The gap at the top of college football regarding results, resources, and expectations is enormous. The favorites to lift the national championship trophy are rightly at the top, but which teams outside of the Top 10 of the preseason AP poll could make a push?
The expanded 12-team College Football Playoff format has opened doors for programs to make the big show. Could one of these teams have a fairytale ending?
Here are five underrated teams that have a chance, however slim, of being national championship contenders.
South Carolina Gamecocks
To win a national championship, you must first make the College Football Playoff. South Carolina came tantalizingly close to doing so in 2024. The Gamecocks ended the season 9-3, winning their last six regular-season games, and entered Week 1 of the 2025 regular season ranked 13th in the AP poll.
QB LaNorris Sellers emerged as one of the most dynamic playmakers in the country and returns in 2025 as one of the top quarterbacks in college football after passing for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, while adding 674 yards and seven touchdowns rushing.
Expectations are that the South Carolina signal-caller will take another step forward in 2025.
The Gamecocks also return elite talent on defense. Dylan Stewart is one of the most exciting edge rushers in the sport, posting a 2024 PFSN College Edge+ grade of 87.86 as he registered 6.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for a loss in his freshman campaign.
According to PFSN’s strength of schedule metric, South Carolina has the 12th-toughest schedule in college football. This includes a five-game stretch that sees Shane Beamer’s program play five currently ranked opponents. But if the Gamecocks start the season as they ended the last, they will be contending in January.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Despite being ranked 12th in the AP poll, Illinois is still flying under the radar in national discussions. Under Brett Bielema, they return a wealth of experience and physicality that could see them make a charge in the Big Ten.
Luke Altmyer had a PFSN College QB+ grade of 80.3 and posted the best touchdown-to-interception ratio (3.7) among Big Ten quarterbacks in 2024. On the other side of the ball, edge rusher Gabe Jacas had a PFSN College Edge+ grade in 2024 of 84.38 as he ended the season with 13 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and eight sacks.
A favorable schedule sees Illinois face just two teams ranked in the current AP poll. They travel to Indiana on September 20 and host Ohio State on October 11. A two-loss Illinois squad can make the postseason, although potential upset threats against USC and Washington stand in its way.
The Fighting Illini went 10-3 last season, and a manageable schedule could see them make a run. Illinois doesn’t have the same elite talent on paper that Ohio State, Penn State, or Oregon possesses. But what they do have is physical dominance, a stout defense, and extensive experience.
Oklahoma Sooners
Ranked 18th in the AP poll, Oklahoma enters the 2025 season with serious firepower. The Sooners have added the highest-graded quarterback in the nation by PFSN’s College QB+ metric, John Mateer, as they look to resolve the offensive woes that plagued the program last season.
In 2024, the Oklahoma offense ranked 113th nationally, averaging 331 yards per game, but the additions of Mateer and new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who both arrive in Norman after their partnership at Washington State, should change everything.
For comparison, in 2024, the Cougars averaged 442.8 yards per game (16th in the FBS). With Arbuckle as his coordinator last season, Mateer threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns, adding 826 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
His dropback EPA (165.53) would have ranked second in the SEC, and his transition to the conference is one of the most compelling storylines for the upcoming season. Oklahoma faces the ninth-toughest 2025 schedule, but should make vast improvements in a wide-open SEC.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Backed by wealthy donors with deep pockets, Texas Tech has gone all out to attract a strong core of players to challenge for the Big 12 title in 2025. Utilizing the transfer portal to their advantage, Joey McGuire’s squad ranks among the favorites to win the conference, and if that comes to fruition, then a playoff run isn’t out of the question.
On offense, Behren Morton is expected to be the starting quarterback in Lubbock. Morton had a 2024 PFSN College QB+ grade of 79.3, and when protected, posted a dropback EPA of 127.50.
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Defensively, Texas Tech has added one of the top returning edge rushers in the nation, David Bailey, to its roster. Bailey (who posted an 82.28 2024 PFSN College Edge+ grade) ended the 2024 season as a dominant force, registering five forced fumbles, eight tackles for loss, and seven sacks, despite playing for a struggling Stanford squad.
Furthermore, the Red Raiders are buoyed by a favorable strength of schedule. The 23rd-ranked team in the AP poll has the 55th-toughest slate by PFSN’s metric, with only two teams currently ranked — Arizona State and Kansas State — on their schedule.
Utah Utes
Although this can be considered a long shot, Utah is a legitimate Big 12 title contender and is significantly overlooked heading into the 2025 season.
The Utes are currently unranked, but for how long? Only twice in the last 31 years has a team that started the season unranked failed to reach the Top 10 in the final AP poll. In the expanded playoff format era, anything is possible.
The quarterback was a big issue in Salt Lake City in 2024. Still, heading into 2025, Kyle Whittingham has landed Devon Dampier, one of the top rushing quarterbacks in college football, through the transfer portal, giving the offense a much higher floor.
With the New Mexico Lobos in 2024, Dampier rushed for 1,166 yards and averaged 7.5 yards per carry, the best mark of any returning player with over 100 attempts. He will have an elite offensive line to operate behind with Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano widely regarded as two of the top offensive tackles in the sport.
Utah ranked 123rd nationally in 2024 in red zone efficiency (48.7%), and the upgrade at the quarterback position alone has the potential to make all the difference.
