If an offseason splash in college football is required, talent accumulation is paramount to picking up hype ahead of the 2025 season. And for 10 teams who could flash next fall, all have done a nice job bolstering their respective two-deeps with transfer portal additions or retaining top-end producers coming out of the winter transfer period.
For this exercise, only teams who finished the 2024 season outside of the top 15 are eligible for inclusion. These programs won’t be found on the shortlist of national championship contenders according to way-too-early projections. However, they should have rosters capable of getting to the playoff and potentially winning a game or two in the postseason.
The 247Sports way-too-early top 25 for 2025 will be out Monday ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship game pitting Ohio State and Notre Dame. A couple of these “flash” teams will be included based on the array of early ballots submitted by our analystsBelow is a glance at 10 college football teams who could flash in 2025:
Illinois Fighting Illini
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Illinois returns 18 starters from a 10-win team and, at least early, very few are talking about the Fighting Illini having a puncher’s chance at a top-end finish in the Big Ten in 2025. That’s just the way Bret Bielema likes it, too. Former Ole Miss quarterback Luke Altmyer is entering Year 3 as this program’s starter and there are a ton of other veterans around him capable of potentially unseating one of the heavyweights at the top of the conference. All-Big Ten left tackle J.C. Davis is back, along with wideout Hank Beatty, who should emerge as WR1 with Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin moving on.Kansas State Wildcats
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Quarterback Avery Johnson and Kansas State want a re-do of November after entering the season’s final month in 2024 with a chance to make the College Football Playoff. It didn’t happen, but a strong nucleus returns for a team we’re expecting to be inside the preseason top 25. The Wildcats addressed needs at receiver with three portal additions and they’re expecting former Alabama edge rusher Jayshawn Ross and Ohio State linebacker Gabe Powers to provide immediate assistance on defense. Pass-catcher Jayce Brown will be an alpha offensively after doubling his freshman year totals as a sophomore.UNLV Rebels
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First-year coach Dan Mullen has quite the quarterback room ahead of the 2025 season at UNLV with the additions of Virginia transfer Anthony Colandrea and Michigan’s Alex Orji. The Rebels lost a couple expected starters to the portal following Barry Odom’s departure, but for the most part, Mullen was able to convince the majority of his roster that may have been on the fence to stay. Rising junior running back Jai’Den Thomas returns after rushing for 1,421 yards and 19 touchdowns in his first two seasons. UNLV is a team that could challenge for a spot in the playoff as the Group of Five’s champion if all goes well.Duke Blue Devils
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Manny Diaz won nine games at Duke during his first season, which was more than enough success to convince the Blue Devils boosters to open the checkbook for new quarterback Darian Mensah, who reportedly signed a record-setting NIL deal after transferring from Tulane. Getting Oklahoma pass-catcher Andrel Anthony upgrades that room and Appalachian State’s Anderson Castle should crack the two-deep in the backfield after Duke lost talent there. Duke’s not flying under the radar in 2025, but the schedule is beefy enough for the Blue Devils to make noise if this uptrend continuWashington Huskies
(Photo: Chris Pietsch/The Register Guard, USA TODAY Sports)
Buy stock now in quarterback Demond Williams. Those around Washington are raving about the progress he’ll make in Year 2 under Jedd Fisch. More than two dozen newcomers arrived as spring enrollees for the Huskies, including several new starters along the offensive line and on the defensive side of the football. The 2024 season was a transition year at Washington with a new coaching staff coming in after the national title game appearance and 2025 should be closer to the success seen in recent years, at least that’s the early belief.es.
