It used to be lot easy. By the time spring football began, every college football team knew who would be returning. No one was hesitant to provide an official depth chart, the transfer portal did not exist, and we had all of the pieces in place to provide a true, final assessment on how excellent each team was.
But this is more enjoyable.
There’s a lot of guessing, way too much speculation, and a ton of research and analysis to be done. That is what our team previews are for, and they will be released in a few months, followed by the preseason rankings.
For now, as a starting point, how excellent do we think each team is? Here’s our ranking of all 136 teams, along with some quick thoughts on each.
College Football Rankings: 2025 Offseason
136 UMass
2024 Record 2-10
2024 Spring Rank 132
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 134
2024 CFN Final Rank 130
New coach (Joe Harasymiak) new conference (MAC), new style. It’s going to take a while for the Minutemen to make any sort of splash.
135 Kent State
2024 Record 0-12
2024 Spring Rank 129
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 132
2024 CFN Final Rank 134
Head coach Kenni Burns is fighting the good fight, but it’ll take something special for the Golden Flashes to rise up and start being competitive.
134 FIU
2024 Record 5-7
2024 Spring Rank 125
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 112
2024 CFN Final Rank 124
It’s a do-over. New head man Willie Simmons has to build the program up without any real experience or talent on the roster to count on.
133 Rice
2024 Record 4-8
2024 Spring Rank 98
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 118
2024 CFN Final Rank 110
Rice will get blasted early but could become a thorn in everyone’s side late. New head coach Scott Abell has the transfers, but it’ll take time.
132 Missouri State
2024 Record 8-4
2024 Spring Rank NR
2024 CFN Preseason Rank NR
2024 CFN Final Rank NR
It’s always a rough guess when it comes to FCS teams making the jump, but at least the Bears are loaded with experience and a fun offense that will be a problem.
131 Delaware
2024 Record 9-2
2024 Spring Rank NR
2024 CFN Preseason Rank NR
2024 CFN Final Rank NR
The veteran Blue Hen D should keep CUSA games tight. This might be too low a ranking – the depth isn’t there – but don’t be shocked if this is a good season.
130 Tulsa
2024 Record 3-9
2024 Spring Rank 118
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 125
2024 CFN Final Rank 132
It’s Tulsa. New head coach Tre Webb will bring the offense, but it’ll take a ton of help from the portal to get going
129 Ball State
2024 Record 3-9
2024 Spring Rank 108
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 131
2024 CFN Final Rank 126
Hammered by personnel losses, Ball State has too much work to do under new head man Mike Uremovich, especially on offense.
128 Charlotte
2024 Record 5-7
2024 Spring Rank 122
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 127
2024 CFN Final Rank 111
Ohio head coach Tim Albin was a strong get for the program. The portal parts are good enough to at least be competitive.
127 New Mexico
2024 Record 5-7
2024 Spring Rank 117
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 121
2024 CFN Final Rank 109
New head coach Jason Eck inherits one of thinnest rosters in college football. It’s going to be a long first half of the season.
126 UAB
2024 Record 3-9
2024 Spring Rank 112
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 111
2024 CFN Final Rank 128
Will there ever be a rainbow? UAB keeps waiting for the Trent Dilfer era to kick in, but there are too many new guys to get right fast.
125 Louisiana Tech
2024 Record 5-8
2024 Spring Rank 121
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 108
2024 CFN Final Rank 113
It’s been one of the bigger stunners that Sonny Cumbie can’t get Louisiana Tech going. The portal wasn’t kind this offseason.
124 Marshall
2024 Record 10-3
2024 Spring Rank 95
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 96
2024 CFN Final Rank 61
Absolutely gutted from head coach on down, new head coach Tony Gibson is in charge of remaking the defending Sun Belt champ.
123 ULM
2024 Record 5-7
2024 Spring Rank 133
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 133
2024 CFN Final Rank 115
Bryant Vincent should’ve been kept by UAB a few years ago. Instead, he might quietly have one of the better teams in the Sun Belt.
122 Nevada
2024 Record 3-10
2024 Spring Rank 119
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 122
2024 CFN Final Rank 121
Baby steps … tiny baby steps. The Wolf Pack had to redo everything, and this time around there’s even less experience.
121 Akron
2024 Record 4-8
2024 Spring Rank 130
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 129
2024 CFN Final Rank 114
Joe Moorhead is too good a head coach to not have a more dangerous team. Portal losses hurt, but the O should be dangerous.
120 Northern Illinois
2024 Record 8-5
2024 Spring Rank 106
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 120
2024 CFN Final Rank 91
Good luck finding a team with less returning talent. The D is starting over, the O is a redo, and it’ll take something special to be decent.
