CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

The 2025 season

Indiana finished No. 1 in the final AP poll, 16–⁠0 under Curt Cignetti, after it beat Miami 27–⁠21 in the CFP National Championship. The biggest game by the rankings: No. 2 Indiana 13, No. 1 Ohio State 10 (Dec 6, 2025). One FBS team finished unbeaten. 70 ranked teams lost to unranked or lower-ranked opponents.

Heisman Trophy: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana, who also won the Maxwell, Walter Camp, Davey O’Brien and Manning.

The Heisman vote: Fernando Mendoza 2,362 points, Diego Pavia 1,435
PlayerPoints1st2nd3rd
Fernando Mendoza QB, Indiana2,36264319151
Diego Pavia QB, Vanderbilt1,435189352164
Jeremiyah Love RB, Notre Dame71946157267
Julian Sayin QB, Ohio State4328118172
Jacob Rodriguez LB, Texas Tech2951756132
Jeremiah Smith WR, Ohio State8441836
Gunner Stockton QB, Georgia31 *3622
Caleb Downs S, Ohio State15 *2310
Trinidad Chambliss QB, Ole Miss14 *257
Haynes King QB, Georgia Tech13 *2110

First-, second- and third-place votes (3, 2 and 1 points), from the season’s Wikipedia article, as published. * The votes shown don’t add up to the points shown; the source has a typo in one of them.

The 2025 Yale team
The 2025 Yale team: 2025 Bulldogs at DartmouthPhoto: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The 2025 Yale season →

Scoreboards

Final AP poll

1Indiana (66)Big Ten
2MiamiAtlantic Coast Conference
3Ole MissSoutheastern Conference
4OregonBig Ten
5Ohio StateBig Ten
6GeorgiaSoutheastern Conference
7Texas TechBig 12
8Texas A&MSoutheastern Conference
9AlabamaSoutheastern Conference
10Notre DameFBS Independents
11BYUBig 12
12TexasSoutheastern Conference
13OklahomaSoutheastern Conference
14UtahBig 12
15VanderbiltSoutheastern Conference
16VirginiaAtlantic Coast Conference
17IowaBig Ten
18TulaneAmerican Athletic Conference
19James MadisonSun Belt Conference
20USCBig Ten
21MichiganBig Ten
22HoustonBig 12
23NavyAmerican Athletic Conference
24North TexasAmerican Athletic Conference
25TCUBig 12

Biggest upsets

Oct 4, 2025UCLA 42, 7Penn State 37UCLA +24.5
Oct 18, 2025UAB 31, 22Memphis 24UAB +23.5
Sep 6, 2025South Florida 18, 13Florida 16South Florida +18.5
Nov 8, 2025California 29, 14Louisville 26California +18.5
Aug 30, 2025Florida State 31, 8Alabama 17Florida State +13.5
Nov 1, 2025West Virginia 45, 22Houston 35West Virginia +13.5
Nov 29, 2025California 38, 25SMU 35California +13.5
Oct 17, 2025Louisville 24, 2Miami 21Louisville +10.5
Nov 8, 2025Wisconsin 13, 24Washington 10Wisconsin +10.5
Oct 11, 2025Pittsburgh 34, 25Florida State 31Pittsburgh +10.5
Nov 15, 2025Navy 41, 25South Florida 38Navy +9.5
Nov 1, 2025SMU 26, 10Miami 20SMU +8.5

Ranked teams that lost as the betting favorite, the longest shots first, with the winner’s odds on the line; before lines are on file, ranked teams beaten by unranked or lower-ranked ones.

Most exciting games

Oct 18, 2025Marshall 40, Texas State 37
Sep 6, 2025North Texas 33, Western Michigan 30
Sep 6, 2025Michigan State 42, Boston College 40
Sep 6, 2025Bryant 27, Massachusetts 26
Oct 24, 2025Virginia Tech 42, California 34
Nov 29, 2025Kennesaw State 48, Liberty 42
Sep 6, 2025New Mexico State 21, Tulsa 14
Sep 6, 2025Long Island University 28, Eastern Michigan 23

By CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index: how far each team’s chance of winning swung, play by play. Games with an FBS team, decided by 16 points or fewer.

