What's ahead in 2025 for Notre Dame, UConn and the Pac-2?

Army and Navy are successful the AAC. Liberty and New Mexico State landed successful Conference USA. UMass decided to caput backmost to the MAC. Sacramento State's efforts to go an FBS autarkic aren't moving out. In a year, Oregon State and Washington State volition beryllium members of a afloat stocked Pac-12 again. (They aren't truly indies now, either, but I'm putting them successful present due to the fact that I didn't privation to constitute a two-team league preview.)

The indie enactment has thinned retired importantly successful caller years. It looks similar we'll beryllium down to Notre Dame and UConn by adjacent year, and, 1 of these years possibly those perpetual "UConn to the Big 12?" rumors volition really carnivore fruit, too. Regardless, these 4 teams bring loads of storylines to the table. Notre Dame mightiness beryllium much loaded this play than it was during past year's earlier-than-expected tally to the nationalist rubric game. UConn has restocked aft past year's thrilling (and alternatively retired of nowhere) nine-win campaign. Oregon State's roster has stabilized aft a tumultuous 2024, and Washington State is attempting a implicit civilization transplant.

Let's preview 2025's independents (and the last two-team Pac-12)!

Every week done the summer, Bill Connelly volition preview different FBS conference, yet including each 136 FBS teams. The previews volition see 2024 breakdowns, 2025 previews and team-by-team capsules. Here are the MAC, Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt and AAC previews.

2024 recap

We had a batch of crippled lines moving present contempt a tiny fig of teams. In their archetypal play aft watching 10 league mates (and a clump of players) depart the Pac-12, Wazzu and Oregon State started beardown and collapsed; the erstwhile started 8-1 and finished 0-4, portion the second started 4-1 and finished 1-6. Wazzu past mislaid its caput manager and astir of its stars arsenic well.

Meanwhile, retired East, Jim Mora was engineering UConn's champion play successful 14 years portion fending disconnected each sorts of transportation portal vultures. Per SP+, the Huskies fielded their champion defence since 2015 and their champion discourtesy since 2009, and aft a beauteous wide regular-season divided -- 0-4 against powerfulness league teams, 8-0 against the Group of 5 -- they capped a nine-win run with a 27-14 Fenway Bowl thumping of North Carolina.

Oh yeah, and Notre Dame reached the nationalist rubric game. The Fighting Irish had their enactment extent tested importantly -- lone 1 violative oregon antiaircraft lineman started each 16 games -- and passed with flying colors. After a shocking nonaccomplishment to NIU successful Week 2, they had to triumph retired to scope the CFP and did so, and past they bushed Indiana, Georgia and Penn State earlier a midgame lull successful the finals resulted successful a 34-23 nonaccomplishment to Ohio State. It's hard to find caller firsts to execute successful South Bend, but Marcus Freeman got to cheque the "Notre Dame's archetypal 14-win season" box.

Continuity table

The continuity array looks astatine each team's returning accumulation levels (offense, defence and overall), the fig of 2024 FBS starts from returning and incoming players and the approximate fig of redshirt freshmen connected the roster heading into 2025. (Why "approximate"? Because schools sometimes marque it precise hard to ascertain who redshirted and who didn't.) Continuity is an progressively hard creation successful roster management, but immoderate teams propulsion it disconnected amended than others.

For a title-game finalist, Notre Dame's continuity is beauteous impressive. Freeman didn't person to bash a ton of portal enactment due to the fact that his Irish instrumentality 10 starters from 2024, positive loads of part-timers and immoderate cardinal wounded returnees (namely, near tackle Charles Jagusah and antiaircraft extremity Jordan Botelho). He plumped up extent astatine receiver (a necessity) and successful the antiaircraft enactment and secondary, but helium stayed in-house to find a replacement for backmost Riley Leonard. If that proves to beryllium the close call, the Irish volition contend again.

Elsewhere, UConn managed to debar getting completely plucked isolated by the aforementioned vultures, and portion Wazzu is starting astir wholly from scratch, Oregon State has encouraging continuity heading toward the fall.

2025 projections

Notre Dame's docket is simply a unusual one: The Irish play projected top-15 teams successful each of the archetypal 2 weeks (at Miami successful Week 1, past Texas A&M successful Week 2) but don't play different projected Top 25 squad for the remainder of the year. If they're genuinely a title-caliber squad again, the Irish could roll, but each sorts of onshore mines await -- astatine Arkansas, Boise State, USC, Navy, astatine Pitt -- if their attraction drifts.

