the thirteenth week of the 2025 college football season

published november 23, 2025

introductory comments

there is but one week left in the regular season. most have had their fate decided, but some remain on the brink of qualification and elimination to be decided next week. two teams have even finished their schedules. here's what all that will look like.

the top 25

  1. texas a&m - 266 pts. (11-0, +183)
  2. vanderbilt - 262 pts. (9-2, +189)
  3. oklahoma - 253 pts. (9-2, +146)
  4. utah - 225 pts. (9-2, +259)
  5. texas tech - 207 pts. (10-1, +334)
  6. south florida - 205 pts. (8-3, +187)
  7. usc - 205 pts. (8-3, +150)
  8. washington - 201 pts. (8-3, +184)
  9. georgia - 193 pts. (10-1, +180)
  10. indiana - 192 pts. (11-0, +348)
  11. pittsburgh - 192 pts. (8-3, +153)
  12. ohio state - 188 pts. (11-0, +333)
  13. miami - 186 pts. (9-2, +212)
  14. ole miss - 183 pts. (10-1, +187)
  15. old dominion - 184 pts. (8-3, +144)
  16. san diego state - 182 pts. (9-2, +151)
  17. iowa - 181 pts. (7-4, +141)
  18. virginia - 179 pts. (9-2, +138)
  19. new mexico - 179 pts. (8-3, +59)
  20. tennessee - 177 pts. (8-3, +165)
  21. oregon - 173 pts. (10-1, +268)
  22. houston - 170 pts. (8-3, +71)
  23. texas - 169 pts. (8-3, +108)
  24. north texas - 167 pts. (10-1, +244)
  25. western michigan - 164 pts. (7-4, +50)

the bottom 25

  1. liberty - -150 pts. (4-7, -5)
  2. umass - -119 pts. (0-11, -299)
  3. army - -106 pts. (5-5, +2)
  4. middle tennessee - -103 pts. (2-9, -109)
  5. san jose state - -63 pts. (3-8, -106)
  6. colorado state - -57 pts. (2-9, -127)
  7. texas state - -43 pts. (5-6, +43)
  8. oregon state - -34 pts. (2-9, -111)
  9. toledo - -34 pts. (7-4, +215)
  10. south alabama - -32 pts. (4-7, -24)
  11. penn state - -29 pts. (5-6, +120)
  12. boston college - -22 pts. (1-10, -110)
  13. colorado - -22 pts. (3-8, -105)
  14. appalachian state - -9 pts. (5-6, -53)
  15. northern illinois - -6 pts. (3-8, -83)
  16. boise state - -4 pts. (7-4, +91)
  17. louisiana - -3 pts. (5-6, -38)
  18. bowling green - -1 pts. (3-8, -76)
  19. georgia state - 0 pts. (1-10, -200)
  20. sam houston - 0 pts. (2-9, -201)
  21. utep - 0 pts. (2-9, -55)
  22. buffalo - 0 pts. (5-6, +11)
  23. california - 0 pts. (6-5, -23)
  24. eastern michigan - 4 pts. (4-7, -58)
  25. rice - 4 pts. (5-6, -100)

adjustments

syou can leave the bottom of the bin too: western michigan @ northern illinois

western michigan has spent the last several weeks dipping in and out of the top 25 list. but i suppose they have kept winning, so i have let them out of the bottom and promoted them to d tier.

western michigan +8, northern illinois -8

just another disappointing result: minnesota @ northwestern @ the cubs apparently

look, i know it's an away game, but it's not really, it's a neutral site game that just happens to be closer to northwestern. you can't afford to lose like this, especially in your position. minnesota is demoted to c tier.

northwestern +16, minnesota -16

the road to redemption: syracuse @ notre dame

i debated between the notre dame game and the texas game for yesterday afternoon, but within a few minutes it wasn't a choice anymore. notre dame scored three touchdowns before their offense even took the field, and went on to give syracuse their worst defeat in school history. for that, notre dame gets 21 points in recognition of their feat.

notre dame +30, syracuse -4

the owls are reborn: missouri state @ kennesaw state

kennesaw state has now gone from a ten-loss season to not only qualifying early, but truly rising to the top of the bottom by beating missouri state. the committee, of course, recognizes this and has responded by promoting kennesaw state to d tier.

kennesaw state +16, missouri state -16

further notes

it's over already: akron @ bowling green

akron was one of two teams to finish their season early this week as well as the only one to qualify, so they are already done playing. luckily, they were able to secure a win against bowling green to finish up and are free to try again next year. so long akron, we will miss you over the next two months of football we still have left.

another zero-pointer: charlotte @ georgia

i thought this type of game was gone for the season, but georgia has proven me wrong by playing way down in the tier rankings and not even managing to get a fun score, managing just 35 points. this win should not help their playoff case but their chances at the sec championship probably will instead.

well great, you let the flame die out: liberty @ louisiana tech

there's getting eliminated and then there's this. liberty jumped out to an early 28-7 lead in an elimination game, only to blow it in the second half and throw an interception on their overtime drive to just about seal the deal. this ends their bowl chances and leaves them with a single remaining game to console themselves. good luck.

bowl eligibility: qualification

congratulations for qualifying to:

bowl eligibility: elimination

and goodbye to several more teams, including and limited to:

scorigami recognition

notre dame of course blows everyone out of the water, but it was an interesting week nonetheless. congratulations to:

the belt

the belt has chosen stanford and stanford will receive five points. they will have to defend it against the fighting irish next week. either it will go to the playoff with notre dame, or stanford will keep it for the offseason. we will see the next chapter of its story next week.

finishing up

next week, we see each and every college (except akron and connecticut) fight their most bitter of rivals in rivalry week. for some, it means the difference between a bowl game and shame. for others, it means simply pride, a greater prize than any other game could give. either way, it is a timeless tradition for all. the regular season concludes with the next article on sunday.