CFW Farewell – 2025: A season to remember, a season to forget
‘Yesterday’s Gone’
“I loved you all the autumn through
I had a good reader in you”
What label would you put on the 2025 college football season? Well, if four years ago someone told you Indiana will win the national championship in 2025, you would have called them crazy. If, in July 2025, someone told you Florida State will open the season, beating Alabama by 14 points, you would have called them crazy. If, seven years ago someone told you Bill Belichick will be coaching the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2025, you would have called them crazy.
That’s the kind of college football season 2025 was – crazy. It was a crazy season. Indiana won the national championship, Florida State opened the season with a 31-17 victory over Alabama, and former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick spent his first season coaching the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The season was full of crazy surprises – one after another. How about Texas, Penn State, Clemson and LSU? All four were Top 10 teams as the season began. Texas was the No. 1 team. When AP’s final season Top 25 poll was posted last week, none of those four teams were in the Top 10. Texas was 13th, while Penn State, Clemson and LSU were unranked – nowhere to be seen.
How about Indiana, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and Texas A&M? None of those four teams were ranked in the Top 10 as the season began. When AP’s final season Top 25 poll was posted last week, all four of those teams were ranked in the Top 10. Indiana was 1st, Ole Miss was 3rd, Texas Tech was 7th and Texas A&M was 8th.
Prior to the start of the season, the three highest rated and most talked about quarterbacks were Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Texas’ Arch Manning. By the end of the season, Klubnik and Nussmeier had fallen off the radar. They had faded into oblivion – nowhere to be seen. Manning had a rough start and a tough first half of the season. But he came on strong at the end of the season.
The 2025 season began in Dublin, Ireland, on August 23. Iowa State beat Kansas State, 24-21. That wasn’t so crazy. What was crazy was the imagination of a Dublin resident. When an ESPN reporter asked the Dubliner if he knew what Kansas State’s mascot was, he responded, “No, not really. But I imagine it must be some kind of tractor.”
Labor Day weekend, Bill Belichick got off to a rocky start in what was to become a rocky season for the former NFL coach. In Belichick’s opening game, coaching North Carolina, the Tar Heels lost to TCU, 48-14. North Carolina finished the season at 4-8. In Columbus, in the Horseshoe, Ohio State beat Texas, 14-7. And, of course, Florida State beat Alabama, 31-17.
Before the games, Paul Finebaum made some crazy statements:
“Texas will blow out Ohio State.”
“Arch Manning is the best player since Tim Tebow.”
“Alabama is a national title contender. Ranking them #8 was far too low.”
“Chapel Hill will have a big and dramatic victory over TCU.”
After the games, Paul Finebaum made another crazy statement:
“Bring him back. Get him off the GameDay set. Bring him back today. Nick Saban is wasting his time on GameDay.”
The following week – Week 2 – was the beginning of the end for Florida coach Billy Napier. The Gators lost to South Florida, 18-16. Five games later, the ghosts and the goblins would come to visit Napier. In a pre-Halloween firing, Napier was terminated.
Texas won but Arch Manning was still struggling. Desmond Howard, Steve Spurrier and Paul Finebaum made the following comments:
“People don’t want to criticize Arch because he’s a Manning,” ESPN’s Desmond Howard.
“Most people picking Texas to win the SEC. They’ve got Arch Manning already winning the Heisman Trophy. My question is: If he was this good, how come they let Quinn Ewers play all that time last year? And Ewers was a 7th round pick,” former Florida coach Steve Spurrier, on Arch Manning.
“The bottom line is Arch Manning is not playing like an elite quarterback. He’s barely playing like a pedestrian quarterback. I think we all jumped the gun,” ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum.
“For me, you were the one
But that was yesterday, and yesterday’s gone”
Week 3 gave us five of the craziest games you have ever seen. With no timeouts left and the clock running with 19 seconds remaining in the game, Georgia Tech rushed its field goal team onto the field. As time expired, Tech’s Aidan Birr kicked a 55-yard field goal. Georgia Tech beat Clemson, 24-21.
After trailing Tennessee, 21-7, Georgia rallied to take a 24-21 lead midway through the third quarter. Then the game went back-and-forth – Tennessee up, Georgia up. Finally, with the score tied at 38-38 and 7 seconds remaining in the game, Tennessee lined up to kick a 38-yard field goal. A false start penalty moved the ball back 5 yards. Now it was a 43-yard field goal attempt. The Tennessee kicker muffed the kick. Georgia beat Tennessee in overtime, 44-41 (OT).
In the Backyard Brawl in Morgantown, West Virginia trailed Pitt 24-17, in the waning minutes of the game. The Mountaineers mounted an 87-yard drive and scored a touchdown with 11 seconds remaining on the clock – 24-24. WVU beat Pitt in overtime, 31-24 (OT).
