Nothing quite says the return of a college football season like preseason polls.
On Monday afternoon, the 2023 preseason edition of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was released. The poll consists of 63 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) head coaches from across the country and will be competed regularly each week of the college football season.
In this year’s preseason poll, there are very few surprises, especially at the top. Leading the way is the defending two-time national champions, the Georgia Bulldogs. Following the Bulldogs are the Michigan Wolverines before the Alabama Crimson Tide, Ohio State Buckeyes, and LSU Tigers round out the top five.
Out of the 66 first-place votes available in the poll, the Bulldogs received 61, an overwhelming preseason favorite and understandably so. But what other programs were able to crack the first top 25 of the year?
Where did USC land as they look to finish off their Pac-12 tenure with a conference championship? How about the preseason dark horses of Penn State and Florida State? Or the upstart programs from last season, such as Kansas State, Oregon State, Tulane, and Texas Tech?
Find out all those answers and more below as College Sports Wire takes a deep dive into the first USA TODAY Coaches poll of the 2023 season.