Who our 28 college football staffers believe will win the national title (Texas?), the Heisman (not Arch?) and more, plus bold predictions.

This might be the year of the quarterback, but it's hard to say who might rise to the top. Arch Manning is inexperienced, and the crowd is pretty stacked. That's why The Athletic is predicting that the Heisman Trophy winner won't be a quarterback at all.

Another commonality: Almost all of these players are on preseason top-25 teams. The Heisman Trophy winner is often a leader on a team that played for its conference championship or is bound for the College Football Playoff. The past two winners (Hunter in ’24 and Jayden Daniels in ’23) were rare exceptions.

Notre Dame is expected to contend for the championship again in 2025, and if they come close, it will likely mean Love is in the running for the Heisman. A couple of injuries limited Avery Johnson in his sophomore season in the Little Apple, but there was still plenty to love about the dual-threat quarterback.

Over the last 8 months, there have been countless media members, personalities, and just people that know ball proclaim that Jeremiyah Love is the best running back in college football. In 2024, Love was outstanding for the Irish over the course of 16 games gaining 1362 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns.

CBS Sports and 247Sports took on a similar task of naming each preseason top-25 team's top Heisman candidate in May. Lagway was the natural pick with better odds before his injury woes became a headline. He ranked 10th, one spot ahead of Miami (via Georgia) quarterback Carson Beck.

Matt Leinart is not sugarcoating things about Lincoln Riley ahead of the 2025 college football season. Leinart was interviewed by “The Escapist” for a story published on Tuesday. In the interview, Leinart said that Riley is on the hot seat.

Auburn will retire its Heisman Trophy winning QB Cam Newton's No. 2 jersey on Oct. 11 in a ceremony during the Tigers' rivalry game against Georgia.