The Athletic's Stewart Mandel is a preseason Penn State believer, placing the Nittany Lions atop his too-early top 25 for 2025. "I'm skeptical they can actually pull it off," Mandel writes, "but on paper, James Franklin's team deserves that status given how many players are returning."

Boise State and Arizona State should have had to play in the first round. Not granting first-round byes to conference champions is one area where the CFP has to improve. But the Broncos and Sun Devils held their own, especially Arizona State. Storming back and taking Texas to OT took some serious guts from Kenny Dillingham’s team.

The Nittany Lions ended in the top five for the first time since 2005. It’s the first time the Big Ten has had three teams in the final top five. Ohio State was No. 1 and Oregon was No. 3.