Most-watched games

Indiana 27, Miami 21Jan 19, 202630.1 millionESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU
Indiana 38, Alabama 3Jan 1, 202623.9 millionESPN
Miami 24, Ohio State 14Dec 31, 202519.0 millionESPN
Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34Jan 1, 202618.7 millionESPN
Ohio State 27, Michigan 9Nov 29, 202518.4 millionFOX
Indiana 13, Ohio State 10Dec 6, 202518.3 millionFOX
Indiana 56, Oregon 22Jan 9, 202618.0 millionESPN
Georgia 28, Alabama 7Dec 6, 202516.9 millionABC
Ohio State 14, Texas 7Aug 30, 202516.6 millionFOX
Oregon 23, Texas Tech 0Jan 1, 202615.9 millionESPN

Nielsen’s TV audience for the games the tracker lists, on each game’s main network (a simulcast’s overflow channel aside). Games on SEC Network, ACC Network and CBS Sports Network have no Nielsen count and aren’t listed. Viewers: Nielsen, as compiled by nschultz7’s ratings tracker.

The AP poll, week by week

The AP poll’s top 10 in 2025, week by week1510152025Wk 1Wk 3Wk 5Wk 7Wk 9Wk 11Wk 13Wk 15FinalNotre Dame: Wk 1 No. 6, Wk 2 No. 9, Wk 3 No. 8, Wk 4 No. 24, Wk 5 No. 22, Wk 6 No. 21, Wk 7 No. 16, Wk 8 No. 13, Wk 9 No. 12, Wk 10 No. 12, Wk 11 No. 10, Wk 12 No. 9, Wk 13 No. 9, Wk 14 No. 9, Wk 15 No. 9, Wk 16 No. 9, Final No. 1010 Notre DameAlabama: Wk 1 No. 8, Wk 2 No. 21, Wk 3 No. 19, Wk 4 No. 14, Wk 5 No. 17, Wk 6 No. 10, Wk 7 No. 8, Wk 8 No. 6, Wk 9 No. 4, Wk 10 No. 4, Wk 11 No. 4, Wk 12 No. 4, Wk 13 No. 10, Wk 14 No. 10, Wk 15 No. 10, Wk 16 No. 11, Final No. 99 AlabamaTexas A&M: Wk 1 No. 19, Wk 2 No. 19, Wk 3 No. 16, Wk 4 No. 10, Wk 5 No. 9, Wk 6 No. 6, Wk 7 No. 5, Wk 8 No. 4, Wk 9 No. 3, Wk 10 No. 3, Wk 11 No. 3, Wk 12 No. 3, Wk 13 No. 3, Wk 14 No. 3, Wk 15 No. 7, Wk 16 No. 7, Final No. 88 Texas A&MTexas Tech: Wk 1 No. 23, Wk 2 No. 24, Wk 3 No. 21, Wk 4 No. 17, Wk 5 No. 12, Wk 6 No. 11, Wk 7 No. 9, Wk 8 No. 7, Wk 9 No. 14, Wk 10 No. 13, Wk 11 No. 9, Wk 12 No. 8, Wk 13 No. 6, Wk 14 No. 7, Wk 15 No. 5, Wk 16 No. 4, Final No. 77 Texas TechGeorgia: Wk 1 No. 5, Wk 2 No. 4, Wk 3 No. 6, Wk 4 No. 5, Wk 5 No. 5, Wk 6 No. 12, Wk 7 No. 10, Wk 8 No. 9, Wk 9 No. 5, Wk 10 No. 5, Wk 11 No. 5, Wk 12 No. 5, Wk 13 No. 4, Wk 14 No. 4, Wk 15 No. 3, Wk 16 No. 2, Final No. 66 GeorgiaOhio State: Wk 1 No. 3, Wk 2 No. 1, Wk 3 No. 1, Wk 4 No. 1, Wk 5 No. 1, Wk 6 No. 1, Wk 7 No. 1, Wk 8 No. 1, Wk 9 No. 1, Wk 10 No. 1, Wk 11 No. 1, Wk 12 No. 1, Wk 13 No. 1, Wk 14 No. 1, Wk 15 No. 1, Wk 16 No. 3, Final No. 55 Ohio StateOregon: Wk 1 No. 7, Wk 2 No. 6, Wk 3 No. 4, Wk 4 No. 6, Wk 5 No. 6, Wk 6 No. 2, Wk 7 No. 3, Wk 8 No. 8, Wk 9 No. 6, Wk 10 No. 6, Wk 11 No. 6, Wk 12 No. 7, Wk 13 No. 6, Wk 14 No. 5, Wk 15 No. 4, Wk 16 No. 5, Final No. 44 OregonOle Miss: Wk 1 No. 21, Wk 2 No. 20, Wk 3 No. 17, Wk 4 No. 13, Wk 5 No. 13, Wk 6 No. 4, Wk 7 No. 4, Wk 8 No. 5, Wk 9 No. 8, Wk 10 No. 7, Wk 11 No. 7, Wk 12 No. 6, Wk 13 No. 5, Wk 14 No. 6, Wk 15 No. 6, Wk 16 No. 6, Final No. 33 Ole MissMiami: Wk 1 No. 10, Wk 2 No. 5, Wk 3 No. 5, Wk 4 No. 4, Wk 5 No. 2, Wk 6 No. 3, Wk 7 No. 2, Wk 8 No. 2, Wk 9 No. 9, Wk 10 No. 10, Wk 11 No. 18, Wk 12 No. 16, Wk 13 No. 14, Wk 14 No. 13, Wk 15 No. 12, Wk 16 No. 10, Final No. 22 MiamiIndiana: Wk 1 No. 20, Wk 2 No. 23, Wk 3 No. 22, Wk 4 No. 19, Wk 5 No. 11, Wk 6 No. 8, Wk 7 No. 7, Wk 8 No. 3, Wk 9 No. 2, Wk 10 No. 2, Wk 11 No. 2, Wk 12 No. 2, Wk 13 No. 2, Wk 14 No. 2, Wk 15 No. 2, Wk 16 No. 1, Final No. 11 Indiana
The top 10 of the final AP poll and where each stood every week before it; a gap is a week out of the Top 25. Hover or tab to a line for its weeks.

