John Adams, Knoxville News SentinelMon, November 24, 2025 at 10:07 AM UTC·6 min readYou know your football team is having a good season when its coach achieves Bobblehead fame.
Indiana has unveiled a new Curt Cignetti Bobblehead, which comes with appropriate audio − Cignetti’s response when asked two years ago how he sold his vision to recruits. His message: “It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat's a good enough reason why the Hoosiers are No. 1 in my Big Ten/SEC top 25.
1. Indiana: The Hoosiers haven’t just been winning with offense. Their defense has allowed only 11.6 points per game.
Ball-hawking safeties are one of Indiana’s strengths. Safeties Louis Moore and Amare Ferrell have combined for eight interceptions.
2. Ohio State: The Buckeyes faced Rutgers without their top two wide receivers. But with their defense, they could have beaten Rutgers with no wide receivers.
Ohio State, which won 42-9, became the first team since 1987 to hold its first 11 opponents under 17 points. Rutgers was the seventh opponent to not score in double figures.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement3. Texas A&M: The unbeaten Aggies don’t have any obvious weaknesses. But they have come up short on takeaways.
Texas A&M has only three interceptions. Maybe, it's saving those for Texas.
4. Georgia: Aside from the top three teams, the Bulldogs have as much momentum as anyone. A big reason for that: Quarterback Gunner Stockton, who is stretching the field more with his throws and continues to enhance Georgia’s running game.
The Bulldogs defense is getting better, too. It has allowed just 13 points combined in the past two games.
5. Oregon: Southern Cal came along at just the right time for the Ducks, whose best win had been 18-16 over a four-loss Iowa team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Trojans were still in playoff contention until Oregon upended them 42-27.
6, Ole Miss: The Rebels’ drive for the playoffs has been overshadowed by LSU’s and Florida’s pursuit of coach Lane Kiffin.
A couple of relevant questions: Would Ole Miss allow Kiffin to keep coaching in the playoffs if he accepted a job elsewhere? Would either LSU or Florida be willing to wait for Kiffin to finish his playoff venture before hiring him?
7. Oklahoma: The Sooners’ playoff chances would be better if injured quarterback John Mateer hadn’t played against Texas, which won by 17 points.
Of course, that loss won’t matter if the Sooners can win at home against LSU on Nov. 29 and finish 10-2. And that's highly likely after watching Oklahoma beat Missouri, and LSU barely defeat Western Kentucky..
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement8. Alabama: The Tide couldn’t have been pleased that Auburn discovered a new running threat against Mercer. Freshman quarterback Deuce Knight gained 162 yards on just nine carries.
Oklahoma knocked Alabama out of the playoffs last November when quarterback Jackson Arnold rushed for 131 yards in Oklahoma’s 24-3 victory.
9. Vanderbilt: As good as the Commodores have been this season – and they have been historically good – they could be left out of the playoffs even if they finished 10-2. But if Alabama or Georgia posted the same results against the same schedule, do you believe they wouldn’t make the playoffs?
10. Michigan: The Wolverines won’t just be playing for another upset against Ohio State. With a 10-2 record and a win over No. 1 Ohio State, they could surge into the playoffs.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNever mind how dominant the Buckeyes have been this season. You know how dominant they haven't been recently against Michigan.
11. Texas: Arch Manning joined a long line of quarterbacks who have had a big performance against Arkansas’ defense. But points and yards will be harder to come by against Texas A&M, which held Samford to 77 yards in its 45-0 victory.
12. Tennessee: The Vols ended a 10-game losing streak in The Swamp with their victory over Florida. Their next assignment: Extend their six-game winning streak against Vanderbilt.
And for the first time, beating the Commodores will be more difficult than beating the Gators.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement13. Southern Cal: Too bad for the Trojans, they didn’t get Oregon in the Coliseum this season. They entered their game averaging 45.3 points per game but only 27.5 on the road.
They got another 27 points on the road but came up 15 points short.
14. Washington: The Huskies have scored 97 points in back-to-back wins over Purdue and UCLA, and quarterback Demond Williams has accounted for six touchdowns.
Putting that in perspective: The Boilermakers and UCLA rank 110th and 80th, respectively, in total defense.
15. Iowa: After back-to-back losses to Oregon and USC by eight points combined, the Hawkeyes appeared to be headed for another tough loss – but this time at the hands of Michigan State, which hadn’t won a game since Sept. 13.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIowa was up to the challenge, though. It scored 10 points in the last 90 seconds for a 20-17 victory.
16. Missouri: None of the Tigers' seven victories have come against teams who entered Nov. 22 play with a winning record.
17. Illinois: The Illini at 7-4 are fading down the stretch after opening the season with five wins in their first six games. They bottomed out in a 27-10 to Wisconsin.
18. Nebraska: The Cornhuskers made Penn State look like the playoff contender it was supposed to be in a 37-10 loss. The Nittany Lions outrushed them by 100 yards.
SEC POWER RANKINGS: Texas A&M tops, Oklahoma stops, Florida flops
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement19. LSU: The Tigers rarely have played a game with less fan interest than their 13-10 victory over Western Kentucky. Winning games isn’t nearly as important to LSU as winning the Kiffin sweepstakes.
20. Northwestern: There was nothing mysterious about why the Wildcats had lost three consecutive games heading into their game with Minnesota They had failed to score more than 22 points in a Big Ten game.
But their offense came up big in a narrow win over the Gophers. Quarterback Preston Stone had a career performance, completing 25 of 30 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns.
21. Minnesota: The Gophers hadn’t lost back-to-back games this season – until their defense decided to take the day off against Northwestern, which amassed 525 yards in a 38-35 win.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement22. Penn State: This has been a disastrous season for the Nittany Lions, who were expected to contend for the national championship. But they aren’t as bad as their 5-6 record.
Five of those six losses were by a total of only 16 points.
23. Auburn: The Tigers’ 5-6 record isn’t as important to some fans as Jon Sumrall’s 40-11 coaching record. Tulane’s coach is considered to be the Tigers’ top priority in their coaching search.
24. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are one win short of bowl eligibility. But upsetting Ole Miss would mean much more than qualifying for a bowl.
25. Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights proved they have improved since a 56-10 loss to Oregon. They lost to Ohio State by only 33 points.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJohn Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Indiana No. 1 in my Big Ten/SEC top 25 and so is Curt Cignetti
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