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2025 Purdue Football Predictions: Boilermakers Ranked 99th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Purdue Football Predictions: Boilermakers Ranked 99th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 10:24 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Purdue lands in my Ultimate 136. Purdue ranking: 99 Last year's ranking: 88 Top player: RB Devin Mockobee: Led Purdue with 138 rushes for 687 yards and 4 TDs; also caught 17 passes for 170 yards and 1 TD. [Purdue's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: Purdue will be better, but that's not saying a lot for a team that didn't beat a single FBS team last year. And after a year like that, you need to bust the program down to the studs and build something totally new. So, Purdue hired a program builder in Barry Odom. Odom flipped UNLV from a program that was looking like a longtime loser — eight straight losing seasons before he arrived — into a College Football Playoff contender in 2024 with its first double-digit winning season since 1984. ADVERTISEMENT The bet here is that Odom might be able to do what Curt Cignetti did at Indiana last year, but that will not be easy. Purdue plays Notre Dame, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana in Odom's first year. [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] Purdue Win Total Odds: Over 3.5 (+194) Under 3.5 (-245) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Purdue Boilermakers share
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2025 Northwestern Football Predictions: Wildcats Ranked 55th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Northwestern Football Predictions: Wildcats Ranked 55th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 10:17 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Northwestern lands in my Ultimate 136. Northwestern ranking: 55 Last year's ranking: 75 Top player: QB Preston Stone: Threw for 3,197 yards in 2023 at SMU, fourth-most in the ACC and 26th in FBS; appeared in seven games with four starts for SMU last season. [Northwestern's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: Former South Dakota State offensive coordinator Zach Lujan will partner with former SMU QB Preston Stone and look to improve an offense that was among the worst in the Big Ten last year. Stone will be throwing the ball to former South Dakota State WR Griffin Wilde this year, but can they produce points for a team that opens the season with two of their first three games against Tulane and Oregon? ADVERTISEMENT [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] Northwestern Win Total Odds: Over 3.5 (-192) Under 3.5 (+154) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Northwestern Wildcats share
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2025 Minnesota Football Predictions: Golden Gophers Ranked 69th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Minnesota Football Predictions: Golden Gophers Ranked 69th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 10:12 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Minnesota lands in my Ultimate 136. Minnesota ranking: 69 Last year's ranking: 72 Top player: DB Koi Perich: Two-way player who played in all 13 games as a true freshman; he is the only FBS freshman to have recorded more than 100 punt return yards, 100 kick return yards and 5 interceptions in a season since at least 1976. [Minnesota's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: Off the rip, seeing the Golden Gophers must travel to Ohio State, Oregon and Iowa makes the schedule one that isn't exactly friendly. But it is not so diabolical that they play Michigan or Penn State this season. ADVERTISEMENT Given that P.J. Fleck has won eight or more games in three out of the last four years, it's within reason to believe the Gophers can reach that mark again. But no one in Minneapolis should be under the impression that Minnesota will find its way into the College Football Playoff's top 25 for the first time in six years unless Fleck catches lightning in a bottle. A lot will be riding on Drake Lindsey, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound redshirt freshman QB who hasn't lost a game he's started since 2023 — when he was a junior in high school. [Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here] Minnesota Win Total Odds: Over 7.5 (+130) Under 7.5 (-155) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Minnesota Golden Gophers share
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2025 Texas State Football Predictions: Bobcats Ranked 85th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Texas State Football Predictions: Bobcats Ranked 85th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 9:44 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Texas State lands in my Ultimate 136. Texas State ranking: 85 Last year's ranking: 55 Top player: OL Tellek Lockette: Started 17 games in two seasons at ULM and 13 games for Texas State last season; in 2023, had the fourth-highest pass block grade among all Sun Belt guards. [Texas State's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: Fresh off of a decision to leave the Sun Belt and join the Pac-12, GJ Kinne's Bobcats are looking to improve on their back-to-back eight-win seasons. They'll have three men to choose from at quarterback in Nate Yarnell (Pitt), Keldric Luster (SMU) and former four-star signal-caller Holden Geriner (Auburn). ADVERTISEMENT Though Kinne is likely to call plays as the new offensive coordinator, it wouldn't surprise me to see five-year assistant Landon Keopple get a shot at doing that with so many new pieces around after losing last year's starter at QB, three of their best receivers and three starters on the offensive line. Defensive coordinator Dexter McCoil will hope to get a double-digit sack season out of EDGE Kalil Alexander while breaking in 19 transfers on defense. [ Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here ] Texas State Win Total Odds: Over 7.5 (+134) Under 7.5 (-164) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Texas State Bobcats share
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2025 James Madison Football Predictions: Dukes Ranked 50th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 James Madison Football Predictions: Dukes Ranked 50th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 9:34 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where James Madison lands in my Ultimate 136. James Madison ranking: 50 Last year's ranking: 39 Top player: RB Ayo Adeyi: Only played two games last season due to a season-ending injury, but totaled 1,824 rushing yards and 10 rush TDs from 2022 to 2023. [JMU's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: If Alonza Barnett retains the starting job, it's not hard to see the Dukes continuing to be offensively exceptional. Barrett threw for nearly 2,600 yards with 26 touchdowns and just four interceptions last season before suffering a leg injury against Marshall. Along with a healthy Adeyi, a 1,000-yard rusher at North Texas in 2023, head coach Bob Chesney has the tools to put up points in the Sun Belt. ADVERTISEMENT Chesney also tooled up with 13 defensive transfers, including five out of the FCS and former Notre Dame defensive Aiden Gobaira. If EDGE Xavier Holmes and linebacker JT Kouame-Yao can notch double-digit tackles for loss in the "Little SEC" like they did at Maine and D-II Shepherd, respectively, expect the Dukes' defense to be tough. [ Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here ] James Madison Win Total Odds: Over 8.5 (+108) Under 8.5 (-132) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football James Madison Dukes share
