
Rank
Date
Time
Matchup
Network
Viewers (millions)
Conference
Location
December
4:00 p.m.
ABC
SEC
Mercedes-Benz Stadium , Atlanta, GA
8:00 p.m.
CBS
Big Ten
Lucas Oil Stadium , Indianapolis, IN
12:00 p.m.
ABC
Big 12
AT&T Stadium , Arlington, TX
8:00 p.m.
ABC
ACC
Bank of America Stadium , Charlotte, NC
December
Fox
MW
ABC
AAC
7
December
ESPN
MAC
Ford Field , Detroit, MI
7:30 p.m.
ESPN
Sun Belt
—
7:00 p.m.
CBSSN
CUSA
Most watched non-CFP bowl games [ edit ] All times Eastern .
Rankings are from the CFP Rankings . [ 11]
Rank
Date
Time
Matchup
Network
Viewers (millions)
Game
Location
^ "CUSA Adds Delaware, Blue Hens to Join in 2025" . Conference USA . Retrieved December 10, 2023 .^ "CUSA Adds Missouri State" (Press release). Conference USA. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024 .^ Withers, Tom (February 27, 2024). "UMass will join Mid-American Conference as a full sports member in 2025, MAC commissioner says" . Associated Press . Retrieved February 27, 2024 . ^ Hernandez, Victoria (February 26, 2024). "UMass to join MAC conference, including previously independent football, per reports" . USA Today . Retrieved February 27, 2024 . ^ "Ushering in a new era, the Pac-12 Conference strengthens its legacy by welcoming four respected academic and athletic universities" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. September 12, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024 .^ Bonagura, Kyle (September 12, 2024). "Explaining Pac-12 expansion: How it started, what are the financial ramifications, what's next?" . ESPN.com . Retrieved September 14, 2024 . ^ "Pac-12 Conference and Utah State University Unite to Advance the New Era of the 100-Year-Old Legacy" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. September 24, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2024 .^ "Mountain West Officially Welcomes UTEP Into The Conference" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024 .^ "Mountain West Adds Northern Illinois As A Football-Only Member" (Press release). January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025 .^ "How the 12-team College Football Playoff will work: Teams, schedule, bids" . www.ncaa.com . Retrieved 2024-07-03 .^ a b c "2024 college football TV ratings" .
