The moment one college football season ends, preparation for the next campaign starts immediately.

Sure, opinions will change throughout the spring and summer with on-field results in the fall providing a real answer. Still, putting early predictions on (technological) paper affords us a chance—in a year's time—to revisit these perceptions and how they were correct or not.

For example, among the nine choices from 2024, seven of them earned all-conference honors in some capacity. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel ended as the lone Player of the Year winner.

Lots of "close, but no cigar" situations.

So, let's be better in 2025.

American, C-USA and MAC

AAC: Blake Horvath, QB, Navy

Within the American, most of the best teams in 2024—Army, Memphis and Tulane—are replacing their quarterbacks. The one exception is Navy, which returns Blake Horvath after he ignited the triple-option offense. He rushed for 1,246 yards and 17 touchdowns, also throwing for 1,353 yards at 9.7 per attempt with 13 scores to four interceptions. He guided Navy to its first 10-win season in five years.

C-USA: Hunter Watson, QB, Sam Houston

The league is undergoing a major transition, so this conversation is wide open right now. However, a quality early option is Sam Houston quarterback Hunter Watson, who passed for 1,811 yards, rushed for 647 and totaled 21 touchdowns while leading the Bearkats to a 10-3 record in 2024. New coach Phil Longo had some struggles at Wisconsin but is a respected offensive mind.

MAC: Tucker Gleason, QB, Toledo

Toledo needs to replace 20 combined touchdowns from receiver Jerjuan Newton and tight end Anthony Torres, which is no simple task. Still, the Rockets can build around 900-yard wideout Junior Vandeross III while leaning on Tucker Gleason. A rising senior, he amassed 3,172 total yards and 31 scores last season.

Mountain West and Sun Belt

Mountain West: Malik Sherrod, RB, Boise State

Early in the offseason, Boise State and UNLV are viewed as the front-runners. The latter is interesting because it hired Dan Mullen while bringing in quarterbacks Anthony Colandrea (Virginia) and Alex Orji (Michigan). But as Boise closes the Ashton Jeanty era, it landed a high-upside transfer in Fresno State's Malik Sherrod. He missed most of the 2024 season with an ankle injury but racked up 1,462 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns in 2023.

Sun Belt: Braylon Braxton, QB, Marshall

Easily one of the most fascinating stories in college football is Charles Huff leaving Marshall for Southern Miss after contract negotiations stalled. Marshall just won the Sun Belt as USM trudged to a 1-11 record. Huff, though, has at least 20 players following him from Marshall—including QB Braylon Braxton and a host of receivers. Braxton passed for 1,624 yards and 19 touchdowns to only two interceptions, also scampering for 610 yards and four scores.

ACC

From a "will Clemson win a national title" perspective, that answer partially hinges on whether Cade Klubnik is more effective in big games. Clemson went 1-3 against year-end Top 25 teams in 2024.

That's simply part of the conversation, though.

Klubnik took a clear step forward last season, passing for 3,639 yards with 36 touchdowns to six interceptions. He also scampered for 463 yards and seven scores, helping Clemson win 10 games and an ACC championship to reach the College Football Playoff.

Beyond him, the offense also returns an absolutely stacked group of wide receivers with Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr., T.J. Moore, Tyler Brown and transfer (gasp!) Tristan Smith.

SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings and Georgia-to-Miami transfer Carson Beck are worth watching, but Klubnik is the favorite.

Big Ten

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel snapped a six-year run of Ohio State boasting the Big Ten's Player of the Year.

Might as well start a new streak, right?

Penn State, as you may know, broke open the checkbook to retain Drew Allar and a host of veterans with a national title in mind. Allar is certainly a contender here, but it's reasonable to suggest the Nittany Lions' commitment to a two-headed rushing attack will prevent anyone from landing an honor of this magnitude.

Although the Buckeyes are revamping the offense, they have the luxury of bringing back an All-American phenom. Jeremiah Smith collected 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns for OSU as a true freshman.

No matter who's under center in 2025—Julian Sayin begins the offseason as the perceived front-runner—Ohio State's next quarterback is going to have a superstar as his No. 1 target.

Big 12

How about some honesty: Not the slightest clue, folks.

After watching the Big 12 flip upside down in 2024, every prediction involving the league will scare me—in a fun way—this offseason.

Iowa State's Rocco Becht is a solid option, as are Arizona State has QB Sam Leavitt and wideout Jordyn Tyson. Several more QBs—Baylor's Sawyer Robertson, Kansas State's Avery Johnson and Texas Tech's Behren Morton—are in the picture, and Colorado newcomer Kaidon Salter was the C-USA Player of the Year at Liberty in 2023.

But if BYU matches its potential, Jake Retzlaff should have a terrific year. The mobile QB totaled 3,364 yards and 26 touchdowns while propelling BYU to a 9-0 start and 11-2 finish last season.

One unknown, as of this writing, is whether wide receiver Darius Lassiter—who posted 703 yards last season—will return for a final year. He could be back at BYU thanks to the NCAA's ruling that certain players who attended junior college may have additional eligibility.

Retzlaff being able to lean on Chase Roberts, Lassiter and Keelan Marion again in 2025 would be ideal.

SEC

Will the easy answer be the correct one?

There's no shortage of options at quarterback alone in the SEC, from LSU's Garrett Nussmeier and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers to Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava, Florida's DJ Lagway, Oklahoma's John Mateer and several more.

Like it or not, though, the Arch Manning hype train is firmly on track to becoming the story of the offseason. The surname helps, sure, but he flashed some tremendous ability in significant action last September.

Restocking the pass-catching group is essential, given that Texas is losing top wideouts Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond plus tight end Gunnar Helm. However, the Horns return Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore with a pair of highly recruited wideouts—Kaliq Lockett and Jamie Ffrench—expected to help fill the void.

Throw in Manning's ability to create as a runner, and he offers a playmaking element that Texas lacked in 2024.