Finebaum: Alabama will beat Georgia in the SEC championship (0:36)Paul Finebaum says Alabama will prevail in the SEC title game, securing its second win over Georgia this season. (0:36)
Lane Kiffin was understandably the story of the Egg Bowl, but the coach’s prolonged employment decision didn’t really qualify as surprising for those who have followed his career.
You know who was a surprise? Trinidad Chambliss. Did anyone outside of Oxford, Mississippi, or Big Rapids, Michigan, where Chambliss starred for Division II Ferris State before transferring to Ole Miss, know the quarterback’s name entering the season?
Chambliss, who replaced injured starter Austin Simmons in September and never looked back, became one of the season’s most delightful surprises. He again displayed his talent and poise in the Egg Bowl, recording season highs for passing yards (359) and touchdowns (4) in Ole Miss’ 38-19 win over rival Mississippi State. Chambliss finished the regular season with 3,016 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, to go along with 470 rushing yards and six scores.
As the regular season wraps up, here’s a look at the latest Power Rankings and the biggest surprises among the top 25 teams. — Adam Rittenberg
At 11-1, there seems to be a consensus that if BYU loses to Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game, it won’t make the playoff — and that does seem to be the most likely scenario. But perhaps the Cougars deserve more consideration. If Steve Sarkisian can claim Texas being left out would be “a travesty,” what does that mean for an 11-win team that has lost to only one team — one that is capable of winning the whole thing? — Bonagura
Arvell Reese was merely a backup rotation player for the Buckeyes last season. This season, the edge rusher/linebacker has become a superstar. With 59 tackles and 6.5 sacks, Reese has wrecked opposing offenses. He’s in line to earn All-America honors — and suddenly is a virtual lock to go high in the first round of the next NFL draft. Ohio State boasted the No. 1 statistical defense last season on the way to winning the national championship. This season, its defense is even better — and Reese’s emergence is a major reason why. With Saturday’s 27-9 win at Michigan, Ohio State has become the first team since Florida’s 1975 team to give up only 16 or fewer points in each of its first 12 games, according to ESPN Research. With Reese joining fellow linebacker Sonny Styles, defensive end Caden Curry and reigning All-America safety Caleb Downs, the talented Buckeyes have a championship-caliber unit again. — Jake Trotter
Gunner Stockton, for all his talents, seems almost required to be underappreciated. His rise to QB1 this offseason was considered something of a risky bet, particularly after Georgia’s early exit from the playoff following Carson Beck’s injury last season. Stockton is soft-spoken and reserved, and even his best games tend to be overshadowed by other performances. And yet, to look back on Georgia’s 11-1 season in 2025, it’s impossible to say anyone has made a bigger impact than Stockton. It hasn’t always been pretty — that’s part of the experience, really — but it’s always been gritty and resilient and, at times, exhilarating. Stockton wraps the regular season with nearly 3,000 total yards, 28 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions, numbers that largely mirrored Beck’s 2024 season, only with fewer costly mistakes. — David Hale
The Ducks handled what was a tricky trip to end the season to Seattle with the proper amount of focus; they never trailed and beat rival Washington 26-14 to end their third straight season with at least 11 wins under Dan Lanning. Though it won’t be defending its Big Ten title from last season, Oregon heads into the playoff with an identity on offense that isn’t surprising, but the way it happened wasn’t as expected. Even though the Ducks were able to snag one of the top running backs in the transfer portal — Makhi Hughes — they have become an elite running team without him. Hughes is redshirting the season and Oregon has not missed him — Noah Whittington, Jayden Limar and dynamic freshmen Dierre Hill Jr. and Jordon Davison have been a force, totaling over 2,000 yards between them as well as 26 touchdowns. Quarterback Dante Moore has shown himself to be one of the top quarterbacks, but if the Ducks succeed in December and January, they will be fueled by their ground game. — Paolo Uggetti
When the season started, Trinidad Chambliss was a backup quarterback from Division II Ferris State just hoping for an opportunity. That moment came in Week 3, after starter Austin Simmons sustained a foot injury and could not play. Chambliss made the most of his start and never looked back, leading the Rebels to an 11-1 season and what should be their first at-large berth in the College Football Playoff. That Chambliss has been so good in his first season at the Division I level has been the biggest surprise at Ole Miss and one of the biggest surprises in college football. Especially since he was not pegged to start, and pundits thought Ole Miss would take a step back with Jaxson Dart off to the NFL draft. Chambliss ranks fourth in the SEC with 3,016 yards passing, throwing 18 touchdown passes to only three interceptions. — Andrea Adelson
