Volume 22
- Cole Nadel
- Aug 23
- 4 min read
THE COLE TIMES
Vol.22 August 23, 2025
College Football Final Preseason Top 25
The Cole Times has comprised a list of the top 25 college football teams going into the season. This will be updated weekly throughout the college football season.
Texas
Penn State
Clemson
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Georgia
Oregon
LSU
Miami
Alabama
Arizona State
South Carolina
Oklahoma
Illinois
Florida
SMU
Michigan
Texas A&M
Indiana
Ole Miss
BYU
Tennessee
Kansas State
Texas Tech
Boise State
Other teams considered: Iowa State, Utah, Syracuse, Baylor, Tulane, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Louisville, Memphis, USC, UNLV, Army, Toledo, Louisiana, Florida State
Premier League Weekend 1 Recap
Defending champs Liverpool opened with a win on Friday.
Liverpool beat AFC Bournemouth 4-2 to kick the season off.
Aston Villa drew 0-0 with Newcastle United.
Ezri Konsa of Villa got a red card in the 66th minute.
Leeds United beat Everton 1-0.
Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham drew with a goal a piece
In their Premier League return, Sunderland got a 3-0 win vs. West Ham United.
Tottenham Hotspur got a nice win vs. Burnley 3-0.
Manchester City beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0.
Chelsea and Crystal Palace kicked off with a 0-0 draw.
Nottingham Forest got a satisfying 3-1 win vs. Brentford to start the season.
Arsenal got an early goal to win 1-0 vs Manchester United.
Premier League Power Rankings:
Liverpool
Manchester City
Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur
Nottingham Forest
Chelsea
Manchester United
Fulham
AFC Bournemouth
Brighton & Hove Alboin
Aston Villa
Newcastle United
Everton
Crystal Palace
Leeds United
Brentford
West Ham United
Sunderland
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Burnley
NL West Race
Last weekend, the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers met for a series, with the Dodgers sweeping the Padres. That put Los Angeles two games ahead of San Diego for the NL West lead. The Dodgers then split a four-game series versus the Colorado Rockies. The Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 in a four-game series. Friday August 22nd, the Padres beat the Dodgers 2-1. The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied for the NL West lead.
The Padres and Dodgers face each other only two more times this regular season– today and tommorow. The Cole Times projects the Padres and Dodgers to split this pair of games. That would put both of them at 74-57. If one of them were to win both games, they would hold a two-game advantage over the other team. The last two Padres vs. Dodgers regular season game are must watch TV. Today’s game is on FS1 at 8:40 pm ET.
The San Diego Padres have a projected record of 96-66.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a projected record of 96-66.
Padres most important remaining series:
Sat & Sun vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
If the Padres can win both of the games vs. Los Angeles, it would be a huge advantage.
Mon-Wed @ Seattle Mariners
The Mariners are a strong playoff contender. If the Padres can win the series, it would be a great boost of confidence. The Mariners will be playing great baseball. Seattle is one of the MLB teams with the most to play for in August and September.
Sep 22-Sep 24 vs. Milwaukee Brewers
A three-game home stint vs. the Brewers late in the season. The Brewers are the best team in the MLB, if the Padres can get one or two wins versus them, it would be great.
Dodgers most important remaining series:
Sat & Sun @ San Diego Padres
If the Dodgers can get the two games vs the Padres, it would be a great booster for the final stretch of the season.
Sep 15- Sep 17 vs. Philadelphia Phillies
The NL East leading Phillies are a great test for the Dodgers. A series with a World Series hopeful this late in the season could determine if the Dodgers win the NL West.
Sep 18- Sep 21 vs. San Francisco Giants
Four games vs your most-hated rival, after one of your toughest tests of the season, in late September– sign the Los Angeles Dodgers up. The Giants could be playing their best ball of the campaign vs. the Dodgers in late september. Los Angeles will be coming off what could very much be their most mentally and phisically draining series of the season. The Giants could be in the playoff race. Who knows how well San Francisco will be playing? The Dodgers need to be ready for the Giants.
Sep 26- Sep 28 @ Seattle Mariners
You end the season with a team most likely on their A-game, very motivated, and you’re coming off of the Phillies, Giants, and Diamondbacks. No thanks! Heres the deal: the Seattle Mariners will be on their A-game– they have a lot to play for. The Dodgers will be coming off of the Diamondbacks, a division rival. It will be make or break for the Dodgers in their last three games of the season up in Seattle.
Injury Report:
Dodgers:
Max Muncy and Heysong Kim will both be out for the games vs. San Diego. Muncy and Kim will return for the playoffs, which is big, but not helpful for the series versus San Diego.
Roki Sasiki is out for the remainder of the season.
Padres:
Jackson Merill is day to day. Merill should return soon, which will be great for San Diego
Michael King will be out for a couple weeks, but should be good to go come the postseason
Joe Musgrove will not return from the IL this season.
The Cole Times is torn between who to predict to win this race.
It will be a tight race and could end tied, but there has to be a winner.
As of now The Cole Times is predicting the Padres to edge out the Dodgers.
This could very easily change.
College Football Game of the Week
Week 0
Iowa State vs. Kansas State
Iowa State and Kansas State kick the season off in Dublin, Ireland. The Wildcats and Cyclones are both top contenders in the Big 12. This will be a great early season game.
#23 Kansas State
Kansas State did not do what was expected of them last season. The Wildcats and quarterback Avery Johnson hope to rebound.
Iowa State
Iowa State is building off of a 10-win season. The Cyclones hope it is only up from here. This will be a great test to see how Iowa State performs.
