Tom Fornelli's College Football Power Ratings: Indiana joins Ohio State, Oregon at the top as Big Ten flexes
Elsewhere, a couple of Texas teams not named the Longhorns have begun to emerge
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Tom Fornelli
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7 min read
Penn State firing James Franklin this week could have larger implications outside of the future of Penn State's program or the coaching carousel at large. It could also force people to reconsider what college football is now.
History and tradition are great, and for years, they've been the foundation of what keeps the sport's top programs at or near the top. That's all changing, though, and fast. In 2025, the truth of the matter is that resources (aka money) and the ability to identify talent are far more important than history or tradition. This is why I believe Penn State fans who think it's a no-brainer that Curt Cignetti would leave Indiana for Penn State haven't caught onto the reality of college football in 2025.
My power ratings are a reflection of the new reality. The top three teams in my ratings are Big Ten schools this week, and one of them is Indiana, not Penn State. In fifth is Texas A&M, a proud program with plenty of history, but not one that's been competing at this level for a long time. Behind the Aggies is another Texas school, but not the one in Austin. It's Texas Tech.
College football rankings: Indiana joins the top 3 after Oregon win as Texas, USC climb new CBS Sports 136
Chip Patterson
Tech is the program being used as the shining example of how programs can be successful in this modern era. I would argue that idea ignores what Indiana did last year and continues to do this year, but it's all beside the point.
Having money and spending it wisely is what will win you national titles in this era, not the fact that you won national titles 40 years ago, or your 100,000+ seat stadium. When NIL and the portal were introduced, I assumed this would be the eventual result, but I did not expect it to happen this quickly.
But it has, and if you want to compete at the top, you'd better adapt even quicker.
Odds below via FanDuel Sportsbook
2025 Fornelli Power Ratings
| 1 |  |
| There is a lot of talk about how we've seen compression among the top teams in the sport over the last few years. It's all true. The gap between the top teams and the teams in the 20s isn't nearly as wide as it was as recently as 2023. However, there is one gap that remains, and it's between the No. 1 team and everybody else in my power ratings. Looking at the other public ratings I've seen, I'm not alone. This is why I'm starting to think Ohio State has a very strong chance of winning consecutive national titles. If they do, considering the roster changes and that we're now in a 12-team era, it would be the most impressive accomplishment in college football history. Two Weeks Ago: 1 | Title Odds: +320 | |
| 2 |  |
| They're for real. If you haven't bought in yet, even after seeing the Hoosiers go into Autzen Stadium and outplay Oregon , I truly admire your ability to ignore all evidence. There's an argument to be made that no coach has ever had as strong an impact on a program in his first 19 games at a school as Curt Cignetti has had on Indiana. Two Weeks Ago: 8 | Title Odds: +950 | |
| 3 |  |
| Oregon was No. 2 last week and only drops a spot because it's not as if it played horribly against the Hoosiers. It just didn't play well enough. Defensively, the Ducks did as good a job limiting Indiana as anybody this season, and they deserve credit for that. I will say, though, there are some possible concerns about the offense as we've now seen it look a bit more limited in games against Penn State and Indiana. Two Weeks Ago: 2 | Title Odds: +1200 | |
| 4 |  |
| I genuinely believe Alabama is the best team in the SEC, but the gap between it and the rest of the league is minuscule. The Tide went to Missouri and won by three, but were outplayed in a lot of areas. The primary difference was Alabama's Ty Simpson was able to make plays Missouri's Beau Pribula wasn't, and that's meaningful. Yes, that's right, I'm taking the brave stance of saying that having a great quarterback is a good thing for football teams, and it helps them win games. Please, hold your applause. Two Weeks Ago: 3 | Title Odds: +700 | |
| 5 |  |
