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2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 156th season of college football in the United States, the 120th season organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the 50th of the highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 23 and ended on December 13. The postseason began on December 13, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, ended on January 19, 2026, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

The Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes by a score of 27–21 to claim their first national championship in school history. The Hoosiers became the first FBS team since the 1894 Yale Bulldogs to have a perfect 16–0 season. This was the second season of the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) system.

Conference realignment

Two schools played their first FBS seasons in 2025; Delaware (from the Coastal Athletic Association) and Missouri State (from the Missouri Valley conference) began their transitions from Division I FCS in 2024 and joined Conference USA (CUSA) in July 2025. One formerly independent school, UMass, rejoined the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 2025, but this time as a full member instead of football-only.

The 2025 season was the last for eight FBS teams in their then-current conferences. On February 9th, 2026 Both The Mountain West and North Dakota State Confirmed a deal to let the Bison in the Conference by the 2026 season.

Rule changes

The following playing rule changes were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Committee on April 17, 2025:

  • In an effort to reduce feigned injuries, if medical personnel have to enter the field to tend to an injured player after the ball is spotted by officials ready for play, that team will be charged a timeout (or a five-yard delay of game penalty if out of timeouts). If this occurs after the two-minute timeout (and the injury is the only reason for the clock to stop), a 10-second runoff applies if the team is out of timeouts.
  • Starting with the third overtime period, teams will only be permitted one timeout to use until the game is concluded. Previously teams received a timeout for each overtime period, including the two-point attempts that begin with the third overtime.
  • Eliminating media timeouts after the second overtime period, and reducing the mandatory rest periods in games without media timeouts to only after the second overtime period (instead of after the second and fourth overtimes).
  • Once a decision is made on instant replay reviews, the referee will only use the terms "Overturned" and "Upheld". "Confirmed" or "Stands" will no longer be used.
  • On punt formations, no player can be directly in line of the snap to a potential kicker and no player can be inside of the frame of the snapper to qualify as a legal scrimmage kick formation. If these requirements are not met, five players numbered 50–79 must be on the line of scrimmage. Also, if the snapper is on the end of a line, he loses the scrimmage kick protection and the defense can line up a player over the snapper.
  • If a player on the kickoff return team gives a "T" signal with his arms, the team gives up their right to return the kickoff and the play will be whistled dead once the ball is caught or recovered.
  • Enhanced rules regarding words or signals used to distract opponents trying to put the ball in play. The terms "stem" and "move" would only be permitted for defenses, and defenses cannot use cadence or sounds that simulate offensive team signals.
  • Included players attempting to recover a loose ball to the list of "defenseless players".
  • Contact to an offensive player in a passing posture is now considered "Roughing the Passer". If targeting occurs with this act, the roughing the passer penalty would remain even if the targeting penalty is overturned on replay.
  • Added "simulating brandishing a weapon" to the list of acts considered unsportsmanlike conduct.
  • Codifying the rule change from 2024's Ohio State at Oregon game, after the two-minute timeout, teams called for having 12 or more players participating in a down will be penalized five yards, and the offense would have the option to reset the game clock to the time at the start of the play. If the 12th or more player(s) were running off the field and had no influence on the play, the yardage penalty would apply but no clock reset option would be available. The clock reset option is also available without accepting the penalty.
  • The Coach to Player (C2P green dot) communication technology currently used in FBS will be a permissible option for the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). In 2026, the C2P technology will be allowed in Divisions II and III.

Points of emphasis

  • Continued focus on protection of defenseless players, concussions, pre-snap actions from both offense/defense, and feigning injuries.
  • Focus on penalizing taunting actions by players and pre-game actions between teams that become unsportsmanlike conduct.
  • Sideline control, including leaving the playing area to dispute an officiating decision.
  • Illegal contact against a passer.
  • Pace of play and substituting during up-tempo offenses, ensuring defenses are not at a disadvantage before the snap.

