Way-Too-Early College Football Upset Picks for 2025

The month of March is typically reserved for college basketball, with the NCAA tournament dominating the headlines. The event usually has several upsets, which is a big reason for its popularity.

Speaking of upsets, how about we try to pick out some college football ones? It's far too early to be doing this, but it's fun to take a peek forward and try to predict the shock results before the season. 

Let's run through some way-too-early upset picks for the 2025 season.  

Ohio State enters 2025 looking to defend its national title crown, but this will be a rebuilding year for the Buckeyes with many of 2024 team heading to the NFL.

Ohio State also has to replace both of its coordinators, after Chip Kelly returned to the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders and Jim Knowles moved to Penn State.  

However, the Buckeyes are still expected to be a playoff contender again. Big names such as safety Caleb Downs and receiver Jeremiah Smith are returning, and head coach Ryan Day is expected to start Alabama transfer Julian Sayin at quarterback. 

Texas is losing quarterback Quinn Ewers to the NFL draft, but running back CJ Baxter, receiver Ryan Wingo, safety Michael Taafe, defensive end Ethan Burke and linebacker Anthony Hill are among those returning.

And 2025 will be the first season in which quarterback Arch Manning will be the Longhorns' full-time starter. 

Of course, this game being in Columbus means the home team is expected to be the favorite, but I like Manning and Texas to pull off a huge upset to start the 2025 season with a bang.

The good news for the Buckeyes is that their playoff hopes are still in front of them even with a loss against the Longhorns. 

Clemson owns a nine-game winning streak over the Yellow Jackets, dating back to 2015. And although the Tigers are expected to be in the mix for the playoff again in 2025, don't sleep on this early-season ACC matchup.

Georgia Tech gets the Tigers in the Bobby Dodd Stadium this year, and it has the talent to pull off an upset. 

The Yellow Jackets return starting quarterback Haynes King, running back Jamal Haynes, receiver Malik Rutherford and several key pieces along the offensive line. Their defense will be pretty young, but true freshman safety Tae Harris could get early meaningful reps. 

Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key will be looking for a signature ACC win in 2025, and upsetting the Tigers at home would give him just that.

Clemson's ACC title game hopes should still be in play even with a loss here, though.

Illinois won 10 games last season for just the fifth time in school history, in a great fourth year for head coach Bret Bielema. And the Fighting Illini will be looking to make some noise inside the Big Ten in 2025. 

Illinois returns 76 and 78 percent of its returning production on offensive and defense, respectively, per ESPN's SP returning production rankings. 

The returning big names include quarterback Luke Altmyer, who threw for 2,717 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2024. Running back Aidan Laughery is also back.

On defense, linebacker Leon Lowery Jr. and defensive linemen James Thompson Jr. have transferred from Wisconsin, while defensive back Xavier Scott, who led the team with four interceptions last season, is also back. 

USC, meanwhile, has failed to perform under head coach Lincoln Riley, who is 26-14 over three seasons. The Trojans will again have a new quarterback in 2025, this time being UNLV transfer Jaden Maiava.

USC returns just 46 percent of its returning production from last season.  

Last year's game between these two teams wasn't close at all, with the Texas Longhorns running out comfortable 49-17 winners.

This year's matchup looks a lot more intriguing, though, as the Gators navigated one of college football's hardest seasons last year and won eight games. 

Florida returns quarterback DJ Lagway, running back Jadan Baugh and wide receiver Eugene Wilson III on offense. On defense, defensive linemen George Gumbs Jr., Tyreak Sapp and Caleb Banks all return, along with safeties Jordan Castell and Bryce Thornton, cornerback Devin Moore and defensive back Sharif Denson. 

The Gators also be at home for this game, and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium will be a tough place for new Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning to play in. While this will be really close, I like Florida to win in a high-scoring contest.

This will also be a huge signature win for Gators head coach Billy Napier in a critical Year Four for him in Gainesville. 

Kansas hasn't beaten Kansas State since 2008, even though the Jayhawks came quite close last season, losing 29-27.

The Jayhawks got out to a 1-5 start last season, but finished it 4-2. Kansas should be much more consistent in 2025, as head coach Lance Leipold enters his fifth year in charge.  

Although it's been 17 years since Kansas last beat Kansas State, 2025 could be the Jayhawks' year as they will be breaking in their newly renovated stadium. 

Returning quarterback Jalon Daniels will be eager to win this one as he enters his fifth season with the Jayhawks. Also returning are several starters along the offensive line.

If the signal-caller can stay healthy, he could have his best season at Kansas. 

Kansas State is expected to be a contender inside the Big 12 as well this season, bringing back quarterback Avery Johnson and running back Dylan Edwards.

This game will be close, but I like the Jayhawks at home here.   

Alabama has won the last two games in this series and dominated this rivalry in recent years. In fact, the Crimson Tide have won 12 out of the last 14 meetings between the two teams. 

Heading into 2025, though, it looks like LSU has a chance to turn the tables. While this game will be in Tuscaloosa, the Tigers enter 2025 looking to be in better shape in their rebuild than Alabama. 

LSU brings back quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who threw for 4,052 yards with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his first year as a starter. Also back are running back Caden Durham and leading receiver Aaron Anderson. 

Alabama gets back just 63 percent of its overall returning production, needing to replace Jalen Milroe at quarterback along with several big names on defense such as leading tackler Jihaad Campbell and defensive back Malachi Moore.  

Kalen DeBoer is a great coach and can do well in Tuscaloosa, but I think his seat is already warm. The Tide finished his first season 9-4 with a bowl loss to Michigan to close out 2024.

A loss to LSU depending on how the rest of the season goes could make DeBoer's seat go from warm to hot.  

Deion Sanders enters Year Three at Colorado having to replace his son, Shedeur Sanders, at quarterback and two-way star Travis Hunter.

Although the Buffaloes have to replace a lot of their receiving corps from last year, they do get back offensive linemen Jordan Seaton and Cash Cleveland. Sanders also added Zy Crisler and Aki Ogunbiyi from the transfer portal.

At quarterback, the Buffs appear likely to start 4-star prospect Julian Lewis. He steps on campus as the No. 10-ranked signal-caller from 2025 out of Carrollton, Georgia. 

On defense, Colorado has added a ton of transfer players, such as defensive tackle Jehiem Oatis and linebackers Martavius French and Kylan Salter. 

Arizona State returns 79 percent of its returning production, good for second nationally. The biggest names include quarterback Sam Leavitt, wide receiver Jordyn Tyson and tight end Chamon Metayer. 

I expect the Sun Devils to be a Big 12 title threat again in 2025, but they will have a stumble on the road at Colorado in this game. Who knows, maybe we'll see some chaotic late-season Big 12 tiebreaker scenarios as we did last year as a result.