Out West, OSU and Wazzu did thing I enjoy: They arranged a home-and-home. They'll look disconnected successful Corvallis connected Nov. 1, past again successful Pullman connected Nov. 29. (Personally, I deliberation they should marque it a best-of-three and play connected a neutral tract implicit Championship Week if they divided the archetypal 2 games. Put it successful Las Vegas. Call it the "Pac-12 Championship.")

Notre Dame's docket spot volition beryllium impacted greatly by however bully teams similar Arkansas and Boise State crook retired to be, but astatine this infinitesimal the Irish are 1 of the surest playoff contenders connected the board. Start 1-1, and you're successful large signifier from there. And portion UConn does person immoderate roster holes to fill, a docket featuring 9 opponents projected 91st oregon little successful SP+ should marque a 3rd vessel travel successful 4 seasons beauteous likely.

Five champion games of 2025

Here are the 5 games involving independents that diagnostic (a) the highest combined SP+ ratings for some teams and (b) a projected scoring borderline nether 10 points.

Cal astatine Oregon State (Aug. 30). With 7 games projected wrong a touchdown oregon less, Oregon State's play could spell successful rather a fewer antithetic directions; the Beavers commencement retired with 2 of those games, some astatine home. If they're 2-0 erstwhile they caput to Texas Tech successful Week 3, they could beryllium connected their mode to a beauteous campaign. If they're 0-2, well...

Notre Dame astatine Miami (Aug. 31). The single-digit request means that lone 1 Notre Dame crippled shows up connected this list. Even against Texas A&M successful Week 2, the Irish are favored by 10.2. But this Week 1 conflict is enormous. With a caller backmost and caller defense, Miami is going to beryllium a talented enigma close retired of the gate. If the Irish past this challenge, their CFP likelihood skyrocket.

Washington astatine Washington State (Sept. 20). With erstwhile South Dakota State caput manager Jimmy Rogers taking implicit (and bringing tons of erstwhile Jackrabbits with him), Wazzu volition beryllium fascinating to follow. The Cougs volition person a mates of decent tests earlier this Week 4 matchup, but the Apple Cup volition beryllium Rogers' archetypal large trial to beryllium his carnal individuality is taking hold.

Houston astatine Oregon State (Sept. 27). Trips to Texas Tech and Oregon are apt to nutrient 2 OSU losses, which means that this 1 volition correspond the authoritative commencement to Act II of the Beavers' season. They could beryllium 3-2 aft the Houston game, but they could besides theoretically beryllium 0-5.

Duke astatine UConn (Nov. 8). Even if UConn struggles with an astir wholly caller starting defense, the docket is benignant capable that the Huskies are ne'er projected double-digit underdogs. Even Duke, the 3rd of 3 ACC opponents and the champion projected squad connected the schedule, volition sojourn East Hartford arsenic lone astir an eight-point favourite here.

CFP contenders

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Head coach: Marcus Freeman (fourth year, 33-10 overall)

2025 projection: sixth successful SP+, 10.5 mean wins

Of the apical 7 teams successful the existent SP+ projections, lone one, No. 3 Penn State, returns its starting quarterback. For that matter, lone 3 of the apical 13 teams do. This is portion of the crushed for what I consciousness is the comparative offseason overhyping of Clemson -- backmost Cade Klubnik is the proverbial vertebrate successful manus adjacent though he's ne'er ranked higher than 13th successful Total QBR.

It's worthy remembering, however, that six of the apical 7 successful Total QBR past twelvemonth (and 10 of the apical 12) were first-year starters astatine their schools of choice. The vertebrate successful manus is lone preferable until we cognize which of the caller guys is awesome.

CJ Carr mightiness beryllium awesome. The Saline, Michigan, merchandise -- and grandson of erstwhile Michigan caput manager Lloyd Carr -- was a top-40 enlistee and the No. 2 pouch passer successful the people of 2024. He is by astir accounts super-smart with a super-strong arm, and helium was coagulated capable this outpouring that a) Marcus Freeman didn't consciousness the request to marque immoderate benignant of hopeless post-spring portal QB acquisition and b) 2024 backup Steve Angeli work the penning connected the partition and transferred to Syracuse.

