This article dives into a way-to-early projection for the top 25 teams heading into the 2023-24 football season.
1. Georgia
Georgia is coming off back-to-back National Championships. That is something we haven’t seen since Alabama did it a decade prior. Georgia has had a lot of off-season action so far. Players leaving, players coming in, coaches being looked at for NFL positions, and even tragedy. With all that being said, I believe Georgia very well could be the best team in the country again next season. It will come down to who can fill Stetson Bennett’s shoes. Will it be Carson Beck? Brock Vandagriff? Or maybe even Gunner Stockton? We’ll find out soon enough.
2. Michigan
I have the Wolverines above the Buckeyes right now for three reasons. First of all, Michigan returns their quarterback. Secondly, Harbaugh and Michigan have beaten Ohio State two years in a row now, and lastly, the game next season is in Ann Arbor. Jim Harbaugh and Blake Corum returning next season give Michigan fans a lot of hope for 2023. They have made the CFP two years in a row and have won the Big Ten two years in a row. They will have another offseason with JJ McCarthy and I see him improving even more. I am high on Michigan going into next season.
3. Ohio State
The Buckeyes recently lost their star QB C.J. Stroud to the NFL draft and they will need to replace him. Kyle McCord and Devin Brown will most likely be the two competing for the job. Both will be helped out by an elite receiver core who, besides JSN, will all be back. I think Ohio State will be fine and will be very good in 2023. They just need to figure out how they beat Michigan.
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4. Alabama
Alabama is another team that will be looking to replace a very good quarterback. Heisman winner Bryce Young is going to the NFL and Jalen Milroe or Ty Simpson will most likely take the starting job. Milroe got to play some last season and has a lot of work to do if he wants to be the starting QB at Alabama. Simpson is a former five-star from Tennessee and was the third-best quarterback in the country according to 247. We haven’t really seen anything from him yet, but I am very interested to see how he does.
5. USC
USC is one of the few top teams that is actually returning their quarterback, and it happens to be last year’s Heisman winner, Caleb Williams. He and Lincoln Riley led the turnaround last season and look to build on that going into next year. USC has nine four-stars and two five-stars coming in next season to help with that as well. I see them taking another step forward in Riley’s second season and they might even make the CFP this time around.
6. LSU
LSU came out of nowhere and made the SEC Championship last season. They did this in Brian Kelly’s first season and with a transfer quarterback. That transfer happens to be Jayden Daniels and he is coming back next season. LSU will get a week one rematch with the next team in my top 25 and I see them competing with Alabama for the SEC West again.
7. Florida State
Mike Norvell brought a ten-win season back to Tallahassee for the first time since 2016, and they’re just getting started. They return QB Jordan Travis, RB Trey Benson, and WR Mycah Pittman, so the offense will be clicking. On defense, they return a couple of linebackers and DB Akeem Dent. They need to pick up the pace a little in 2023 recruiting, but other than that, it is a good time to be a Seminole fan.
8. Penn State
Penn State only lost two games last season, and they were to Michigan and Ohio State. They went out there and did everything they needed to in those other eleven games, including a Rose Bowl blowout vs Utah. Former five-star QB Drew Allar will be taking over this season and that has a lot of Nittany Lion fans excited. If they can get over the hump and beat the Wolverines and Buckeyes, then Penn State should be a Playoff team.
9. Tennessee
Tennessee will lose star quarterback Hendon Hooker but are optimistic about Joe Milton. Milton, the Michigan transfer, looked really impressive in the Vol’s route of Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Even if he doesn’t work out, they have incoming five-star freshman quarterback, Nico Iamaleava backing him up. If they can improve on defense, then this could be a team competing for a playoff spot again in 2023.
10. Clemson
The Tigers round out the top ten. They recently made a splash when Dabo went out of character and hired an assistant from outside of the program. They grabbed TCU’s Garrett Riley to serve as their offensive coordinator. It also looks like Clemson might finally be utilizing the transfer portal. If Swinney can start using the tools everyone else is, then Clemson could be back to where they were from 2015-2020.
The rest of my top 25 looks like this…
11. Utah
12. Notre Dame
13. Washington
14. Texas
15. TCU
16. Oregon
17. Kansas State
18. North Carolina
19. Ole Miss
20. Oregon State
21. Tulane
22. South Carolina
23. UCLA
24. Mississippi State
25. Troy
There are obviously a lot of variables and things that can happen between now and fall, that’s why this is a way-too-early top 25. This is just my rankings if I had to pick right now.
