The Landscape of College Football: A Look at the NCAA Division I FBS Season

The landscape of college football is ever-evolving. The 2025 NCAA Division I FBS football season marked the 156th season of college football in the United States, the 120th organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the 50th of the highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). This article delves into the key events, rule changes, and highlights of this season.

Season Overview

The regular season spanned from August 23 to December 13, 2025. Following the regular season, the postseason commenced on December 13 and concluded on January 19, 2026, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Indiana Hoosiers emerged victorious, defeating the Miami Hurricanes with a score of 27-21, securing their first national championship in school history and achieving a perfect 16-0 season, a feat not seen since the 1894 Yale Bulldogs.

Number of Teams: 136
Regular Season Duration: August 23, 2025 - December 13, 2025
Postseason Duration: December 13, 2025 - January 19, 2026
Bowl Games: 41
Preseason AP No. 1: Texas
AP Poll No. 1: Indiana

Rule Changes

Several rule adjustments were implemented for the 2025 season, aimed at enhancing player safety and game integrity. These included:

Feigned Injuries: To discourage players from feigning injuries, a timeout would be charged to the team if medical personnel entered the field to attend to an injured player after the ball was spotted by officials ready for play. If the team was out of timeouts, a five-yard delay of game penalty would be assessed.
Overtime Procedures: Beginning with the third overtime period, teams were limited to one timeout until the game's conclusion.
Instant Replay Terminology: Referees were instructed to use only the terms "Overturned" and "Upheld" when announcing decisions on instant replay reviews.
Punt Formation Restrictions: Restrictions were placed on punt formations, stipulating that no player could be directly in line of the snap to a potential kicker, and no player could be inside the frame of the snapper to qualify as a legal scrimmage kick formation. Failure to meet these requirements would necessitate five players numbered 50-79 to be on the line of scrimmage.
Distracting Signals: Enhanced rules were implemented regarding words or signals used to distract opponents trying to put the ball in play.
Roughing the Passer: Contact to an offensive player in a passing posture was redefined as "Roughing the Passer."
12-Player Penalty: Codifying a rule change from 2024, teams with 12 or more players participating in a down after the two-minute timeout would be penalized five yards, with the offense having the option to reset the game clock to the time at the start of the play. If the extra player(s) were running off the field and had no influence on the play, the yardage penalty would apply, but no clock reset option would be available.
Coach to Player Communication: The Coach to Player (C2P green dot) communication technology, previously used in FBS, became a permissible option for the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

Key Events

The 2025 season witnessed several significant events that shaped the college football landscape:

April 25: The University of Kentucky (UK) board of trustees approved a proposal to transfer the UK athletic program to Champions Blue, LLC, a separate non-profit company. This move was considered a response to the impending settlement of the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit.
July 21: The American Athletic Conference rebranded itself as the American Conference.
September 4: The NCAA FBS Oversight Committee voted on major changes to the transfer portal, replacing the existing 30-day period with a single 10-day window from January 2-11 for both undergraduate and graduate transfers.
September 17: The NCAA Division I Administrative Committee approved the proposed single January transfer portal but opted not to adopt the proposed January 2-11 dates, prompting further discussion and refinement of the portal parameters.
September 29: The FBS Oversight Committee recommended a 15-day window from January 2-16 for the single January transfer portal, along with a 5-day window for players involved in postseason contests on or after January 12.
October 9: The Division I Administrative Committee introduced a proposal to expand allowed logos on student-athletes' uniforms and equipment beyond those of the manufacturer. The committee approved the previously recommended single window running from January 2-16. The window for players undergoing a head coaching change was modified. The window for these players will open five calendar days after the hiring or public announcement of a new head coach, and run for 15 days. Should a school not hire or announce a new head coach after 30 days from the previous coach's departure, a separate 15-day window will open on the 31st day, provided that the 31st day is on or after January 3.
October 12: James Franklin was fired at Penn State after 12 seasons with the school and subsequently hired for the vacancy at Virginia Tech.
September 9: Following a donation of $100 million by businessman and Illinois alumnus Larry Gies, the Fighting Illini's stadium was renamed Gies Memorial Stadium in memory of his late father Larry Sr.
November 8: Rice University announced that it would downsize Rice Stadium as part of a project to better connect the campus with the adjacent Rice Village shopping and restaurant district.
April 7: Sam Houston Bearkats announced they would host the 2025 season at Shell Energy Stadium.
November 17: Arizona Athletics and Casino Del Sol Announced Transformative $60 Million-Plus Stadium Naming Rights Partnership.
December 10: U-M fires Moore for inappropriate relationship.
December 10: Fired Michigan coach Sherrone Moore jailed amid assault probe.
December 12: Fired Michigan coach Sherrone Moore charged with three crimes.

Conference Realignment

The ever-shifting landscape of college football conferences continued in 2025:

Conference USA: Added Delaware and Missouri State.
Mid-American Conference (MAC): UMass joined as a full sports member, including football.
Pac-12 Conference: Welcomed Utah State and four other universities.
Mountain West Conference: Added UTEP and Northern Illinois (football-only).

Regular Season Highlights

The 2025 regular season featured numerous exciting matchups and upsets:

August 30: No. 3 Ohio State held off No. 1 Texas to win 14-7 in the season opener.
August 30: LSU defeated No. 4 Clemson, 17-10.
August 31: Miami opened the season with a 27-24 win over Notre Dame.
September 27: Oregon won a top-10 match against Washington in double overtime.
October 11: Indiana defeated No. 6 Oregon, 30-24.
October 18: No. 9 Georgia took down No. 5 Ole Miss, 43-35.
November 8: No. 8 Texas Tech defeated No. 7 BYU, 29-7.
November 15: Georgia defeated No. 10 Texas, 35-10.
December 6: Indiana defeated Ohio State, 13-10, in the Big Ten Football Championship Game.
December 6: Georgia defeated Alabama 28-7 for the SEC Championship.
December 20: Alabama overcame an early deficit to defeat Oklahoma, 34-24, in the CFP Road.

College Football Playoff

The 2025 season marked the second year of the expanded College Football Playoff format, featuring 12 teams. The top five ranked conference champions, along with the seven highest ranked at-large teams, were selected to compete. The top four ranked teams received a first-round bye.

Bowl Games

A total of 41 bowl games were played in the 2025-26 postseason. To be bowl-eligible, a team typically needed a .500 minimum winning percentage during the regular season (six wins for an 11- or 12-game schedule, and seven wins for a 13-game schedule). If there were not enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records could be chosen.

Television Coverage

The 2025 season marked the beginning of a new television contract for the Big 12 Conference with ESPN, Fox Sports, and TNT Sports. The Pac-12 Conference renewed their media partnership with The CW, while also agreeing to two-game deals with ESPN and CBS Sports. It was the final year of the Mountain West Conference's broadcast agreement with Fox Sports and CBS Sports.

Looking Ahead to 2026

The 2026 college football season is set to begin on Thursday, August 27, with Week 1 commencing on Saturday, September 5, during Labor Day weekend. The College Football Playoff National Championship Game will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Monday, January 25, 2027.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

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