Texas A&M and Notre Dame were in a real donnybrook in South Bend. The Irish led throughout most of the first half, but the leads were close. With about a minute to go in the first half, the Aggies scored and took a 28-24 halftime lead. The second half continued to be a barnburner. Notre Dame would go up, and Texas A&M would come back and tie the score. With the score tied 34-34 and 2:43 remaining in the game, the Irish scored a touchdown. But they missed their extra point kick. Notre Dame was up 40-34. On the ensuing possession, the Aggies drove down the field to the Notre Dame 10. Then the Aggies were hit with back-to-back penalties. With a 4th-and-goal on the Notre Dame 11, and 13 seconds remaining in the game, Texas A&M scored with a touchdown pass. Texas A&M beat Notre Dame, 41-40.
In Oxford, Mississippi, Arkansas and Ole Miss gave us more than we could ask for in the first half – eight touchdowns and a field goal. Ole Miss led at halftime, 31-28. Then the defenses took charge. Only 17 points were scored in the second half. Ole Miss downed Arkansas 41-35.
UCLA fired head coach DeShaun Foster and Virginia Tech fired head coach Brent Pry. Texas beat UTEP 27-10, as Longhorns fans booed Arch Manning during the game.
In Week 4, Texas Tech pounded Utah, 34-10, and Indiana slammed Illinois, 63-10. Clemson was stunned by Syracuse, 34-21. The Tigers dropped to 1-3. Someone said the Clemson-North Carolina game on October 4 will be broadcast on the Cartoon Network.
Michigan won a thriller over Nebraska, 30-27, and Oklahoma won a humdinger over Auburn, 24-17.
Week 5 had its share of wild and crazy games. Oregon knocked off Penn State, 30-24 (OT). Trailing Oregon 17-10, Penn State scored a touchdown with 30 seconds on the clock to put the game into overtime. In a game where Alabama never trailed but Georgia kept it close, the Crimson Tide upset the Dawgs, 24-21. Bama quarterback Ty Simpson had an outstanding game.
With the score tied at 13-13 and 1:28 remaining in the game, Indiana scored on a 49-yard touchdown pass. The Hoosiers beat Iowa, 20-15. In its game against Wake Forest, Georgia Tech kicked a 33-yard field goal with 0:02 remaining on the clock to put the game into overtime. The Yellow Jackets went on to beat the Demon Deacons, 30-29 (OT). The final score was Georgia Tech’s first lead in the game.
As time expired, Illinois kicked a 51-yard field goal to beat USC, 34-32. Arizona State kicked a late field goal to beat TCU, 27-24. The final score was Arizona State’s first lead in the game.
Arkansas fired head coach Sam Pittman.
“We followed football hand in hand
Watching games from across the land”
Two of the craziest things of the season occurred in Week 6. If someone told you that winless and hapless UCLA was going to beat Penn State, you would have called them crazy. If someone told you that 1-3 Florida was going to beat Texas, you would have called them crazy.
That’s the kind of college football season 2025 was – crazy. UCLA upset Penn State, 42-37. Coming into the contest, UCLA was only averaging 14 points a game. Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava had a heck of a game, passing for 166 yards and two touchdowns and running for 128 yards and three more touchdowns.
“He’s the Honda Accord. You know the engine will fire up when you turn the key, while conceding you won’t win a drag race,” USA Today sports writer Blake Toppmeyer, on Penn State coach James Franklin.
“They’re not a contender or a pretender. What they are is a complete fraud,” ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum, on Penn State.
And if UCLA over Penn State wasn’t crazy enough, Florida upset Texas, 29-21. Arch Manning threw two interceptions and was sacked six times.
Meanwhile, CBS Sports writer Brad Crawford said, “Bill Belichick is back-page news.” While CBS Sports writer Will Backus said, “The Tar Heels decision to hire Bill Belichick was ill-conceived.” Clemson beat North Carolina, 38-10.
In Week 7, the bottom fell out of Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State, No. 2 at preseason AP Poll, fell to 3-3 (0-3 in Big Ten play), losing to Northwestern, 22-21. Less than 24 hours later, Penn State head coach James Franklin was fired.
The bottom fell out of Doak-Campbell Stadium too. Florida State, who beat Alabama 31-17 on opening weekend, lost its third-straight game. The Noles fell to 2-3 (0-3 in ACC play). Unlike Penn State, Florida State didn’t fire Mike Norvell.
Meanwhile, Alabama, since losing its opening game to Florida State, won its fifth-straight game. The Tide improved to 5-1 (3-0 in SEC play), beating Missouri, 27-24.
In Eugene, Oregon, Indiana and Oregon were tied 20-20 in the fourth quarter. The Hoosiers scored 10 points in the final six minute of the game to beat Oregon, 30-20. “We’re a real team. We’re not just a one-hit wonder,” Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
UNLV and Air Force gave us a wild and crazy game in Las Vegas. As the fourth quarter began, UNLV led Air Force 29-28. The teams scored 42 points in the fourth quarter – three touchdowns each. UNLV scored the last of the six touchdowns with 0:36 remaining in the game. The Rebels beat the Falcons, 51-48.