Headlines

  • April 25, 2025 – The University of Kentucky (UK) board of trustees approved a proposal to transfer the UK athletic program to a separate though related non-profit company known as Champions Blue, LLC. Both UK and outside media characterized the move, believed to be the first of its type by a major university, as a reaction to the then-impending settlement of the House v. NCAA legal case, which led to a formal revenue-sharing arrangement between athletic programs and student-athletes.
  • July 21 – The American Athletic Conference announced a name change to the American Conference as part of a comprehensive rebranding strategy. The conference will also no longer use an initialism, opting for "American" as its short form.
  • September 4 – The NCAA FBS Oversight Committee voted on major changes to the transfer portal. Under the proposal, the current 30-day period for players to enter the portal, divided into a 20-day December window and a 10-day April window, would be replaced by a single 10-day window that would run from January 2–11. This new 10-day window would apply to both undergraduate and graduate transfers. The committee also recommended that the month of December become a recruiting "dead period" during which coaches and recruits cannot meet in person, and that the signing date for new recruits change from August 1 to November 15 of a recruit's senior year in high school.
  • September 17 – The NCAA Division I Administrative Committee approved the proposed single January transfer portal, but chose not to adopt the proposed January 2–11 dates. In response to feedback from FBS and FCS players, the oversight committees for both subdivisions were to discuss the dates and duration of the portal, with the Administrative Committee to set the final parameters at its scheduled October meeting. Players still competing in postseason play when the new portal closes will have a 5-day portal after their teams' final games, and the existing 30-day window for players undergoing a head coaching change will tentatively remain in place.
  • September 29 – The FBS Oversight Committee recommended that the single January transfer portal be open for 15 days from January 2–16 instead of the originally proposed 10-day window. The revised recommendation also creates a 5-day window for players involved in postseason contests on or after January 12, with the window opening on the day after the team's last game. The Administrative Committee, whose next meeting was October 7–8, had to approve these changes before they took effect. The committee also discussed possible changes to the 30-day window for players undergoing a head coaching change, with continuing discussions set for its next scheduled meeting.
  • October 8:
  • The Administrative Committee, which officially renamed itself the Division I Cabinet at its scheduled meeting, introduced a proposal to expand allowed logos on student-athletes' uniforms and equipment beyond those of the manufacturer. It also approved the following changes to the transfer portal, effective immediately:
  • The committee approved the previously recommended single window running from January 2–16. This only affects entry into the portal.
  • The window for players undergoing a head coaching change was modified. The window for these players will open five calendar days after the hiring or public announcement of a new head coach, and run for 15 days. Should a school not hire or announce a new head coach after 30 days from the previous coach's departure, a separate 15-day window will open on the 31st day, provided that the 31st day is on or after January 3. The opportunity for such a window will exist through June 30.
  • October 12 – James Franklin was fired at Penn State after 12 seasons with the school. Franklin's contract had called for a buyout of more than $49 million, at the time the second biggest buyout in college football history, but a much lower buyout of $9 million was later negotiated when Franklin was hired for the vacancy at Virginia Tech. Franklin was 4–21 against AP top-10 opponents in his time at Penn State. Associate head coach Terry Smith served as the Nittany Lions' interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
  • December 10 – Sherrone Moore was fired for cause by Michigan after 2 seasons as the head coach, due to evidence he allegedly engaged in an inapproriate relationship with a staff member. Immediately following his firing, Moore spiralled out of control, went to the house of the staff member he was alleged to have an affair with, and threatened to take both her life and his own life. He was soon arrested and charged for three crimes: felonious third-degree home invasion, stalking in a domestic relationship, and breaking and entering.

Stadiums

Kickoff games

Week 0

The regular season began on Saturday, August 23 with five games in Week 0.

Week 1

Top 10 matchups

Rankings through Week 10 reflect the AP poll. Rankings for Week 11 and beyond list College Football Playoff Rankings first and AP poll rankings second; teams that were not ranked in the top 10 of both polls are noted.

Regular season

Conference championship games

Postseason

FCS teams wins over FBS teams

Italics denotes FCS teams.

Upsets

This section lists unranked teams defeating AP poll-ranked teams during the season.

Regular season

Conference championship games

Bowl games

Conference standings

Rankings

The Top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls

Preseason polls

CFB Playoff final rankings

The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee announced its final rankings on December 7, 2025.

