The 2025 college football season is almost upon us, and as fall camps ramp up throughout the nation it is time to settle in on predictions for the 12 months.
Whereas the chase for the 12 playoff spots dominates the dialog as of late, profitable the convention championship stays the primary aim for groups with playoff aspirations. Within the Energy 4 conferences, making it to the title sport is tougher than ever. Convention growth has gotten rid of divisions and deepened the pool of threats to make it to Atlanta, Indianapolis, Charlotte and Dallas on the finish of the season.
Yearly we come into the season with expectations of seeing a number of favorites doing battle in these convention title video games, however there are all the time a number of stunning contributors — and typically title winners — that remind us a part of the enjoyment of watching school soccer is the chaos that inevitably ensues.
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Chip Patterson
Final 12 months we noticed Arizona State win the Huge 12 after being projected because the worst workforce within the convention, SMU run to the ACC title sport with an undefeated common season in its first 12 months within the convention and Indiana shock the Huge Ten by crashing the celebration in Indy in Curt Cignetti’s first season in cost.
With that in thoughts, we wished to spotlight a sleeper workforce in every convention that sits outdoors the favorites tier who might make a surprising run to the convention title — and pay huge dividends for these daring sufficient to guess them earlier than the season. All of those groups include loads of threat — they don’t seem to be the favorites for a cause — however whether or not by means of expertise, schedule or a mixture of the 2, all of them current worth as a workforce that would shake up the projected title sport matchups in every of the Energy 4 conferences.
Odds by way of DraftKings Sportsbook
ACC — Duke (25-1)
Within the ACC specifically it’s troublesome to seek out sleeper picks as a result of there’s such a perceived hole between the highest groups and the remainder of the pack. That stated, current ACC historical past is affected by shock ACC title sport contributors — even when the winner tends to be one of many huge favorites — and it’s miles from a assure that we get the Clemson-Miami tilt everybody tasks.
Of the groups within the ACC’s center tier, I like the worth on Duke one of the best at 25-1. I feel they are much nearer to Georgia Tech (12-1) than Tech is to these prime groups. Manny Diaz all the time appears to supply robust defenses and the Blue Devils return lots of their prime linemen and defensive backs from final 12 months’s squad. On offense, they determine to have upgraded at quarterback with the addition of Darian Mensah, because the Blue Devils broke out their checkbooks to herald the previous Tulane QB. They added a pair of receivers within the portal and bolstered the offensive line, and if Duke can take an actual step ahead offensively, it may be a professional risk with its schedule.
Duke dodges three of the highest 4 groups within the ACC, with a street sport at playoff favourite Clemson as their hardest take a look at by far. The Blue Devils keep away from Miami, SMU and Louisville (and Florida State, for no matter that is price), and get Georgia Tech and NC State at residence. A Syracuse-Cal back-to-back might be difficult if for no different cause than the journey, however they will have a bye earlier than the Tech and Clemson video games which are the 2 standouts on the schedule, earlier than closing with a visit to rival UNC and residential video games towards Virginia and Wake Forest.
Going 7-1 towards that ACC schedule is actually not not possible, significantly if they’ve a legitimately good offense this 12 months. They had been the kings of one-score video games a 12 months in the past (6-1) and can hope to have fewer of these coin flips in 2025, however when it comes to groups with upside and worth, I feel the Blue Devils have one of the best likelihood of stunning the ACC.
Huge Ten — Illinois (30-1)
There’s an terrible lot of buzz in Champaign this 12 months, and the Illini actually have the schedule to make the type of run we noticed from Indiana final 12 months. They dodge Oregon, Penn State and Michigan and get their two hardest opponents — Ohio State and USC — at residence, with Maryland, Rutgers and Northwestern all visiting Champaign as nicely. They solely make one substantial street journey when it comes to distance — Washington — and that is off a bye week. In any other case, they keep within the previous Huge Ten West for his or her street schedule with visits to Indiana, Purdue and Wisconsin.