Five teams suffered their first loss in Week 8. Louisville knocked off previously unbeaten Miami, 24-21. Canes quarterback Carson Beck threw four interceptions. After the game, Beck blamed the interceptions on his receivers.
Previously undefeated Ole Miss lost to Georgia 43-35. In a real shocker, previously undefeated Texas Tech fell to Arizona State, 26-22. The Sun Devils scored a touchdown with 0:34 remaining in the game to upset the Red Raiders.
The last two previously undefeated teams to lose were UNLV and Memphis. UNLV was clobbered by Boise State, 56-31. Memphis was upset by UAB, 31-24.
And Florida coach Billy Napier got his pink slip.
Week 9 was a week of emotional highs and lows. Against Alabama, South Carolina fans were getting ready to rush the field. With less than 3 minutes remaining in the game, the Gamecocks led Alabama, 22-14. However, in the final 2:16 of the game, Alabama scored 15 points to beat South Carolina, 29-22.
“The shot of all the South Carolina students coming down to march on the field and take the goalposts down will never get out of Shane Beamer’s memory bank,” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.
Mississippi State fans were getting ready to rush the field too. With less than 2 minutes left in the game, Miss State led Texas, 38-31. But with 1:47 on the clock, Texas scored a touchdown on a 79-yard punt return. The game was tied 38-38 at the end of regulation and went into overtime. In OT, Texas beat Miss state, 45-38 (OT).
In Nashville, Vanderbilt and Missouri were tied 10-10 with less than 2 minutes remaining. At the 1:52 mark, Vanderbilt scored a touchdown and went on to beat the Tigers, 17-10. In West Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue and Rutgers were both looking for their first Big Ten win of the season. Both were 0-4 in Big Ten play. With less than 2 minutes to play, Purdue led Rutgers 24-21. At the 1:06 mark, Rutgers kicked a field goal. The game was tied 24-24. On the ensuing possession, Purdue fumbled. As time expired, Rutgers kicked a 30-yard field goal to beat Purdue, 27-24.
After blowing a 21-6 lead over Northwestern, Nebraska was hanging onto a 21-21 tie with the Wildcats late in the fourth quarter. The Huskers scored a touchdown with 2:44 remaining and went on to beat Northwestern, 28-21. North Carolina and Virginia were tied 10-10 at halftime. The two teams were still tied 10-10 at the end of regulation. North Carolina was looking for its first win in ACC play and its first win over a Power Four team. In overtime, Virginia went up 17-10. North Carolina scored a touchdown and went for two. The Tar Heels came up short, losing to the Cavaliers, 17-16 (OT).
In Winston-Salem, SMU scored a touchdown with 2:58 remaining in the game to take a 12-10 lead over Wake Forest. It was SMU’s first lead in the game. However, as time expired, Wake Forest kicked a 50-yards field goal and beat SMU, 13-12.
Eight Top 25 teams lost in Week 10. Three of those losers were Top 10 teams. No. 8 Georgia Tech suffered its first loss of the season. The Yellow Jackets fell to unranked NC State, 48-36.
No. 9 Vanderbilt lost to Texas, 34-31. Tailing Texas 34-10 in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt rallied, scoring 21 points to pull within 3. With 0:33 remaining in the game, Vanderbilt almost recovered its onside kick.
In overtime, No. 10 Miami fell to unranked SMU, 26-20 (OT). SMU put the game into overtime, kicking a 33-yard field goal with 0:25 remaining on the clock. On its first possession in overtime, Miami’s Carson Beck threw an interception – his second of the game.
Mississippi State and Kentucky won their first games in SEC play, beating Arkansas and Auburn, respectively. Florida State won its first game in ACC play, beating Wake Forest, 42-7. And West Virginia won its first game in Big 12 play, knocking off Houston, 45-35.
LSU fired head coach Brian Kelly and athletic director Scott Woodward. South Carolina fired offensive coordinator Mike Shula.
“But now it’s over and done
Because that was yesterday, and yesterday’s gone”
College basketball season began in Week 11. Speaking of basketball, former LSU player Shaquille O’Neal suggested that LSU should bring back Nick Saban, as Brian Kelly’s replacement.
You’ve heard of the “Miracle on Ice?” How about a miracle in Beaver Stadium. Trailing Penn State 24-20 with 1:51 left to be played, Indiana had a first-and-ten on their own 20. The Hoosiers mounted a 10-play, 80-yard drive. The drive culminated on a miraculous 7-yard touchdown pass from Fernando Mendoza to Omar Cooper. With 0:36 remaining, Indiana went up 27-24 and held on to win.
