13 Most Anticipated College Football Games of 2025
August 11, 2025
The 2025-26 college football season is set to begin on August 23, when Iowa State and Kansas State square off at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Then on August 30, the top two teams in the country according to the recently-released 鈥擳exas and Ohio State鈥攇o head to head, as do No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 10 Miami, and No. 6 Clemson and No. 9 LSU. Expectations, anticipations, hopes, dreams, etc. will be recalibrated once the Week 1 dust settles. But with just a few weeks before the season-opening kickoff, the statisticians/analysts/prognosticators/pundits have finished most of their work, and the preseason storylines are set.
For example: the Arch Manning era is set to begin in Texas. The Bill Belichick era is set to begin in Chapel Hill. Georgia and Alabama will try to rebound after disappointing finishes to last season. Ohio State will look to defend their national title. Penn State and Drew Allar will almost certainly have something to say about that. How will Tennessee fare without Nico Iamaleava? How will Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes fare without Shedeur, Shilo, and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter?
Now all we have to do is wait for the season to begin.
So what are the most anticipated college football games of 2025? Check out the list below.
Most Anticipated College Football Games of 2025
13) TCU at North Carolina, September 1
The Bill Belichick show begins at Chapel Hill on September 1, and the question for UNC really boils down to this: is the hype around the Belichick-led Tar Heels legit, or will hiring one of the best NFL coaches of all time not really move the needle much for an otherwise average team? The result of this Week 1 matchup will be fodder for pundits in both camps.
12) Michigan at Oklahoma, September 6
This early season matchup will be telling for the Sooners, who are vying to improve in the SEC standings with transfer quarterback John Mateer in the backfield. And Michigan will be looking to get off to a strong start after failing to make the College Football Playoff last season. In the preseason Coaches Poll, Michigan came in at No. 14, and Oklahoma received votes but didn鈥檛 place in the top 25.
11) LSU at Clemson, August 30
Week 1 features several heavyweight matchups, and the August 30th showdown between LSU and Clemson is one of them. What makes this one of the most anticipated college football games of 2025? Brian Kelly is only three years into his tenure as LSU鈥檚 head coach, but he鈥檚 yet to win a season opener (as a matter of fact, the last time LSU won a season opener was in 2019, when Joe Burrow led them to an undefeated season and a national championship). Elite quarterback Cade Klubnik is returning to Clemson, and the Tigers are revamping their defense by bringing in former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen. And both of these teams have serious playoff aspirations, which makes this Week 1 game a must-watch.
10) Boise State at Notre Dame, November 22
The Broncos and the Fighting Irish will face off for the first time ever on November 22, and this matchup will be interesting for a number of reasons. Both teams were playoff contenders last season. Boise State qualified for a bye as the three seed but was defeated by Penn State. Notre Dame came in to the tournament as the seven seed and made it all the way to the championship before being bested by Ohio State in the championship. Also, both teams have lost major talents. For the Broncos, the most glaring loss is running back Ashton Jeanty, who was selected by the Raiders as the sixth overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. And for the Fighting Irish, replacing quarterback Leonard Riley won鈥檛 be easy.
9) Ohio State at Michigan, November 29
The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is one of the most prominent and storied rivalries in all of college football. The Big Ten rivals first played against each other in 1897, and since then, they鈥檝e faced off 120 times. Michigan has the edge in terms of their overall head-to-head numbers, and they鈥檝e dominated the Buckeyes in recent years as well. Ohio State has lost their last four games to Michigan, so there will be significant pressure on the Buckeyes to snap the skid in Ann Arbor.
8) Texas A&M at Notre Dame, September 13
There鈥檚 a pretty big discrepancy between these two squads: last season, Notre Dame went on a remarkable run all the way to the championship round of the College Football Playoff, whereas the Aggies didn鈥檛 secure a playoff berth finished the year with a record of 8-5. These teams faced off in College Station for last year鈥檚 season opener, which Notre Dame won 23-13. This year the Aggies, who come into the season ranked 21st according to the Coaches Poll, travel to South Bend for the rematch.