| The Aggies had some serious defensive issues early in the season, but have gotten them under control in recent weeks. When they held Auburn to 10 points, I gave the Aggies no credit because Auburn's offense is atrocious, but holding Mississippi State and Florida to 26 points total the last two weeks matters. My theory is that there were a lot of new bodies in this defensive front adapting to larger roles, and the adjustment period is over. I know Aggies fans always have a sense of dread when the season reaches mid-October, but while I don't know that this team wins the SEC, it's probably too good to collapse. Two Weeks Ago: 11 | Title Odds: +1300 | |
| 6 |  |
| This is the first time all year a Big 12 school has cracked the top 12 in this column; however, I did not write this story last week while on vacation. If I had, Texas Tech would've been ranked last week, too. It's pretty simple. Tech poured a bunch of money into acquiring talent for its roster in 2025, and it hit on damn near every decision. Not only are the Red Raiders a clear favorite in the Big 12 (my next highest Big 12 team is Utah at No. 15), but they've climbed to the realm of the national elite. It will take a lot to go wrong for this team not to get a first-round bye at the rate things are headed. Two Weeks Ago: Not Ranked | Title Odds: +1700 | |
| 7 |  |
| The Hurricanes haven't fallen so much as they've been surpassed. I have no real qualms with this team and believe it to be truly special along the lines of scrimmage. The one thing holding it back right now is an overall lack of explosiveness on offense. The Canes have to put together long drives to score points, and they're capable of doing so against the rest of the ACC. I don't know how effective an approach it would be against the competition it would face in the playoffs, though. Two Weeks Ago: 6 | Title Odds: +900 | |
| 8 |  |
| You might not have watched Notre Dame much since the Texas A&M loss and 0-2 start. I get it. What you haven't seen, though, is that CJ Carr has had the same kind of glow-up Ty Simpson's had since the Florida State loss. Carr has been exceptional in Notre Dame's four wins since, and his play, along with the rushing attack, is what is giving the Irish a boost here. I am a bit concerned about the defense still. Has it truly improved, or will this week's game against USC expose the same flaws we saw early in the year? Two Weeks Ago: 10 | Title Odds: +1600 | |
| 9 |  |
| My opinion of Georgia falls a little every week. I'm smart enough to know that going into Jordan-Hare at night is never easy, but I am thoroughly unconvinced this team has the extra gear on offense needed to compete at the top of the sport. There are a lot of difficult games remaining on the schedule, including ones against the next two teams in these ratings. I think the Dawgs get into the playoffs, but it's far from a guarantee, and I'm skeptical they'll have a deep run if they do make it. Two Weeks Ago: 5 | Title Odds: +1000 | |
| 10 |  |
| I'm kind of between a rock and a hard place here. I've long considered Ole Miss to be a team whose record is much stronger than its roster, which was shown somewhat in the team's 24-21 win over a bad Washington State . At the same time, I'm not going to hold that kind of performance (early start, sandwich game between LSU and Georgia) against it too much. Ole Miss's next two games are on the road against Georgia and Oklahoma . It's played only one road game this season, and that was a little-too-close-for-comfort 30-23 win over Kentucky . This team's fate will be decided in those two games one way or the other. Two Weeks Ago: 9 | Title Odds: +2200 | |
| 11 |  |
| The Longhorns aren't nearly as good as we all thought they'd be to begin the year, but that tends to lead people to overreact to negative outcomes. It's still pretty good, and Arch Manning , for all his faults, is progressing. Now, the offensive line is an entirely different story, and it will continue to be this team's Achilles heel, but there aren't many teams without one of those. Two Weeks Ago: 4 | Title Odds: +1500 | |
| 12 |  |
| USC's win over Michigan was the most impressive thing I've seen it do since joining the Big Ten. It wasn't just the helmet and uniform of the team it beat, but how USC played in the game. The Trojans won the line of scrimmage battle despite missing two starters on their offensive line, and the front seven on defense looked terrific. Now the question is, can the Trojans keep that up, and can they do so while on the road, where they haven't been nearly as effective under Lincoln Riley? We don't have to wait long to find out, because they're playing at Notre Dame this Saturday. Two Weeks Ago: Not Ranked | Title Odds: +6500 | |
Fell outside Top 12: Penn State, Oklahoma
