ESPN Unveils Top 25 For 2025 College Football Season - And Fans Aren't Happy

ESPN Unveils Top 25 For 2025 College Football Season - And Fans Aren't Happy originally appeared on The Spun.

Believe it or not, we're just 20 days away from the start of the 2025 college football season.

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Week 0 will feature five intriguing matchups, which includes a showdown between Iowa State and Kansas State in Dublin, Ireland. The following week there'll be countless games on display, such as Texas vs. Ohio State. That might very well be a preview for this year's College Football Playoff.

Even though Texas and Ohio State are loaded with talent heading into this season, ESPN's Mark Schlabach doesn't have either team ranked No. 1 as of this time. Instead, that title belongs to Penn State.

"After finally turning the corner under coach James Franklin in 2024, the Nittany Lions look loaded for bear this coming season. With Allar, Allen and Singleton returning, Penn State should have one of the most balanced offenses in the FBS, especially if Allar takes the next step as a downfield passer. Adding Pena, Ross and Hudson was critical; Penn State's receivers didn't have a reception in a 27-24 loss to Notre Dame in a CFP semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl. Pena, a slot receiver, had 84 catches for 941 yards with nine scores in 2024," Schlabach wrote.

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BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - OCTOBER 26: Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN GameDay commentator, speaks prior to the game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Washington Huskies at Memorial Stadium on October 26, 2024 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)Justin Casterline/Getty Images

Schlabach actually has Ohio State ranked No. 5 as of this August, which is pretty low for the defending champions.

Here's the top 25 from ESPN:

Penn State Clemson Texas Georgia Ohio State LSU Notre Dame Oregon Alabama BYU Illinois Arizona State South Carolina Iowa State SMU Texas Tech Indiana Kansas State Florida Michigan Miami Louisville Texas A&M Ole Miss Oklahoma

Unsurprisingly, these rankings from ESPN sparked quite a debate on social media.

"This is a wild Top 25... Penn State is NOT No. 1 Dawgs are NOT No. 4 Indiana and Sooners should be NOWHERE near Top 25 Miami, Fla. should be in Top 10," one fan said.

"Not even Penn State fans believe Penn State is No. 1," another fan wrote.

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"I think this may come back to haunt Penn State," a third fan commented.

Penn State has an early test against Oregon on Sept. 27. That could tell us all we need to know about James Franklin's squad.

Do you think Penn State deserves to be ranked No. 1 heading into this season?

Related: Kirk Herbstreit Named One Of 'Most Annoying' People In Sports Media

ESPN Unveils Top 25 For 2025 College Football Season - And Fans Aren't Happy first appeared on The Spun on Aug 3, 2025

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This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.

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