Drama, coaching firings, and historic moments define the 2025 college football season

The 2025 college football season concluded with a reshaped landscape as storied programs fell and unexpected contenders surged into the national spotlight.

Legendary commentator Lee Corso, 90, made his final appearance on "College GameDay," signaling the end of an era for the sport’s premier pregame show.

On the field, the season was defined by the improbable rise of Miami and Indiana, who both defied expectations to reach the national championship game.

The year saw significant turnover among high-profile coaches. Mike Gundy departed Oklahoma State after 21 seasons, while LSU fired Brian Kelly despite his 34-14 record.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin remained a central figure in the news cycle, as he was linked to four different coaching vacancies while simultaneously leading the Rebels through the playoffs.

In the individual awards, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy. A former two-star recruit, Mendoza’s victory drew a negative reaction from Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, who later issued an apology for his remarks.

The season was further marked by high-profile rhetoric from the sidelines, featuring notable statements from Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Colorado’s Deion Sanders.

The 2025 college football season represents a decisive structural shift in the American sporting landscape, marking the definitive end of a long-standing traditionalist era. The departure of foundational figures—most notably veteran commentator Lee Corso and tenured coaches like Mike Gundy—signals more than a mere personnel change; it reflects the dismantling of the cultural framework that has defined the sport’s public consumption for decades.

This season’s narrative arc was defined by a systemic disruption of established hierarchies. The Heisman Trophy win by Fernando Mendoza, an unheralded prospect, serves as a significant indictment of the elite scouting and ranking industrial complex that typically dictates player valuation. Mendoza’s ascent, mirrored by the championship appearances of Indiana and Miami, suggests a democratization of the sport’s power structure, challenging the historical hegemony of "blue-blood" programs and providing a new proof of concept for mid-tier institutional growth.

However, the 2025 cycle also underscored the sport’s evolution into an increasingly volatile commercial and political theater. High-profile coaching controversies involving Lane Kiffin and Brian Kelly, alongside unprecedented executive intervention by the Governor of Louisiana into LSU’s recruitment operations, reveal the deepening entanglement of college athletics with state-level interests. Far from being a mere collegiate pastime, the sport has solidified its status as a multi-billion dollar enterprise and a critical lever of regional identity and political capital in the United States.

For many Vietnamese Americans, particularly the first generation, the fervor surrounding college football often feels worlds apart from the soccer matches of their youth. Yet, the gridiron remains a cornerstone of American social life and a vital pathway for cultural integration, especially in the university towns of the South and Midwest. Stories of resilience like that of Fernando Mendoza resonate deeply within our community—a community that understands the grit required to succeed in a new land. Whether discussed over bowls of phở in Little Saigon or shared between generations, these narratives of perseverance bridge the gap between our heritage and the broader American experience, proving that the drive to overcome is a universal language.