CMU football team to start new season, picked to finish second in conference coaches’ preseason poll

PITTSBURGH — The Carnegie Mellon University football team is set to begin the new football season.

Entering their first season in the Centennial Conference, the Tartans were picked to finish second in the conference’s 2025 Football Coaches Preseason Poll.

The Tartans got 42 points and one first-place vote in the poll conducted among Centennial Conference head coaches. Johns Hopkins University, the two-time defending champion, was selected as the favorite with 48 points and six first-place votes.

The Tartans will kick off their 2025 season on the road Sept. 6 against the University of Chicago, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. This is CMU’s first meeting against Chicago since head coach Ryan Larsen took over four years ago.

Carnegie Mellon last played the University of Chicago in 2016 and won 37-24. Historically, the Tartans hold a 22-7 advantage in the series against Chicago.

2025 Centennial Conference Football Preseason Poll

1. Johns Hopkins (6 first-place votes): 48

2. Carnegie Mellon (1): 42

3. Ursinus: 33

4. Franklin & Marshall (1): 32

5. Muhlenberg: 30

6. Dickinson: 18

7. Gettysburg: 13

8. McDaniel: 8

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