That is about as pleasant because it will get in a nine-game Huge Ten schedule, and opens the door for Bret Bielema’s crew to again up a 10-3 12 months with a good higher one in 2025. Apart from Penn State’s Drew Allar, Luke Altmyer is essentially the most skilled QB main a hopeful Huge Ten contender. Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and USC all have new QBs, and whereas Altmyer did not gentle the world on hearth in 2024, he is a succesful, competent starter who makes few errors.
The priority for Illinois’ offense is what it misplaced on the ability positions, particularly its prime receivers in Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin. They accounted for two-thirds of the Illini receiving yards a 12 months in the past, and changing them will not be simple. Nevertheless, the offensive line returns virtually totally intact and that is the group Bielema will lean on, together with Altmyer, to manage the tempo of video games.
On protection they return a bunch of expertise, led by Gabe Jacas and Xavier Scott, and needs to be a stout defensive workforce as soon as once more. The problem within the Huge Ten is that being a one-loss workforce is not even a assure you make the convention title sport now that there are 18 groups, however Illinois actually might pull off an 8-1 marketing campaign in convention if the protection stays at an elite stage and provides themselves an opportunity at making it to Indy.
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Huge 12 — BYU (20-1):
The co-favorites within the Huge 12 are 13/2, because it stays the nation’s most wide-open convention. We noticed simply how chaotic the Huge 12 may be final 12 months, and bettors can dream of hitting one other long-shot convention champion choice in 2025.
Maybe the most important cause for optimism about BYU is its schedule. The Cougars dodge 4 of the 5 prime projected groups within the convention, and get rival Utah at residence for the Holy Conflict. Highway video games at Iowa State and Texas Tech will current a stiff problem, however these come within the second half of the season when they need to be below strong footing offensively with their new quarterback. Their different street journeys are to Colorado, Arizona and Cincinnati, with West Virginia, TCU and UCF all coming to Provo.
The uncertainty at quarterback after the departure of Jake Retzlaff is clearly the highest concern with the Cougars. They’ve a wholly new quarterback room and all three choices include questions, however BYU brings again its main receiver and rusher from final 12 months to assist out and the packages appears to all the time boast a stout offensive line.
On the defensive facet of the ball, they had been among the many Huge 12’s finest a 12 months in the past. Led by returning linebackers Isaiah Glasker and Jack Kelly, the Cougars protection needs to be one of many hardest within the Huge 12 once more in 2025, which will help ease the stress on a brand new quarterback. With Retzlaff, this might be a workforce a lot greater within the Huge 12 title odds, and whereas dropping him is an enormous deal I do not assume it totally precludes them from being a risk to make it to Dallas in November.
The Rebels will want Austin Simmons to reside as much as the hype if they will make it to Atlanta, however he’ll have some runway to get comfy. Ole Miss has one street sport in its first six video games, and that is at Kentucky (which, we should observe, they misplaced to at residence final 12 months). LSU at residence in Week 5 shall be their first main take a look at, however by that time Simmons needs to be settled into his function.
A street back-to-back at Georgia and Oklahoma looms massive, however they get South Carolina and Florida at residence earlier than heading to Starkville for the Egg Bowl to shut out the common season. There is a path to 11-1 in there for the Rebels and so they miss Texas and Alabama. It isn’t a simple schedule, however they get three of their hardest video games at residence and if they’ll knock off LSU early, they will have a number of confidence going into the second half of the season.
There’s loads of turnover on the Ole Miss roster because it needed to hit the portal onerous as soon as once more, however there’s nonetheless a ton of expertise and we have seen Lane Kiffin and this teaching workers get the Rebels on top of things rapidly prior to now. Additionally, a harder schedule would possibly bode nicely for the Rebels, as the actual problem for Ole Miss final 12 months was avoiding letdowns. They stand up for prime competitors — see final 12 months’s Georgia sport — however must keep away from sleepwalking into video games towards groups like Kentucky and Arkansas.