Carr (or, theoretically, sophomore Kenny Minchey) is 1 of the astir important players of the 2025 play successful that, if he's good, Notre Dame mightiness not person a azygous weakness. For starters, the Irish volition person Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price (combined: 1,871 rushing yards, 24 TDs) backmost astatine moving back. Love is the champion returning yards-after-contact backmost successful FBS; lone Boise State's Ashton Jeanty and Miami's Damien Martinez topped him successful 2024, and they're some present successful the NFL.

At receiver, CFP semifinal leader Jaden Greathouse is backmost successful the slot, and portion Freeman added less transfers than most, helium did nab Malachi Fields (Virginia) and Will Pauling (Wisconsin), each of whom averaged much yards per way tally than immoderate Notre Dame receiver not named Greathouse. The violative enactment overcame rampant injuries and utmost inexperience to play astatine a precocious level precocious past season; it mislaid 2 starters to the portal, but that was successful portion due to the fact that others, similar Charles Jagusah and halfway Ashton Craig, were apt to commencement implicit them. The defense, meanwhile, returns 12 of the 20 players who saw 200-plus snaps past play and welcomes 2023 starting extremity Jordan Botelho and perchance high-value transfers similar tackle Jared Dawson (Louisville) and nickel DeVonta Smith (Alabama).

In a way, Notre Dame's complaint to the 2024 rubric crippled came up of schedule, arsenic evidenced by the monolithic fig of cardinal returnees who are either juniors (Love, Price, Greathouse, Craig, close tackle Aamil Wagner, antiaircraft extremity Joshua Burnham, antiaircraft tackle Donovan Hinish, linebackers Drayk Bowen and Jaylen Sneed, cornerback Christian Gray) oregon sophomores (Jagusah, near tackle Anthonie Knapp, antiaircraft ends Bryce Young and Boubacar Traore, linebackers Jaiden Ausberry and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, cornerback Leonard Moore, information Adon Shuler). The passing crippled produced astir nary large plays of note, and the Irish had to trust connected agelong strings of error-free plays to people points, and contempt each the younker astir Leonard, they got it. And contempt having to commencement 20 antithetic guys astatine slightest erstwhile connected defense, they consistently delivered, particularly against the pass.

It was a seasonlong endorsement of what Freeman is gathering -- close down to however this inexperienced Irish squad responded to astir apt the azygous astir shocking effect of the season. And now, successful theory, this squad could proceed increasing and processing moving forward. As agelong arsenic it has a QB.

Well, a QB and a antiaircraft coordinator. With Al Golden moving connected to the NFL, Freeman replaced him with erstwhile Rutgers caput manager and Texas (among others) antiaircraft coordinator Chris Ash. Ash and Golden are awfully akin from a résumé position -- erstwhile up-and-comers, they were some comparative failures arsenic caput coaches who spent clip successful the pros earlier landing successful South Bend. But Golden's wide way grounds arsenic a caput manager and coordinator was a small spot stronger, and the past clip Ash was portion of either a top-10 NFL defence oregon a top-40 assemblage defence was 2015. Freeman's beingness assures a beauteous precocious floor, Ash volition person tons of amusive toys to play with, and Freeman has rapidly earned the payment of the doubt. But it was hard to emotion this hire.

The docket does contiguous 1 other obstacle: Not lone volition the Irish evidently request bully backmost play from an inexperienced player, but acknowledgment to the 2 champion projected opponents showing up successful the archetypal 2 weeks of the season, they'll request it immediately. This roster positively screams "major nationalist rubric contender successful 2026," but the Irish's presumption arsenic a 2025 contender volition beryllium determined by however rapidly Carr (or Minchey!) looks the portion and whether oregon not Ash tin instantly thrive.

Everyone else

UConn Huskies

Head coach: Jim Mora (fourth year, 18-20 overall)

2025 projection: 84th successful SP+, 7.4 mean wins

You're forgiven if you didn't spot this coming. Lord knows I didn't. Jim Mora's UConn tenure began with a monolithic surge from 1-11 to 6-7 successful 2022, but the underlying stats suggested it was awfully fluky, and the Huskies crashed to 3-9 successful 2023, past began 2024 with a 50-7 faceplant against Maryland.

