College football preseason rankings: Athlon Sports edition
It’s one of the surefire signs that summer is upon us and no I’m not talking about the Midwest weather consistency being in the 90s. Instead, upon walking into the magazine section at a local vendor this week I saw something else – the first college football preview magazines for the 2023 season.
I know they aren’t quite as significant as they were when I was in high school as the growth of coverage online only continues. Perhaps I’m old school but there is just something about holding a physical copy of something instead of reading it online.
The first one I saw this week belongs to Athlon Sports who has been putting out season previews for pretty much every sport for as long as I can remember. You can buy your physical copy here. Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison happened to be one of the stars featured on the cover of the magazine I saw and in it, of course each team was ranked from 1 all the way to 133.
We won’t go all the way down but will instead focus on the Casey Kasem part of this list (top 40 for you youngsters). Here is how Athlon Sports ranked the top 40 teams ahead of the 2023 season and just a little about each is included.
Louisville
Our take: A coaching change brings Jeff Brohm back to the school he played college football at and an adjustment period seems likely but with Clemson and Florida State both off the schedule this could be a team that makes a serious threat at 10 victories.
Auburn
Our take: Auburn certainly brings attention to any college football conversation but a team that is fresh off a 5-7 campaign brings in Hugh Freeze to turn the ship around. I get the SEC West is no joke which makes things more difficult but the Tigers will require some luck just to go bowling this year.
Boise State
Our take: Boise State will be the favorite in the Mountain West yet again and why not? Since joining the conference in 2011 they’ve won 10 or more games eight times. Expect that to climb to nine.
South Alabama
Our take: I legit wonder how many times we’ve entered a season in my life thinking that Auburn wasn’t at least the second-best team in the state of Alabama.
Pittsburgh
Our take: Narduzzi has figured things out at Pitt and taken them up a level in recent years and now former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec is on-board for his last college hurrah. Spoiler alert for Pitt fans: This ain’t Kenny Pickett.
Duke
Our take: Year two of Mike Elko at Duke comes with the cost of adding Clemson and Notre Dame to the schedule. Nine wins again seems unlikely but back-to-back bowl games after the Blue Devils won just five games the two years previous to last year will be another positive step.
Minnesota
Our take: P.J. Fleck was the splash-hire in conference a few years back and has turned Minnesota into a program regularly competing for nine wins which is no small accomplishment. How will the Gophers handle having Matt Rhule and Luke Fickell in their division now though?
Mississippi State
Our take: It will certainly be strange and sad not seeing Mike Leach on a college sideline this year and even stranger will be Mississippi State shifting away from his Air Raid offense.
UTSA
Our take: The Road Runners have won 23 games combined over the last two seasons and move to the American Conference where they should be Tulane’s biggest threat in 2023.
South Carolina
Our take: What impresses me most about Shane Beamer building this program up is that he’s doing it with Georgia and Tennessee soaring in his division and Clemson being the main attraction in his own state. Perhaps that second one is changing a bit though after the Gamecocks won on the road to end Clemson’s rivalry streak over them last November.
Miami (FL)
Our take: The good news for Miami is that their injury luck almost certainly won’t be as bad as it was in 2022 when they failed to make a bowl game. The bad news is that perhaps Mario Cristobal’s 67-67 career record to date is more telling than much of the national media wants you to believe.
Arkansas
Our take: Arkansas lost three of their five games last year by a combined total of nine points. A couple better bounces this year and 10 wins certainly isn’t a crazy thought.
Texas Tech
Our take: A year from now I am curious how we will be projecting Texas Tech’s outlook in the new-look Big 12. There is a lot to potentially be gained for the Red Raiders in quick order.
Kentucky
Our take: You can’t overstate the job that Mark Stoops has done at Kentucky considering it’s at a basketball-first (second, third, and fourth) school and has Georgia and Tennessee to deal with in his own division.
Iowa
Our take: Iowa adds Michigan transfer quarterback Cade McNamara but as long as Brian Ferentz remains calling plays this offense will continue to put a glass eye to sleep.
North Carolina
Our take: Stop me if you’ve heard this before with North Carolina: Great quarterback play, really solid all-around on offense, and a defense that can’t stop a nosebleed.
UCLA
Our take: How will UCLA’s offense reload will answer what kind of bowl game they’re playing in as their time in the Pac 12 ends. The defense should be one of the strongest in the conference this year.
TCU
Our take: Sonny Dykes took TCU from unranked to the College Football Playoff national title game last year. The bad news this year is that he doesn’t have Max Duggan or Quentin Johnson to help.