The Aggies were picked to finish eighth in the preseason SEC media poll, then reeled off an 11-1 regular season in which they were in contention for the SEC championship game until a final, devastating loss to Texas, of all teams. The season qualifies as a bit of a surprise, with an explosive offense that was a vast improvement over 2024’s, which ranked 50th in scoring offense. This season, Marcel Reed, along with Mario Craver and KC Concepcion, stretched the field, the team averaged 36.3 points (16th) and Reed had a breakout season, second in the SEC to Diego Pavia with 35 total touchdowns. Obviously, in a 27-17 loss to Texas to end the season, the Aggies came back to earth with Reed being held to 180 passing yards and no touchdowns and two interceptions, and adding 71 yards rushing. But the playoff looms for the Aggies, and they get another chance to rewrite an ending to a dream season. — Dave Wilson
Two games into the season, Notre Dame’s playoff hopes seemed dead and buried. The idea that an 0-2 team would run the table to claw its way back into the playoff picture didn’t really seem worth considering. So, from that standpoint, the Irish’s current position — at 10-2 with a good chance of being selected for the playoff — is surprising. But anyone who has watched Notre Dame play over the past several weeks understands this is a team not only worthy of selection, but capable of making a deep playoff run. — Kyle Bonagura
Though the Commodores returned Diego Pavia at quarterback, there were not many believers headed into the season. Vanderbilt was picked to finish 13th in the SEC preseason media poll. But the surprise of the season is the team itself. Pavia reached an even higher level, leading Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season in program history and potentially securing a spot for the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York next week. Vanderbilt also won a school-record six SEC games, beat Tennessee for the first time since 2018 and also took down LSU and Missouri. Pavia ranks second in the SEC with 3,192 yards passing — a single-season school record — and also ran for 826 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. He now ranks fourth on the school career list for total yards. — Adelson
There was lots of optimism around the Longhorns this season as a first-time preseason No. 1. Still, upon inspection, the offense was going to be a bit of a mystery, with Arch Manning, a first-time starter, and wholesale changes at offensive line and wide receiver. What wasn’t expected was the midseason swoon on defense. True, the Horns lost Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba in the secondary, but Michael Taaffe, an All-American returned as well as several talented corners. Texas was able to right the ship in time to pull off a big win over No. 3 Texas A&M in Austin, grabbing two fourth-quarter interceptions after pressuring Marcel Reed all night in a 27-17 win. But looking back at the season, the 97th-ranked passing defense’s struggles against DJ Lagway, who had his best game of 2025 for 3-9 Florida in an upset of Texas, could prove to be the breaking point in Texas’ playoff hopes. — Wilson
After the initial playoff rankings were released, it seemed possible that if enough results went in Utah’s favor, the Utes could back their way into the playoff, but it didn’t play out that way. The margin between Utah and the playoff was slim. Consider this: In the Utes’ only two losses of the season, they led in the fourth quarter (against BYU) and trailed by three in the fourth quarter (Texas Tech). Still, even if the Utes lose their bowl game, they are almost guaranteed to finish as a top-20 team, which would be the fourth time in the past eight years. — Bonagura
The Cavaliers went from one of the worst rush offenses in the ACC to one of the best this season thanks to one of the best transfers they signed: running back J’Mari Taylor from NC Central. Taylor walked on at NC Central in 2020 just hoping for a chance, and when he transferred to Virginia this past offseason, the hope was that he would help the Cavaliers run the ball more consistently. He did that and more, finishing with 997 yards rushing in the regular season to lead the ACC. He is the first Virginia running back to lead the conference in rushing since Antwoine Womack 25 years ago. Thanks to Taylor’s dominance on the ground, Virginia was able to have more balance with its offense, and that allowed the Cavaliers to make it the ACC championship game — one win away from making their first CFP appearance. — Adelson
Lincoln Riley’s team has started slowly in every big game it has played this season. In the case of losses to Illinois, Notre Dame and Oregon, the Trojans were not able to overcome that flaw. But in every other game this season, including in Saturday’s season finale against UCLA in which they trailed 10-7 at half, they have been able to find another gear in the second half to win. The Trojans showed progress this season compared to a 7-5 record in 2024, primarily because they became a very good second-half team — not the case last season — and were able to win most of their close games. Now, at 9-3, is that enough to satisfy the caliber of program USC portends to be? Until Riley gets the Trojans to the College Football Playoff, the answer is probably no. — Uggetti