The 2023-24 college football season will be the last of its kind.
It's the 10th year of the College Football Playoff, and this will be the final season with four teams before it expands to 12 in 2024. Realignment talk, TV contracts and the future of Power 5 conferences also adds to an ever-changing landscape.
On the field, Georgia has won the last two national championships and is favored to make a run at a three-peat. The Bulldogs will be No. 1 in most preseason publications. Georgia – along with SEC heavyweights Alabama and LSU – have combined for six of the nine national championships in the CFP era.
There are other intriguing subplots for the 2023 season. Will Caleb Williams repeat as Heisman Trophy winner? Is Michigan or Ohio State the class of the Big Ten now? How will Deion Sanders fare in his first season at Colorado?
The College Football Playoff semifinals will be on Jan. 1 this season. Those semifinals will be played at the Rose Bowl Game and Allstate Sugar Bowl. The College Football Playoff championship game is on Jan. 8 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
With that, Sporting News will have preseason top 25 rankings, bowl projections, Heisman contenders, preseason All-Americans and more to get you ready for the start of the 2023 season:
College football rankings: SN's preseason top 25
Preseason polls do matter. Sporting News' post-spring Top 25 is out. Georgia – which beat TCU 65-7 in last year's CFP championship game, is No. 1. Alabama – which missed the CFP last season – is No. 3. Who is No. 2? That's two-time defending Big Ten champion Michigan, which has the advantage on No. 4 Ohio State for now.
- 1. Georgia
- 2. Michigan
- 3. Alabama
- 4. Ohio State
- 5. LSU
- 6. USC
- 7. Penn State
- 8. Washington
- 9. Florida State
- 10. Notre Dame
Who made the rest of SN's preseason top 25?
Ranking top quarterbacks for 2023
Williams and North Carolina's Drake Maye are the top two quarterbacks heading into the 2023 season in our Top 25 QB rankings, but there is interesting competition across the FBS. Washington's Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon's Bo Nix also are part of a loaded Pac-12 conference. Michigan's J.J. McCarthy is the top-rated Big Ten quarterback. Florida State's Jordan Travis is on the rise, and there are some interesting sleepers such as Tennessee's Joe Milton and Duke's Riley Leonard. This list is sure to change in the regular season, but in the meantime, enjoy it while counting down the weeks to kickoff.
Heisman hopefuls
Williams will be the 11th Heisman Trophy winner to attempt to win a second award since Archie Griffin won back-to-back Heismans for Ohio State in 1974-75. The highest a returning Heisman winner has finished in second. That said, Williams still is an overwhelming preseason favorite. Where does Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. – an amazing talent who also could challenge to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft – fit in? Our Heisman Trophy preview sets the field heading into Week 1.
Coach rankings, 1-133
The debate never stops with coaches. Sporting News' 1-133 coach rankings are out, and there are some first-year coaches worth talking about. Nebraska's Matt Rhule and Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham are the two highest ranked first-year coaches. Where does that leave “Coach Prime” in Colorado? The Top 25 coaches featured seven coaches from the SEC and six from the Big Ten. How did those coaches stack up?
2024 NFL Draft Big Board
Which players are poised to put themselves in good position for the NFL Draft in April? Here is our preseason 2024 NFL Big Board, led by Marvin Harrison Jr. There are six quarterbacks among the Top 50.
Playoff sleepers
Who will be this year's TCU and make the College Football Playoff for the first time? We didn't have the Horned Frogs on our radar last year, but we were close on USC and Utah. Is there another Pac-12 school that could come out of nowhere and make the CFP in 2023? Or will a different playoff team emerge from the Big 12?
Bowl projections
Sporting News has projections for all 42 bowl games. From the Pop-Tarts Bowl to the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, we've got it covered. We'll also have predictions for the College Football Playoff semifinals and CFP championship game
On the way ...
Preseason All-Americans
Sporting News is one of five outlets used to determine consensus All-Americans. This year's Preseason All-American team will be released in July ahead of conference media days. Williams, Harrison and Michigan's Blake Corum are among the standouts who made our first team in 2022.
Conference predictions
Sporting News also will release its predictions for the Power 5 conferences, including champions, breakout performers and the best games you just can't miss in 2023.