College Football Power Flex Rankings: Updated Top 25 (Week 1, 2025)

Mike Synan / 6 months
September 2, 2025
4
4 min read

College football in the state of Florida is back! Since Florida State won the title in 2014, college football in the state of Florida has been a pretty sad state of affairs. After week one of the 2025 season, Sunshine State teams are flexing their muscles, led by a resurgence in Tallahassee and Miami.

Florida State put an absolute whuppin (OK, I admit that’s not a real word) on pre-season top 10 Alabama. That FSU won was not the headline, it was the way they won. The Seminoles completely dominated an Alabama team of 5 star recruits on both the offensive and defensive lines, punishing them repeatedly with bone crushing blocks and tackles. Clearly, bringing in Gus Malzahn to be the Offensive Coordinator has worked. The Seminoles rushed for 230 yards and held the Crimson Tide to just 87 yards on the ground. That’s a manhandling on both sides of the ball. If you are an FSU fan, you have to feel like the team is back, and that the 4 new starters on the offensive line are a complete success, as is new quarterback Thomas Castellano. The Seminoles were one of the most impressive teams I saw over the weekend, and the rankings will reflect that.

Miami also wants to be back. Perennially they are proclaimed as back and end up falling on their face. What makes me feel like this year could be different is what I saw in the trenches with the Hurricanes. The team has NFL level talent on their offensive and defensive lines and it showed in a 28-24 win over Notre Dame. Carson Beck was efficient at quarterback after transferring in from the University of Georgia, and new receiver CJ Daniels made what may end up being the touchdown catch of the year with a one-handed grab.

I would be remiss in talking about the state of affairs with football in Florida without mentioning the resounding victory USF had over ranked Boise State to kick off the season in front of a national TV audience. The 34-7 rout was a sure sign that Coach Alex Golesh is moving the team in the right direction.

SYNAN SAYS TOP 25 FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 2ND

LSU (1-0) – I saw nothing more impressive than winning at Clemson by shutting them out in the 2nd half
FLORIDA STATE (1-0) – Physically whipped Alabama
OHIO STATE (1-0) – Offense has a long way to go, defense is top notch
MIAMI (1-0) – So far, so good Carson Beck
TCU (1-0) – man did they shellack Bill Belicheck’s UNC team
AUBURN (1-0) – impressive road win at Baylor
SOUTH CAROLINA (1-0) – team needs a lot of work, but handling VT on a neutral field is impressive
USC (1-0) – they scored a whopping 73 points vs. new FBS school Missouri State
OLE MISS (1-0) – Ga. State is not great, but the Rebs did hang 63 on them
USF (1-0) – Bludgeoning Boise gives them this spot
IOWA STATE (2-0) – win over Kansas St. less impressive this week
TENNESSEE (1-0) – new QB Joey Aguilar stepped right in against Syracuse
GEORGIA (1-0) – Look like they want to run the ball like Georgia normally does
UTAH (1-0) – hard to tell how good win at UCLA is
CALIFORNIA (1-0) – went to Corvallis and waxed Oregon State
VIRGINIA (1-0) – beat perennial bowl team Coastal Carolina 48-7
PENN STATE (1-0) – let Nevada score late, but they’re still a top team
GEORGIA TECH (1-0) – QB Haynes King is for real. Questions about the rest of the team
NEBRASKA (1-0) – winning at Cincinnati gets them ranked for now
TEXAS (0-1) – lost at #3 by one score, they’re still good
ARIZONA (1-0) – whipped Hawaii that has already beaten Stanford
CLEMSON (0-1) – made it inside the 20 to tie the game in the 4th, but not enough running against LSU
NOTRE DAME (0-1) – gave Miami everything they had
KANSAS (2-0) – convincing wins over mediocre teams
WASHINGTON (1-0) – will be gone as soon as teams like Florida and Oregon play someone, anyone!

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Author

Mike Synan

After two decades in news and politics, Mike Synan is returning to his roots to write Sports as “The Sportsaholic”. Mike hosted a talk show for 6 years on WDBO after Magic home games called “Magic Til Midnight”, and spent years working as an in-game correspondent for both ESPN and Fox Sports Radio. His column “Synan Says” has appeared on both www.wdbo.com and www.floridadaily.com. He has a BS in Political Science from Clemson University. You can reach him at msynan@sportsmail.com

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