Biggest Takeaways from the College Football's 2023 AP Preseason Poll

In case you needed yet another reminder of how close we are to the 2023 college football season, the Associated Press has released its much-anticipated initial Top 25 on Monday.

Unsurprisingly, two-time reigning national champion Georgia stands atop the ranking. Close behind the Dawgs are Michigan and Ohio State of the Big Ten and Alabama and LSU of the SEC.

Now, any reaction to the AP Top 25 is important to qualify.

The most crucial takeaway is that the poll has a limited impact on the season. Not only is the order destined to change, but the decisive ranking is in the hands of the College Football Playoff selection committee.

This Top 25 does shape the perception of the strongest teams in the country entering the year. But as TCU showed in 2022, this ranking does not define where you finish.

No Surprises at the Top

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Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy

What happened in the previous year should not necessarily dictate which team deserves the No. 1 preseason ranking. However, Georgia is an easy choice.

After watching the Dawgs reload their lineup following the 2021 national championship to win again in 2022, they are capable of doing it a third straight time. Georgia fully deserves the No. 1 spot.

The remainder of the Top 5—Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama and LSU—is the expected group, too.

Michigan owns two consecutive Big Ten titles, while OSU and Bama are annual contenders. LSU made the SEC Championship Game last season and returns a majority of its production, especially on offense.

A high ranking in mid-August is ultimately meaningless. But it also suggests big things are theoretically possible.

Florida State Edges Clemson

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Florida State QB Jordan Travis

Given the relatively low stakes of the AP Top 25, I'm more interested in the perceptions of Team A vs. Team B. This year, those comparisons also included LSU to USC and Texas to Tennessee.

But the greatest one on my radar belonged to the ACC, which has Clemson and Florida State on the same national tier. And the voting body leaned in FSU's favor.

Clemson has beaten Florida State seven straight times since 2015. Although the Seminoles lost to the Tigers by only six points last season, the 34-28 final score overshadowed what ended up being a pretty comfortable win for Clemson.

Regardless of whether you agree with Florida State being ranked above Clemson, we won't be waiting long to find out which team is better, as Clemson hosts FSU on Sept. 23. Perhaps the two teams will have a rematch in the ACC Championship Game, too.

The Pac-12 Pecking Order

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USC QB Caleb Williams

Before the Top 25 release, I felt confident about two things: USC would be the Pac-12's highest-ranked team, and Oregon State would slot in behind Oregon, Utah and Washington.

The order of that trio, however, was a total guess.

Would voters pick Oregon, which returns dual-threat quarterback Bo Nix? Would they reward Utah after the Utes won a second straight conference title? Or would they buy heavily into Washington's offseason hype?

The verdict ultimately went in UW's favor. The Huskies checked in at No. 10, while Utah and Oregon were 14th and 15th, respectively. Oregon State landed at No. 18.

Save for Utah's trip to OSU in late September, none of the programs have a head-to-head contest until mid-October. The backloaded schedule should make for a dramatic race to the Pac-12 title game.

TCU Sinks into Back Half

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TCU QB Chandler Morris

If you chose to read an article about a preseason college football Top 25, you probably know that last year's College Football Playoff included Georgia, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State. You also may recall that Georgia is No. 1 in this AP poll, followed by Michigan and Ohio State.

Meanwhile, TCU is way down at No. 17. That's the nature of not being a traditional powerhouse.

Though you're beloved during an underdog run, the offseason sends you back to the middle of the pack. The voting body remembers you're here, but they anticipate you won't be able to duplicate a breakout year.

TCU should be solid defensively, and the schedule—while not painless—is favorable enough early on that a revamped offense (and new coordinator Kendal Briles) won't be thrown into a September gauntlet.

But the Horned Frogs have considerably more to prove compared to their recent CFP counterparts.

The Bounce-Back Beliefs

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Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher

One year ago, Texas A&M held the No. 6 slot in the preseason AP ranking, while Oklahoma was ninth.

Fast-forward three months, and the Aggies endured an unceremonious tumble to a 5-7 record. Oklahoma narrowly made the postseason and lost to Florida State in its bowl game, falling to 6-7.

Voters are expecting both teams to rebound this year. Oklahoma came in 20th in the preseason AP poll, while Texas A&M was 23rd.

Texas A&M travels to Miami in Week 2, and the schedule heats up even more shortly thereafter. Beginning on Sept. 23, the Aggies have a four-game stretch featuring Auburn, a neutral-site clash against Arkansas, a home contest with Alabama and a trip to Tennessee.

Oklahoma has a softer opening to the 2023 campaign and legitimately may start 5-0. However, the Oct. 7 showdown with Texas at the Cotton Bowl will begin to show whether the Sooners merited a preseason ranking.