AP Top 25 poll: Georgia at No. 1, Michigan edges Ohio State in college football rankings for 2023 preseason

The two-time defending national champions are on top in the first poll ahead of the 2023 season

By Dean Straka

Aug 14, 2023 at 1:56 pm ET • 1 min read

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Kickoff to the 2023 college football season is rapidly approaching, and Georgia will again be the team to beat. The two-time defending national champions topped the preseason AP Top 25, released Monday, marking the program's first preseason AP No. 1 ranking since 2008. Georgia, entering its eighth season under coach Kirby Smart, takes the top spot after Alabama -- fourth in Monday's poll -- topped the preseason poll in each of the past two summers.

Michigan, entering its ninth season under coach Jim Harbaugh, came in right behind the Bulldogs at No. 2 with two first-place votes. The two-time defending Big Ten champions have reached the College Football Playoff in each of the past two years. Fueled by quarterback J.J. McCarthy and a running back duo of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, the Wolverines seek to clear a hurdle after falling in the CFP semifinals in both 2021 and 2022.

No. 3 Ohio State follows with a first-place vote, and fifth-year coach Ryan Day seeks a return to the CFP and the program's first Big Ten title since 2020. The Buckeyes own what is widely seen as the best wide receiver room in the nation, headlined by Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. Who will be throwing to them is a question mark, however, with quarterbacks Kyle McCord and Devin Brown competing for the starting role.

Further down, No. 24 Tulane makes its first appearance in the preseason AP poll in program history. The 2022 AAC and Cotton Bowl champions are favorites to repeat in the American, and a Sept. 9 opportunity vs. No. 22 Ole Miss is a date surely circled on the Green Wave's calendar.

Here's a full look at the top 25 (first-place votes in parenthesis):