Last week I introduced a few storylines to watch out for the upcoming College Football season. This week I am going to introduce the schools who are expected to vie for a national title.
It seems like Alabama has been the team to beat for a decade now. Those days are gone. Georgia begins the 2023 college football season in the same place it finished the last two, atop the AP Top 25 poll. The two-time defending champ Bulldogs were a runaway pick for the top spot in the preseason poll.
One has to like Georgia’s chances. I just have to wonder if the Bulldogs can win it all while breaking in a new quarterback. Junior Carson Beck is set to take over for Stetson Bennett. Beck completed 26 of 35 passes for 310 yards with four touchdowns as a backup last season.
Bulldogs
Michigan comes in at number two in the AP poll. While Georgia has taken over the SEC from Alabama, the Wolverines have done the same over Ohio State in the Big Ten. Michigan has taken care of the Buckeyes the past two years en-route to a pair of Big Ten championships. The Wolverines return most of its starters from last season and will be tough to beat in 2023.
Speaking of Ohio State, the Buckeyes are ranked third heading into the season. Even though quarterback CJ Stroud is now in the NFL, Ohio State will score points. They always do. It is the defense that has let the Buckeyes down over the past two seasons. Especially against Michigan.
Alabama comes in at number four. The Crimson Tide have a number of questions facing them. What will the offense look like without Heisman winner Bryce Young at quarterback? Head coach Nick Saban will likely go with Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner behind center. The dropoff at quarterback will likely lead the Tide going back to the running game that was their trademark prior to the pandemic.
LSU came in at number five but I am going to place USC here. The Trojans have the best quarterback in college football in Caleb Williams. Defense is the question mark with USC. I believe we will see dramatic improvement with USC’s defense as a number of high quality transfers have moved to Los Angeles to shore up this unit. Look for the Trojans to make a run at a national title this year.
