Michigan leads a host of stacked contenders who are aiming to deny Georgia a historic three-peat.
What other teams start atop the sport this season? SI’s college football crew offers its preseason outlook.
More College Football Preview Coverage:
• The Georgia Effect: Why Everyone’s Playing Catch Up With the Dawgs
• Team Previews: Thoughts on Every Non-Top 25 Team
• College Football’s Inevitable Conclusion? Two 20-Team Megaconferences
1. Georgia
Since the Associated Press began crowning national champions in 1936, no school has ever gone back to back to back. The Bulldogs have a legit chance, though their tragic offseason, with the death of offensive lineman Devin Willock and 24-year-old recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy in a drag racing incident, has raised questions about the off-field discipline in Kirby Smart’s program. Georgia will be undergoing a transition on offense with QB Stetson Bennett and coordinator Todd Monken now gone, but it has the nation’s best tight end in Brock Bowers and another strong offensive line. The D is stacked as usual. The schedule is a breeze until a Nov. 18 trip to Tennessee.
2. Michigan
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Can the Wolverines win their first national title since 1997? They have the best combination of talent and experience in coach Jim Harbaugh’s tenure, with the biggest concern being kicker, following the departure of third-round pick Jake Moody. Michigan has the best one-two running back punch in the country in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards and an elite offensive line, but QB J.J. McCarthy can also sling it. The top five tacklers are back on defense.
3. Penn State
If sophomore Drew Allar, the new starting QB, lives up to his billing, the Nittany Lions could finally break into the College Football Playoff. Penn State’s running backs can go stride for stride with Michigan’s. Junior WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith is a blossoming big-play threat, tight end is always a strength and the offensive line has made big strides. Defensively, its next star is LB Abdul Carter, who was an instant menace as a freshman (6.5 sacks).
4. LSU
Coach Brian Kelly debuted with quite a bang in Baton Rouge last year. But if the Tigers are planning to repeat as SEC West champs, they’ll need senior QB Jayden Daniels to be dominant. LSU has the conference’s best young TE, Mason Taylor, and two studs on defense, DT Maason Smith and LB Harold Perkins Jr., giving them a legitimate shot to return to Atlanta.
5. Ohio State
All eyes are on the QB spot, as Kyle McCord and Devin Brown vie to replace C.J. Stroud. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes and coach Ryan Day need a win in Ann Arbor to avoid a three-game losing skid to the Wolverines (gasp!). The defense that Michigan and Georgia gashed for a combined 87 points last year must improve.
6. Washington
Looking for a stealth Playoff contender? The Huskies won 11 games a year ago with a new coach (Kalen DeBoer) and a new quarterback (Michael Penix Jr.), and the team has an armada of returning and incoming skill-position talent. Plug a few holes on the line, and this could be the nation’s most explosive offense.
7. Alabama
Though 71-year-old Nick Saban still leads the Crimson Tide, Alabama enters this fall with more unknowns than any season in recent memory. It will have two new coordinators and a new starting quarterback with Bryce Young gone. Now, a year after the rare missed CFP appearance, so many in the sport are wondering: Is the Tide’s era of dominance over?
8. Florida State
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The loaded Seminoles feature QB Jordan Travis, sack master Jared Verse and transfer portal TE Jaheim Bell. Mike Norvell has returned FSU to respectability, increasing its victories each year, from three to five to 10 last season.
9. USC
QB Caleb Williams is back, and the defense gets a boost with D-line transfers from Georgia and Oklahoma State in Bear Alexander and Mason Cobb. The Trojans’ final Pac-12 season should end with a bang—and a conference title.
10. Clemson
In an uncharacteristic move, coach Dabo Swinney fired offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter and hired TCU assistant Garrett Riley. He will work with a talented freshman QB, Cade Klubnik. The defense welcomes back eight starters, setting up the Tigers for a return to the CFP after consecutive misses.
11. Kansas State
Coach Chris Klieman’s second season ended with a Big 12 championship, but to repeat, the Wildcats need to replace RB Deuce Vaughn and fill critical holes in the defense. QB Will Howard returns behind an O-line that brings back all five starters.
12. Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish open with two manageable games in which to fine-tune their offense. They’ll likely need them. New QB Sam Hartman, who threw for nearly 13,000 yards at Wake Forest, is working with a new coordinator and QB coach.
13. Tennessee
Fresh off an 11–2 year, the Vols and coach Josh Heupel are putting their orange eggs in QB Joe Milton III’s basket. Tennessee’s O-line is one of the most experienced around.
14. Texas
Coach Steve Sarkisian has a potential star QB in Quinn Ewers and an explosive receiving corps. He has a defense that appears poised to leap from good to great. Perhaps most significantly, he’s upgraded the size and talent on both lines.
15. Oregon State
Toss out the COVID-19 season of 2020, and Jonathan Smith’s tenure in Corvallis is an unbroken upward trajectory: 2–10, 5–7, 7–6, 10–3. Improving on 10 wins will be difficult, but the Beavers retained a ton of talent and brought in one of the most intriguing transfers in the country: former Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei.
16. TCU
Was the 2022 CFP run lightning in a bottle or the start of something big? Sophomore QB Chandler Morris will attempt to follow up the success of Max Duggan, but the hardest thing to replicate might be last year’s 9–1 record in games decided by 10 points or fewer.
17. Oregon
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QB Bo Nix’s resurgence after transferring from Auburn was paramount to the Ducks’ success last year, and, if he can continue to impress, they’ll be in the thick of the Pac-12 race.
18. Wisconsin
The Badgers blew up their blueprint and made arguably the best coaching hire of last offseason, landing Luke Fickell from Cincinnati. A handful of Bearcats followed, but more important: Wisconsin landed SMU transfer QB Tanner Mordecai.
19. North Carolina
The Tar Heels collapsed late last season with a four-game skid, but their shining star of a QB, Drake Maye, gives everyone in Chapel Hill something to smile about. That’s good, because the defense last year made them gag.
20. Utah
QB Cameron Rising will return from an ACL tear, and DT Junior Tafuna and LB Karene Reid will continue to wreak havoc on QBs for the two-time defending Pac-12 champs.
21. Ole Miss
Lane Kiffin mined the transfer portal this offseason, landing a host of new players to help the Rebels improve on what has been an already successful three-year run (23 wins).
22. Tulane
Coach Willie Fritz has his work cut out to replicate the dream season of 2022. While QB Michael Pratt returns, RB Tyjae Spears is off to the NFL. And the D? Gone are its top five tacklers.
23. Iowa
The defense allowed 13 points or fewer in 10 of 13 games last year. Can Michigan transfer QB Cade McNamara spark the sorry Hawkeyes offense?
24. South Carolina
The Gamecocks’ late-season wins against Tennessee and Clemson showed QB Spencer Rattler’s potential and just how fun it is when the Shane Beamer–led program is humming on all cylinders.
25. Oklahoma
Coach Brent Venables’s debut was a dud as the Sooners went 6–7. The road to improvement starts with his defense, which ranked 122nd nationally. The good thing: The unit has experience, with several starters from last year. Though maybe that’s a bad thing, too?