Climbed

  1. IndianaNo. 20 → No. 1
  2. Ole MissNo. 21 → No. 3
  3. Texas TechNo. 23 → No. 7
  4. BYUunranked → No. 11
  5. Utahunranked → No. 14

Fell

  1. Penn StateNo. 2 → unranked
  2. ClemsonNo. 4 → unranked
  3. LSUNo. 9 → unranked
  4. Arizona StateNo. 11 → unranked
  5. IllinoisNo. 12 → unranked

From the season’s first AP poll (the preseason poll) to the final one.

The College Football Playoff

First Round

Quarterfinal

Semifinal

National Championship

Champion: Indiana

National leaders

Passing yards

  1. 1Drew Mestemaker North Texas4,369 yds
  2. 2Darian Mensah Duke3,973 yds
  3. 3Trinidad Chambliss Ole Miss3,937 yds
  4. 4Carson Beck Miami3,813 yds
  5. 5Jayden Maiava USC3,711 yds

The NCAA’s official leader is Drew Mestemaker (North Texas), with 4,379 yds; our source has him at 4,369 yds.

Passing touchdowns

  1. 1Fernando Mendoza Indiana41 TD
  2. T2Darian Mensah Duke34 TD
  3. T2Drew Mestemaker North Texas34 TD
  4. 4Julian Sayin Ohio State32 TD
  5. 5Sawyer Robertson Baylor31 TD

Rushing yards

  1. 1Cam Cook Jacksonville State1,666 yds
  2. 2Ahmad Hardy Missouri1,649 yds
  3. 3Kewan Lacy Ole Miss1,567 yds
  4. 4Emmett Johnson Nebraska1,451 yds
  5. 5Caleb Hawkins North Texas1,424 yds

The NCAA’s official leader is Cam Cook (Jacksonville State), with 1,659 yds; our source has him at 1,666 yds.

Rushing touchdowns

  1. 1Caleb Hawkins North Texas25 TD
  2. 2Kewan Lacy Ole Miss24 TD
  3. T3Cale Hellums Army18 TD
  4. T3Jeremiyah Love Notre Dame18 TD
  5. 5Brad Jackson Texas State17 TD

Receiving yards

  1. 1Danny Scudero San José State1,297 yds
  2. 2Skyler Bell UConn1,276 yds
  3. 3Wyatt Young North Texas1,264 yds
  4. 4Jeremiah Smith Ohio State1,243 yds
  5. 5Malachi Toney Miami1,211 yds

Receiving touchdowns

  1. 1Elijah Sarratt Indiana15 TD
  2. 2Camden Brown Georgia Southern14 TD
  3. T3Omar Cooper Jr. Indiana13 TD
  4. T3Skyler Bell UConn13 TD
  5. 5Amare Thomas Houston12 TD

Tackles

  1. 1Owen Long Colorado State148 tkl
  2. 2Caden Fordham NC State143 tkl
  3. 3Khalil Murdock Buffalo142 tkl
  4. 4Baron Hopson Kennesaw State139 tkl
  5. 5Bryce Boettcher Oregon132 tkl

Sacks

  1. T1David Bailey Texas Tech14.5 sacks
  2. T1Nadame Tucker Western Michigan14.5 sacks
  3. T3Akheem Mesidor Miami12.5 sacks
  4. T3Anthony Smith Minnesota12.5 sacks
  5. T3Cashius Howell Texas A&M12.5 sacks

Interceptions

  1. 1Jakari Foster Louisiana Tech8 INT
  2. T2Bryce Fitzgerald Miami6 INT
  3. T2Jerome Carter Old Dominion6 INT
  4. T2John Nestor Minnesota6 INT
  5. T2Ricardo Jones Clemson6 INT

FBS players; season totals from CollegeFootballData.com player statistics.

