With just one week to go before the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2025 season are released on Nov. 4, a slew of programs that are anything but traditional football powerhouses are crashing the party typically reserved for the heavyweights and blue bloods.
In the penultimate AP Top 25 poll before the CFP rankings take center stage, the top 10 includes four teams that almost no one would have predicted in the preseason:
- No. 2 Indiana
- No. 8 Georgia Tech
- No. 9 Vanderbilt
- No. 10 BYU
Each of those programs has found success in their own unique ways this season, which is the first of the revenue-sharing era that let athletic departments pay athletes up to $20.5 million this year.
How They Got Here
Indiana is the most notable, having ascended to second in the rankings as head coach Curt Cignetti’s star power continues to grow. After Penn State fired James Franklin, the Hoosiers locked Cignetti up with a new eight-year, $93 million contract extension worth $11.6 million annually. He’s now the third-highest-paid coach in the nation.
Georgia Tech is undefeated and in first place in the ACC, and barreling toward a Rivalry Weekend matchup with No. 5 Georgia (the Yellowjackets’ final three opponents before that game are not currently ranked). Georgia Tech has taken its conference by storm as traditional powers like Clemson and Florida State are both under .500.
Vanderbilt beat Missouri Saturday after ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast from the school’s Nashville campus for the first time since 2008. The thrilling 17–10 victory continued the Commodores’ rise from SEC doormat to legitimate CFP candidate.
BYU is 8–0 and atop the Big 12 in the school’s third year in the conference. The Cougars are thriving despite an unexpected offseason pivot away from former star quarterback Jake Retzlaff (who transferred to Tulane after being sued as part of a sexual assault lawsuit). True freshman Bear Bachmeier, 19, has passed for nearly 1,700 yards and 11 touchdowns.
