College football rankings: ESPN reveals Way-too-Early top 25 poll for 2023 season
The college football season is over, Georgia is your national champion once again, and that means it's time to get a look at the early top 25 rankings for the 2023 season to come.
It's an annual tradition that takes place right after the national championship game, when analysts take a crack at predicting the future and getting a head start on things for the year to come.
Here's our own projection: CFBHQ Top 10: Early College Football Rankings for 2023
Getting in on the action is the ESPN pollsters, whose previous rankings throughout the season have often come under fire from many fans.
Naturally, there's plenty of time for things to change in the offseason, especially with the transfer portal and NIL that have directly affected how teams create their rosters from year to year.
Where do things stand right now?
College football rankings: ESPN way-too-early top 25 poll for 2023
ESPN college football rankings for 2023
USA Today Images
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Florida State
- Alabama
- Penn State
- USC
- LSU
- Oregon
- Tennessee
- Washington
- TCU
- Utah
- Notre Dame
- Clemson
- Texas
- Oregon State
- Kansas State
- Tulane
- Ole Miss
- North Carolina
- UTSA
- Texas Tech
- James Madison
- Iowa
Who missed out?
Some notable exclusions from the ESPN rankings include Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Arkansas, UCLA, and Texas A&M.
Pollsters will be slow to give A&M a high ranking, or any at all, when the official 2023 rankings come out this summer after the team dramatically failed to live up to its potential this past season, going 5-7 and 2-6 in SEC competition, failing to play in a bowl game for the first time in more than a decade.
Oklahoma enters a cautious Year 2 under head coach Brent Venables, regarded as the premier defensive strategist in college football this generation, but who led the Sooners to their first losing mark since 1998.
Who got in?
Georgia, naturally, is the consensus No. 1 team in just about every offseason ranking after winning its second-straight national championship.
Florida State also sticks out on many early polls after winning 10 games this past season, seemingly getting over the hump in Mike Norvell's third year.
SEC teams predictably dominated the rankings, with five teams earning consideration, but notably the Pac-12 also saw five schools earn spots in the ESPN poll and looking better in the year to come with quality quarterbacks returning to their respective teams in 2023.
More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams