Now that the Georgia Bulldogs have finished their 15-0 season with a second straight national championship, the offseason is upon us.
With the offseason comes the completion of the 2023 recruiting cycle. National signing day is Feb. 2, and the transfer portal is getting even busier. The other thing it brings is way-too-early looks ahead to the 2023 season.
National publications and analysts are taking the opportunity to provide a first look at next season and how teams stack up heading into the offseason.
As we saw in 2022, it isn’t about how you start, it’s how you finish. The Oklahoma Sooners opened the 2022 season as a top-10 team. After a 3-0 start and a blowout of Nebraska, that felt reasonable. Then Big 12 play began and the Sooners struggled to stop anyone.
On the flip side, after a 5-7 season in 2021, TCU opened the season unranked. Despite getting blown out in the College Football Playoff national championship game, the Horned Frogs had a tremendous season. The way they lost will sting, but it shouldn’t erase the incredible run they went on to get to the title game.
2023 provides a blank slate. What happened last year doesn’t matter. Everyone gets to reset. Georgia and Alabama will more than likely be the teams to beat again in 2023, but USC, Oregon, Clemson, Michigan and Florida State could be teams that make a run for the title as well.
RJ Young of Fox Sports, released his way-too-early top 25 for 2023, and surprisingly, after a 6-7 season, the Oklahoma Sooners made the cut. Let’s take a look.