Barstool Breakdown Coach Day's Playoff Bracket Projection & End of Year Squads

The college football regular season has come to a close, what a bittersweet moment as it means we are again so close to no more football times. Yet also we are building up to conference championships, bowl games, &... the PLAYOFF! With only the conference clashes left before we get the actual bracket, I will not be producing the full 25 rankings but instead a projected bracket. I will then follow it up with Coach Day's Heisman winner & All-Squads for the 2025 season.

As we look at the projected bracket, this still has so much change that can occur here, this is my prediction though after this weekend’s games. With Ohio State at #1 I think they will take the Big 10 chip & claim the top spot. Though I think it could be closer than people think & this will keep Indiana at 2.

This also will hold true with the SEC championship, as UGA will take a close game over Alabama thus keeping the Tide in the playoff with 3 losses over a 2-loss Miami, BYU (who will lose in the Big 12), & Vanderbilt. Also unfortunately for James Madison fans, Virginia should be able to get past Duke to seal their berth.

As for the other at-large spots, unless we see Duke & BYU win this weekend, Notre Dame & Oklahoma should be safely in. Now those two wins could switch it all up putting some fear into the hearts of Irish & Sooners fans. Lastly we have to wonder if Alabama loses by 3 or more scores, being their 3rd loss... does the committee turn to a Miami, BYU, or Vandy? Before you say this weekend has no juice, just sit back & think about how many things are still on the table.

Next with the regular season over, the season awards are going to start trickling out, whether it be All-Americans, All-Conference, or the big national awards. Instead of getting into each award I have come up with some All-Squads of the 2025 season & my Heisman winner.

I'm going to ease into this thing with the Group of 5 teams’ All-Squads, this would be all the players who stood for college football "mid-majors." While yes many look down upon the smaller schools & with NIL many times these guys get poached, we still have so many gamers at this level.

Coach Day’s 2025 ALL-OFFENSE G5 Squad

The offensive squad is led by the team who has a shot to get into the playoff this weekend with a win. The QB & RB duo from North Texas has shined all year & if they choose to leave will be two of the higher sought-out players in the portal, though they could follow their coach to Oklahoma State as well.

San Jose State WR Sophomore Danny Scudero is another name to look out for this offseason as he is undersized but found a way to show out in a tough year for his team. The same actually goes for TE Brody Foley who could go to the draft or decide to test the waters as one of the top TEs in the nation.

Coach Day’s 2025 ALL-DEFENSE G5 Squad

On the other side of the ball the standouts were hard to choose from as well with so many outstanding players in the Group of 5 ranks. New Mexico LB Jaxton Eck is one to highlight as he helped lead the Lobos to their best season in about a decade with 9 wins. He will be a name to watch, if he stays to continue to play for his dad or looks elsewhere for his senior year.

Coach Day’s ALL-DUDES To Know for 2026

Before we look at the National All-Offense & Defense of 2025, I wanted to give 5 names to know for the 2026 season. Some of you may already know these guys, or have at least heard their names in passing. While others could be a complete surprise. The Notre Dame QB Freshman CJ Carr has had a great season, but of course taken a back seat to the one-of-a-kind backfield for the Irish. Next season look for Carr to be the leader of the squad primed to let it loose.

For the next few names though I may be getting into the weeds as they say, starting with RB Owen Allen of Air Force, as he could be the next name to know from the service teams. Already he flashed his abilities in small doses this year, but he is primed to be the main piece of the backfield with QB Liam Szarka in 2026.

To finish up on the offensive side we have an OL in Gavin Broscious, yes this may be a little bit of a homer pick with the connection, but it also can be backed up. Broscious started or played the majority of snaps all season for Sparty. He could be the next Big 10 lineman you wanna know for your NFL teams.

The two defensive players also played their prep ball in Arizona, so seeing them firsthand gives me a little insider information. Kansas LB Jon Jon Kamara platooned in all season with their senior leaders & showed flashes of his potential, now the job looks to be his to take over. While Alex McLaughlin of Washington already proved his ability to not only defend in the Big 10, but be one of the nation’s best.

Coach Day’s 2025 ALL-DEFENSE Squad

Enough of the future though, who was it that showed they were the cream of the crop in 2025? Starting with the defense, hands down the 2 best defenders in the nation would be Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez & Ohio State’s Caleb Downs, as Downs is projected to be a top 10 pick in the spring by many.

Notre Dame CB Leonard Moore is primed to be high on draft boards in 2027 as well, as he followed up his fantastic freshman campaign with an even better 2nd year. He could be crucial to the Irish making another playoff run this season or next.

Coach Day’s 2025 ALL-OFFENSE Squad

On the offense, QB was a tough choice with 3 really sticking out as not only the best at their spot but possibly for the Heisman as well. The edge though went to Indiana's Fernando Mendoza; he was the most consistent & important to his team’s success. He also could be a great fit for the NFL in his future.

As for RB this was pretty simple in choosing Heisman candidate Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love, as his consistency was unmatched throughout the season. Even in the last game, in which he missed over half of it, he still managed 70 yards & a TD.

The other 3 spots we are going out west, as USC WR Makai Lemon & Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq were clear favorites as the best catchers at each of their positions. Both every week showed they were the best on the field hands down, they will be great at the next level for any team. For the OL we have Spencer Fano of Utah, as he was named an Outland Trophy finalist for his great season.

It's Heisman Time! You've seen the rankings all season, different players jump & fall in the rankings. Now the moment has arrived to finally choose the winner. This year was a difficult race as so many players looked to take control of the clear leader but soon followed it with lackluster performances. Or others made late runs with end-of-year pops. You see though it is a year-long award, who was the most consistent game in & game out? When it comes down to looking at who was there each week the answer came clear...

Love after week 1 was clearly the best player in the nation every week. He scored 21 touchdowns over his last 11 games including at least 1 in every game. While scoring all these touchdowns he racked up 1,552 all-purpose yards with only 3 games having less than 100 (one because of injury, he had 60 in the 1st qtr before missing most of the game). Now 1,500 yards may seem a little light compared to say Ashton Jeanty last year with 2,739. But when you see how Love had 171 LESS touches, averaging the same 6.9 yards a touch as Jeanty last season…

On top of all of this, in the midst of Love putting up numbers he passed the eye test with multiple big plays & highlight moments captivating the sport each Saturday, whether spinning, hurdling, or outrunning opponents to the endzone. ALL while not fumbling the ball once, and I don't mean a turnover, I mean no fumbles at all. This consistency, stats, & home run play ability all scream HEISMAN!

As I'm sure you are all excited as I am for the upcoming month of college football, as we get championships, trophies, bowl games, & playoffs. We are only a short 6 weeks from crowning a champion. With Ohio State as the leader who seems up against the field. The first domino to fall is Championship Saturday this week as it will shape the bracket we all will watch go down from the edge of our seats this holidays.