Mendoza’s game-winning pass to Cooper was thrown high into the back of the end zone. Mendoza released the pass with two Penn State defenders in his face. Cooper jumped high to catch the ball. As he was coming down, he managed to toe-touch one foot just inside the white powder before his other foot touched down outside the white powder.
In the pouring rain in Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa, Oregon trailed Iowa 16-15 with 1:51 remaining in the fourth quarter. Oregon went on a 54-yard drive to kick a game-winning 39-yard field goal with 0:03 on the clock. The Ducks survived the Hawkeyes, 18-16.
Wisconsin won its first Big Ten game of the season, upsetting Washington. However, Penn State, Michigan State and Purdue were still winless in Big Ten play.
Some quarterbacks get sacked and some get benched. LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and Florida’s D.J. Lagway were both benched in the third quarter for backup quarterbacks. Alabama beat LSU, 20-9, and Kentucky downed Florida, 38-7.
“It don’t ever get old beating the Noles,” said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. Clemson downed Florida State, 24-10.
Texas lost to Georgia for the third-straight time in Week 12. The Dawgs beat the Longhorns, 35-10. Oklahoma beat Alabama for the second-straight year. The Sooners downed the Tide, 23-21.
At halftime, in College Station, Texas, South Carolina led Texas A&M, 30-3. In the second half, Texas A&M mounted its biggest comeback in school history. The Aggies rallied, scoring 28 unanswered points to beat South Carolina, 31-30.
Penn State won its first game in Big Ten play. The Nittany Lions beat Michigan State, 28-10. Speaking of Penn State, the James Franklin to Virginia Tech rumors were getting stronger and stronger.
Speaking of getting stronger and stronger, in Week 12, the Lane Kiffin to either LSU or Florida rumors were getting stronger and stronger.
Week 13 turned out to be the most boring weekend of the college football season. There weren’t any close games. Well, there were a couple, but not any important games. Week 13 was the week when so many of the SEC and ACC teams play cupcakes. It was cupcake week. And that prompted Oregon coach Dan Lanning to say, “We didn’t play Chattanooga State today, right? Like some other teams. It’s tough playing nine conference games. It’s tough playing in this league,”
Family, friends, food and football. Week 14 was Thanksgiving Week. Swamp Mama and I were in Julington Creek Plantation in Fruit Cove, Florida, celebrating Thanksgiving with Princess Gator, Gator Gabe and Gator Babe.
By the end of the week, it was looking more and more like Lane Kiffin was going to LSU. Florida cut back on its interest in Kiffin and began targeting Tulane coach Jon Sumrall. That prompted one Florida fan to post, “Gee, we’re going after a coach from a Group of Five school in Louisiana after firing a coach who came from a Group of Five school in Louisiana. That makes a lotta sense.”
The Georgia-Georgia Tech football game was a field goal contest. Six FG’s were kicked in the game – three by each team. The Dawgs beat the Jackets, 16-9. Indiana finished its season undefeated. The Hoosiers beat Purdue, 56-3.
Texas downed previously undefeated Texas A&M, 27-17. Down 10-3 at halftime, the Longhorns outscored the Aggies 23-7 in the second half. Ohio State ended its three-game losing streak to Michigan. The Buckeyes downed the Wolverines, 27-9.
Auburn gave Alabama a scare – a big scare. After trailing Alabama 17-0 in the second quarter, the Tigers scored 13 unanswered points and trailed the Tide 17-13 in the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, Auburn tied Alabama, 20-20. With 3:50 remaining in the game, Alabama scored a touchdown and held on to beat Auburn, 27-20.
SMU blew its chance to play in the ACC title game. The Mustangs lost to California, 38-35. Duke, however, secured its spot in the ACC title game, beating Wake Forest, 49-32. Bill Belichick and his Tar Heels began the season losing to TCU, 48-14. They ended the season losing to NC State, 42-19.
Meanwhile, everyone was sitting around waiting for Lane Kiffin’s decision – remain at Ole Miss or go to LSU. Sunday was a big day for coaching announcements in the SEC. LSU hired Lane Kiffin, Florida hired Jon Sumrall, Auburn hired Alex Golesh (South Florida coach) and Arkansas hired Ryan Silverfield (Memphis coach). Kiffin wanted to remain at Ole Miss long enough to coach the Magnolias in the CFP, but Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said, “No way.”
Before Thanksgiving Weekend came to an end, Kentucky fired head coach Mark Stoops.
“We had such fun together
I can’t believe it’s gone forever”
Along with the conference championship games, Week 15 was filled with angst over who would make the CFP.
In a wild and crazy game, Indiana beat Ohio State 13-10 to win the Big Ten championship. But the wildest and craziest of the conference championship games was the ACC title game between Duke and Virginia. With less than five minutes to go in the game, Duke led Virginia, 20-10. However, Virginia scored 10 unanswered points in the final four minutes of the game. At the end of regulation, the game was tied 20-20. In overtime, Duke scored a touchdown and Virginia threw an interception. The Dookies beat the Cavaliers, 27-20 (OT).
