ESPN's Way-Too-Early 2023 Top 25 features 5 SEC teams
There’s still confetti on the field in Los Angeles from the 2022 season’s National Championship, but that’s not stopping college football media members from looking ahead to 2023.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach shared a Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2023 on Monday night. Georgia, which will once again enter the season as defending national champion, occupies the top spot.
Five SEC teams are featured in Schlabach’s Top 25, including 4 in the top 10:
- No. 1 Georgia
- No. 5 Alabama
- No. 8 LSU
- No. 10 Tennessee
- No. 20 Ole Miss
South Carolina, Arkansas and Mississippi State are listed among the teams that “just missed” the top 25.
If the Associated Press writers vote like Schlabach, the LSU-FSU kickoff weekend showdown could have the “College GameDay” crew in Orlando. Schlabach has Florida State No. 4 in his early rankings. The Tigers and Seminoles are each coming off of 10-win seasons in 2022 after winning bowl games in Orlando. FSU won last year’s clash with LSU in New Orleans 24-23.
Schlabach’s full Way-Too-Early Top 25 can be viewed here. Fans can get ready for a long offseason of ranking debates.
Go ahead and sleep on The Mighty Gators! Mertz the Mertzilous will lead the resurgence as he Mertzes all over the SEC!
That would be epic. Though I do worry you guys are about to poach our players now that the season is over.
You actually think Florida is going to pull players from Georgia? With “nappin Napier” at the helm ?
Florida can’t even recruit our own state let alone Georgia.
Have you seen Florida’s use of the portal, abysmal at best.
Let’s see about the veracity of your two assertions:
1. “Florida can’t even recruit our own state let alone Georgia.”
2022 HS Class (Late Start on Recruiting:)
20 Signees
12 Burned their RS
6 from FL
1 from GA
2 from AL
1 from LA
That’s half from SEC county and Napier started recruiting in November. Also, 60% burned their RS playing as true freshmen ahead of some of the rubbish left behind by Mullen.
2023 HS Class:
21 Signees
14 from FL
3 from GA
1 from AL
1 from LA
That’s 19 of 21 from SEC county and 2/3 from FL. BTW, this class is in the top five for average star ratings on 247.
So, Napier CAN recruit FL and the rest of SEC country.
2. “Have you seen Florida’s use of the portal, abysmal at best.”
2022 Portal Class:
Torrence – NFL Day 1
Johnson – Lead RB
Pearsall – Lead WR
Kimber – Played CB
Waites – Plays in 23
Miller – Plays in 23
The 2023 TP class is a work in progress. As is the 2023 HS class to a lesser degree.
Frankly, the numbers above DON’T support either of your assertions. Try again!
Is he high? LOL Absolute junk poll. Bama does not even have a OC. FSU at 4th? TN at 10th? LOL
I couldn’t believe Tennessee made the Top25 either. Absolutely junk poll for sure. I’m glad we can agree on everything gwhite. Except the outdated overrated Bama take… They are a Top5 team
Get ready to get that L next year in Neyland. Too bad we don’t play you twice in Basketball, I would have liked 2 wins…
If I had a nickel for every time a Vols fan said watch out for next year.
And yet…1998
dawgs2021 get a job
volfanFL-He has a full time job. His knees are killing him and he has to wear a diaper cause his o-ring gets blown out on the daily. He says he paid Georgia a bunch of money for an education but from what I can tell his best professor must have had the IQ of the almighty Joe Biden.
gwhite713
It is meaningless. Don’t lose sleep over a fake poll.
Ron, don’t poke him like that. Please. We all beg you to not do that. He won’t eviscerate you with words or anything but good g0d at the annoying paragraphs you’re going to get.
The LSU-FSU game will be huge. I can’t have my youngest talking tr ash for another year.
AU will surprise some folks.
Doesn’t AU still need a QB?
LSU is going to break it off deep inside the Evil Nole after that debacle this season.
FSU is going to be on the receiving end of a revenge beat down from LSU.
GameDay on hand, a primetime nationwide audience tuning in to see an even better LSU team take down a possible Top 5 team.
Agree GeauxTiger. Anybody ranking FSU in the Top 5 next season is obviously smoking something and wasn’t paying much attention to what UGA did to an equally untalented TCU last night, or what Alabama did to another equally untalented K State.
LSU is now well settled into the Kelly era and will show FSU up for what they really are on opening day. It won’t be pretty for FSU.
Not sure why LSU and Tennessee are ranked lower than Alabama. Both those teams have fewer questions marks than Bama, who will have a new QB, replace 3 of 5 members of their already suspect OL, 3 of their 4 guys in the secondary, their best pass rusher in a decade and 3 of their 4 best RBs. And while they will have a new offensive coordinator, unfortunately they won’t have a new defensive one.
Tennessee has plenty. LSU I’ll buy
It really doesn’t matter. Both LSU and UT will get their opportunity against Alabama.