College football 2023: Projecting the preseason top-25 rankings
We’ve reached the end of July which means college football is less than a month away from its regular-season kickoff. Actual games – it feels like it’s been forever.
With that in mind, we know we’ll soon see the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and Associated Press Top 25 polls. How will those rankings look?
We took a look at four major college football outlets and how they ranked teams so far this preseason. Using a very complex formula (25 points for No. 1, 24 points for No. 2, and so on) in each poll, we put together a composite score to predict what the preseason top 25s will look like.
We can safely assume Georgia will be No. 1, but who else will be in the top-five?
Top 10?
Will Notre Dame sneak in there or not after a 9-4 campaign last year?
And where will the voters seemingly put the tiers?
Find out below as we used preseason rankings from Phil Steele, Athlon Sports, Lindy’s and the ESPN FPI to determine these.
UCLA - 2 points
Noteworthy:UCLA’s only appearance in the four rankings was being ranked No. 24 by Athlon Sports.
South Carolina - 2 points
Noteworthy: Only Lindy’s ranked South Carolina in the top 25, having it 24th.
Baylor - 3 points
Noteworthy:No humans had Baylor in their top 25 but the ESPN FPI put it 23rd.
Pittsburgh - 3 points
Noteworthy: I’m telling you all now — buy your stock in Pitt right away. Only Phil Steele had it ranked; he put it 23rd, but don’t surprised if it has one or zero losses when it travels to Notre Dame in late October.
Texas Tech - 4 points
Noteworthy: Like its Big 12 counterparts Baylor, Texas Tech only saw love from the ESPN FPI, which put it 22nd.
Toledo - 4 points
Noteworthy: The only MACtion on this list is Toledo, who was put 22nd by Steele to get all four points.
Tulane - 5 points
Noteworthy: Lindy’s and Athlon each ranked the Green Wave while the others left them on the outside.
UTSA - 5 points
Noteworthy: Steele and Lindy’s ranked UTSA 24th and 23rd, respectively.
North Carolina - 7 points
Noteworthy: North Carolina appeared in three outlet’s top 25 but higher than 25th in just one (Steele).
Florida - 8 points
Noteworthy: The only outlet to rank Florida in the top 25 was the ESPN FPI, which had the Gators 18th.
Kansas State - 8 points
Noteworthy: Athlon Sports buys into the Wildcats, who it put 18th. Nobody else had them in the top 25.
Iowa - 13 points
Noteworthy: Steele had the Hawkeyes 17th, but Lindy’s was the only other source to rank them (22nd).
Ole Miss - 21 points
Noteworthy: Here we start to see a tier develop. Ole Miss and its 21 points are closer to the 18th-ranked team than it is the one ranked right behind it.
TCU - 23 points
Noteworthy: TCU is the first team to appear on the list that is ranked by all four outlets. Lindy’s has it the highest: 15th.
Oregon State - 26 points
Noteworthy: The Beavers appeared in the top 25 of all four outlets, but being 24th on ESPN’s FPI knocked them down a couple of spots overall.
Texas A&M - 27 points
Noteworthy: Steele ranked the Aggies 12th while Lindy’s didn’t have them in the top 25.
Wisconsin - 35 points
Noteworthy: A big turnaround is expected quickly in Madison as the Badgers are ranked by all four outlets. Steele having them 13th is their highest.
Oklahoma - 36 points
Noteworthy: ESPN FPI LOVES the Sooners in 2023, having the previously 6-7 club ranked 11th.
Tennessee - 45 points
Noteworthy: The Vols high point is 12th on the ESPN FPI while Steele offered their low, 19th.
Oregon - 45 points
Noteworthy: This is the part of the list that starts to get really jammed with a few teams from out west, including the Ducks.
Utah - 48 points
Noteworthy: Athlon ranked the Utes 10th in its preseason poll, and nobody had them lower than 16th.
Washington - 53 points
Noteworthy: Lindy’s and Athlon had Washington ranked in the top 10, but the FPI having it 21st kept the Huskies down.
Notre Dame - 59 points
Noteworthy: Notre Dame is extremely consistent across the polls. It was as high as ninth (ESPN FPI) and no lower than 14th (Athlon).
Texas - 68 points
Noteworthy: Texas came in as high as fifth (ESPN FPI) and as low as 11th to crack the top 10.
Florida State - 69 points
Noteworthy: Is this the year the Seminoles return to the top of the ACC? Lindy’s ranked them as high as sixth while they checked in 14th in the ESPN FPI.
Clemson - 71 points
Noteworthy: Clemson is ranked between roughly seventh and 13th in almost every set of these we’ve seen but thanks to Phil Steele putting them second the Tigers sneak by Florida State here.
Penn State - 72 points
Noteworthy: All four outlets have Penn State pretty evenly ranked as the Nittany Lions check in between sixth and 10th.
USC - 76 points
Noteworthy: A pair of sevenths and a 10th for USC is still good enough to land it sixth thanks to Athlon ranking it fourth.
LSU - 80 points
Noteworthy: Steele only had LSU ninth while the other three had it no lower than sixth.
Ohio State - 90 points
Noteworthy: The only team besides Georgia to check in with a No. 1 ranking in this exercise: the ESPN FPI has the Buckeyes rated as the nation’s top squad this summer.
Alabama - 91 points
Noteworthy: The questions at quarterback aren’t enough for the nation to think Alabama falls off. All four sources had it ranked fourth and second.
Michigan - 91 points
Noteworthy: Michigan looked headed easily to the second spot all by itself, but the ESPN FPI ranking it sixth allowed Alabama to finished tied in points. With that in mind, we expect the people to be consistent and rank the Wolverines ahead of the Tide early on.
Georgia - 98 points
Noteworthy: Perhaps the only surprising part of Georgia being in the top spot is the ESPN FPI didn’t have it in the top two. Instead, it had Ohio State and Alabama above it.
