Each week, the Sports' editorial team selects its Top 25 Football Bowl Subdivision college football teams for the Student Media Poll.
The SMP is a nationwide poll featuring 25 student journalists from schools nationwide.
The Post sports staff will break down its ballot each week. Here is a breakdown of the top five, those dropped from the Top 25, and those added.
Top 5
1. Ohio State (12-0)
The streak is over. The Buckeyes and head coach Ryan Day finally beat Michigan for the first time since 2019 and finally got the monkey off their back. It certainly helped to get a touchdown from both the returning Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate in the 27-9 win. Ohio State now takes on Indiana for the Big 10 title game for the conference championship and also the number one overall seed in the College Football Playoffs.
2. Indiana (12-0)
Fernando Mendoza should win the Heisman trophy this year. He wows fans every week, but in a game against an inferior Purdue, where he could have coasted after an early lead, he instead finished with three touchdowns and led a 56-3 domination of the Boilermakers. The Hoosiers take a small home-field advantage this Saturday in Indianapolis against the Buckeyes for the heated one vs. two matchup.
3. Texas Tech (11-1)
The Red Raiders jump to number three for me this week. The offensive numbers continue to stand out every week. Still, it's the defense that makes them a national title contender, and it has started with linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. Rodriguez has 98 tackles, six tackles for loss, a sack and a couple of offensive scores, one coming in the 49-0 blowout victory at West Virginia.
4. Georgia (11-1)
The stakes for Georgia were big during rivalry weekend. With a win, the Bulldogs would be heading to the SEC Conference Championship Game, and win they did. It was an ugly win, but on rivalry weekend, these schools should take them however they get them. Georgia struggled to move the ball early, but when it mattered, the talent of the Bulldogs rose above Georgia Tech to bring home the 16-9 win in Atlanta.
5. Oregon (11-1)
The Ducks may not be playing for the Big 10 title next week, but they did secure themselves a spot in the CFP with a wire-to-wire win against rival Washington. This game meant more than a win to Dan Lanning’s bunch after Washington ended its home winning streak just two years ago. Quarterback Dante Moore kept his strong play up with two touchdown passes, including the 64-yard clincher.
Who I Added: 22 Arizona, 23 Navy, 24 Illinois and 25 USF
Arizona had one of the most underwhelming 2024-25 seasons, so to bounce back with nine wins is impressive and a great stepping stone. The Wildcats are winners of five straight, and to cap their year off with a road victory over rival Arizona State was a great finish to this bounce-back year for the program.
The Big 10 has proven since the playoffs last year they are the conference to beat, and Illinois has certainly had a down year for the expectations put on them, but the Fighting Illini finished strong with wins in three of their last four. The 20-13 win over Northwestern over the weekend was a good note as Illinois now braces for bowl season.
The American has been the best Group of Five conference this year by a wide margin. Navy and USF started the year well, but a couple of untimed losses removed them from playoff contention. The Midshipmen beat USF early this year and finished with a win over Memphis to miss the title game due to a tiebreak. USF finished a promising year strong, but it was another year of what could have been for an early darling in the Group of Five.
The Rest of the Top 25
6. Ole Miss (11-1)
7. Texas A&M (11-1)
8. Oklahoma (10-2)
9. BYU (11-1)
10. Alabama (10-2)
11. Miami (FL) (10-2)
12. Notre Dame (10-2)
13. Texas (9-3)
14. Vanderbilt (10-2)
15. Virginia (10-2)
16. Utah (10-2)
17. North Texas (11-1)
18. James Madison (11-1)
19. USC (9-3)
20. Michigan (9-3)
21. Tulane (10-2)
22. Arizona (9-3)
23. Navy (9-2)
24. Illinois (8-4)
25. USF (9-3)
Who I Dropped: Arizona State, Tennessee, SMU and Pittsburgh
The final week of the regular season in 2025 saw a lot of success, but some teams still lost tough games. Arizona State struggled with injuries all season, so a matchup with rival Arizona was a big test, and it came out on the losing side, looking outmatched, falling 23-7.
The Volunteers looked to end the CFP dreams of rival Vanderbilt, but instead may have bolstered Commodore quarterback Diego Pavia’s seat at the Heisman ceremony in a few weeks. Tennessee struggled to contain the mobile quarterback and was beaten at home 45-24 to close out an up-and-down season.
The ACC race was wide open Saturday. All Pittsburgh had to do was beat Miami, and they were in, but it fell short at home, and it wasn’t close. It lost 38-7. So then the fate of the conference title game fell into the lap of SMU, and they had to win at California. Similar to the Panthers, SMU was stunned by the fiery Golden Bears, which means the conference title game will see a five-loss Duke participate.
If I Had a CFP Vote (* Signifies Projected 2025 Conference Champ)
Projected First Round Byes
No. 1 Ohio State* (13-0), No. 2 Georgia* (12-1), No. 3 Indiana (12-1), No. 4 Texas Tech* (12-1)
Projected First Round Matchups
No. 5 Oregon (11-1) vs No. 12 North Texas* (12-1)
No. 6 Ole Miss (11-1) vs No. 11 Virginia* (11-2)
No. 7 Texas A&M (11-1) vs No. 10 BYU (11-2)
No. 8 Oklahoma (10-2) vs No. 9 Notre Dame (10-2)
