Each week, the sports editorial team selects its Top 25 FBS college football teams for the Student Media Poll.
The SMP is a nationwide poll featuring 25 student journalists from schools nationwide.
The Post Sports will break down its ballots each week. Here are the top five: those dropped from the Top 25 and those added.
Top five
1. Ohio State (1-0)
The defending national champions entered the weekend as the third-ranked team in the country. The Horseshoe was rocking Saturday afternoon as it welcomed Texas and dismantled the national number one at home with overwhelming defense once again this season, even after losing eight players to the draft on that side of the ball. They have not lost much of a step.
The Buckeye offense was limited a bit in the debut of redshirt quarterback Julian Sayin, who found junior Carnell Tate to take a two-score lead in the 4th quarter. The Buckeyes would hold on to win 14-7 in this defensive battle and start their journey back to the top of the mountain off strong.
2. Penn State (1-0)
Senior quarterback Drew Allar, who grew up in Medina, is ready to take the Nittany Lions over the hump this season and started his year off strong with 217 yards and a touchdown on 85 completion percentage. James Franklin’s gameplan stayed balanced all day against Nevada as they ran for 135 and 4 touchdowns to win 46-11.
3. Georgia (1-0)
Georgia took on Marshall (0-1) in week one and walked away with a strong 45-7 win. They were led by redshirt junior Gunner Stockton with 4 total touchdowns, as he flashed his versatility. New transfer portal acquisition from USC, junior wide receiver Zachariah Branch, had 3 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown.
4. LSU (1-0)
The biggest upset of the week happened in Death Valley but not the one the Tigers call home. Brian Kelly’s team won its first week one game in the last 6 years. Senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier started off the season well with 230 yards and a touchdown pass in a gritty game that LSU won 17-10.
5. Texas (0-1)
The preseason Heisman favorite, Arch Manning, may have had some week one jitters in the biggest game of his career to the point. He led the Longhorns to a disappointing loss where he only passed for 170 yards, but did show flashes of what fans are expecting moving forward late in the game.
The defense is really what stood out for me as it limited another title hopeful, Ohio State, to just 14 points and kept Manning and the offense alive all day. Head coach Steve Sarkisian and Texas play San Jose State this week and look to rebound with a better showing from Manning and the defense to continue being stout.
Who I Added: Utah and Florida State
The Big 12 Conference is wide open in 2025 and after an impressive 43-10 road win dominated by the run game as they scored four times on the ground at UCLA.
The only reason Florida State is not higher is due to the 2024 result for its program. I also did not want to overlook the weather factor in Tallahassee this weekend. Transfer quarterback from Boston College, senior Tommy Castellanos led the way with both his arm and legs in the 31-17 upset of Alabama.
The Rest of the Top 25
6. Oregon (1-0)
7. Clemson (0-1)
8. Miami (FL) (1-0)
9. South Carolina (1-0)
10. Florida (1-0)
11. Illinois (1-0)
12. Arizona State (1-0)
13. Alabama (0-1)
14. Oklahoma (1-0)
15. Notre Dame (0-1)
16. Ole Miss (1-0)
17. Michigan (1-0)
18. Iowa State (2-0)
19. Georgia Tech (1-0)
20. Tennessee (1-0)
21. Texas Tech (1-0)
22. Texas A&M (1-0)
23. SMU (1-0)
24. Utah (1-0)
25. Florida State (1-0)
Who I Dropped: Baylor and Kansas State
Baylor fell after a home loss to Auburn in week one. It came in with lofty expectations after finishing 2024 strong, but could not stop the run, giving up four touchdowns on the ground in a 38-24 game.
Kansas State has had a rocky two weeks. It lost in Ireland to conference foe Iowa State and played a very sloppy game altogether. Furthermore, the Wildcats had to fight for all four quarters against an FCS school, North Dakota, in a game that they only won by three.
