Most of the 2025 recruiting class is signed, sealed and delivered, so that means it's time to look toward the future, right?

Yes, we've still got conference championship games this weekend. Sure, the 12-team College Football Playoff is right around the corner. The transfer portal winter window is just now opening. We've not even sniffed bowl season yet.

But if you aren't already focused on next year, you're behind. You'd better believe college coaches around the country have been thinking about what next year's squad makeup needs to be and which recruits and transfers fit best.

It's a ludicrous effort to try to rank next year's top 25 at this juncture with so much proverbial hay yet to be bailed and barned from a roster-building perspective. But it's also a whole heckuva lot of fun trying, isn't it? We think so. Will these rankings change? About a million more times, absolutely.

Taking into account the pieces of the puzzle that could fall into place from roster perspectives and projecting possibilities for '25 while taking into account the recruits that just signed, here's the waaaaaay too early look at next year's top 25 for 2025.

Early Top 25

1. Texas
2. Ohio State
3. Oregon
4. Penn State
5. Georgia
6. Tennessee
7. SMU
8. Alabama
9. Clemson
10. Kansas State
11. Notre Dame
12. South Carolina
13. Michigan
14. Texas A&M
15. Ole Miss
16. Iowa State
17. Florida
18. Miami
19. LSU
20. Illinois
21. Boise State
22. Baylor
23. Arizona State
24. Indiana
25. Georgia Tech

Expected Playoff Participants

The Contenders

It feels like Arch Manning time in Austin even though Quinn Ewers has plenty of eligibility remaining, but regardless of who starts for Texas, the Longhorns are the country's most talented team. They are loaded on both sides of the ball.

Oregon, Georgia and Ohio State will all be replacing quarterbacks, but with the way Kirby Smart, former disciple Dan Lanning and Ryan Day have stacked their rosters, there will be somebody waiting in the wings. The top-tier recruiting classes they just signed will help, too.

Superstars like receivers Dakorien Moore and Dallas Wilson, as well as elite defensive backs Brandon Finney, Na'eem Offord and Trey McNutt could star in Eugene, and the Dawgs signed the nation's top defensive front-seven group. The Buckeyes will break in quarterback Julian Sayin, and having the best offensive player in the nation in Jeremiah Smith won't hurt.

Don't forget about Penn State. Drew Allar is back. The running back tandem of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen could return, too, along with a young, nasty defense.

The Next Level

SEC rivals Tennessee (definitely) and Alabama (likely) are in the current playoff picture, and there's no reason to believe they won't repeat the feat.

Nico Iamaleava has improved throughout the year, and the Vols' redshirt freshman quarterback is surrounded by capable skill-position talent. They will need reinforcements along the offensive line and will likely need to replace star running back Dylan Sampson, but the roster is healthy.

Alabama could have Jalen Milroe back under center, though he's expected to test the NFL waters. Regardless, the cupboard was far from bare from the Nick Saban era, and Kalen DeBoer just signed a top-three class. Expect 'Bama to go heavy into the portal, too.

The ACC duo of SMU and Clemson meet in this weekend's ACC title game, and both could be right back here next year. Kevin Jennings and Cade Klubnik will be back to lead explosive offenses, and neither program looks like it's going anywhere but up.

Welcome Back

This subheading means different things for Kansas State, Boise State and Notre Dame.

For the Wildcats, it signifies a return to the top of the Big 12, and we expect the Wildcats will make a move. Avery Johnson is a budding star quarterback, and while DJ Giddens could return, he—much like Singleton—could be a top-tier NFL draft running back candidate. Regardless, the Wildcats have an exciting base group of talent.

"Welcome Back" for Boise State means a return to the playoff picture as likely the Group of Five's darling again.

Notre Dame, much like the trio mentioned in the favorites, must replace starting quarterback Riley Leonard, but there is a lot more roster uncertainty that drops them down a few rungs. Still, the Fighting Irish have talent, and they don't play a tough schedule.

Expect them to be back in the Terrific Twelve.

Top 25 Newcomers

It may very well be time for The Swamp to do swamp things again in 2025.

The Florida Gators closed the season on a hot streak with wins over No. 22 LSU, No. 9 Ole Miss and rival Florida State. With a vote of confidence and his '25 season secured, coach Billy Napier went after recruiting with a renewed vigor, and the Gators made a bunch of noise.

They surged in the closing days of the signing period, securing a top-10 class to go along with an already-strong, young nucleus of talent that includes elite rising sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway, electrifying running back Jadan Baugh and pass-catcher Eugene Wilson III.

Florida has the clout to go big in the portal, too. They could return to prominence next year.

We've already discussed K-State, who didn't even make this list because they surged all the way into our proverbial playoff (talk about leaps of faith...).

While LSU and Texas A&M spent enough time in the 2024 top-25 rankings to hardly be considered "newcomers," neither are in the current rankings.

Georgia Tech hasn't been there, and if quarterback Haynes King returns for a final season, the Yellow Jackets could make plenty of noise as a sleeper. Baylor turned into an offensive juggernaut when they replaced Dequan Finn with Sawyer Robinson, and now, Dave Aranda looks like his Bears could be a force in the Big 12.

Who's Up: Michigan Wolverines

It was a rocky post-national championship season for the Michigan Wolverines, but the rebound is going to be sweet in 2025.

With the nation's top recruit in elite quarterback Bryce Underwood heading to Ann Arbor, they are going to have a massive talent upgrade under center, and you've got to believe coach Sherrone Moore is going to load up in the transfer portal.

The win over Ohio State to close the regular season feels like just a taste of what's to come.

If Colston Loveland returns for his senior year to go along with Semaj Morgan and Tyler Morris, the Wolverines could have some good-looking targets that will be supplemented by elite portal players.

Losing stars like Mason Graham and Will Johnson will be tough to overcome, but Michigan plays the brand of defensive football that travels in the Big Ten, and there's no way Moore allows the roster to be depleted for long.

Look for the Wolverines to be one of the biggest portal players in the nation, and signing a top-10 recruiting class will only help bolster the roster.

Unless Underwood is a revelation or Moore decides to go get a one-year stopgap under center, Michigan won't be a playoff contender in '25. But the Wolverines will be back.

Who's Down: A Couple of 2024 Feel-Good Darlings

Don't think we are going ahead and putting Cinderella's glass slippers in the thrift store. That's not the intent of this slide.

We also aren't trying to throw a heaping helping of reality on this year's feel-good stories. What the Indiana Hoosiers and Arizona State Sun Devils have done are among the best parts of this college football season, along with BYU.

The bold prediction here, however, is all three of them will continue their program's upward trajectories in 2025, but take a minor step back in the process. The Sun Devils and Hoosiers are both barely in our way-too-early top 25. The Cougars are out.

Currently, first-year coach Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers are 11-1 and ninth nationally, firmly in the College Football Playoff. Kenny Dillingham's 12th-ranked Sun Devils are playing for a berth this weekend.

Next year, they'll revitalize their roster, but they've got to fill huge gaps. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke was a special one-year rental for IU, and Cignetti must strike portal gold again or hope Tayven Jackson develops into a more consistent weapon.

Arizona State somehow must replace do-it-all superstar running back Cam Skattebo, which is no easy feat.

Both teams are capable of doing that, but it'll have to be through the portal. Neither recruiting class shows clear answers. So, the guess here (unless something changes) is they take a step back to the cusp of the top 25.