Following that unspeakable travel to College Park, however, they ignited, winning 9 of their last 12 games, losing to 3 ACC teams (Duke, Wake Forest and Syracuse) by a combined 15 points and beating everyone other connected the docket. The discourtesy dealt with ups and downs but got implicit 2,200 rushing yards and 18 TDs from a trio of backs -- 1 of whom, Cam Edwards (830 yards, 5.7 per carry), returns -- and random large plays from receiver Skyler Bell (who besides returns). Under first-year coordinator Matt Brock, meanwhile, the defence fundamentally started and ended drives brilliantly: The Huskies ranked archetypal nationally successful three-and-out complaint (42.4%), 4th successful third-down conversion complaint allowed (29.1%) and eighth successful reddish portion touchdown complaint allowed (46.5%).

A batch of cardinal components instrumentality successful 2025: Mora, Brock, Edwards, Bell, quarterbacks Joe Fagnano and Nick Evers, 4 part- oregon full-time starting violative linemen and a brace of fantabulous DBs successful nickel D'Mon Brinson and sophomore country Cam Chadwick. But erstwhile a mid-major squad surprises successful the mid-2020s, the vultures rapidly commencement hovering. UConn mislaid 4 starters to powerfulness league transfers, including 3 from the dynamite D. In all, of the 13 defenders who started astatine slightest 4 games, Brinson and Chadwick are the lone returnees.

Mora tried to onslaught backmost the champion helium could successful the portal. He landed 26 transfers successful all, including smaller schoolhouse standouts similar moving backmost MJ Flowers (Eastern Illinois), 6-foot-7 violative lineman Hayden Bozich (Brown), antiaircraft linemen Marquis Black (Gardner-Webb) and Stephon Wright (Texas Southern) and corners Kolubah Pewee Jr. (Georgetown) and Sammy Anderson Jr. (Austin Peay). He besides mightiness person identified a imaginable inefficiency by searching for either guys who were semi-proven but injured successful 2024 -- receivers Naiem Simmons (USF) and Caleb Burton III (Auburn) -- oregon players similar receiver Reymello Murphy (Arizona/ODU), receiver Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman (Rice/Florida) and linebacker Bryun Parham (Washington/SJSU), multitime transfers who person fallen disconnected of different teams' radars aft nondescript 2024 campaigns.

Mora has been beauteous unfastened and absorbing regarding his thoughts connected the transportation portal, the loyalty of players and whatnot, and successful this progressively transient assemblage shot environment, he's made a batch of astute moves. The defence mislaid capable players that regression is conceivable, but a much experienced discourtesy (and replenished receiving corps) could prime up the slack, and determination are tons of imaginable wins connected the schedule. The outlook for this programme flipped quickly.

Oregon State Beavers

Head coach: Trent Bray (second year, 5-7 overall)

2025 projection: 73rd successful SP+, 6.6 mean wins

There are ever going to beryllium haves and have-nots successful assemblage football, but for a batch of us, it doesn't look similar excessively overmuch to inquire for immoderate semblance of fairness. If a programme invests and hires smartly and puts a beardown merchandise connected the field, it should beryllium rewarded with much oregon amended opportunities to beryllium itself, whether it is simply a historical powerhouse oregon not.

What happened to Oregon State and Washington State, then, volition ne'er beryllium peculiarly well. Jonathan Smith returned to his alma mater astatine a debased constituent -- OSU was 1-11 and 120th successful SP+ the twelvemonth earlier helium arrived -- and dilatory built it into a top-30 program. The Beavers won 18 games with an mean SP+ ranking of 23.5 successful 2022-23. They bushed Oregon and walloped Florida to decorativeness 2022 and bushed Utah (which past near for the Big 12), Cal (ACC), UCLA (Big Ten), Colorado (Big 12) and Stanford (ACC) successful 2023. And they were rewarded for this turnaround by losing their powerfulness league presumption ... and yet their caput manager and 19 starters, too. With erstwhile antiaircraft coordinator Trent Bray taking implicit successful 2024, the Beavers flashed violative imaginable and ran the shot well, but a decimated defence allowed astatine slightest 31 points 7 times and plummeted from 35th to 107th successful antiaircraft SP+. The Beavers' grounds fell accordingly.

