Most of the offseason dust has finally settled as college football enters its (relatively) quiet summer period. The transfer portal is officially closed until December. Barring any surprises or scandals, coaching staffs are set. Programs wrapped up spring practice, meaning teams won’t formally take the field together again until fall camp.
With the chaos toned down, CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello ranked the top 25 teams in college football exiting the spring window. While the landscape will certainly shift between now and kickoff, it’s a solid gauge of where things stand three months out from August.
Now is a good time to assess the most important game on each top 25 team’s schedule. Week-by-week performance matters more than ever in the expanded College Football Playoff era, as the 12-team format creates more opportunities for at-large teams outside the top four.
It’s no surprise that most teams’ biggest games are against conference opponents, where high-profile matchups and traditional rivalries reside. But a few nonconference clashes also made the cut.
Here’s a look at each post-spring top 25 team’s most important game during the 2025 season.
Most important game: at Michigan (Nov. 29)
Could it be anyone else? Ohio State climbed to college football’s mountaintop last season, but still stumbled against Michigan along the way. The Buckeyes have now lost straight against their most despised rival and that streak is really the only bugaboo left haunting Ohio State coach…
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