7) Notre Dame at Miami, August 30
This Week 1 matchup could very well be a playoff preview. The August 30 game between Notre Dame and Miami will be the first time the teams have met since 2017, and both the Hurricanes and the Fighting Irish are coming off strong 2024 seasons. The Hurricanes had the best offense in college football last year, and Notre Dame finished the season as national runners-up with a record of 14-2. Both teams lost their quarterbacks this offseason: Miami鈥檚 Cam Ward went first overall in the 2025 NFL draft; Riley Leonard went to the Colts in the sixth round. But both teams have high hopes for their replacements鈥攆or Miami it鈥檚 former Georgia QB Carson Beck; for Notre Dame, it鈥檚 freshman CJ Carr. This early season matchup will be an important litmus test for both squads.
6) LSU at Alabama, November 8
There are a couple things that make this one of the most anticipated college football games of 2025. First and foremost, this game will have serious playoff implications. Although both the Tigers and the Crimson Tide had lackluster 2024 seasons, both teams have playoff aspirations, and the loser of this matchup will have a hard time qualifying. Plus, this game will be a barometer on each team鈥檚 rising offensive stars: quarterback Garrett Nussmeier for LSU, wide receiver Ryan Williams for Alabama.
5) Oregon at Penn State, September 27
The rematch of last year鈥檚 Big Ten championship will undoubtedly be one of the most anticipated college football games of the year. The Ducks had a remarkable, if somewhat anticlimactic, 2024. They recorded an undefeated regular season for the first time since 2010, and it was the first time in school history that they went 13-0. That thirteenth win was against Penn State in the Big Ten championship. But after that magical run, they lost in the first round of the College Football Playoff to eventual champion Ohio State.
Penn State, too, had a strong 2024 season, but the Nittany Lions were bounced by Notre Dame in the playoff semifinal. So both teams have demons to slay. For the Ducks, playing at Penn State will certainly be one of their toughest road games of the season.
4) Texas at Georgia, November 15
This November 15 meeting will be the third time Texas and Georgia face off since the Longhorns left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2023. Last year, Georgia beat Texas in both the regular season and in the SEC championship game. With both teams virtually guaranteed to be in the mix for a playoff spot and a revamped Texas team looking for revenge, the stakes for this one will be high. Otherwise, headlines in anticipation of this game will almost certainly center on the Arch Manning versus Gunner Stockton quarterback matchup.
3) Penn State at Ohio State, November 1
This year鈥檚 episode of the Penn State-Ohio State rivalry will take place in Columbus, which is bad news for the Nittany Lions, since they haven鈥檛 beaten the Buckeyes since 2016. But going into the 2025-26 season, Penn State might just have the edge over the defending champs. That鈥檚 because Ohio State lost fourteen players to the NFL draft (tied for the most player turnover in school history), whereas Penn State is returning, among others, Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, and Kaytron Allen.
The result of this game will have implications on the Big Ten championship game as well as potential playoff berths and seeding.
2) Alabama at Georgia, September 27
This one is sort of a no-brainer since Alabama-Georgia is always one of the most anticipated college football games of the season. Last year, under first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer, the Crimson Tide bested the Bulldogs 41-34. But that win turned out not to be as pivotal as Alabama fans would鈥檝e hoped, as the Crimson Tide went on to drop games to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. Those losses kept Alabama out of the playoff picture, whereas Georgia won the SEC and secured a playoff berth.
And other than the SEC and playoff implications, what鈥檒l make this year鈥檚 matchup especially interesting is the head-to-head between new quarterbacks Gunner Stockton and Ty Simpson.
1) Texas at Ohio State, August 30
The best, most anticipated college football game of the 2025-26 season might be one of the very first of the year. On August 30, the top-ranked Longhorns travel to Columbus to take on the No. 2 Buckeyes in a rematch of last year鈥檚 national semifinal. Last season, Ohio State beat the Longhorns 28-14 on their way to the national championship. This round, both teams will be coming in with a new look: Texas with heralded quarterback Arch Manning, and Ohio State still extremely talented but sans Will Howard in the backfield.
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