What if college football hit the reset button and kicked off in the spring instead of the fall?
No long summer camp to iron things out, no full season to grow into form—just a quick turnaround and straight into the fire. In that world, the teams that are already locked in, experienced, and ready to roll would have a serious edge. Forget potential. This isn’t about ceiling—this is about who’s already built to win right now.
Some programs are breaking in new quarterbacks. Others are adjusting to coaching changes or dealing with key departures to the NFL. But a handful of teams return loaded rosters, established leaders, and systems that are already humming. So if we threw the ball out today and played a spring season, who’s in the driver’s seat for the College Football Playoff?
Let’s take a look at the most "ready-made" teams in the country—the ones best built to thrive today if the season started tomorrow.
Who would make the College Football Playoff if the season started today?
Let's start by predicting the conference champions and noting who wil likely be in the running:
ACC
If you're talking about teams that have the most returning production, Clemson ranks at the top of that list. The Tigers return Cade Klubnik, one of the deepest wide receiver units in the country, and they've added Tom Allen as defensive coordinator. As far as other contenders, it doesn't feel like Miami would be ready yet. SMU and Louisville could be options, but we'd favor Kevin Jennings — even with a whole new host of playmakers — ahead of Miller Moss learning a new system.
Big Ten
Ohio State will be a contender come fall, but Julian Sayin still has a lot to learn, even with Jeremiah Smith at wide receiver. The most experienced and "ready made" team, at least in my opinion, is Penn State with Drew Allar and those returning running backs. In addition, Illinois looks like a team ready to make some noise. Oregon and Michigan are breaking in new quarterbacks, but they'd still have to be considered here just because of talent.
Big 12
The Big 12 feels like a three-team race heading into the 2025 season, especially if you were considering this scenario. Arizona State, Texas Tech, and BYU are the three most experienced teams — when you factor in talent, as well — in the conference. The Red Raiders don't just return most of their production from last season, but they also brought in a ton of talent from the Transfer Portal.
SEC
Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, as well as others like Florida, Texas A&M (71% returning production) and South Carolina will factor into the playoff conversation in the fall, but what about now in the spring? In this exercise, we tend to favor returning quarterbacks — and that means LSU (Garrett Nussmeier) and Tennessee (Nico Iamaleava) — would have the upper hand, and you might have to consider Florida (DJ Lagway) and South Carolina (LaNorris Sellers). Those QBs around bringing in a ton of new talent around them though, and that's why making picks in the SEC will be tough this season, regardless of when you make them. Proven commodities like Kirby Smart as a head coach shouldn't be overlooked, either.
Group of 5
Even though Boise State doesn't return Ashton Jeanty, the Broncos do have some of the highest returning production in the country heading into the 2025 season, and they'll be the favorite to win that Group of 5 spot, especially when you consider UNLV (Dan Mullen) is breaking in a new coach.
What would the 12-team College Football Playoff field look like?
Though it's tough to truly know, here's a look at how we'd sort through these teams if they were based on their spring forms, also taking into account the current playoff format.
Four Byes: 1) Penn State Nittany Lions 2) Clemson Tigers 3) Texas Longhorns 4) Arizona State Sun Devils
Penn State, Clemson, and Arizona State feel like the most experienced, returning commodities in their conference. The SEC, on the other hand, you could make an argument for a ton of different teams. We're giving the nod to Arch Manning because he's been in the program long enough, and when you combine him with Steve Sarkisian and those talented players on defense, you'd think that they'd be ready to make a run, even in the spring and even with the losses.
Round 1 matchups
5) LSU Tigers vs. 12) Boise State Broncos
6) Ohio State Buckeyes vs. 11) Texas Tech Red Raiders
7) Notre Dame Fightingi Irish vs. 10) Alabama Crimson Tide
8) Illinois Fighting Illini vs. 9) Georgia Bulldogs
Are these my picks for the College Football Playoff when it's catually played this fall? No. But, if you are basing things off of experience, coaching production, and potential right now, you have to believe that these teams would be right in the thick of things for the spring. It also shows just how much parity there could be this coming season with so many big programs having to replace key parts.
We went with some proven commodities in the field — like Kirby Smart, Marcus Freeman, and Ryan Day — and looked at some of the top talent — like Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame) and Ryan Williams (Alabama) — when taking into account our selections, as well.
The good news for those who aren't in this field? The season isn't played in the spring and coaches have a full offseason — including the rest of the spring and summer — to get their teams ready.