Duke became the first Power Four conference champion to not make the college football playoff. With its 8-5 record, Duke was ranked lower in the CFP rankings than Tulane of the American Conference and James Madison of the Sun Belt Conference.
By Sunday afternoon, the angst was over. Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, along with Group of Five teams Tulane and James Madison made the playoff. It came down to Alabama, Miami and Notre Dame. Which two of those three teams would make the CFP, and which one would be left out. Notre Dame was left out.
In Week 16, we learned that Notre Dame refused to accept a bowl bid, protesting its snub by the CFP selection committee. As it turned out, Notre Dame was one of ten teams to turn down a bowl bid. That prompted the question – Have bowls lost their appeal?
Notre Dame not only refused to accept a bowl bid, but also, Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua verbally attacked the ACC for its failure to make the CFP. Bevacqua accused the ACC of conducting a campaign to get Miami into the CFP over Notre Dame.
The four finalists for the Heisman Trophy were announced – Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin.
The Army-Navy game was a thriller to beat all thrillers. With 6:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, Navy trailed Army 16-10. The Middies were facing a fourth-and-goal on the Army 8 yard line. Should Navy kick a field goal or go for a touchdown? Navy went for the touchdown. Quarterback Blake Horvath connected with slot back Eli Heidenreich in the end zone on an 8-yard touchdown pass. Navy went up 17-16 and held on to win.
Washington won the first bowl game of the season. In the LA Bowl, Washington downed Boise State, 38-10.
Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy, beating out Diego Pavia. After the ceremony, Pavia said, “F the voters.” The following morning, he posted that same message on social media. And Kyle Whittingham stepped down as the coach of Utah. Whittingham commented, “I’m in the transfer portal.”
By Week 17, the bowl season was well underway, and the College Football Playoff began.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti won the AP Coach of the Year Award.
In Week 18 – Christmas Week – the bowl games continued. Bill Belichick named Bobby Petrino his new offensive coordinator at North Carolina.
The day after Christmas, Kyle Whittingham was named the new coach at Michigan. Paul Finebaum commented, “Why would anyone want that job? There’s simply no leadership there, there’s no alignment, and the stench of the Harbaugh regime permeates the air in Ann Arbor.”
It appeared the coaching carousel was over. From the first of December to the day after Christmas, 33 FBS schools hired new head coaches.
“Wait until autumn comes again
I hope that you’ll remember then”
During Week 19, two SEC teams lost to two Big Ten teams. As time expired, Illinois kicked a 29-yard field goal to beat Tennessee, 30-28 in the Music City Bowl. Meanwhile, Iowa got the best of Vanderbilt, 34-27 in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Duke had a great ending to its season. After winning the ACC championship game, the Dookies beat Arizona State 42-39 in the Sun Bowl. Arch Manning finally played up to his potential and did he ever. Texas beat Michigan 41-27 in the Citrus Bowl. Princess Gator and Gator Babe were at the game.
Utah put a sour ending on Nebraska’s season. The Utes beat the Huskers 44-22 in the Las Vegas Bowl.
The transfer portal window opened.
In the season’s final two non-playoff bowl games, two ACC teams shined. SMU beat Arizona 24-19 in the Holiday Bowl, and Wake Forest downed Mississippi State 43-29 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
There was a thriller in Nashville in Week 20. At Vanderbilt’s First Bank Stadium, Montana State edged Illinois State 35-34 to win the FCS National Championship.
We had two entirely different types of games in the CFP semifinals – a close game and a romp. In the close game, Miami got by Ole Miss, 31-27. In the romp, Indiana clobbered Oregon, 56-22. To which, ESPN’s Pat McAfee asked, “Why didn’t Alabama hire someone from the Saban tree?” All four coaches in those two games were from the Saban tree.
Week 21 was a quiet week. The quiet week before the big game. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss wasn’t so quiet. Chambliss announced he was suing the NCAA to get another year of playing time with the Magnolias. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore announced he was remaining with the Ducks for another season. Moore had considered entering the NFL draft.
“That my blogs are so much fun
I loved you yesterday, and yesterday’s gone”
The season all came to an end in Week 22. Homecoming Mendoza beat Home Field Beck 27-21 in the National Championship game. Carson Beck ended the game on, what else, but another one of his famous interceptions. I think Interception is Carson Beck’s middle name.
After the game, Beck left the field, refusing to shake hands with Fernando Mendoza. Put Beck in the same category with Diego Pavia – both are jerks. Being two of the older quarterbacks on the field this season, you would have thought Pavia and Beck had grown out of their immaturity. Not so.
“We had such fun together
I can’t believe it’s gone forever”
I put together my thoughts on what to me were the 12 biggest stories of the 2025 college football season.
