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College Football Rankings: Way-too-early Top 25 projections for 2023

By Connor Muldowney

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 31: Adonai Mitchell #5 congratulates Arian Smith #11 of the Georgia Bulldogs on his touchdown catch during a game between Ohio State Buckeyes and Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 31, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 31: Adonai Mitchell #5 congratulates Arian Smith #11 of the Georgia Bulldogs on his touchdown catch during a game between Ohio State Buckeyes and Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 31, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /
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Nov 25, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) throws a pass during the second half against the Baylor Bears at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) throws a pass during the second half against the Baylor Bears at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports /

Kyle Whittingham exceeded expectations with Utah yet again and now Cameron Rising is coming back for another season. I do think that the Utes will be near the top of the conference next season with Rising returning and it’s hard to leave the back-to-back Pac-12 champions out of the top 15 of the preseason rankings. Utah may just surprise everyone yet again.

Quinn Ewers is back after a decent season and he’ll have No. 1 overall recruit Arch Manning nipping at his heels for playing time. The Longhorns bring in the No. 3 recruiting class in the country and should have no problem making up for key losses, such as Bijan Robinson to the NFL. Texas may not be “back” but Steve Sarkisian is doing his best to achieve that goal and he’s got talent coming in.

This might be a little higher than where most people have TCU, but you can’t just overlook the fact that the Horned Frogs went 13-2 and made the national title game. Max Duggan may be gone, but Sonny Dykes will figure out the quarterback position and might do so in the portal. He’s already made the roster better through the portal so far and I wouldn’t be shocked to see TCU repeat in the Big 12.

Hendon Hooker is off to the NFL after a Heisman-caliber season but Josh Heupel will find a way to replace him with one of the talented backups on the roster or maybe even five-star incoming quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava. Call me crazy, but I’m starting to believe Tennessee is back, and you should, too.

Bo Nix is back to lead the Ducks again and another year in this system should only help him. Gone is Kenny Dillingham, however, which will hurt but the Ducks have a talented roster returning and it’s going to make a strong push for the Pac-12 title. I’ll just say that the post-Mario Cristobal era is looking just fine.

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