Yes, we are back in the saddle again. For me, this officially kicks off the college football season as we approach the first week of games. In a way, this is like a mini-college football season preview. This usually comes up at some point in this pre-season article or in the early weeks of the season about how I start this poll. I am predicting where teams will finish–essentially taking an estimate of the talent of each team, looking at their schedules, and crafting this top 20 for public consumption.

Here’s the pre-season top 20 from 18 Stripes:

18 Stripes Top 20 Poll

*Indicates week 0 games.

Quarterback Question Marks

Some of the sport’s most successful programs like Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, and Ohio State are all dealing with a lot of uncertainty and/or inexperience at the quarterback position. Among these 4 teams they have quarterbacks who have started a combined 2 games. This is pretty insane as these programs have been top 5/10-ish mainstays for years (you have to go back to 2016 for a non-Covid season where all 4 didn’t win at least 10 games) and they are all coming into 2023 facing similar offensive questions.

I don’t know if any of them fall to 7-5 or 8-4 (it seems impossible for Georgia with their schedule if their defense is even 80% of what it has been under Kirby Smart) but I feel like one of these teams will fall to 9-3 this year. Surely, one of them will mess up developing an offense.

A Good Year for a 12-Team Playoff, Actually

Maybe this will be a really fun post-season even if it’s just 4 teams in the playoffs? This could certainly be an awesome year for a 12-team playoff if the usual suspects aren’t quite as dominant as mentioned above. Then again, if Alabama isn’t Alabama then it’s possible Georgia may simply stroll into the playoffs as an undefeated no. 1 seed.

I don’t know, something tells me we could see a bit of a wildcard go on a really impressive run in 2023. Which leads me to…

This is Notre Dame’s Best Title Shot Since 1993

There, I said it. This may not be the best Notre Dame since then, or have the most friendly schedule, or even have enough positive vibes where the national media are really even thinking about the Irish in this regard. Although, it is pretty crazy to think about how many questions there were last year (especially at QB!) and while we had Notre Dame 8th in the pre-season the AP started the Irish out 5th. Fifth! We have Notre Dame starting 2 spots lower than last year, while the AP has them 8(!) spots lower, and I don’t think it’s controversial to say that the ceiling for Freeman’s team in 2023 is far higher.

All I am saying is if Notre Dame really hits on Sam Hartman and he’s at least within reach of being sort of transcendental for a college quarterback–and this may be a season where the Irish could actually out-score nearly everyone–well couldn’t you argue this is a good time for a title run?

Just on the Outside

Oregon
Wisconsin
Duke
Maryland
Texas Tech

I like these teams in different ways but they all have certain flaws or a lower ceiling that keep me from starting them inside the 18 Stripes Pre-Season Top 20. Oregon and Duke feel like the safest bets from this group to move up this year, although the Pac-12 is really competitive this year and Duke could be decently-sized underdogs in at least 4 games.

College Football Playoff Prediction

Rose Bowl – #2 Texas vs. #3 Michigan

Sugar Bowl – #1 Georgia vs. #4 LSU

So, I would guess this qualifies as Texas is Back™ for 2023. Count me on the Quinn Ewers hype train with the Horns being able to get past Alabama early in the season and then go on to win the Big 12.

This would be Brian Kelly’s 3rd playoff appearance in 6 seasons if it comes to fruition. In this scenario there would be talk of avoiding a re-match from the SEC Championship Game.

NY6 Bowl Predictions

Cotton Bowl – Florida State vs. Washington

Peach Bowl – Alabama vs. Notre Dame

Orange Bowl – Clemson vs. Ohio State

Fiesta Bowl – USC vs. UTSA

Notre Dame gets matched up against Alabama and…this might be the year where that’s okay!? The Tide are going to be fascinating this year. Due to my playoff predictions above this likely means Alabama drops games to both Texas and LSU but would have to win the rest of their games to make it to a major bowl game.

USC lost the Cotton Bowl last year to G5 darling Tulane and it would be very funny if the Trojans lost this Fiesta Bowl to UTSA. Either way, watch out for Roadrunners head coach Jeff Traylor to be one of the hottest names to move up to a big Power 5 job after this season.

Hardest Schedule

South Carolina

There are plenty of good vibes surrounding head coach Shane Beamer and you can maybe foresee Spencer Rattler limiting mistakes and finally becoming a very good college quarterback. However, the Gamecocks lost some key personnel and face an absolutely brutal schedule. For example: Opening with North Carolina, week 3 at Georgia, week 5 at Tennessee, week 7 hosting Florida, week 9 at Texas A&M, with a regular season back-to-back finish of hosting Kentucky and Clemson.

Easiest Schedule

Michigan

This is the 2nd straight season that Michigan graces this section of our pre-season article with the weakest schedule in the country. Out of conference Michigan goes from Colorado State, Hawaii, and UConn last year to East Carolina, UNLV, and Bowling Green this year. What a disgrace to the College Football Gods. It’s another year of basically only having to overcome Penn State and Ohio State late in the year.

The Top Darkhorse Team

Texas Tech

Joey McGuire was Doing Good Things™ in his 1st season in Lubbock last year finishing the year with wins over Kansas, Iowa State, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss. Their rise could come down to quarterback Tyler Shough who is 8-0 in games with Texas Tech that he has started and finished. Now, he just has to stay healthy. Watch out for Oregon visiting Lubbock in week 2, that’s Shough facing his former team, and potentially a really fun out of conference matchup.

