College Football 2025 Stats, Top Teams And Handicapping Ground Game

The 2025 college football season kicks off over Labor Day weekend with Week 1 and some major matchups in the Top 25. College football 2025 stats and matchups feature three top 10 matchups making it the most anticipated Week 1 in many years. No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State is drawing major wagers with a record handle expected by kickoff. That SEC vs. Big Ten battle is a rematch of last season’s College Football Playoff game won by Ohio State 28-14 with a late Texas turnover turned 83-yard TD return the key play in victory and point spread outcomes.

Those two teams and other key matchups feature some of the top position units in college football including Clemson from the ACC in their home game vs. LSU from the SEC.

College Football 2025 Stats

The college football season kicked off Week 0 last Saturday with a handful of games including a key Big 12 battle in Ireland with No. 22 Iowa State ermerging with a 24-21 win over No. 17 Kansas State.

I reviewed the boxscore of that game and posted more in my college football coverage at OSGA noting that K-State held the yards and yards per play advantage 383-313 and 6.7 to 4.2 but the Wildcats lost the turnover differential and a key missed fourth down from their own 30-yard line in the fourth quarter. Iowa State did pound the ground in the second half and the Cyclones finished with 46 rushes for 130 yards to Kansas State’s 27 rushes for 110 yards.

Rushing Stats

I’ll be scouring boxscores and analyzing college football 2025 stats including misleading stats and key rushing numbers to provide you more insight and information you can bet on during the 2025 college football season.

Point of attack play and rushing numbers have greater disparity in college football with more uneven matchups that pro football. You’ll see some significant advantages along the line of scrimmage, and huge point spreads. Keys in handicapping are finding matchup edges while also understanding power ratings and point spreads and trying to find value. Motivation and situational handicapping come into play, but if you can determine who will have big edges in running the football and/or stopping the run, it will increase your odds of cashing more tickets.

That’s because over the past five years, college football teams that outrush their opponent by at least a 2/1 margin (double-rushers) have covered the point spread at just under 79% ATS. That’s from a sample size of more than 1,500 games and results with the past 20 years producing nearly 76% ATS results for those positive double-rushers. Last year those double-rushers covered at a 78% ATS clip.

I also like to look for teams that are more balanced and efficient on offense that produce ‘200 club’ offenses, or teams that both run and pass for 200 yards or more, or close to those numbers, especially rushing. Those teams can be more difficult to defend and especially for top-level teams that have quality quarterback play and passers who can execute. Quarterbacks who are dual threats can put pressure on defenses with their arm or legs, and hopefully their mind to make good decisions and protect the football.

An example I like to reference and a live underdog I identified and bet was Clemson in the 2019 national championship game which I posted in Forbes. The Tigers, with freshman QB Trevor Lawrence, had beaten 10 bowl teams that year while outgaining them by 236 yards per game. Clemson also had an elite, dominant defense with a powerful, balanced offense running and passing at a very rare 250+ yards per game for more than 500 yards per game total offense. Clemson went on to win in a route over Alabama and hobbled QB Tua Tagovailoa 44-16.

So as the season progresses, analyze these rushing and offensive stats, along with run defenses, and adjust for opponents, strength of schedule and matchups. Do your best to find some value in the betting line while recognizing strength of schedule, opponents faced and how stats are accumulated. Many of these powerful teams and rushing attacks will be favored more heavily, but through experience and research, you’ll identify additional edges and identify matchups that will tip the scales in your favor with powerful point of attack play.

In some of the early season mismatches like No. 2 Penn State vs. Nevada in Week 1, you’ll see significant edges in the trenches that will allow one team to dominate at the point of attack. Same for some power conference teams matched-up against FCS opponents.

So stats can be misleading based on competition and opponents, and that’s part of the handicap in identifying how stats were gained and strength of schedule along with matchup analysis.

Top Position Units

Check out my power conference links above along with Mountain West for teams position units ratings for each conference. I’ve added more below from Pro Football Focus and Phil Steele’s college football preview.

Top Offenses

Pro Football Focus ranks the top-10 offenses ahead of the 2025 college football season. Offensive line rankings in parentheses.

1. Clemson (10)
2. Penn State (11)
3. Texas
4. Alabama (1)
5. Florida (4)
6. LSU
7. Notre Dame
8. Texas A&M (3)
9. Ohio State
10. Oregon (5)

Phil Steele’s college football preview ranked the top offensive lines.

1. Penn State
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Texas A&M
5. Florida
6. Miami
7. Utah
8. Iowa
9. Alabama
10. Oregon

Next: Boise State, Auburn, Ohio State, Texas Tech, SMU, Indiana, Louisville, Wisconsin, Illinois, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Baylor, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Rutgers, Florida State, Arizona State, Iowa State, USC, Kansas, Nebraska, Army, Oklahoma.

Top Defenses

Overall top defenses with PFF’s top defensive line rankings in parentheses.

1. Alabama (2)
2. Texas (10)
3. Clemson (1)
4. Georgia (7)
5. Penn State (5)
6. Notre Dame
7. Oregon
8. Ohio State
9. Texas A&M
10. Texas Tech (3)

Top defensive lines from Phil Steele include:

1. Oklahoma
2. Clemson
3. Penn State
4. Notre Dame
5. Michigan
6. Alabama
7. Texas Tech
8. Iowa
9. Texas
10. Florida

Next: Miami, Geogia, Ohio State, Duke, Indiana, Texas A&M, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Tennessee, Northwestern, LSU, Illinois, Auburn, Florida State, Ole Miss, Kansas State, Arizona State, Tulane, NC State, Utah, Missouri, Virginia Tech, USC, South Carolina.

More matchups, stats, updates and biggest early season games to follow including a Top 25 pick in the No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State game in my coverage at OSGA with information you can bet on.

You can bet on it.