SID Sports Preseason Top 25
How I view the 2023 season
Week Zero is here! College football is back!
As a new contributor for College Football Dawgs, I get a vote in their Top 25 rankings. It’s scored much like the actual AP rankings are: points are assigned by where a team lands on each person’s ballot. For example, a Number 1 vote is worth 25 points, a 2 vote is 24, and so on. The ballots are all tallied, and the final rankings are determined by how many points a school has.
With over 60 contributors, College Football Dawgs has a lot of polling, and should be able to form a solid poll. Here, we’ll only discuss my personal Top 25 ballot. If you want to see the full composite College Football Dawgs Top 25.
As a note, I base my rankings on each week. This is not a roadmap with ballot inertia coming in. Chances are Week 2’s Top 25 will look different than this. That’s because I evaluate the nation each week. I don’t care if I originally had a team in the Top Five and they stink, they’re getting dropped.
So, with that housekeeping out of the way, let’s get into my SID Sports Preseason Top 25.
Georgia
Georgia is the best of the best. Yes, there’s a quarterback change, but the Dawgs have Kirby Smart at the helm and have two straight national titles. Something major has to give on the field for Georgia to slip from the top spot.
Michigan
With Harbaugh’s off-field scandal leading most of the headlines this season, Michigan has a chance to make a run. They keep beating Ohio State, but were downed by the Hypnotoad in the playoffs last year. Look for J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum and company to have another strong season.Ohio State
Who’s the quarterback? And can he beat Michigan? They don’t have a particularly tough schedule, with Notre Dame being their toughest out-of-conference and getting Penn State at the Shoe. It’ll all come down to The Game in Ann Arbor.Alabama
We haven’t had this many questions around the Tide since Saban took over. Who’s the quarterback? What does the offense look like? Rest assured, Alabama will figure it out and be good.USC
Reigning Heisman trophy winner? Check. Star head coach? Check. A defense that can play up to championship aspirations? Uh, we’ll see. USC brought in a ton of defensive talent, but they need to actually perform for the Trojans to reach their first College Football PlayoffClemson
This is where we get into projection. I think Clemson looks good this year. Really good. Cade Klubnik is primed to take another step with new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. This should be a bounce-back year for the Tigers.LSU
Speaking of Tigers, let’s go to the Bayou. They have a tough opening against Florida State, but finished 2022 strong. With a ton of returning talent and another year in the Brian Kelly system under their belts, LSU might be able to put it all together this year. Might.Oregon
This is the year. Bo Nix has improved so much under this new offense. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman. No, seriously. For real this time.Washington
The Huskies have one of the best passing attacks in the nation. Head Coach Kalen DeBoer is ready to let Michael Penix Jr. cook. Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan each went over 1,000 receiving yards a year ago. Don’t be surprised if they do it again.Penn State
Let’s get into more projection, shall we? The Nittany Lions have a legit defense, a great offensive line, and playmakers ready to go. The only question is if Drew Allar is ready to kick this team through the glass ceiling they’ve been staring at for years.Florida State
Jordan Travis is good. Jared Verse is good. How is the rest of the team going to play? The Seminoles surprised last season, but now the Norvell offense with Travis is known. We’ll find out how good they are Week 1 against LSU.Texas
Is Texas back?? Not quite yet, but they’re trending that way. The Longhorns need Quinn Ewers to take a step in his second season. If he becomes more consistent and stays healthy, then maybe Texas will be back.Tennessee
Hendon Hooker was a revelation last year in Josh Heupel’s high-flying offense. The only problem is Hooker and many of his playmakers are gone. Joe Milton III will throw a football into Kentucky if you give him a chance, but he has to figure out how to hit a receiver to keep the Vols rolling.Utah
Utah’s a good team, but the injuries have me worried. Cam Rising is still rehabbing that torn ACL from last season. If Rising is healthy, the Utes will do some damage in the PAC-12’s swan song. If not, the defense and the running game have to step up like they did last season.Kansas State