The top five ranked conference champions, along with the seven highest ranked at-large teams, will be selected to compete in the College Football Playoff. The top four ranked teams will receive a first-round bye. This is a change from the 2025–26 season, when the top four ranked conference champions got a first-round bye.

This was the first time that two Group of Five teams – Tulane and James Madison – were included in the playoff.

Final rankings

Postseason

College Football Playoff

Playoff participants

CFP bracket

This is the second year under the expanded College Football Playoff format. Under this format, the five highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids, while the next seven highest-ranked teams will receive at-large bids. In a change starting this season, the top four seeds receive first-round byes, even if they are not conference champions.

College Football Playoff games

Winners are listed in boldface.

After the completion of the regular season and conference championship games, seven teams had secured CFP berths: American champion Tulane, Big Ten champion Indiana, Big 12 champion Texas Tech, SEC champion Georgia, and Sun Belt champion James Madison, who qualified as the highest-ranked CFP non-AQ conference champion.

Bowl games

Normally, a team is required to have a .500 minimum winning percentage during the regular season to become bowl-eligible (six wins for an 11- or 12-game schedule, and seven wins for a 13-game schedule). If there are not enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records may be chosen to fill available bowl slots. Additionally, on the rare occasion in which a conference champion does not meet eligibility requirements, they are usually still chosen for bowl games via tie-ins for their conference.

Non-CFP bowl games

Winners are listed in boldface.

The 2025–26 bowl game lineup had one change from the previous season: The Bahamas Bowl was replaced with the Xbox Bowl.

The bowl games that are not part of the College Football Playoff are:

† - Conference Champion ‡ - At Large Bid

Bowl Challenge Cup standings

All-star games

Selection of teams

The below lists of teams are based on team records as published by the NCAA and bowl eligibility criteria.

Bowl-eligible teams

†: Former Pac-12 teams were considered for bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins instead of their current conference for 2025.

†: Iowa State, Kansas State, and Notre Dame opted out of their bowl games, but they were still bowl-eligible.

Number of postseason berths available: 82 <br> Number of bowl-eligible teams: 82

Bowl-ineligible teams

Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 54

<small><sup>†</sup> Appalachian State, Mississippi State, and Rice were not bowl-eligible, but they participated in a bowl game due to bowl-eligible teams opting out.</small>

Conference summaries

Rankings in this section are based on CFP rankings released prior to the games (Week 13–December 2).

Note: Clicking on a link in the Conference column will open an article about that conference's championship game, where applicable.

The Pac-12 played the season with two teams – Washington State and Oregon State – and did not have a conference champion.

Conference champions' bowl games

Four conference champions not part of the College Football Playoff.

At-large bowl games

Awards and honors

Source:

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.

Major award winners

Other major award winners

All-Americans

The following players were recognized as consensus All-Americans for 2025. Unanimous selections are followed by an asterisk (*).

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2025, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled game before its bowl game. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2025, see 2024 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

End of season

The list includes coaching changes announced during the season that will not take effect until the end of the season.

Television viewers and ratings

Top 10 most watched regular season games

Conference championship games

Most watched non-CFP bowl games

College Football Playoff games

Television changes

This is the first season of a new television contract for the Big 12 Conference with ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT Sports. ESPN hold the rights to the top four college football games per season, and twelve of the top twenty games, along with the Big 12 Championship Game. TNT Sports sublicense thirteen games from ESPN.

The Pac-12 Conference renewed their media partnership with The CW for the 2025 season, while also agreeing to two-game deals with ESPN and CBS Sports. While The CW will continue to carry majority of the home games for Oregon State and Washington State, ESPN will carry two Oregon State home games and CBS will carry one home game from each school in primetime.

This is the final year of the Mountain West Conference's broadcast agreement with Fox Sports and CBS Sports. The conference has not yet announced a new agreement. Despite being announced as a multi-year deal, the Mountain West did not continue an agreement with TNT Sports from 2024 to air 14 games on TruTV.

Attendances

<small>Source:</small>

See also

Notes

References

External links