All Power 4 team returning starters. PSU tied for 5th most.

[LudicrousSpeedGO!]

Now returning starters doesn't analyze the quality of those starters, the talent that was waiting for their shot, or depth, but I do like that we are tied for 5th in returning starters amongst teams in the final poll from 2024. Other very seasoned teams with a shot are Arizona St, Boise St, Alabama, Clemson, Illinois, and Iowa St. What I show below is the final rankings from 2024 and Power 4 returning starters on each side of the ball.

College football returning production for 2025 season: List of starters coming back for every Power Four team

While splash transfer additions eat up offseason headlines, continuity is still paramount in college football

www.cbssports.com

 

[Sherriff Coffee]

Jumping out are Clemson, Alabama, ASU and Illinois.

 

[LudicrousSpeedGO!]

Jumping out are Clemson, Alabama, ASU and Illinois.

Agreed. I can see ND with 11 returning being a tough out. Ohio St and Texas are going to stay in playoff contention with 9 returning, a small drop off likely. Oregon and Georgia could stumble a little but will still be ranked. Indiana and Ole Miss may not end up ranked. Arizona St, Illinois, and Boise may make some noise and I could see all 3 with playoff potential. Tennessee is likely to hang around. Clemson and Alabama are likely playoff bound. Iowa St could surprise as a top 10 team.

Not listed, Michigan with 13 returning will likely be ranked decent by end of year. They may even take out Ohio St again this year which would be hilarious. Texas A&M may actually be ranked decent with 15 returning. Maybe Florida or Missouri makes a move with 13 returning.

 

[Sherriff Coffee]

Agreed. I can see ND with 11 returning being a tough out. Ohio St and Texas are going to stay in playoff contention with 9 returning, a small drop off likely. Oregon and Georgia could stumble a little but will still be ranked. Indiana and Ole Miss may not end up ranked. Arizona St, Illinois, and Boise may make some noise and I could see all 3 with playoff potential. Tennessee is likely to hang around. Clemson and Alabama are likely playoff bound. Iowa St could surprise as a top 10 team.

Not listed, Michigan with 13 returning will likely be ranked decent by end of year. They may even take out Ohio St again this year which would be hilarious. Texas A&M may actually be ranked decent with 15 returning. Maybe Florida or Missouri makes a move with 13 returning.

I don't think many of those teams have the horses overall to really contend. Boise, for example, lost a once-in-a-generation RB in the same frame as Saquon. That will be tough to recover from. tOSU has some great young QBs, but even the best young QBs make mistakes at critical times. Ole Miss as well.

I think Clemson will be tough with a great returning QB. We'll see how Allar improves but I don't think it will be a ton. He really improved between his SO and Jr seasons but he has now started, what, 26 games? I think the improvement there has to be at the WR level. Teams that did well last year had very experienced QBs. I honestly like Illinois as the breatkout team this year. I think the B1G will be PSU, Oregon, tOSU and Illinois.