Another college football season officially came to a close Monday night when the Ohio State Buckeyes were crowned national champions with a 34-23 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

For everyone outside of those two teams, the focus had already shifted to the 2025 season and another shot at joining the 12-team playoff field with hopes of contending for a national championship.

With the early signing period completed and plenty of shuffling already done through the transfer portal, rosters have started to take shape for 2025, though NFL draft decisions and some late transfers and recruit commitments still provide opportunity for shake-ups.

Working under the assumption that a lot can still change between now and the start of the next college football year, here's a look at B/R's Super Early Top 25 rankings for the 2025 season.

B/R's Super Early Top 25

B/R Super Early 2025 Top 25

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

The QB Carousel

The transfer portal has essentially turned into the college sports equivalent of free agency, and there is no more impactful addition to a program than an established quarterback who can step in and lead a contending team.

Here's a quick rundown of the most notable quarterback transfers, relative to our Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings:

• No. 11 Miami: Carson Beck (via Georgia)
• No. 17 SMU: Tyler Van Dyke (via Wisconsin)
• No. 18 Michigan: Mikey Keene (via Fresno State)
• No. 21 Indiana: Fernando Mendoza (via California)
• No. 23 Oklahoma: John Mateer (via Washington State)
• No. 25 Auburn: Jackson Arnold (via Oklahoma), Ashton Daniels (via Stanford)
• Other Notables: Thomas Castellanos (Boston College to Florida State), Billy Edwards Jr. (Maryland to Wisconsin), Luke Kromenhoek (Florida State to Mississippi State), Darian Mensah (Tulane to Duke), Chandler Morris (North Texas to Virginia), Miller Moss (USC to Louisville), Maalik Murphy (Duke to Oregon State), Beau Pribula (Penn State to Missouri), Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele (Oregon to California), Kaidon Salter (Liberty to Colorado), Matthew Sluka (UNLV to James Madison), Conner Weigman (Texas A&M to Houston)

Unlike last season when Cam Ward had yet to make his decision at this time, there is no high-profile quarterback still sitting in the portal. The most notable names looking for a new home are former standout recruits Devin Brown (Ohio State, No. 6 QB in 2022 class) and Jaden Rashada (Georgia, No. 7 QB in 2023 class).

Two names to keep an eye on are Michael Van Buren (Mississippi State to LSU) and Walker White (Auburn to Baylor). Neither is expected to start in 2025 with Garrett Nussmeier returning to LSU and Sawyer Robertson back at Baylor, but Van Buren has three years of eligibility remaining and White has four years left, so both could work toward claiming the starting role in the future.

Quick Hits

The SEC leads the way with a staggering 11 teams in our Top 25, and it should be an all-out battle once again to emerge from the nation's deepest conference.

The Big Ten checks in second with six teams, though that includes three inside the top five as Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon all look like playoff contenders. It could be chaos once again in the Big 12 with four ranked teams but none higher than No. 14, while three ACC teams and Notre Dame round out the Top 25.

Two sleeper teams to watch that could be next year's Indiana are No. 9 South Carolina and No. 15 Illinois.

The Gamecocks won six in a row to close out the regular season, with LaNorris Sellers hitting his stride under center and leading the team to wins over Texas A&M, Clemson, Missouri and Vanderbilt during that stretch.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini return breakout quarterback Luke Altmyer among a long list of key veterans that also includes offensive tackle JC Davis, outside linebacker Gabe Jacas and safety Xavier Scott who all earned All-Big Ten recognition in 2024.

Those two teams actually squared off in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, with Illinois coming away with a 21-17 victory.

If you're looking for teams to keep an eye on that fell just outside the rankings but have Top 25 potential, the "just missed" group includes Baylor, Boise State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas Tech and UNLV.

Previewing the Top 5

The Arch Manning era finally begins in 2025 after the highly touted recruit spent the last two seasons behind Quinn Ewers on the depth chart, and he will lead a talented Texas Longhorns roster eyeing a national championship.

Manning threw for 939 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions in 2024, completing 67.8 percent of his throws while also adding 108 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 25 carries. A new-look offensive line will be tasked with protecting him, and the effectiveness of that group could make or break their season.

The Longhorns also reeled in the nation's No. 1 recruiting class, with a trio of 5-star recruits in safety Jonah Williams, defensive lineman Jonah Terry and wide receiver Kaliq Lockett headlining a 25-player class.

The Ohio State Buckeyes (Julian Sayin), Georgia Bulldogs (Gunnar Stockton) and Oregon Ducks (Dante Moore) will each turn things over to a quarterback who spent the 2024 season holding a clipboard and learning the offense, though all three possess the pedigree and talent to steer the ship of a national title contender.

With stacked rosters around them, those quarterbacks will not be asked to do more than they are capable of next season, and even with average quarterback play each of those teams are still capable of being playoff contenders.

Meanwhile, the Penn State Nittany Lions title hopes were bolstered the moment quarterback Drew Allar announced he will be returning for his senior season, and he might be the way-too-early favorite to be the first quarterback off the board in the 2026 draft, ahead of LSU's Garrett Nussmeier and Clemson's Cade Klubnik.

All five of those teams are losing key players this offseason, but their rosters are also stacked with high-level recruits ready to step into expanded roles. A lot can still change this offseason, and there are always more than a few surprises along the way as the season unfolds, but it would be a shock to see anyone from this top-five group sitting at home when the playoffs begin next year.

For now, a long offseason awaits.