South Carolina, Michigan among teams that will go from ranked to unranked in 2025

Of the 25 teams ranked in the 2024 AP preseason poll, just 12 made the final College Football Playoff Rankings. It was an astounding amount of poll attrition, as teams like Indiana (No. 8), Boise State (No. 9), SMU (No. 10) and Arizona State (No. 12) burst onto the scene to usurp some of the programs that were expected to be good.

Will 13 teams from this year’s AP poll finish the season unranked? Time will tell, but a handful will certainly fall. Last year’s most stunning example was Florida State, which was No. 10 in the preseason poll and coming off a 13-1 season. By the beginning of Week 2, the Seminoles were all the way out of the poll following an 0-2 start that included a Week 0 loss to Georgia Tech.

Other prominent fallers last season included Utah — which started at No. 13 before going 5-7 — and Oklahoma State — which started at No. 18 before finishing 3-9. Additionally, every team between No. 20-25 in the preseason AP poll finished outside the final CFP Rankings. If that trend continues, it would be bad news for 2024 CFP teams like No. 20 Indiana, No. 24 Tennessee and No. 25 Boise State.

With Week 0 of the 2025 season here, our writers are making their picks for which teams will go from ranked in the preseason to unranked in the end.

South Carolina’s defense will be tested in 2025 following its best season in years. While the unit is anchored by star EDGE Dylan Stewart and defensive back Jalen Kilgore, the rest of the group has something to prove. Against a schedule that features 10 Power Four opponents, depth could become an issue. A four-week stretch at LSU, vs. Oklahoma, vs. Alabama and at Ole Miss could deflate the Gamecocks’ momentum and push them out of the polls. They close against a Clemson team that will be out for revenge, and that could be the death knell in South Carolina’s hopes of being ranked at season’s end. — David Cobb (also Brad Crawford, Chris Hummer)

I’m projecting Iowa State to take a step back from its program-record 11-win campaign in 2024. This is still a team with the potential to win every game on its schedule, but in the chaotic pressure cooker that is the Big 12, it’s unlikely all those coin-flip games will fall its way again. We know AP Top 25 poll voters will only make room for a couple of Big 12 teams in their final ballot, and if Iowa State goes 7-5 in the regular season as I’m projecting, it won’t be one of them. — Chip Patterson (also Tom Fornelli)

Tennessee

This isn’t the same Tennessee offense that lit up the scoreboard on the way to No. 1 a couple years ago. The Vols lack a true No. 1 receiver, are breaking in new backs and an offensive line, and there’s real concern Josh Heupel’s veer-and-shoot has already peaked. A favorable SEC slate could mask issues for a while, but an unranked finish feels very possible.– Richard Johnson (also John Talty)

Michigan will improve under first-year quarterback Bryce Underwood, but the question is how much. The core of the Wolverines’ championship defense is now in the NFL and the pass-catchers still have plenty of questions. Going to Oklahoma, Nebraska and USC before Oct. 11 will be a lot to ask of a freshman, and it’s unlikely the Wolverines will escape unscathed. — Shehan Jeyarajah 

Florida doesn’t have the luxury of overcoming a few hiccups with a schedule that features seven ranked opponents, including a brutal stretch of four in a row starting in mid-September. We’ve seen quarterback DJ Lagway battle several ailments over the last year, which gives me pause. The ceiling is high for the Gators, but the floor is low, especially if Lagway misses a game or two. — Brandon Marcello