College football rankings 2023: AP top 25 preseason poll revealed

Your first look at the AP top 25 preseason college football rankings. Who can knock off national champion Georgia?

Author:
James Parks
Publish date:
Aug 14, 2023 12:04 PM EDT

The biggest date on the preseason schedule has arrived as the first official AP top 25 college football rankings have been announced, and, as expected it's defending back-to-back national champion Georgia sitting in the No. 1 spot with two weeks to go before kickoff. But which teams are in position to take down the Bulldogs?

Preseason AP top 25 college football rankings

First-place votes in parentheses

Compare: Coaches Poll | ESPN top 25

Others receiving votes

Texas Tech 101, South Carolina 73, UCLA 66, UTSA 64, Arkansas 22, Boise State 17, Pittsburgh 16, Kentucky 14, Louisville 10, Troy 10, Kansas 10, Auburn 7, Minnesota 6, Toledo 4, Duke 4, Mississippi State 4, Florida 4, Illinois 3, Baylor 3, Coastal Carolina 3, South Alabama 1, NC State 1, James Madison 1, Liberty 1.

AP Poll Need to Know

S-E-C. As expected, the SEC leads the way in the AP top 25 with six teams featured in the preseason rankings, followed by the Big Ten and Pac-12 with five, the Big 12 with four, and the ACC has three teams in the poll.

Dawgs: Georgia comes into the 2023 season as the consensus favorite to become the first team to pull off the ultra-rare three-peat since the 1930s, but first Kirby Smart must find key replacements on defense while sorting out a quarterback competition before embarking on a schedule that analysts consider one of the nation's most favorable.

No. 1 teams: During the nine years of the College Football Playoff, only two top-ranked AP preseason teams have missed out on the semifinal: Ohio State in 2015 and Alabama last year. But only one team, Alabama in 2017, began the season at No. 1 in the AP poll and won the national championship.

Unranked teams: Two teams that didn't appear in the preseason poll went on to make the College Football Playoff in the CFP era: Michigan in 2021 and TCU last season.

B1G rivals: Michigan and Ohio State are neck-and-neck and figure to be so all season. UM is trying to make three straight conference titles and College Football Playoff appearances, returning its top offensive talent. OSU needs to break in a new quarterback while leaning on the nation's premier wide receiver corps, but with three big road games to prove themselves.

Roll Tide: SEC contender Alabama is once again within striking distance of the top spot, coming off a two-loss effort last season and missing out on the College Football Playoff, with major roster turnover to work with as Nick Saban installs two new coordinators and a replacement for Bryce Young at quarterback.

History: Ohio State remains the most successful team in preseason history, ranking No. 1 all time with 70 appearances in the preseason rankings, appearing in 95 percent of polls.

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks