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NyquillusDillwad20 Ballot for 2023 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 5, 2023, 2:48 p.m.

Overall Rationale: Personal opinions on teams based on 2022 season, returning talent, and transfers. There will be a lot of movement early in the season. UGA is in a tier of their own. OSU and UM in the next tier. #4-10 in the third tier. #11-20 in the fourth tier. There's a bit of a drop off in my confidence in the teams after that. Other teams considered: Missouri, Wisconsin, Mississippi State, UNC, Maryland, Baylor

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs This is the easiest preseason #1 pick in quite a few years. They feel like a near lock for the playoff unless QB play is really bad.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes Although UM won the B1G the past two seasons, OSU still feels like the team to beat in the conference. Even an average QB will allow this offense to be one of the best in the country.
3 Michigan Wolverines They return a ton of talent. They should easily continue to bully most teams at the line of scrimmage. My only concern is QB. If a team manages to stop the run game then I think Michigan could struggle.
4 Alabama Crimson Tide Bama could win the national championship and it wouldn't surprise me. But it looks like they may actually have issues at QB.
5 Penn State Nittany Lions This is my team so it will probably come off biased. PSU returns a ton of talent. They should stack up with the best at RB, OL, TE, DE, LB, and CB. WR is a bit of an unknown, but there is a lot of young potential in that room. But the season ultimately comes down to Drew Allar. There is enough talent elsewhere to allow this team to reach whatever level Drew can take them to.
6 USC Trojans Returning a lot of talent, including the Heisman Trophy winner. They certainly showed some weaknesses last year at times, but the Pac-? is theirs to lose in their final season in the conference.
7 Utah Utes The back-to-back Pac-? champs are looking to 3-peat before the conference collapses. Like USC, they also return a lot of talent including a star QB. Whittingham is one of the best coaches in the country, but I give USC the edge just due to recruiting.
8 Clemson Tigers There hasn't been much talk about Clemson, but I still think they're the team to beat in the ACC. If Klubnik figures it out this year then I wouldn't be shocked to see Clemson return to the CFP.
9 Florida State Seminoles FSU is a tough one to predict. They are the media darling of the offseason. They return more talent than any team and did a great job in the transfer portal. But I don't think they're quite at CFP-level. They'll be a fun team to watch and their opener vs LSU is one of my most anticipated games of the season.
10 LSU Tigers LSU is similar to FSU in that they seem to be getting a bit more hype than I think they deserve based on last year's performance. They got blown out by Tennessee and UGA, and lost to an awful A&M team. The Bama win is likely the culprit for the mass amount of hype. They have the potential to be a great team, but I also think they're just as likely to disappoint and go 8-4. Like FSU, I think their season hinges on the Week 1 matchup.
11 TCU Horned Frogs The defending runner-up is likely to take a pretty big step back after the Cinderella run and losing some key players. But I think they can still make a run in the wide open Big 12.
12 Washington Huskies Washington's passing game could very well be the best in the country. We'll see if the Huskies can separate themselves from the rest of the talented teams at the top of the Pac.
13 Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee could be a CFP darkhorse if Joe Milton can play well. Unfortunately he hasn't been very consistent in the past so I'm hesitant to place them any higher at the time being.
14 Oregon Ducks Could it finally be the year Bo Nix wins the Heisman? They have plenty of talent to make a run at the Pac and CFP.
15 Kansas State Wildcats It's incredible that Klieman has been able to build on Bill Snyder's success at what is historically one of the worst P5 programs in the country. They should be one of the favorites in what will be a very exciting Big 12.
16 Tulane Green Wave Tulane is my preseason favorite to be the G5 NY6 representative. Its a difficult task to be the best G5 in back to back years, but their path should be much easier with the top of the conference moving to the Big 12.
17 Texas Longhorns If we get the pre-injury Quinn Ewers we saw against Bama last year, then this could finally be the year Texas is back.
18 Iowa Hawkeyes Iowa has been disrespected this offseason due to their lack of offense, but they brought in key transfers from other B1G powers that should take their offense to another level (even though that shouldn't be that hard to do). As always, they'll be in contention for one of the best defense in the country which should be able to carry them to wins in a large portion of their games.
19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Perhaps a bit low given the talent they return, but I'm still not sold on Freeman. However, Sam Hartman may be one of the most impactful transfers of the offseason. QB has been holding Notre Dame back for years. The OSU matchup will be a fun game and will tell us a lot about each team.
20 Oklahoma Sooners A very tough team to predict. They have top-level talent, but last season leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I think Venables will have a bit more success in his second season, but not enough to compete for the Big 12 or CFP spot.
21 Oregon State Beavers Another "QB will make or break the season" team. Can DJU live up to his potential with a change of scenery? If so, they have talent elsewhere to make them competitive in the conference.
22 Pittsburgh Panthers As much as I hate to say it, I don't think Pitt is getting the credit they deserve this offseason. They very well could be the third best team in the conference behind Clemson and FSU. Their conference opener against UNC may help us make that decision.
23 Troy Trojans Sumrall had a fantastic debut season. Kansas State may be on upset alert for the 2nd straight year against a G5 team.
24 Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota quietly put together a 9-win season in 2022 while getting their young QB great experience. If they can replace Ibrahim and Potts at RB then they could compete for the B1G West.
25 Texas Tech Red Raiders Texas Tech finished the season strong and could give Oregon a good fight at the beginning of the season.

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