Georgia is #1 in AP Preseason College Football Poll

The two time defending NCAA football champion Georgia Bulldogs are the #1 pick in the preseason AP Top 25 college football poll. Georgia received 60 of the 63 first place votes. The Bulldogs are a solid team again, and have a regular season schedule that is very favorable, with only two preseason top 25 opponents, Tennessee (12) and Mississippi (22). Georgia’s non conference schedule features Tennessee-Martin, Ball State, Alabama Birmingham, and Georgia Tech. UT-Martin is an FCS team; of the others, only UAB had a winning record last year.

Big Ten schools Michigan and Ohio State are #2 and #3. Both went to the College Football Playoff last season, and both lost in the semifinals. Michigan lost to TCU, and Ohio State lost by one point to Georgia in a thriller.

Two SEC schools are next with Alabama at #4 and LSU at #5. These two will face each other in Tuscaloosa on November 4th. Neither will face Georgia in the regular season, but one of the two will probably do so in the SEC Championship.

USC is #6. The Trojans are in their final year in the disintegrating Pacific 12 before moving to the Big Ten in 2024. Last year USC lost by one point to Utah in October, and then lost the rematch in the PAC-12 championship. The Trojans then lost 46-45 to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl.

Penn State is #7. The Nittany Lions will play both Ohio State and Michigan, so the road to a Big Ten championship will be a tough one. Two ACC schools are next, with Florida State at #8 followed by Clemson. Washington rounds out the Top 10. The Huskies will join the Big Ten in 2025.

Texas is #11. The Longhorns are in their final year in the Big 12, and will move to the SEC in 2024. They’ll get a taste of that when they play at Alabama in Week 2. The Tennessee Volunteers are #12, followed by #13 Notre Dame. Last year’s PAC-12 champion, Utah, is #14. Utah is moving to the Big 12 in 2024; that will be the school’s sixth different football conference affiliation in its history. Oregon rounds out the Top 15. Like Washington, the Ducks will move to the Big Ten in 2025.

Two Big 12 schools are next, with Kansas State at #16 and TCU at #17. Last season, TCU lost to the Wildcats in the Big 12 championship game, but still went to the College Football Championship. The Horned Frogs will try to erase the memory of the 65-7 demolishing they received form Georgia in the College Football Championship game.

Oregon State was a surprising 10-3 last season, and checks in at #18. The Beavers are one of only four PAC-12 schools scheduled to remain in the conference by 2025, but it remains to be seen if the conference will reconstitute itself with other teams by then.

Wisconsin is #19. The Badgers changed head coaches, signing Luke Fickell away from Cincinnati, where he had great success. Wisconsin has also added several players via the transfer portal, including two quarterbacks and four wide receivers, two of whom played for Fickell at Cincinnati. Oklahoma rounds out the Top 20. The Sooners are leaving the Big 12 for the SEC in 2024.

North Carolina (21), Mississippi (22), Texas A&M (23), Tulane (24), and Iowa (25) round out the poll. Tulane was a big surprise last year, improving form 2-10 in 2021 to 12-2 and that Cotton Bowl win over USC. The Green Wave will host #22 Mississippi on September 9th.

The FBS schedule begins with seven games on August 26th. Two ranked teams will be in action that day, with Navy at #13 Notre Dame and San Jose State at #6 USC.