Who remembers that Kansas State won the Big 12 last year? Well, they’re the favorite to do it again. Their out of conference slate isn’t too serious, with Troy being their toughest opponent (sorry, Missouri). The Wildcats bring back second-half starter Will Howard, but have to replace the small dynamo Deuce Vaughn.Notre Dame
Notre Dame has a lot of change, but their hopes rest on new offensive coordinator Gerad Parker and quarterback Sam Hartman. The former Wake Forest quarterback has the potential to be one of the nation’s best. He’ll just have to unlock that potential away from Wake’s slow mesh scheme.Oregon State
The Beavers may be searching for a conference home, but they have a solid team. D.J. Uiagalelei is looking to remake himself in a new shade of orange and should stabilize Oregon State’s weakest link from 2022.North Carolina
Drake Maye is special, but how special is the rest of the team? Mack Brown’s squad will go as far as their sophomore quarterback will take them. Maye led the team in passing and rushing a year ago, so everything is in his hands. He does have to adapt to life after Josh Downs, though.Wisconsin
Tanner Mordecai, an air raid scheme, and a Luke Fickell defense? Sign me up! Wisconsin might not make too much noise in the Big 10, but they’re as close to a lock as you can get in the Big 10 West’s final season. Plus, Braelon Allen is seriously good.Oklahoma
Last year was a disappointment under Brent Venables, but the Sooners got that rebuilding year out of the way. Now it’s time to flex those muscles. Everyone’s got a year under Venables under their belts and should be back to playing to the level we expect from the Sooners.TCU
Is this the lowest the runner-ups from a year ago have been ranked heading into the season? Not quite, after Auburn clocked in at 23rd after the Cam Newton championship season. But TCU lost a ton. Max Duggan? Gone. Quentin Johnson? Gone. Offensive Coordinator Garrett Riley? Gone. The Hypnotoads have to rebuild and recapture that magic they had a year ago. It’s a tall task for Sonny Dykes, but he did it last season. He can certainly do it again.Tulane
The Green Wave have the best team name, best logo, and second best colors in the nation. While that’s not enough to get them ranked, their Cotton Bowl win over USC certainly is. They lost star tailback Tyjae Spears to the NFL, but this is as deep as a Group of Five team can be. They’ll do damage this year, and I’ve already got Ole Miss on upset watch. (Is it really an upset if Tulane is ranked higher?)Texas A&M
I know the Aggies were a trainwreck last year. I know they haven’t performed to their capabilities under Jimbo Fisher yet. But this roster is simply too good to leave off the rankings. Keep an eye on College Station, though. Things could get either really good or really bad really quick.Texas Tech
Texas Tech seemed to fly under the radar last year. Not this time. Second-year Head Coach Joey McGuire has a squad that’s ready to go and compete for a Big 12 crown. They have an intriguing early season matchup at home against Oregon that should give us a look at what Texas Tech is worth this year.Toledo
Rounding out the Top 25 is our second G5 team: Toledo. While the MAC is always hard to predict, Toledo is seriously good. Dequan Finn is a legit quarterback, he just needs to stay healthy. Quinyon Mitchell has a chance to be one of the nation’s top cornerbacks. The Rockets have a ton of top-level talent, they just need to stay healthy and weather the MAC storm.
Next five out: Ole Miss, Florida, Iowa, NC State, UTSA
The next five out schools are good in their own rights, but I want to see more before they crack into the Top 25. How does Lane Kiffin sort out the nation’s most confusing quarterback battle? Is Graham Mertz actually able to be a decent starting quarterback, and do the Gators have enough if he decides to Graham Mertz? Cade McNamara is promising for the Hawkeyes, but he’s hurt now. Does that lead to another season of Brian Ferentz? Can Brennan Armstrong and Robert Anae recapture their magic at NC State? And is UTSA able to keep the ball rolling?
Find the full composite College Football Dawgs Top 25 here.
And, just for fun, I submitted a ballot for Preseason Player of the Year. We only could select three players, so my ballot looked like:
Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
Are these three obvious? Yes. But they’re better than everyone else. I wouldn’t be surprised to see these three be the first selected in the NFL Draft come April.