** 2023 Previews: CBS Sports Pre-Season 133 Rankings **

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College football rankings: Georgia near-unanimous No. 1 as SEC dominates top of 2023 Preseason CBS Sports 133

The two-time reigning national champion Georgia Bulldogs will likely start the 2023 season where they have finished each of the last two seasons: the No. 1 spot. In fact, coach Kirby Smart's 2023 squad is indeed the No. 1 team as we present the 2023 Preseason CBS Sports 133, a comprehensive ranking of every FBS team.

What's perhaps a bit surprising is that this is the first time Georgia has been the top team in our rankings heading entering a season, coming in as the near-unanimous selection for No. 1 ahead of No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Ohio State. The Bulldogs have often been among the top teams in our preseason rankings, just never this high Last year, Alabama was a near-unanimous No. 1 with Georgia placing No. 3.

In taking the top preseason spot from Bama, a program that held that honor across five of the seven prior years -- only falling short in 2019 and 2020 (Clemson) -- UGA has added another piece of puzzle to the clear transition of power that has taken place within the SEC. Whereas it used to be a coin-flip proposition as to whether the Crimson Tide would win a national championship before the games were even played, that honor now belongs to the Dawgs.

Alabama is not far away, though. It checks in at No. 5, though that is good for third in the SEC behind rival LSU at No. 4. USC joins the preseason top 10 at No. 6 followed by No. 7 Penn State, a duo of ACC title contenders (No. 8 Florida State, No. 9 Clemson) and Washington rounding out the top 10. 

From a conference perspective, the SEC dominates the top of the Preseason CBS Sports 133, representing nearly one-third of the top 30 with nine teams between Georgia at the top and Arkansas at No. 30. The Pac-12 has five of its teams in the top 25 of the rankings, matching the Big Ten's mark. Tulane at No. 22 is the lone Group of Five program inside the top 25.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-rankings-georgia-near-unanimous-no-1-as-sec-dominates-top-of-2023-preseason-cbs-sports-133/

 

 

 

Opponent Rankings

#2 Michigan

#19 Wisconsin

#25 Iowa

#33 Maryland

#36 Illinois

#42 Minnesota

#51 Purdue

#54 Nebraska

#58 Michigan State

#85 Colorado

#98 Northwestern

#108 Northern Illinois

#111 Lousiana Tech