1. Indiana – The whole Indiana phenomenon of 2025, culminating with the national championship. The Hoosiers, a patsy in football for years and years and years, rose up in 2025 to achieve a 16-0 season. Admiration for the team grew with each victory throughout the season, especially over Illinois (63-10), Oregon (30-20), last second win over Penn State (27-24), Big Ten title over Ohio State (13-10), and the CFP victories over Alabama (38-3), Oregon (56-22) and Miami (27-21).
2. Lane Kiffin – The drama over where Lane Kiffin would coach in 2026. Would he leave Ole Miss or not? Would he go to Florida or LSU? It was like waiting for the white smoke to rise from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Then, when he finally chose to leave Ole Miss for LSU, would he be allowed to coach Ole Miss in the CFP? Every anxious decision played out to its fullest.
3. Fernando Mendoza – Mendoza rose from practically an unknown at preseason to win the Heisman Trophy at the end of the season. At preseason, Mendoza was not on anyone’s Heisman list. The story behind his path to the Heisman is amazing. He grew up within walking distance of the Miami campus but was denied the opportunity to become a walk-on at Miami. He first committed to Yale but changed his commitment and signed with California. In three years in Berkeley, he obtained his business degree from Cal’s prestigious and highly-ranked Haas School of Business, while playing for the Golden Bears. Ultimately, his transfer to Indiana for his final season. All capped off with his incredible and amazing 12-yard touchdown run in the championship game against Miami.
4. Penn State and Clemson – The collapse of two of college football’s premier programs in 2025 – Penn State and Clemson. All the preseason polls had Penn State ranked anywhere from 1st to 5th. Most polls had the Nittany Lions 2nd. The preseason polls and magazines picked Penn State to win the Big Ten. Nine games into the season, the Nittany Lions were 3-6. They were 0-6 in Big Ten play, with embarrassing losses to UCLA and Northwestern. All the preseason polls had Clemson ranked anywhere from 1st to 11th. Most polls had the Tigers 4th. The preseason polls and magazines picked Clemson to win the ACC. Eight games into the season, the Tigers were 3-5. They were 2-4 in ACC play, with an embarrassing home loss to Syracuse.
5. Curt Cignetti – The coach of the 16-0, national champion Indiana Hoosiers practically became a cult figure during the 2025 season. He was famous for his facial expressions, stares and body composure during the games. He never cracked a smile until after the game. In only his second season coaching a Power Four school and only his fourth season coaching FBS football, he won the national championship. He won almost all the “Coach of the Year” awards. In four years, coaching at the FBS level (James Madison and Indiana), he has a 46-6 record.
6. Bill Belichick – Bill Belichick, former NFL coach, six-time coach of Super Bowl champions, 24-year coach of the New England Patriots, who some call the GOAT of NFL coaches, surprisingly became the coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2025. During the preseason, Belichick, along with his girlfriend Jordan Hudson, often were the center of attention in the buildup to the 2025 college football season. In Belichick’s inaugural game in college football, North Carolina lost to TCU, 48-14. Halfway through the season, there were strong rumors that Belichick would be fired. The Tar Heels finished the season at 4-8 – 2-6 in ACC play. But Belichick survived to coach another season in Chapel Hill.
7. James Franklin’s firing – In 2025, Penn State coach James Franklin began his 12th season coaching the Nittany Lions. Coming into the season Franklin had a 101-42 record in State College. He won the Big Ten Conference his third year at Penn State. He won the Big Ten East Division eight years later. But Franklin’s problem was Ohio State and Michigan. He couldn’t beat them. Not very often. Franklin was 1-10 against Ohio State and 3-7 against Michigan. In 2025, Penn State was picked to win the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions failed to do so. They didn’t even come close. Finally, after Penn State lost to UCLA and Northwestern, Penn State had all it could take. Franklin was fired. But he was a survivor. Most fired coaches either end up being someone’s offensive or defensive coordinator, an offensive or defensive analyst/consultant for another team or going to work for one of the networks. Franklin, however, was in demand. Several schools with head coach openings showed interest in him. Ultimately, Virginia Tech hired Franklin as its new head coach.
8. Arch Manning – At preseason, Arch Manning was one of the most hyped quarterbacks in college football. Paul Finebaum thought he was superman. As the season began and moved forward, Manning wasn’t doing so well. Texas fans booed him in one game. As it turned out, Manning was overhyped at preseason. Finally in the last two or three games of the season, Manning performed to his hype. He’ll be back next year.
9. Florida State-Alabama – On opening weekend in 2025, Florida State hosted Alabama in Tallahassee. The Crimson Tide were heavily favored. But Florida State heavily won – 31-17. The Noles shredded the Tide defense to pieces. Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson had that “What am I doing here” look on his face. He was lost and confused. After the game, Bama fans wanted coach Kellen DeBoer fired immediately. Paul Finebaum pleaded for Nick Saban to come back. But as it turned out, Alabama won its next eight games. The Tide had a good season. Florida State, on the other hand, only won five of its remaining 11 games. The Noles had a losing season.
