Preseason College Football Rankings 2023: Release Time for Top 25 Standings

The AP will release its preseason top 25 rankings on Monday, August 14 at noon, giving college football fans a look at the teams it thinks will realistically compete for a national championship come January.

The usual suspects are expected to be at or near the top, but there are real questions about some of the squads for the first time in quite a while.

To who will powerhouses Ohio State and Alabama turn to guide the offense as starting quarterback? Can Michigan finally get over the hump and compete for the championship? What will Georgia look like on the heels of a second national title?

Can any fresh teams and new faces penetrate the old guard at the top of the rankings?

Ahead of Monday's release date, here are three teams you can expect to find near the top and, more importantly, why.

1. Georgia

Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images

ATHENS, GA - APRIL 15: Carson Beck #15 of the Georgia Bulldogs throws a pass during a game between Georgia Bulldogs Red and Georgia Bulldogs Black at Sanford Stadium on April 15, 2023 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The two-time defending national champions may have lost 10 starters to NFL in May's draft but the Bulldogs enter the season with what may very well be the best offensive unit of Kirby Smart's tenure.

Carson Beck figures to be the new starting quarterback, stepping into a role that new Los Angeles Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett occupied during both national title runs.

He will throw to Ladd McConkey, who saw his stats improve in 2022 and should be in store for similar upward trends this season. McConkey caught 58 balls for 762 yards and seven touchdowns. As an established wideout on the team, he should be a favorite target of Beck as he finds his footing as the starter.

Beck will also benefit from all-world tight end Brock Bowers at his disposal. Bowers may be the best at his position in the nation, having averaged 15 yards a catch for 942 and seven touchdowns.

If the defense can withstand the losses it incurred in the draft, including new Philadelphia Eagle Jalen Carter, it the team is poised to return to the College Football Playoffs. ESPN certainly thinks it will, which bodes well for Smart and Co.

2. Michigan

Jaime Crawford/Getty Images

ANN ARBOR, MI - APRIL 01: JJ McCarthy #9 greets fans while leaving the field at half time of the Michigan football spring game at Michigan Stadium on April 1, 2023 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Jaime Crawford/Getty Images)

Is this a make-or-break year for the Michigan Wolverines?

The team has exorcised the demon that was Ohio State but had another disappointingly early exit from the playoffs.

With a crop of returning talent, including quarterback JJ McCarthy and running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, there is reason to be confident that the offense can produce on par with what it did a year ago.

Josaiah Stewart made the jump to Michigan, transferring from Coastal Carolina, where he was an explosive playmaker. His 12.5 sacks should help to fuel a defensive unit in Michigan that will be at the heart of whatever deep run toward a national title the coach Jim Harbaugh and his squad hope to make.

It will not be easy, with the Buckeyes and an improved Penn State team clogging the top of the Big 10, but the Wolverines have the talent and sense of urgency needed to make it past those two teams and back to the playoffs, where they hope to have a much longer run in them than they did a year ago when they lost to TCU.

If the team plays to its potential, it is the greatest threat to a three-peat for the Bulldogs.

3. Ohio State

Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 31: Marvin Harrison Jr. #18 of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts after a touchdown during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 31, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

The battle for No. 3 came down to Ohio State and Alabama, both powerhouses in the realm of college football and two teams that figure to be in the mix for a national title by the time December rolls around.

Both teams face considerable questions at quarterback after CJ Stroud and Bryce Young were both selected in the first round of the NFL Draft back in May and neither team is as good on paper as it was entering last season.

So why the Buckeyes? The answer is simple: wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

Harrison was a game-changer for Ohio State in 2022 and the best player on any field he played on. He compiled a stat line that included 77 receptions, 1263 yards, 14 touchdowns, and an average of 16.4 yards per catch.

Those stats were achieved with opposing defenses knowing he was the primary target, game-planning to take him out of the equation, and still failing miserably to stop him. He imposed his will on the defenses he played and is a genuine candidate to win the Heisman Trophy in 2023, barring any significant injury.

Whoever the Buckeyes go with at quarterback, be it Kyle McCord or Devin Brown, they will be better for having Harrison on the field, catching passes for them.

So, too, will the Ohio State team as a whole.