The 2025 college football season is officially over for the 13 FBS programs in the state of Texas. It was an historic year for the Lone Star State as five teams ended the regular season in the College Football Playoff rankings and two made the field for the second consecutive year. Ten of the 13 programs reached the postseason and five reached the double-digit win mark. 

Here is how we rank the teams at the conclusion of the year.

1. Texas Tech Red Raiders 

Texas Tech reached the College Football Playoff for the first time and claimed an outright conference championship for the first time since the 1950s in an historic 2025 campaign. The 12 wins was a program record. Joey McGuire is now 35-18 through four seasons in Lubbock and has the Red Raiders in position to be perennial Big 12 favorites because of the investments made into the program by Cody Campbell and others. Texas Tech was seventh in scoring offense and third in scoring defense in 2025. The only two losses on the season were on the road against Arizona State without Behren Morton and to Oregon in the Orange Bowl. 

2. Texas A&M Aggies 

The two-game losing streak to close the season shouldn’t override the 11-0 start that put the Aggies into the College Football Playoff for the first time in only Year 2 of the Mike Elko era. QB Marcel Reed was a Heisman contender for much of the season and wide receivers such as KC Concepcion and Mario Craver shined on offense. Defensive end Cashius Howell was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and the passing defense improved from 90th in the FBS in 2024 to 16th in 2025. 

3. Texas Longhorns 

Texas was a controversial admission from the CFP, missing it for the first time since 2022. The Horns lost three games but held some of the more impressive victories in college football this season by knocking off a pair of playoff teams in Oklahoma and Texas A&M, as well as SEC contender Vanderbilt. By the end of the season, QB Arch Manning had blossomed into the player many expected, passing for 3,163 yards, rushing for 399 more and accounting for 36 total touchdowns. 

4. North Texas Mean Green 

North Texas experienced its best season of the modern era by winning 12 games and reaching the American Conference Championship game. The Mean Green were a Tulane victory away from reaching the CFP in Year 3 under Eric Morris, who is now the head coach at Oklahoma State. QB Drew Mestemaker was the only player in the FBS to throw for more than 4,000 yards, RB Caleb Hawkins was the best freshman running back in America, and WR Wyatt Young was third in the country in receiving yards with 1,264. The defense improved dramatically under Skyler Cassity, tying for fourth in the FBS with 28 takeaways.

5. Houston Cougars 

The Year 2 Willie Fritz bump is alive and well as his Cougars went from four wins in 2024 to 10 wins in 2025, capped off by a bowl win over LSU in front of a hometown crowd. The Coogs added two new coordinators and dozens of new faces through the portal ahead of last season and each move paid off for Fritz & Co. Conner Weigman rejuvenated his career, accounting for over 3,400 yards of total offense and 36 total touchdowns. 

6. TCU Horned Frogs 

The Frogs won three straight to close the season, including a thrilling overtime win over USC in the Alamo Bowl to hit the nine-win mark for the second straight seasons. Sonny Dykes has now led TCU to at least nine wins in three of his four seasons. QB Josh Hoover was fourth in the FBS in passing yards per game with 289.3 while the offense averaged over 30 points per game. Three-point losses to Arizona State and Iowa State kept TCU from competing for the Big 12 title.

7. SMU Mustangs 

The Ponies entered the last week of the regular season with a shot to play in the ACC Championship game and reach the CFP for the second straight year but a loss to Cal ended those dreams. Two non-conference losses to in-state Big 12 foes – Baylor and TCU – colored the perception of SMU for most of the season, but wins over Clemson and Miami were important for the program’s momentum. SMU averaged over 32 points per game on offense but only Stanford allowed more passing yards per game on defense. 

8. Texas State Bobcats 

An early season win over rival UTSA gives Texas State the nod over the Roadrunners in the final Power Poll of the season. Both ended the year with identical 7-6 records and a bowl win. G.J. Kinne & Co. rallied from a five-game losing streak to start Sun Belt play to win their last four games, including their third straight bowl game. Next up is the Pac-12. 

9. UTSA Roadrunners 

The 2025 campaign was a mixed bag for Jeff Traylor’s program. The good news is that the Roadrunners reached a bowl game for the sixth straight season and that Traylor has still not posted a losing record in his career as a head coach. The bad news is that losses to Temple and Army kept UTSA from flirting with a double-digit win season. Losing to rivals Texas State and North Texas wasn’t pleasant, either. 

10. Baylor Bears 

Baylor finished the year under .500 for the third time in the last four years and for the fourth time in six seasons under Dave Aranda. The offense, led by QB Sawyer Robertson, was excellent for most of the season, finishing 34th in scoring with 31.1 points per game. It was Aranda’s defense that once again let down the Bears, allowing 32.6 points per contest, which was 122nd in the country and third worst in Texas ahead of only Rice and Sam Houston. 

11. Rice Owls 

The Owls did reach a bowl game thanks to a high APR and a few teams passing on the opportunity, including Baylor. Year 1 under Scott Abell was a success, however, as the new system looked better and better as the season went on. Improving from four wins to five wins doesn’t seem like much, but there was undeniable progress on South Main. 

12. UTEP Miners

The Miners beat Sam Houston so we’ll give them the nod in the final Power Poll of the season. Still, Year 2 of the Scotty Walden era was a disappointment considering UTEP possessed bowl hopes entering the year and other CUSA programs with new head coaches jumped them in the pecking order. The Miners are now 5-19 in two years under Walden as they head to the Mountain West. 

13. Sam Houston Bearkats 

Not a ton went right for Phil Longo in Year 1 as the head coach of the Bearkats but wins over Oregon State and Delaware late in the year offered some optimism for the future. As did the emergence of QB Landyn Locke as the starter. Sam Houston’s 17.8 points per game was the lowest in Texas and 127th in the FBS. The defense was even worse, checking in at 133rd in the country while allowing 37.8 points per contest.