ESPN’s Top 25 College Football Rankings Spark Outrage—Which Teams Got Snubbed?
If college football rankings were a soap opera, ESPN’s latest post-spring update just threw a curveball no one saw coming — or asked for. Ohio State, fresh off hoisting that shiny national championship trophy, suddenly finds itself bumped out of the top four, with Penn State stealing the limelight as the new No. 1. Now, before we all grab our pitchforks and torches, let’s pause: Is this dethroning a savvy prediction based on the Buckeyes’ mass exodus to the NFL and coaching changes… or just ESPN’s sneaky way of ruffling feathers? And speaking of scandals, amid all this hubbub, who’s really keeping college football honest—Michigan’s cheating drama isn’t far behind, reminding us this sport’s drama runs deeper than just preseason polls. Buckle up, because this seemingly early ranking update might be the latest plot twist in the never-boring world of college football. LEARN MORE.
Now that college football teams have completed their spring practices, ESPN has updated its way-too-early top 25 for the 2025 season.
Earlier this year, ESPN had Ohio State ranked as the No. 1 team in the country. That made sense considering the Buckeyes just won a national championship. It also doesn’t hurt that Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Smith are still on Ryan Day’s roster.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, however, has removed Ohio State from the No. 1 spot. In fact, he doesn’t even have the defending champions in his top four. As of right now, he believes Penn State is the best team in the league.
“There’s a new No. 1 with Penn State jumping from No. 3 after defending College Football Playoff national champion Ohio State lost a boatload of players to the NFL draft, along with both of its coordinators,” Schlabach wrote.
Clemson, Texas and Georgia are also ahead of Ohio State right now. While there’s no question those programs have championship potential, they may have been prematurely crowned by ESPN.
Here are the top 10 teams in the country, according to ESPN:
- Penn State
- Clemson
- Texas
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- LSU
- Notre Dame
- Oregon
- Alabama
- BYU
Immediately after these updated rankings were released, college football fans blasted ESPN for putting Penn State over Ohio State.
“Penn State…James Franklin is still the coach there guys,” one fan said.
“ESPN doesn’t know ball,” a second fan wrote on X.
“Clemson and Penn State who can’t beat anyone good ain’t better than Ohio State. Be for real,” another fan commented.
“This list was made to annoy Ohio State fans,” a fourth fan declared.
“I’m afraid the National Champions should be #1 until they lose,” a social media user said.
Suffice to say, football fans want ESPN to update their rankings by the end of the weekend.
The full top 25 from ESPN can be seen here.
Related: ESPN Releases ‘Post-Spring’ College Football Top 25 Rankings
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