While I tin whine astir fairness -- and boy, bash I! -- Bray doesn't person that luxury. He's tasked with winning games nary substance the situation, and helium mightiness person crafted a squad that tin bash truthful successful 2025. He held onto the offense's 2 champion players (running backmost Anthony Hankerson and wideout Trent Walker) and added erstwhile blue-chippers successful backmost Maalik Murphy (Duke) and choky ends Riley Williams (Miami) and Jackson Bowers (BYU), positive a fig of violative enactment transfers. On defense, helium added six transfers to a lineup that returns 14 of the 21 players who started astatine slightest once. Edge rusher Nikko Taylor (nine TFLs) is excellent, 345-pound elder tackle Jacob Schuster is simply a keeper and sophomores similar tackles Thomas Collins and Jojo Johnson, borderline rusher Zakaih Saez, nickel Sailasa Vadrawale III and country Exodus Ayers posted decent numbers successful tiny samples. There aren't immoderate no-brainer successes among the incoming transfers, but borderline rusher Walker Harris (Southern Utah) has the size to succeed.

As mentioned above, the docket offers tons of triumph opportunities but fewer guarantees. The Beavers are projected to triumph 6.6 games connected average, but acknowledgment to the precocious fig of adjacent games, they person some a 7% accidental of going 4-8 oregon worse and a 10% accidental of going 9-3 oregon better. If Murphy and Walker signifier a beardown rapport aboriginal on, and OSU gets past Cal and Fresno State to commencement the season, this could beryllium a beauteous amusive autumn successful Corvallis. Of course, the other is besides connected the table.

Washington State Cougars

Head coach: Jimmy Rogers (first year)

2025 projection: 82nd successful SP+, 5.6 mean wins

Wazzu's 2024 play didn't spell disconnected the rails the aforesaid mode that OSU's did. Despite losing backmost Cam Ward and astir of his accomplishment corps -- and contempt watching Ward damn adjacent triumph the Heisman and go the No. 1 prime portion astatine Miami -- Jake Dickert's Cougars really jumped to 22nd successful violative SP+ acknowledgment to a caller acceptable of stars similar backmost John Mateer and freshman moving backmost Wayshawn Parker. They bushed back-to-back powerfulness league foes, including Apple Cup rival Washington, during an 8-1 start, too. Defense and peculiar teams were some beauteous dire, which became peculiarly costly during 4 precocious losses, but they inactive improved by 3 wins. It could person been worse.

Of course, it past got worse. Dickert near for Wake Forest, and a whopping 60 Cougars yet entered the transportation portal, including Mateer (Oklahoma) and Parker (Utah). Only 3 returning Cougs started much than 2 games past season; this roster has been stripped to the studs.

It's been rebuilt with Jackrabbits. Former South Dakota State caput antheral Jimmy Rogers took implicit and yet brought 16 SDSU transfers with him. The occurrence of the SDSU programme and the measurement of incoming Jacks made Wazzu 1 of the sport's much interesting teams to maine this spring: "Running backs Angel Johnson, Kirby Vorhees and Maxwell Woods combined to unreserved for 1,403 yards astatine 7.2 per transportation astatine SDSU past year; they're each Cougs now. So are antiaircraft backs Tucker Large, Caleb Francl, Matthew Durrance and Colby Humphrey, who combined for 215 tackles, 14 TFLs, 7 interceptions and 20 breakups. This benignant of civilization transplant has produced some contiguous brilliance (Curt Cignetti's unthinkable Indiana turnaround successful 2024) and the nonstop other (Jay Norvell went conscionable 5-16 successful his archetypal 2 seasons astatine Colorado State aft bringing double-digit transfers from Nevada). A bully subordinate civilization is finicky and unpredictable, but if Pullman tin go Brookings West successful that regard, occurrence volition follow."

Walking done the caller Wazzu roster, presumption by position, there's plentifulness to like. Quarterback Zevi Eckhaus looked bully successful alleviation of Mateer past season, the SDSU moving backmost trio is perfectly dynamite, slot receiver Josh Meredith is simply a keeper, the violative enactment returns 2 starters and possibly New Mexico State's champion subordinate (guard AJ Vaipulu), the antiaircraft enactment welcomes 8 caller transfers (including possibly NMSU's second-best player, extremity Buddha Peleti), linebacker Keith Brown was a small-sample box-score filler past year, and the SDSU transplants successful the secondary should clasp up nicely. But there's so much turnover that SP+ isn't truly keeping the faith: The Cougs are projected to autumn to 82nd. That evidently comes with immoderate monolithic imaginable variance, though, and it wouldn't instrumentality overmuch overachievement to flip a batch of games from toss-ups to wins. This is going to beryllium a fascinating experiment.