The Top Stay Away Team

Arkansas

You will see Arkansas on many of the hardest schedule lists (BYU, at LSU, Texas A&M, at Ole Miss, at Alabama, at Florida, Auburn) and while they are happy veteran quarterback KJ Jefferson came back for a 5th season (or didn’t transfer elsewhere) they are breaking in 7 new starters on offense and learning new offensive coordinator Dan Enos’ system. This could be a quality team that finishes 6-6.

Week 0/1 Games to Watch

All time are eastern. Rankings are from the AP Poll.

Hawaii [+17.5] at Vanderbilt
Saturday, Aug. 26th, 7:30 PM, SEC Network

Enjoy a little Clark Lea action on Saturday night, hopefully after Notre Dame has thrashed Navy. The Commodores opened the season in 2022 at Hawaii with a 53-point win so maybe take Vanderbilt to cover the return matchup.

Nebraska [+7] at Minnesota
Thursday Aug. 31st, 8:00 PM, Fox

The Matt Rhule era begins for the Corn while the 7th year of rowing boats opens up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. A win here for Nebraska sets up an entertaining visit to Colorado next week (back-to-back Power 5 road games to open the season, who is making the schedules in Lincoln?) and a possible 4-0 start.

Florida [+7] at #14 Utah
Thursday, Aug. 31st 8:00 PM, ESPN

This feels like an insane line right now (surely it will move a lot as we get closer to kickoff) as Utah quarterback Cameron Rising hasn’t been cleared to play yet. Then again, how much do you trust Graham Mertz to quarterback Florida or the Gators traveling 2,200 miles to open up the season in front of a rabid Rice-Eccles Stadium crowd?

Colorado [+20.5] at #17 TCU
Saturday, Sept. 2nd, Noon, Fox

Deion Sanders begins his Power 5 journey in Fort Worth to face a future conference opponent, although the programs never overlapped in the Big 12 in the past. This is a big number for TCU to cover considering they are breaking in a new offensive coordinator and replacing nearly every important piece to their high-flying 2022 offense. Maybe the Buffs are spunky enough to compete? Then again, 10 out of Colorado’s 11 losses last year were by at least 20 points and one must have faith in Coach Prime to make this a good game.

#3 Ohio State [-28.5] at Indiana 
Saturday, Sept. 2nd, 3:30 PM, CBS

The Big Ten on CBS begins! With Ohio State over a 4-touchdown favorite in Bloomington! Feel the hype! Ohio State’s quarterback battle going deep into August and checking to see if they still have an explosive offense is worth watching in on a few times during the afternoon.

Boise State [+14.5] at #10 Washington 
Saturday, Sept. 2nd, 3:30 PM, ABC

If Boise State can be even a decent team this has the potential to be a really fun and interesting game to open the season for Washington. The Broncos last road win over a Power 5 team came in the 2019 opener (36-31 victory) at Florida State.

UTSA [PK] at Houston
Saturday, Sept. 2nd, 7:00 PM, FS1

This would’ve been one of the biggest G5 games of the year but alas Houston is beginning their journey in the Big 12 now. That doesn’t diminish the fact that UTSA has some major bowl aspirations and would love a big Power 5 road win to start the season.

#21 North Carolina [-2.5] vs. South Carolina (Charlotte, NC)
Saturday, Sept. 2nd, 7:30 PM, ABC

For the 3rd time in 8 years we have UNC vs. South Carolina in the legendary Duke’s Mayo Classic. As usual, it may be a smart idea to fade North Carolina as they are working in a new offensive coordinator and replacing a lot of talent at wide receiver. What could possibly go wrong for the Tar Heels?

West Virginia [+20.5] at #7 Penn State 
Saturday, Sept. 2nd, 7:30 PM, NBC

Penn State led my list of the most likely to be overrated top 10 teams of 2023, according to the AP Poll. However, the Drew Allar/Nicholas Singleton combo at quarterback and running back has the potential to be something special if they can get a re-tooled receiving corps going out of the gate. This spread seems a bit large but the Mountaineers are rebuilding everything on offense and might struggle big time at night in Happy Valley.

Coastal Carolina [+16] at UCLA
Saturday, Sept. 2nd, 10:30 PM, ESPN

On the surface, this could be the most entertaining game of week 1. Of course, we will focus on the future of Dante Moore who shrugged off transfer rumors a couple weeks ago and may win the starting quarterback job, or possibly play a little bit if he’s beat out by older veteran quarterbacks. Hopes are decently high in Westwood (the Bruins are #28 in the AP Poll after receiving votes) and face an all-new coaching staff at Coastal Carolina who bring back talented QB Grayson McCall after a failed transfer to Auburn happened this off-season.

#5 LSU [-2.5] vs. #8 Florida State (Orlando, FL)
Sunday, Sept. 3rd, 7:30 PM, ABC

This is a fantastic matchup in week 1 with teams just about even with each other and similar strengths and weaknesses. Last year, we witnessed a wild finish and a painful LSU loss. Now, the matchup switches to Florida but in the same exact Sunday night timeslot as 2022. Both of these teams have easier games following the opener and should be able to pour a lot into winning this top 10 matchup.

#9 Clemson [-13] at Duke
Monday, Sept. 4th, 8:00 PM, ESPN

Duke is both properly rated (41st in the AP which for the Blue Devils is great, historically!) but also one of the most underrated teams in the country. They quietly won 9 games last year and return the bulk of their team, led by (again) underrated quarterback Riley Leonard. A win by Duke would probably de-value a potential Notre Dame win at Clemson later this season but also have us sweating a little bit about that trip to Durham in a month from now.

We’ll be back in 2 weeks after the first full weekend of games are completed. Welcome back, football.