The college football season never stops with the transfer portal and extended playoffs. We’re three months away from spring ball before the season officially ends with the Notre Dame-Ohio State national championship game on Jan. 20. School is already in session for the spring semester as teams begin the climb towards the 2025 season. 

Here is a way-too-early Power Poll to serve as a jumping off point. We’ll undoubtedly look back at this ranking and shake our heads at this time next year, but let’s have some fun in the meantime. 

1. TEXAS LONGHORNS 

Let the Arch Manning era begin on the Forty Acres. He’ll need new names to step up around him if the Horns want to return to the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row, however. The offense alone must replace playmakers such as Matthew Golden and Jaydon Blue while the offensive and defensive lines are replacing stalwarts such as Kelvin Banks and Vernon Broughton. The Longhorns dealt with lost production incredibly well after the 2023 campaign. Steve Sarkisian & Co. must pull off a similar trick to keep the Horns in the SEC mix. 

2. BAYLOR BEARS 

Dave Aranda entered the 2024 on the hottest seat in Texas. He’ll enter 2025 with a true Big 12 contender thanks to the return of quarterback Sawyer Robertson and running back Bryson Washington. The Bears ended the 2024 regular season with six straight wins with victories over in-state rivals Texas Tech and TCU on their resumé. If the defense takes another step forward with Aranda on the headset, Baylor is a true CFP contender in a conference that always throws us a surprise. 

3. SMU MUSTANGS 

The road toward a return trip to the ACC championship and College Football Playoff will be much tougher in 2025 for the Mustangs because of a non-conference schedule that includes Baylor and a trip to TCU, as well as a conference slate that features a road trip to Clemson and a home game against Miami. Quarterback Kevin Jennings returns, but he must protect the football better against elite competition. SMU did land big fish along both lines of scrimmage to reinforce the trenches ahead of next season. 

4. TEXAS A&M AGGIES

Is it possible that the Aggies roster was more talented in Year 1 under Mike Elko than it will be in 2025? Probably, at least on the defensive side of the football. Replacing Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart on the edge is a tall task. The good news is that the offense should be better because quarterback Marcel Reed will be The Dude all offseason and the Aggies bolstered his weapons with the additions of KC Concepcion (NC State), Mario Carver (Miss. State) and Micah Hudson (Texas Tech). A&M lost its last four games against P4 competition in 2024. The 2025 slate includes road games at Notre Dame, Texas, and LSU. 

5. TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS 

The money is flowing in West Texas as the Red Raiders are all-in for the 2025 season – Year 4 of the Joey McGuire era. Texas Tech signed arguably the best portal class in America and returns key cogs such as Behren Morton on offense and a bunch of underclassmen on defense who should be improved after getting thrown to the fire last season. Tech also avoids potential Big 12 contenders like TCU and Baylor in conference play and should go 3-0 in non-conference with Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kent State, and Oregon State.

6. TCU HORNED FROGS 

The separation between Big 12 squads such as Tech, TCU, and Baylor is minimal and all three should enter 2025 with conference championship aspirations. Sonny Dykes & Co. weathered an early 2024 storm to finish strong, winning six of their last seven to close out the season with nine wins. Replacing production at wide receiver after losing Savion Williams and Jack Bech won’t be easy, but quarterback Josh Hoover returns to help break in the new targets like Jordan Dwyer, Ka’Morreun Pimpton, and Joseph Manjack IV.

7. HOUSTON COUGARS

Expect a jump from the Coogs in Year 2 of the Willie Fritz era despite replacing both coordinators after the season. The offense should be much improved with the additions of quarterback Conner Weigman, tight end Luke McGary, and offensive lineman Matthew Wykoff. Maintaining a stout defense despite Shiel Wood’s departure for Texas Tech is a key to the season, as is an improved offensive line. 

8. UTSA ROADRUNNERS 

The transfer portal makes it harder than ever to project the G5 teams, especially nine months before the season. We’ll rank the Roadrunners atop of the G5 mountain here in Texas because of how they closed last season by winning four of their last five and the return of Owen McCown at quarterback. UTSA must improve defensively to compete for an AAC title with Tulane, Army, and Memphis. 

9. TEXAS STATE BOBCATS 

Expectations are everything in college football. The 2023 season was an undeniable success because the Bobcats didn’t enter the year with high hopes in G.J. Kinne’s first season in charge. Last year was a letdown because so many Texas State fans believed the team was poised for a run at the Sun Belt championship and a possible slot in the CFP as the G5 representative. Kinne & Co. must replace a ton of talent on both sides of the ball ahead of 2025, but he’s proven to be an excellent evaluator of portal talent. 

10. NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN 

The Mean Green must replace its leading passer, receiver, and rusher for the second year in a row. But in Eric Morris, we trust, at least on the offensive side of the football. He did it without missing a beat following the 2023 season and the bowl game against Texas State showed that if he’s calling an offense, it’ll score. The issue through two years of his tenure was on the defensive side of the ball, and he took a major step forward in rectifying that by hiring Skyler Cassity as defensive coordinator. 

11. UTEP MINERS 

In-state rival Sam Houston proved that the jump from the cellar to contender in Conference USA isn’t a huge leap. The Miners played a lot of young faces in Year 1 under Scotty Walden. Two top-ranked recruiting classes and the addition of former five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson should result in an improved Miners squad in 2025. A bowl game feels like the measuring stick this season. 

12. SAM HOUSTON BEARKATS 

New head coach Phil Longo is starting from scratch in Huntsville as he takes over for his former boss K.C. Keeler, who took the head job at Temple after leading the Bearkats to a historic rise in Year 2 as an FBS program. 2025 figures to be a year of transition for Sam Houston as it rebuilds the roster and finds a new location for home games as Bowers is renovated. 

13. RICE OWLS

The job is never easy on South Main, but new head coach Scott Abell is in for a major challenge in Year 1 on the job. He’s bringing in an entirely new offense and must build the roster depth back up. That likely takes more than a single offseason. Even if the wins don’t come right away, it will be fun to watch the Owls, especially on offense.