Conference champions

FBS

American Athletic Conference
Tulane
Atlantic Coast Conference
Duke
Big 12
Texas Tech
Big Ten
Indiana
Conference USA
Kennesaw State
Mid-American Conference
Western Michigan
Mountain West Conference
Boise State
Pac-12
Washington State
Southeastern Conference
Georgia
Sun Belt Conference
James Madison

FCS

Big Sky
Montana State
Big South–OVC Football Association
Tennessee Tech
Coastal Athletic Association
Rhode Island
Ivy League
Harvard and Yale (shared)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
South Carolina State
Missouri Valley Football Conference
North Dakota State
Northeast Conference
Central Connecticut
Patriot League
Lehigh
Pioneer Football League
Drake
Southern Conference
Mercer
Southland Conference
Stephen F. Austin
Southwestern Athletic Conference
Prairie View A&M
United Athletic Conference
Abilene Christian and Tarleton State (shared)

Division II and below

Gulf South Conference
West Florida

From each program’s Wikipedia article, with the conference’s name that season. Titles come from the articles of today’s FBS and FCS programs, so a title shared with a school outside them lists only one champion.

Consensus All-Americans

26 playersAll 11 selectors’ teams

Players picked by enough of the major selectors to count as consensus, shown in bold in Wikipedia’s 2025 All-America article. Every selector’s teams, first to last, are on the 2025 All-America teams page.

The 2025 awards

Every award

Player of the year

By position

Defensive player of the year

Scholarship and character

Coaches

The champion’s staff

Every title staff

Indiana 47 on the staff list

  • Curt Cignettihead coach
  • Bryant Hainesdefensive coordinator, linebackers
  • Mike Shanahanoffensive coordinator, wide receivers
  • Grant Cainspecial teams coordinator, tight ends
  • Ola Adamssafeties, defensive backs
  • Bob Bostadoffensive line, run game coordinator
  • Pat Kuntzdefensive tackles
  • John Millerrunning backs
  • Rod Ojongcornerbacks
  • Chandler Whitmerquarterbacks, co-offensive coordinator
  • Buddha Williamsdefensive ends
Support staff (36)

Analysts and quality control

  • Ben Harakel senior defensive analyst
  • Alex Higgins senior offensive analyst
  • Ryan McInerney senior special teams analyst
  • Eddie Burk Jr. offensive quality control
  • Justice Ellison offensive quality control
  • Cam Haney defensive quality control
  • Zack Leeds offensive quality control
  • Francis Meehan defensive quality control
  • Aiden Moyers defensive quality control
  • Reed Relosky offensive quality control
  • Jared Coulter team analyst, football video coordinator

Strength and conditioning

  • Derek Owings director of athletic performance, football
  • Nate Adams assistant athletic performance coach
  • Daniel Johnson assistant athletic performance coach
  • Carl Miller assistant athletic performance coach
  • Jared Myatt assistant athletic performance coach
  • Josh Huff sports Science coordinator

Operations and recruiting

  • Matt Wilson assistant athletic director for player personnel
  • Mike Pechac director of player development, NFL Liaison & player Academic Enhancement
  • Blake Jackson director of football operations
  • Kendel Bennett director of on-Campus recruiting
  • John Srofe director of scouting
  • Mike Ferrara director of player personnel
  • Jake McDonald assistant director of football operations
  • Brooks Halsey assistant director of player personnel
  • Sales Pinckney assistant director of player personnel
  • Jamie Stento recruiting assistant

Sports medicine and nutrition

  • Kyle Blackman head athletic trainer, football
  • Jon Wicks athletic trainer, football
  • Jacob Laverman director of football Rehabilitation
  • Michael Turner athletic trainer, football
  • Isaac Hicks III director of sports performance nutrition

Equipment

  • Mitch Gudmundson director of football equipment operations

Video, communications and other staff

  • Darrell Grant director of football creative video
  • Michael Conway assistant director of graphic design
  • Nick Pappas assistant director of graphic design

The staff as the school listed it that season, roles in the source’s words (students and graduate assistants left out). Names link to coach pages where we have one, else to Wikipedia. Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages.

