College Football oddly specific 2025 predictions: Arch Manning and Texas go all the way

College football has become too easy to predict.

For me anyway.

Not only did I correctly forecast Ohio State winning the national championship five months before it happened, but I also predicted Travis Hunter would win the Heisman Trophy when the Colorado two-way star was still a 50-to-1 long shot.

No, not all of my Oddly Specific Predictions came true. Utah didn’t come close to winning the Big 12, Miami didn’t win the ACC and Florida State came nowhere near the 12-team College Football Playoff. But my season-long record of 99-47 picking straight-up winners was still pretty good.

So, because this has become too easy, I’m upping the ante. I’m calling my shots in February, so I can look really foolish this time next year. Instead of boring you with some ridiculous general overview or way-too-early top-25 rankings, I’m picking one game per week to explain how everything will go down.

Fair warning: I’m going to write another one of these in August after the Top 25 comes out and all roster movement is completed (there’s another transfer portal window in April). But consider this as my first round of darts.

Week 0: Iowa State vs. Kansas State (in Ireland)

The Big 12 — the toughest Power 4 conference to predict — could be won by either of these teams that will likely be in the preseason Top 25. Here’s one thing you should definitely know about the Big 12: Shedeur Sanders is gone but a bunch of the league’s top starting quarterbacks are back, including Iowa State’s Rocco Becht and Kansas State’s Avery Johnson.

Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, though, is the best one and he’ll earn an invite to the Heisman ceremony next season after carrying more of the weight in Kenny Dillingham’s offense with Cam Skattebo gone. Right now, I’ve got Arizona State beating defensive-loaded BYU to repeat as Big 12 champions.

But getting back to the first Farmageddon on foreign soil, let’s roll with Iowa State. The Cyclones won 11 games for the first time in school history, and Becht still has weapons around him.

Farmageddon kicks off the 2025 season in Ireland next year. pic.twitter.com/dp8OxaPAKO

— Justin Prestegard (@justin4asu) December 1, 2024

Week 1: Notre Dame at Miami

Texas visiting Ohio State is clearly where ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be in Week 1. But we’re skipping the semifinal rematch for storytelling purposes. We’re also passing on a potential top-10 matchup of Clemson and LSU because we’ll get to each of them in a bit. But Notre Dame-Miami in South Florida on Sunday night is still a huge game.

Marcus Freeman’s team will have a new starting quarterback and a new defensive coordinator debuting against an always overhyped Miami team with a new starting quarterback and a new defensive coordinator. Will Notre Dame get back to the national title game in 2025? No. But I think the Hurricanes — who play eight home games this season — and Irish will both get into the 12-team College Football Playoff after an epic opening weekend that ends with Miami’s Carson Beck outdueling CJ Carr and Jeremiyah Love.

Week 2: Michigan at Oklahoma

You will not find a bigger brand-name matchup on the slate than this one in Week 2. The burning question here is if highly paid freshman Bryce Underwood will be Michigan’s starting quarterback at this point and if he’ll be ready to outduel Washington State transfer John Mateer. I’m betting the answer is no.

Veteran transfer Mikey Keene will win the job and the opener against New Mexico, and then give way to Underwood in relief as Mateer picks up a huge win for Brent Venables and the “SEC is back!” narrative. Neither of these teams, though, are making the 12-team Playoff.

Week 3: Georgia at Tennessee

So, how many teams will the SEC get into the CFP? My educated guess is four. You’d think the Bulldogs and Volunteers would have to be favorites after making the field last season. But it feels like a much more wide-open SEC race than a year ago when I correctly forecast the Georgia-Texas championship rematch in Atlanta.

The bottom line here is I don’t believe either one of these programs will get the kind of quarterback play it needs to get to the SEC title game, and only one of them will make the Playoff field in 2025. That’s the winner of this meeting: Georgia.

Week 4: Illinois at Indiana

Curt Cignetti deserved to win the National Coach of the Year Award in 2024, and I fully expect his Hoosiers will remain in the Playoff discussion for years to come, including this fall when Fernando Mendoza takes over at quarterback.

The problem for Indiana is it has road games at Oregon and Penn State in 2025, and both of those programs will always have more talent than what Cignetti can build in Bloomington. In fact, I’m not even sure Indiana can win this showdown with Bret Bielema’s team, which is coming off its first 10-win season since 2001 and has a lot of pieces back. Either way, the Big Ten is getting only three teams in the field this time around. Not four.