10. Notre Dame – Notre Dame began the season at 0-2. Then the Irish proceeded to win 10-straight games, finishing the season at 10-2. In the next to last College Football Playoff rankings, the Irish were ranked 10th, looking in good shape to make the playoff. But when the final CFP rankings came out, Miami jumped up to 10th and Notre Dame dropped to 11th. With Tulane and James Madison taking the 11th and 12th spots in the playoff, Notre Dame became the first team out. The Irish had failed to make the playoff. Notre Dame was irate. So much so, the Irish refused to accept a bowl bid. Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua blamed ACC commissioner Jim Phillips. Bevacqua verbally attacked Phillps and the ACC, saying they did not campaign for Notre Dame. Phillips, in return, criticized Bevacqua. And so it went.
11. Two Group of Five teams in the CFP – Tulane, the American Conference champion, and James Madison, the Sun Belt Conference champion, both made the college football playoff. Duke, the ACC champion, did not make the playoff. How odd was that? The rule states that the five highest-ranked conference champions in the final CFP rankings will automatically make the playoff. Tulane and James Madison, both Group of Five conference champions teams, were both higher-ranked than Duke, the ACC champion. This had never happened before, and it isn’t likely to happen again. Normally, you have the four Power Four conference champions and one Group of Five conference champion. But 2025 wasn’t a normal season. It was a crazy season.
12. Saban Coaching Tree – Of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff, five were coached by individuals who had been on Nick Saban’s staff at one time or another at Alabama. The coaches were Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Ole Miss’s Pete Golding, Miami’s Mario Cristobal and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti. Four of the coaches – Lanning, Golding, Cristobal and Cignetti – were in the semifinals.
Yes, I’d say 2025 was a crazy season.
“Wait until autumn comes again
I hope that you’ll remember then”
In some final 2025 season news, Albert Mendoza, the younger brother of Fernando, entered the transfer portal. Albert was a backup quarterback at Indiana this past season. He entered the portal last Tuesday on the day of the national championship game. Players on the two teams playing for the national championship have an extra week before the portal window closes on them. Albert is transferring to Georgia Tech.
Duke is suing quarterback Darian Mensah for entering the transfer portal. The suit claims that Mensah violated his NIL agreement when he entered the portal. Duke originally sought a restraining order preventing Mensah from entering the portal, but a judge refused to grant the restraining order. Stay tuned.
The SEC and the Big Ten did not come to an agreement by last Friday’s deadline. As a result, there will be no expansion to the College Football Playoff in 2026 – 12 teams again next year.
And finally, did you see where LSU coach Lane Kiffin has been named the grand marshal of the main Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans? Surely, they won’t allow Kiffin to throw beads, else there could be a record set for the most flashing in Mardi Gras parade history. Although, on second thought, they may give Kiffin lots of beads.
“That my blogs are so much fun
I loved you yesterday, and yesterday’s gone”
Before we say goodbye to the 2025 season, we have to take a brief look into the 2026 season. It’ll be here in seven months.
What better way to get started into the 2026 season than to check out the “Way to Early” Top 25 polls. Actually, I took the results from 10 of them (USA Today, ESPN, Fox, 247 Sports, On3, NYT, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, SI and A to Z Sports) to come up with a consensus “Way to Early” Top 25. Hope you see your team in the mix.
Here goes: 1. Ohio State, 2. Texas, 3. Georgia, 4. Notre Dame, 5. Indiana, 6. Texas Tech, 7. Oregon, 8. Texas A&M, 9. Oklahoma, 10. Miami, 11. Michigan, 12. BYU, 13. LSU, 14. Alabama, 15. USC, 16. Penn State, 17. Utah, 18. Ole Miss; 19. Iowa, 20. SMU, 21. Tennessee, 22. Washington, 23. Houston, 24. Clemson, 25. Virginia Tech, 26. FSU, 27. Florida, 28. Arizona, 29. Boise State, 30. Missouri, 31. Louisville, 32. Illinois, 33. Virgina, 34. Minnesota.
The “Way to Early” Top 10 quarterbacks for 2026 are 1. Arch Manning (Texas), 2 Julian Sayin (Ohio State), 3. Gunner Stockton (Georgia), 4. C.J. Carr (Notre Dame), 5. Dante Moore (Oregon), 6. Josh Hoover (Indiana), 7. Sam Leavitt (LSU), 8. Marcel Reed (Texas A&M), 9. Brendan Sorsby (Texas Tech), 10. John Mateer (Oklahoma).