The selection committee

The College Football Playoff committee that ranked the teams and picked the field in 2025, as Wikipedia lists its members by season (CC BY-SA).

Bowls and playoff

Scoreboard
Dec 13, 2025Washington 38, Boise State 10LA Bowl
Dec 16, 2025Jacksonville State 17, Troy 13Salute to Veterans Bowl
Dec 17, 2025Old Dominion 24, South Florida 10Cure Bowl
Dec 17, 2025Delaware 20, Louisiana 1368 Ventures Bowl
Dec 18, 2025Arkansas State 34, Missouri State 28Xbox Bowl
Dec 19, 2025Western Michigan 41, Kennesaw State 6Myrtle Beach Bowl
Dec 19, 2025NC State 31, Memphis 7Gasparilla Bowl
Dec 19, 202511Alabama 34, 8Oklahoma 24CFP First Round
Dec 20, 202510Miami 10, 7Texas A&M 3CFP First Round
Dec 20, 20256Ole Miss 41, 17Tulane 10CFP First Round
Dec 20, 20255Oregon 51, 19James Madison 34CFP First Round
Dec 22, 2025Washington State 34, Utah State 21Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Dec 23, 2025Louisville 27, Toledo 22Boca Raton Bowl
Dec 23, 2025Western Kentucky 27, Southern Miss 16New Orleans Bowl
Dec 23, 2025Ohio 17, UNLV 10Frisco Bowl
Dec 24, 2025Hawai’i 35, California 31Hawai’i Bowl
Dec 26, 2025Northwestern 34, Central Michigan 7GameAbove Sports Bowl
Dec 26, 2025Minnesota 20, New Mexico 17Rate Bowl
Dec 26, 2025UTSA 57, Florida International 20First Responder Bowl
Dec 27, 2025East Carolina 23, Pittsburgh 17Military Bowl
Dec 27, 2025Penn State 22, Clemson 10Pinstripe Bowl
Dec 27, 2025Army 41, UConn 16Fenway Bowl
Dec 27, 202512BYU 25, 24Georgia Tech 21Pop-Tarts Bowl
Dec 27, 2025Fresno State 18, Miami (OH) 3Arizona Bowl
Dec 27, 202523North Texas 49, San Diego State 47New Mexico Bowl
Dec 27, 202520Virginia 13, 25Missouri 7Gator Bowl
Dec 27, 2025Houston 38, LSU 35Texas Bowl
Dec 29, 2025Georgia Southern 29, App State 10Birmingham Bowl
Dec 30, 2025Louisiana Tech 23, Coastal Carolina 14Independence Bowl
Dec 30, 2025Illinois 30, Tennessee 28Music City Bowl
Dec 30, 2025TCU 30, 16USC 27Alamo Bowl
Dec 31, 2025Iowa 34, 13Vanderbilt 27ReliaQuest Bowl
Dec 31, 2025Duke 42, Arizona State 39Sun Bowl
Dec 31, 202514Texas 41, 18Michigan 27Citrus Bowl
Dec 31, 202515Utah 44, Nebraska 22Las Vegas Bowl
Dec 31, 202510Miami 24, 3Ohio State 14Cotton Bowl, CFP Quarterfinal
Jan 1, 20265Oregon 23, 4Texas Tech 0Orange Bowl, CFP Quarterfinal
Jan 1, 20261Indiana 38, 11Alabama 3Rose Bowl, CFP Quarterfinal
Jan 1, 20266Ole Miss 39, 2Georgia 34Sugar Bowl, CFP Quarterfinal
Jan 2, 2026Texas State 41, Rice 10Armed Forces Bowl
Jan 2, 202622Navy 35, Cincinnati 13Liberty Bowl
Jan 2, 2026Wake Forest 43, Mississippi State 29Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Jan 2, 2026SMU 24, 21Arizona 19Holiday Bowl
Jan 8, 202610Miami 31, 6Ole Miss 27Fiesta Bowl, CFP Semifinal
Jan 9, 20261Indiana 56, 5Oregon 22Peach Bowl, CFP Semifinal
Jan 19, 20261Indiana 27, 10Miami 21CFP National Championship

Rule book changes

Every rule book

There’s no 2025 rule book in the dataset. The changes in the 2026 book took effect between 2024 and 2026.

Only the first sentence of each article is compared, so a change deeper in an article (most penalty clauses, the overtime procedure) doesn’t show here, and a change that shows may be rewording. No rule text is kept: only numbers and headings. Rule books: NCAA, via Pierce’s provision dataset (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0).