Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt just dropped his list of the 10 games that will make or break the 2025 college football season. This isn’t speculation anymore. With three preseason top 4 teams now completely unranked, the playoff picture has exploded into pure chaos. These aren’t just big games. They’re win or go home, season defining, career making elimination matchups that will separate contenders from pretenders. These are the college football playoff elimination games that everyone has been anticipating.
Texas and Penn State: Backs Against the Wall
Saturday’s Red River Showdown represents life or death for Texas. The Longhorns started the season as the preseason number 1 pick. Now they’re gasping for air after losses to Ohio State and a humiliating beatdown at Florida. Everything fell apart in the swamp. The offensive line got dominated. Quinn Ewers made terrible decisions. The whole operation looked broken.
Oklahoma rolls into Dallas undefeated and ranked in the top 5. Rumors suggest quarterback John Mateer might return from hand surgery. If the Chipotle rumor proves true and Mateer plays, Texas could be finished. A third loss eliminates them. Period. No 9 and 3 team is making this playoff, especially not one that collapsed this badly in what could be considered their college football playoff elimination game.
Penn State faces an even grimmer reality on November 1st. The Nittany Lions must travel to Ohio State and do something they’ve never done. Beat the Buckeyes in Columbus. Win a top 10 matchup under James Franklin, who hasn’t accomplished that feat since 2016. They started the season ranked number 2 with national championship dreams. Now they’re one loss away from total disaster in another pivotal elimination game.
“This is do or die for Penn State. All of those expectations preseason could be over after this week.” – Joel Klatt
USC visits Notre Dame on October 18th in what amounts to Marcus Freeman’s last stand. The Fighting Irish already have 2 losses. Another one ends everything. Notre Dame’s remaining schedule looks soft with Boston College, Navy, Pitt, Syracuse, and Stanford all beatable. But USC represents their toughest challenge. Lincoln Riley needs this win too after that Illinois disaster cost them momentum in their own race to avoid elimination.
The Oklahoma Grenade and SEC Chaos
Klatt introduced a wild concept about Oklahoma’s role as the SEC grenade. If the Sooners are real, they’ll eliminate every contender one by one. Texas this week. Tennessee next. Alabama on November 15th. Missouri and LSU after that. Their schedule features every major SEC playoff contender. These college football playoff elimination games will determine the SEC’s fate.
But here’s the twist. If Oklahoma splits those 6 brutal games and finishes 9 and 3, they knock everyone else out too. Nobody survives that chaos. Everything depends on John Mateer’s health. Their defense ranks second in the nation. The defensive line dominates weekly. But without Mateer throwing brilliantly, they become too one-dimensional. They can’t run the ball well enough to win with average quarterback play.
Tennessee quietly lurks with only 1 overtime loss to Georgia. They nearly won that game on a missed field goal. A victory at Alabama on October 18th launches the Volunteers into serious playoff contention. Texas A&M travels to LSU on October 25th needing a win to hit 75 percent playoff probability. The Big 12 sorts itself out that same weekend when Texas Tech visits Arizona State.
Indiana needs a signature road win at Penn State on November 8th. Their nonconference schedule hurts their resume despite that 53-point destruction of Illinois. And everything culminates November 29th when Ohio State travels to Michigan. The Buckeyes could be number 1 in America. But Michigan has won 4 straight in this rivalry. Even at 9 and 2, the Wolverines could be playing for a playoff spot in front of a delirious home crowd. This might be the ultimate college football playoff elimination game for both teams.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders underwent another medical procedure Tuesday for potential blood clots. After battling bladder cancer in the offseason, Coach Prime continues fighting health issues while leading his team. The entire sport stands behind him, hoping he can enjoy what he calls his calling and legacy.