Week 0, 2026, kicks off on August 29 with the annual Aer Lingus game in Dublin, Ireland. It will be North Carolina vs. TCU. Then on the same weekend, the first college football game to be played in Brazil will take place. In Rio de Janeiro, Virginia and NC State will go at it.
Good games during Labor Day Weekend – Week 1 – are Clemson at LSU, Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Nashville) and Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin (Green Bay).
There are six potentially good games in Week 2. They are Tennessee at Georgia Tech, Arizona State at Texas A&M, Arkansas at Utah, Oklahoma at Michigan, Ohio State at Texas, and Missouri at Kansas.
Week 3 has a trio of interesting games. They are Florida State at Alabama, West Virginia vs. Virginia (Charlotte, NC) and NC State at Vanderbilt.
We will be back to 10 conferences in 2026. The Pac-12 returns with a revamped membership. Two original Pac-12 teams – Oregon State and Washington State, five teams from the MWC – Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State, and Texas State from the Sun Belt Conference. Gonzaga is also joining the Pac-12 in all sports but football. The revamped Pac-12 won’t be a Power Four conference. It will be a Group of Six conference.
The Pac-12 revamp causes some membership changes in the MWC, the Sun Belt, C-USA and the MAC. But we will get to those in August.
At the end of the 2025 season, seven schools gave notice to their coaches – good results in 2026 or you’re fired. The coaches put on notice are Bill O’Brien (Boston College), Mike Norvell (Florida State), Dave Doeren (NC State), Dave Aranda (Baylor), Mike Locksley (Maryland), Luke Fickell (Wisconsin) and Shane Beamer (South Carolina). Talk about pressure.
“Yesterday’s gone”
And, one last time, a final Hail and Farewell to our good friends from the sports and entertainment world who passed away during the 2025 college football season: British film and television actor Terence Stamp (87); College and NFL football player Lee Roy Jordan (84); Brewer & Shipley singer-songwriter Tom Shipley (84); MLB player and manager Davey Johnson (82); The Turtles singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Volman (78), and Supertramp singer-songwriter and musician Rick Davies (81).
Also, Actress (Flo on “Alice”) Polly Holliday (88); Singer-songwriter Bobby Hart (86); Actor Robert Redford (89); College and NFL linebacker D.D. Lewis (79); Former Appalachian State football coach Shawn Clark (50); Italian actress Claudia Cardinale (87); The Yardbirds guitarist Chris Dreja (78); Loyola (Chicago) basketball team chaplain Sister Jean (106); The Moody Blues singer-songwriter and musician John Lodge (82); Actress Diane Keaton (79); British actress Samantha Eggar (86), and Film, stage and television actress June Lockhart (100).
Also, Actress Diane Ladd (89); Football player and sports broadcaster Bob Trumpy (80); Basketball player and NBA coach Lenny Wilkens (88); Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff (81); Professional golfer Fuzzy Zoeller (74); Former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer (96); Former South Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill (52); College and NFL football coach Mike White (89); Actor and director Rob Reiner (78); British singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Rea (74); Swedish-American actress May Britt (91); French actress Brigitte Bardot (91); Grateful Dead member Bob Weir (78), and Stanford and 49ers quarterback John Brodie (90).
I hope you have had as much enjoyment reading CFW as I have had writing it. See you again on August 10.
The 2025 season is over and done. Yesterday’s gone.
Touchdown Tom
January 26, 2026
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
“Yesterday’s Gone” is the title of a 1963 hit single by Chad & Jeremy. The song was written in 1962 by Chad Stuart, who comprised Chad & Jeremy with Jeremy Clyde. It’s the first song Stuart wrote. “Yesterday’s Gone” was recorded in July 1963 at Abbey Road Studios in London. It was released and became a hit in the UK that year. In the United States, the song was released in 1964. It rose to No. 21 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in July 1964 – the first of 11 Chad & Jeremy singles to chart in the United States. My apologies for modifying the lyrics.
P.S.
Not exactly college football related, but in late January, as college football fans were putting the lid on another great season and shifting their attention to college basketball, the number one song in the country…
…85 years ago, this week in 1941, was “Song Of The Volga Boatmen” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
…80 years ago, this week in 1946, was “Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief” by Betty Hutton
…75 years ago, this week in 1951, was “If” by Perry Como
…70 years ago, this week in 1956, was “Memories Are Made Of This” by Dean Martin, and “Rock And Roll Waltz” by Kay Starr
…65 years ago, this week in 1961, was “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles
…60 years ago, this week in 1966, was “My Love” by Petula Clark
…55 years ago, this week in 1971, was “Knock Three Times” by Dawn
…50 years ago, this week in 1976, was “Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” by Diana Ross, and “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” by Paul Simon
…45 years ago, this week in 1981, was “The Tide Is High” by Blondie
…40 years ago, this week in 1986, was “That’s What Friends Are For – by Dionne and Friends
…35 years ago, this week in 1991, was “The First Time” by Surface
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