Week 1 of the 2025 college football season features a loaded slate, including LSU at Clemson, Notre Dame at Miami and Alabama at Florida State, among others. LSU-Clemson could be a top-five matchup, as could the biggest headliner: Manning and Texas visiting Ohio State in a matchup of the 2024 national champion and our early 2025 favorite.

From the high-powered, national champion Buckeyes to the individual breakout stars, here are the best players from the first-ever 12-team playoff field.

In or out? A verdict on which of the College Football Playoff qualifiers will be back in the bracket next season.

The first year of the 12-team format for the College Football Playoff was a major success. Some games in the first round were blowout but the games got better the longer that the tournament went on. The format resulted in eighth-seeded Ohio State winning four games and winning its first national

Ohio State took down Notre Dame to win the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff and claim the school’s first national championship since 2014, but now it’s time to get an early look ahead to the 2025 college football season and what teams are in contention right now.

The Ambridge native helped Ohio State football capture another national title as the Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame 34-23 on Jan. 20.