Week 5: Oregon at Penn State

Yes, I’ve got Oregon and Penn State in my early 12-team field. The Ducks’ blowout loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl was tough to swallow after a 13-0 season and Big Ten championship. But Dan Lanning and Phil Knight have been recruiting their butts off. Oregon isn’t going anywhere. This trip to Beaver Stadium is very likely the only regular-season game in which the Ducks won’t be favored to win.

Penn State, meanwhile, is a much more intriguing case study after reaching the semifinals last season. The return of Drew Allar, Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton will help get them back into the Playoff picture. But don’t underestimate the loss of Abdul Carter, Tyler Warren and the change at defensive coordinator. I think Oregon wins this top-five showdown.

Week 6: Texas at Florida

Arch Manning versus DJ Lagway. Wow! OK, so maybe this game will not be as sexy with Florida already having played at LSU and Miami, and Texas opening the season in Columbus against the defending national champions. But we’re still going to be very excited to see two potential first-round picks face each other.

The question for me is if Florida’s defense will be good enough to support Lagway and put this team in position to make the CFP. The Gators, though, will be very dangerous on offense. Just not good enough to beat Texas and our next Heisman winner this day.

Week 7: South Carolina at LSU

Speaking of Heisman contenders, teams spending a lot of money on their rosters and coaches facing heat: LSU and Brian Kelly have used the transfer portal to surround Garrett Nussmeier with a team that’s more than capable of winning the SEC. The question is if the offensive and defensive lines are good enough to navigate the difficult 2025 schedule.

Shane Beamer’s team, meanwhile, will receive a lot of preseason hype after its strong finish to the 2024 season. But the Gamecocks lost a lot of talent on defense. I’ve got LSU winning this game and eventually making it to the SEC title game.

Week 8: SMU at Clemson

This rematch of the ACC title game will tell us a lot more about SMU than defending league champion Clemson. Rhett Lashlee can coach, and he pulled all he could out of quarterback Kevin Jennings last season to produce an 11-win season and a trip to the Playoff. But the Mustangs lost a lot of horses and I just don’t see how they replicate what they accomplished last fall.

Clemson, meanwhile, should repeat as ACC champions behind Cade Klubnik. I’ve got the Tigers beating Miami in Charlotte in December.

Week 9: Colorado at Utah

How good are Coach Prime and the Buffaloes going to be after losing two of the top players in the country? It’s a valid question.

We should know by the time Colorado visits Salt Lake City in late October just how much Hunter and Shedeur Sanders are missed. I think the Buffs will miss them quite a bit on their way to a 7-5 record.

Week 10: Penn State at Ohio State

No, I’m not picking Penn State to win this game. And, yes, I fully expect Ohio State to remain a threat to win the national title despite losing a bunch of coaches and talent to other programs and the NFL. Heisman finalist-to-be Jeremiah Smith and All-America safety Caleb Downs are the primary reasons. But it’s also because Ryan Day can coach and knows how to recruit.

Week 11: LSU at Alabama

We haven’t mentioned Kalen DeBoer and Alabama to this point for a reason (you’ll notice Ole Miss isn’t brought up here, either). I don’t think the Crimson Tide are going to be very good. Replacing Jalen Milroe is one headache, but the bottom line is things are different in Tuscaloosa without Nick Saban around.

I’ve got Alabama losing to Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina before this very important home game for DeBoer’s reputation. LSU will be too much.

Week 12: Texas at Georgia

I’m going to keep this short and sweet: This rematch of last year’s SEC Championship Game will be a top-five showdown and propel Texas back to Atlanta and a league championship and Manning to the Heisman Trophy.

Georgia will still make the Playoff field as the No. 8 seed (hosting Notre Dame in Athens). Eventually, I have Georgia losing a Playoff rematch with the Longhorns, whom I’ve got winning it all.

Week 13: Tennessee at Florida

You know who else I have on the Playoff bubble? Three-loss Florida.

After losing to LSU, Miami and Texas, I’ve got the Gators turning their season around at Texas A&M, beating Georgia and nabbing a spot in the field with their fourth Top 25 win of the season against the Volunteers.

Week 14: Ohio State at Michigan

So, will Day get revenge against Michigan? Will the Buckeyes plant a flag in Ann Arbor?

No. Underwood will set the tone for 2026 and an eventual return to the Playoff for the Wolverines with another huge upset that keeps the Buckeyes from finishing undefeated. But Ohio State wins its first Big Ten title since 2020 and makes it back to the national semifinals before losing to LSU.

(Photo: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)

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