With Ohio State winning the national championship over Notre Dame on Monday night, it’s now time to focus on the 12-team playoff for next season.
In today’s Tuesdays With Gorney, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney takes his shot to seed the 12 teams that will fill the College Football Playoff bracket next season.
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1. TEXAS
It’s Arch Manning time in Texas as the former No. 1 overall prospect has patiently waited for two seasons behind Quinn Ewers to finally take over the Longhorns. Texas will need to rebuild its offensive line but the Longhorns have some elite players to plug the holes, a stable of phenomenal running backs that will take some pressure off Manning and while the Longhorns need to find some new receivers, there are some good ones coming back and great ones coming in this recruiting class.
The defense should be phenomenal with five-stars Colin Simmons and Anthony Hill and high four-star CB Malik Muhammad leading the way.
2. OHIO STATE
Will Howard is off to the NFL but it feels like Ohio State might actually be upgrading at quarterback because former five-star Julian Sayin is expected to take over. Sayin is so mature and talented at the position.
There might be some bumps in the road but bringing in transfer RB CJ Donaldson and having five-star receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate along with transfer tight end Max Klare should smooth things out.
There are some major departures on defense but five-star safety Caleb Downs is back and the Buckeyes have so much more talent waiting in the wings.
3. CLEMSON
There has been so much talk about Clemson falling off but the Tigers were back in the College Football Playoff and they have a team coming back good enough to win the national championship.
Quarterback Cade Klubnik is a huge piece with receiver Bryant Wesco on offense but others will have to step up. Clemson’s defense will be one of the best in the country especially up front where Peter Woods and TJ Parker return and Purdue transfer Will Heldt is coming in.
Former five-star linebacker Jeremiah Alexander transferred from Alabama and might just need a fresh start to reach his potential.
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4. IOWA STATE
Iowa State is coming off a program-record 11 wins and many key parts on offense including quarterback Rocco Becht and the Cyclones' stable of running backs return next season. What's more is that the team in Ames has momentum. They beat Iowa this season, they beat Kansas State and had many other impressive wins before being swallowed up by Cam Skattebo and Arizona State in the conference title game. But Iowa State finished the season with a win over Miami and heads into 2025 with a lot of nice pieces ready to make a College Football Playoff run.
5. GEORGIA
Quarterback Carson Beck transferred to Miami and Gunner Stockton didn’t light the world on fire in the College Football Playoff, but he’s a talented dual-threat and he should be surrounded by even better playmakers than this year.
Getting five-star Zachariah Branch and Texas A&M’s Noah Thomas out of the portal is huge. Running back Nate Frazier could have an even bigger year.
The defense loses a lot but the Bulldogs are always loaded and more five-stars such as Elijah Griffin and Isaiah Gibson are on the way.
6. PENN STATE
Quarterback Drew Allar is back. Running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen are coming back. Dani Dennis-Sutton and other stars on defense have decided to return after a great season ended in the semifinals in a loss to Notre Dame following Allar’s late interception.
Penn State is bringing back a lot of veteran talent and they are hungry to win a national championship. The Nittany Lions are loaded but there are some tricky spots in the schedule that could derail things as they host Oregon, have to visit Iowa and Ohio State and then have Indiana, Nebraska and other big matchups.
7. OREGON
Five-star quarterback Dante Moore got thrown to the wolves as a freshman at UCLA and then transferred to Oregon to sit behind Dillon Gabriel and learn. And now it's his turn. This will be Moore’s offense next season and there is a lot of talent in Eugene with five-star receiver Dakorien Moore, who could have a freshman season similar to Alabama’s Ryan Williams, coming in.
There are some significant transfer portal additions for the Ducks as well, so after missing out on a Final Four appearance following a phenomenal season, Oregon will stay hungry.
8. NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame wins by running the ball effectively, taking the will of the opponent and dominating up front. The Irish will have an absolutely loaded offensive line in 2025. That’s great news because they will be breaking in a new, unproven quarterback – expected to be CJ Carr – and while there is some help coming at receiver, Notre Dame isn’t a massive threat there.
There will be lots of replacements needed on defense but there is a ton of talent in South Bend and defensive coordinator Al Golden should have ND ready.
9. MIAMI
Replacing Cam Ward looked to be an impossible task but Miami did a great job getting Georgia QB Carson Beck to transfer. While he’s not as athletic or dynamic as Ward, he still is a probable first-round NFL Draft pick (depending on how his elbow heals) and there is going to be an immense amount of talent on the roster.
The Hurricanes blew it by not making the playoff this year after losing to Syracuse in the regular-season finale. The defense needs to be fixed – and fast – and new coordinator Corey Hetherman came from Minnesota for just that task.
10. LSU
Scoring was not an issue for LSU last season and the Tigers will have weapons again with QB Garrett Nussmeier coming back, a stable of elite running backs and transfer receivers Barion Brown (Kentucky), Nic Anderson (Oklahoma) and others coming in. The defense needs to be a lot better against the run and the Tigers went to the portal to fix a lot of those issues.
There has been some talk that coach Brian Kelly went to Baton Rouge to cash out but come on, he still gets mad enough to pound a table every now and again. He’s 29-11 since getting to LSU, not bad but the team feels like it was sliding a little bit this season. That changes in 2025.
11. ALABAMA
Alabama went 9-4 in coach Kalen DeBoer’s first season and the fan base is ready to wring his neck. Just listen to Paul Finebaum on any given weekday. It was the worst season in Tuscaloosa since Nick Saban went 7-6 in 2007 and then followed with double-digit wins (and six national titles) for the Crimson Tide.
There will be a QB competition with Ty Simpson, Austin Mack and five-star Keelon Russell, and we wouldn’t be shocked if Russell wins it. Five-star receiver Ryan Williams is already a star. The defense should be stacked. And Alabama cannot have another season like it just had.
12. BOISE STATE
A Group of Five team has to make it and it’s a real stretch to believe that any one of them should get a first-round bye. Star running back Ashton Jeanty is gone along with a bunch of top defensive prospects, but Boise State returns quarterback Maddux Madsen and a ton of other talented prospects. The schedule has some challenges with Notre Dame and others but the Broncos could also make a statement with some big wins.
