Rece Davis Reveals Who Might Be the Best Team in College Football

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jaron Spor | Last updated Apr 15, 2025 4:30 PM ET

The 2025 college football season is still several months away, but some national analysts are already making their predictions for the best team in the sport.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the defending national champions, while the Georgia Bulldogs recently won the SEC and secured back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. The Texas Longhorns are receiving a lot of attention after reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals in consecutive seasons. Meanwhile, the Oregon Ducks were ranked the top team for much of last season before losing in the quarterfinals against Ohio State.

Despite these impressive credentials, ESPN's Rece Davis mentioned on the "College GameDay Podcast" that he might consider another team for the top spot in his preseason poll.

"I'm thinking about putting Clemson, preseason No. 1," Davis said. ... "I'm not for sure going to do that. But, even if I did, I would have LSU, two or three."

The Clemson Tigers are generating a lot of excitement after making the College Football Playoff in 2024 for the first time since 2020. This offseason, they received a boost by retaining a significant portion of their production from last year's ACC champion team, returning 81% of their players, which ranks No. 1 in college football.

Clemson also boasts the top ranking in returning offensive production and ranks No. 7 in defensive production. They are the only team returning at least 80% of their production for the upcoming season.

On the defensive side, 13 of the 18 players who played over 200 snaps last season are returning, and they are adding a standout pass rusher in Will Heldt from Purdue. The offense returns eight starters, including quarterback Cade Klubnik and a trio of receivers: senior Antonio Williams and sophomores Bryant Wesco Jr. and CFP star T.J. Moore. Additionally, they expect to welcome back a fully healthy Tyler Brown; the freshman All-American from 2023 missed much of 2024 due to injury.

ESPN's Bill Connelly stated that Clemson, which ranked sixth or better in SP+ for six consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2020, has averaged a ranking of just 18.5 since then. However, the upcoming season offers the Tigers their best opportunity for improvement in the past five years.

Clemson starts the season on August 30 against LSU, which Davis considers a top-three team in college football.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: