College football national championship sleepers for 2025 season

Kirby Smart on college football’s future

Kirby Smart urges leaders to prioritize the game’s future over personal or conference agendas in playoff talks.

You know the college football favorites by now. They’ve been at the head of the odds list for some time.

It’s the same two teams that met for a College Football Playoff semifinal thriller in January, the same two teams that will meet in a season opener in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State and Texas are deserving front-runners. Each will transition to a new starting quarterback, but those quarterbacks are ballyhooed blue-chippers, Julian Sayin at Ohio State and Arch Manning at Texas. And coaches Ryan Day and Steve Sarkisian possess a deft hand with quarterbacks. Across other positions, those teams remain steeped in talent.

If I could select those two teams or have the field in a quest to pick the 2025 national champion, I’d be tempted to ride with B&B: Bevo and the Buckeyes.

Behind those two teams, the oddsmakers’ consensus likes Georgia, Penn State, Oregon, Notre Dame and Alabama next in the pecking order.

That still leaves a handful of teams that intrigue me as national championship longshots. How do I define a longshot? Their odds are worse than 12-to-1.

Here are my top national championship sleepers for the 2025 season:

Prime sleeper candidates to contend for national championship

LSU

BetMGM odds: 20-to-1

Brian Kelly got LSU’s donor game squared away this offseason. It shows in the Tigers’ transfer class. Nobody secured a better portal haul than Kelly. That includes additions like defensive linemen Patrick Payton (Florida State) and Jack Pyburn (Florida) who should fortify a defense that’s sagged for years. Pair that with proven quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and a gifted wide receiver room, and it’s understandable why Kelly says this is his best LSU roster. A…

Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2025/06/16/college-football-national-championship-sleepers-2025/84120280007/

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Publish date : 2025-06-16 10:03:00

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