Tulane
Our take: It’ll be hard to top a Cotton Bowl win over USC like last year brought Tulane but with Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF off to the Big 12 they’ll be the favorites to again win the American Conference – even with the addition of UTSA.
Ole Miss
Our take: Last year was the most impressed I’ve ever been with Lane Kiffin as a head coach as he turned his pass-heavy offense into a dominant run team. Will November be kinder to Ole Miss this year than it was a season ago, though?
Texas A&M
Our take: The talent is certainly there but will Jimbo Fisher get out of his way enough for it to matter and become a threat to perhaps win 10 games?
Oregon State
Our take: The way the schedule sets up expect to see Oregon State in the heat of the Pac 12 Championship game race well into November. If they’re defense plays like it did last year they just might make it to that game, too.
Kansas State
Our take: Is there a less discussed reigning Power Five conference champion? Expect another run from the Wildcats…and continue to do so going forward.
Wisconsin
Our take: Luke Fickell will make a difference at Wisconsin in a big way, I just don’t see that overhaul resulting in a top 20 national team in year one. Perhaps I’m wrong though, it has happened a time or two before.
Oklahoma
Our take: Branding pays off here for Oklahoma because because if there was almost anything else besides that “OU” on the side of their helmet they wouldn’t be rated anywhere near 16.
Tennessee
Our take: Tennessee was one of the best stories in college football but has some major loses across the offense. Will it be rebuild or just reload for the Vols?
Notre Dame
Our take: Sam Hartman’s entrance meant losing Tyler Buchner to the transfer portal and eventually Alabama. Will Notre Dame’s most accomplished quarterback since Brady Quinn be able to get the Irish past the likes of Ohio State, Clemson, and USC and into the College Football Playoff?
Oregon
Our take: Bo Nix turned into a legit Heisman Trophy candidate for a long while in 2022. What does he have in store for his final year of college ball? That answer likely holds the answer to how far the Ducks can go.
Clemson
Our take: The old school college football fan in me appreciates what Dabo Swinney is trying to do without dipping much into the transfer portal but lets face the facts – doing so makes it harder to win big in college football today.
Texas
Our take: It would be fitting as Texas‘ time in the Big 12 comes to an end that they again fail to finish near the top 10 despite a massive buildup entering the year.
Utah
Our take: Seemingly every head coach Kyle Whittingham gets named among the most underrated coaches in the game then a few weeks later preseason polls underestimate the capability of the Utes. To me they’re the team to beat in the Pac 12 until further notice.
Washington
Our take: A huge turnaround last year brought one of college football’s best offenses to the Pacific Northwest. Can that offense bring a Pac 12 championship to Washington in 2023?
Penn State
Our take: James Franklin hasn’t been Ohio State or Michigan during his time at Penn State but guided the Nittany Lions to another Rose Bowl appearance last year. Are they being passed over as a Big Ten East threat too easily entering the year?
Florida State
Our take: Every year there is seemingly a team the national media wants to speak into being “back” (besides Texas) that isn’t yet. Speaking of, which of Florida State’s zero wins over ranked opponents last year was your favorite?
LSU
Our take: Brian Kelly overcame an embarrassing season-opening loss in front of a national audience to guide LSU to an SEC West crown in 2022. Can he do it again in 2023 when the schedule sends him to Tuscaloosa instead of hosting the Tide in Death Valley?
Ohio State
Our take: Imagine being a missed field goal from likely winning the national championship a season ago and having some talk about your head coach like he’s a failure. Even with C.J. Stroud off to the NFL this will be as good of offense as there is in college football this year.
USC
Our take: The offense will again be incredible but when they need to will they be able to make a stop? If it’s USC vs. the field I’m taking the field for the Pac 12 crown this year.
Alabama
Our take: The good news for Alabama is that they’re perfect just about everywhere else but Tyler Buchner holds me back from thinking they’ve got a title chance in 2023. Then again, Stetson Bennett just led Georgia to the last two crowns so about that…
Michigan
Our take: The way things set up with Alabama perhaps slowing down, Georgia losing a ton again to the pros, and Michigan recently having Ohio State’s number – dare I say this is the best title chance the Wolverines will ever have with Jim Harbaugh?
Georgia
Our take: Georgia is in reload mode as they’ve recruited and developed talent better than anyone in recent years. Upsets happen but there isn’t a better team entering 2023 than the Dawgs and that includes all their losses for a second off-season in a row.