119 Florida Atlantic
2024 Record 3-9
2024 Spring Rank 83
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 86
2024 CFN Final Rank 120
Keep an eye on the Owls. They might not be all that great, but new head coach Zach Kittley will throw it around 200 times a game.
118 Bowling Green
2024 Record 7-6
2024 Spring Rank 94
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 103
2024 CFN Final Rank 104
Just how fast an Eddie George make an impact? He takes a team that was dead in the water and makes it interesting.
117 UTEP
2024 Record 4-8
2024 Spring Rank 131
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 116
2024 CFN Final Rank 125
It’s UTEP, so you don’t want to get too fired up, but there’s a LOT to really like about this team if transfer QB Malachi Nelson is great.
116 Temple
2024 Record 3-9
2024 Spring Rank 124
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 126
2024 CFN Final Rank 119
It’s not a horrible situation for KC Keeler. The former Sam Houston head man has a decent offense to play around with.
115 Jacksonville State
2024 Record 9-5
2024 Spring Rank 99
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 109
2024 CFN Final Rank 88
It’s asking too much of Charles Kelly to keep the momentum from the Rich Rodriguez era going, but the team won’t be totally awful.
114 Old Dominion
2024 Record 4-8
2024 Spring Rank 102
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 104
2024 CFN Final Rank 98
Yeah, fine … ODU should be higher. There’s actually talent and depth on the defense, but the portal losses overall will sting.
113 New Mexico State
2024 Record 3-9
2024 Spring Rank 126
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 128
2024 CFN Final Rank 129
It’s an interesting situation. The stars were gobbled up by the portal, but this is still one of the more experienced CUSA teams.
112 Eastern Michigan
2024 Record 5-7
2024 Spring Rank 111
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 115
2024 CFN Final Rank 116
Oof. Chris Creighton has deals with far worse at EMU, but there’s too much replacing to do to hope for a big bounce-back year.
111 Georgia State
2024 Record 3-9
2024 Spring Rank 96
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 102
2024 CFN Final Rank 123
Year 2 under Dell McGee will be better for one of the Sun Belt’s X factor teams. The Panthers got right fast through the portal.
110 Kennesaw State
2024 Record 2-10
2024 Spring Rank 134
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 130
2024 CFN Final Rank 131
This is a bit ambitious of an early ranking, but the Owls were okay late last year and they get just about everyone back.
109 Western Michigan
2024 Record 6-7
2024 Spring Rank 116
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 123
2024 CFN Final Rank 112
Lance Taylor is trying to revive the program, but the offense needs the new guys to instantly rock. WMU should be better in time.
108 Appalachian State
2024 Record 5-6
2024 Spring Rank 77
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 64
2024 CFN Final Rank 108
Dowell Loggains was a strong under-the-radar hire. It might take a bit to reload, but the program is too good to be down long.
107 Texas State
2024 Record 8-5
2024 Spring Rank 97
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 80
2024 CFN Final Rank 96
Guys go out of San Marcos, guys come in, and GJ Kinne gets the offense to keep on rolling. The depth is totally absent.
106 Utah State
2024 Record 3-9
2024 Spring Rank 88
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 92
2024 CFN Final Rank 103
Getting whacked by the portal was a problem. Bronco Mendenhall is one of the few coaches who can overcome that.
105 Hawaii
2024 Record 5-7
2024 Spring Rank 110
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 90
2024 CFN Final Rank 105
It’s Hawaii so the offense will be fun, but a quarterback has to emerge right away. It’ll be a dangerous Mountain West factor.
104 WKU
2024 Record 8-6
2024 Spring Rank 89
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 79
2024 CFN Final Rank 100
This is where being in CUSA matters. WKU got hammered with talent losses, but it should be okay by the middle of the season.
103 Miami University
2024 Record 9-5
2024 Spring Rank 79
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 83
2024 CFN Final Rank 69
Call this a kick-the-can-down-the-road ranking. MU lost EVERYONE on O, but it might have upgraded through the portal.
102 Middle Tennessee
2024 Record 3-9
2024 Spring Rank 120
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 107
2024 CFN Final Rank 127
The portal can help, too. Derek Mason did a great job finding the pieces to rise up fast – the Blue Raiders will be CUSA players.
101 Central Michigan
2024 Record 4-8
2024 Spring Rank 107
2024 CFN Preseason Rank 106
2024 CFN Final Rank 117
Deep cuts time – CMU is one of the teams we’ll watch hard this offseason. New head man Matt Drinkall has a great group in place.