OTF community question: Five most talented rosters in CFB in 2025

[Gerry Hamilton]

The question was brought up on Sunday night livestream ... so wanted to get the opinion/pulse of the OTF community 

How would you guys rank the most talented football rosters headed in the 2025 season?

The teams in contention for top 5 IMO ...

Texas
Penn State
Clemson
Ohio State
Oregon
Georgia
Alabama 
LSU
Notre Dame 

And ... the second part of the Q was would Oklahoma be in the top 10? 

[.45s]

I don’t know enough about all of those teams to rank them, but at first glance it does not seem likely that OU will be in the top 10.  That would be a big jump after a not so great season and then all of the changes since.

[qaertyisthatdude]

Texas, Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, and Oregon would be my pick.  Clemson and LSU right behind those top five.

[SADBoyzUnite]

1. Texas

-I genuinely believe we have top line starters in most position groups (Taaffe, Muhammad, Hill, Moore, Simmons, Goosby, Endries, Wisner, Wingo, Manning), but then there’s dudes who could explode this year (Williams returning, McDonald, Spence, Watson, Brevard, DJ, Moore, Washington), and then depth EVERYWHERE. I think it’s this talent relative to the rest of the country that makes this year more exciting than 2026, when we may very well be a better team. 
 

2. Penn St

-Singleton and Allen both coming back, plus another year for Allar to grow is huge. Then on the defensive side, they still have enough studs to go along with solid depth, that I imagine they’ll stay as strong as ever. Really though, it’s the chance for the offense to take another step + what Knowles can do to give the defense a little extra juice.

 

3. Clemson

-Klubnick plus those WRs is the most elite passing attack in the country, at least entering the season (could change based on what happens to Texas, Ohio St, or Bama, with all the new QBs). Defense still has studs too.

 

4. Oregon

-Portal was big for them again. If they have a QB, then they will be a force. 
 

5. Ohio St

 

-Lost a ton, but still has elite talent in guys like Smith and Downs. They did well in the portal and ultimately have recruited well for years. 
 

PS - It’s surprising to leave off Georgia, but they’ve lost so many dudes and are young talent otherwise, IMO. Bama is officially in the post-Saban era. DeBoar is a great coach, but he’s not Saban. 9-3 may be their new normal. LSU is breaking in a bunch of new guys. If Kelly can coach to his potential, they have the potential to make this list of mine look silly (they need to gel though and acclimate the new guys).

[Ace Recruiter]

Texas, Penn St, Ohio State, Clemson, Oregon.

No, ou is not in the top 10, unless we were talking softball.

[Glass Joe]

The key here is the word roster…as in the talent across the entire 85-man roster.

LSU may have the highest scoring offense in college football this year, but their defense is well below LSU standards.

Similarly, Clemson has some elite guys at key positions across the starting line-up, but what is behind any of those guys, and can the top end guys cover for the less-than-elite other starters?

Oregon historically is a very barbelled roster, with some elite talent at various positions, but replacement level at other position groups.  I tend to think with the NIL era beginning a few years ago, they now have more talent across their entire roster (even in the two-deep) than they’ve ever had before.  That said, we saw what Ohio State’s talent did to Oregon in the Rose Bowl, so there’s still a gap there.

I think for 2025, you can put Texas, Penn State, UGA, Ohio State, and Bama 85-man rosters at the top of the list, with LSU, Clemson, and Oregon having enough key talented players (if not depth of talent) to win an NC if the chips fall right for them.

Notre Dame and Florida need 1-2 more recruiting classes at the level they’re currently recruiting to make this list.

[Gerry Hamilton]

Strong @Glass Joe ... does Oregon have high-end DL talent? Im not so sure