The 2025 college football season will be remembered as one of the most chaotic, thrilling, and transformative years in the sport’s history. With the expanded 12-team playoff structure fully in gear, the stakes were higher, the upsets more frequent, and the narratives more dramatic than ever before. While the year was filled with unforgettable plays, one story towers above the rest, the miraculous rise of the Indiana Hoosiers, who capped a perfect season with their first-ever national championship. Here are the best moments and defining storylines from the 2025 college football season.
Eight Defining Moments of the 2025 College Football Season
8. The “Pop-Tart” and Mascot Mayhem
College football remains the best sport for absurdity, and 2025 did not disappoint. Bowl season highlights included Snoop Dogg catching a kickoff in his own bowl game and a Pop-Tart mascot “escaping its fate” by jumping out of a giant toaster. Additionally, in a wild scene, a Stanford player (Jay Green) scored a scoop-and-score touchdown right in the middle of an interview with former Cardinal great Andrew Luck, who stopped talking to cheer on the score.
7. Alabama’s Lateral Catch
No road team had won in Athens, Georgia, in six years until Alabama accomplished the feat in a 24-21 thriller, punctuated by a viral moment involving offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor. The 6-foot-7, 366-pound lineman caught a screen pass that technically counted as a rush and ran over multiple Georgia players to advance the ball to the two-yard line, a play that perfectly encapsulated the “never-say-die” attitude of the 2025 Crimson Tide.
6. Arch Manning’s Statement Play
Texas quarterback Arch Manning showed his star potential early, delivering one of the most exciting plays of the season on the very first snap against Vanderbilt. Manning connected with Ryan Wingo on a 75-yard swing pass for a touchdown, setting the tone for a crucial 34-31 win that proved to be a turning point in the Longhorns’ season.
5. The “12-Team Playoff” Chaos
The expanded playoff created immediate, high-stakes drama. The biggest shock occurred when No. 10 seed Miami upset the defending champion and second-seeded Ohio State in the quarterfinals, ruining a huge amount of the nation’s bracket challenges. Miami’s rise was powered by a season-opening win over Notre Dame, which featured a last-minute 47-yard field goal by Carter Davis, a kick that, in hindsight, proved crucial for their playoff berth.
4. Lane Kiffin’s Dramatic Exit
The SEC delivered its customary off-field drama when, shortly before the College Football Playoff, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin decided to leave for LSU. The move, which shocked the college football world, was highlighted by images of Kiffin boarding a private plane while leaving his dry cleaning behind in Oxford, a moment that quickly became an iconic, if messy, representation of the modern college football era.
3. Texas A&M’s Historic 27-Point Comeback
In a game that defined the insanity of the 2025 season, Texas A&M erased a 30-3 halftime deficit against South Carolina at home to win 31-30. Prior to this game, SEC schools were 0-286 when trailing by 27 or more in a conference game since 2004. The Aggies, led by quarterback Marcel Reed, scored four unanswered touchdowns in the second half to keep their playoff hopes alive, ultimately finishing with a 11-1 regular season record.
2. Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Moment
The face of Indiana’s historic season was quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who secured the Heisman Trophy with stellar play throughout the season. His defining moment came in a crucial November matchup against Penn State. Trailing 24-20 late in the fourth quarter, Mendoza led an epic game-winning drive, ending with a clutch 3rd-and-goal touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. to seal the victory. Mendoza would go on to seal the national title over Miami with a stunning fourth-quarter touchdown run on fourth-and-4, solidifying his legacy.
1. Indiana’s Historic 16-0 Undefeated Season
Under head coach Curt Cignetti, Indiana completed a 16-0 season, becoming only the second team in major college football history to achieve a 16-0 record, matching a feat last accomplished by Yale in 1894. The Hoosiers’ season was a relentless march of 20-plus point wins, including a 63-10 destruction of Illinois. Cignetti, who won Coach of the Year honors, turned a program long considered a “joke” into a national powerhouse, culminating in a dramatic 27-21 win over Miami in the CFP National Championship game.
Summary of the 2025 Season
The 2025 season will be defined by the end of a “century of futility” for Indiana and the rise of a new era of unpredictable, thrilling matchups enabled by the 12-team playoff. From record-setting performances, such as Curry College running back Montie Quinn’s 522-yard rushing day, to the dramatic coaching changes and elite-level trolling (like Brutus Buckeye crossing out the “M” in a snowy Michigan stadium), the 2025 season was truly one for the history books.
Main Image: © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
