By Carter Bahns
(247Sports.com) – The preseason AP Top 25 Poll is here. Voters ranked the top 25 teams in college football ahead of the 2023 campaign, and unsurprisingly, Georgia claimed the top spot on the list after winning its second-straight national championship last year. There were a few eyebrow-raising selections, however, as the voters arguably overvalued and underrated multiple teams.
There are always numerous omissions from the preseason rankings that demand attention, and this year is no different as a handful of squads received Top 25 snubs. Among that group are a couple of schools that have dark-horse conference title potential and others that boast some of the best talent in their leagues at key positions.
Every year, shakeups occur up and down the Top 25, and the bottom of the list is particularly volatile. It is not unlikely that a considerable number of schools will fall out of the rankings after Week 1. As the season unfolds, a few teams should improve their stock and fill those vacancies.
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Below are the 10 unranked teams with the best chances of closing the year in the Top 25.
- KANSAS
Head coach Lance Leipold helped Kansas snap its 13-year bowl drought with a considerable step forward in year two of his tenure, and the team he returns for the 2023 season should be even better than that breakthrough squad. The Jayhawks revolve around quarterback Jalon Daniels, who is one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12, if not the country, when healthy. The offense will be solid, but questions about the defense linger after it surrendered seven touchdowns per game last season. Immense amounts of production return to a team that has Top 25 upside if it reaches its ceiling.
- DUKE
The schedule does Duke absolutely zero favors this fall as the Blue Devils draw essentially all of the top ACC title contenders plus Notre Dame. This team might just be good enough to overcome some of those challenges, though. Mike Elko led the program to unforeseen heights in his debut season at the helm, guiding the Blue Devils to nine wins last year, and with standout quarterback Riley Leonard headlining a massive group of returning starters, the team has all the pieces it needs to contend for the conference crown.
- LOUISVILLE
Louisville struck gold with its 2023 schedule. Head coach Jeff Brohm returns to his alma mater to lead the Cardinals through a slate that features just one preseason Top 25 team (Notre Dame) and that excludes the top three teams in the ACC (Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina). It is largely a new-look starting lineup for Louisville as it undergoes some overhaul, but the foundation is solid, and with a favorable schedule, the Cardinals have dark-horse conference title contention upside.
- MIAMI
Has Miami earned a spot in the Top 25? Probably not yet. But if Texas A&M makes the cut at No. 25 after a disappointing sub-.500 season, then by the same logic the Hurricanes should be in the discussion as well. Miami is among the biggest wild-card teams in the nation ahead of the 2023 campaign as it relies on hordes of incoming talent and two new coordinators to turn things around after a head-scratching start to the Mario Cristobal era. If everything clicks, the Hurricanes will undoubtedly be among the nation’s top 25 teams, but they also proved last year that underachievement is equally possible.
- KENTUCKY
Kentucky allowed just 19.2 points per game last season but failed to capitalize on that stellar defense as it scored slightly less than three touchdowns per contest. That should not be as much of a problem this year after the Wildcats paired a prolific receiving corps of Tayvion Robinson, Barion Brown and Dane Key with transfer quarterback Devin Leary, who might be one of the top newcomers at the position in all of college football after departing from NC State. The return of Liam Coen to the offensive coordinator post also lends itself to optimism.
- ARKANSAS
The KJ Jefferson and Raheim Sanders duo might be the best QB-RB tandem in the SEC this season as both players are arguably the top-two options at their respective positions in the league. Arkansas should not have much trouble scoring, but its ceiling depends on the rate at which it prevents opponents from doing the same. The Razorbacks had the eighth-worst defense in the nation last year by yardage allowed (465.2 yards per game), but newcomers like cornerback Jaheim Singletary and defensive lineman Anthony Booker bolster the unit as transfer portal additions with the potential to provide instant aid.
- UCLA
Personnel losses on the offensive side of the ball are to blame for UCLA’s drop out of the rankings after a nine-win 2022 season. The departures of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and running back Zach Charbonnet are more than significant. Luckily for the Bruins, though, they boast one of the nation’s deepest quarterback rooms — headlined by five-star freshman Dante Moore — and landed an impact transfer in the backfield in Carson Steele. Should the quarterback situation stabilize and Steele acclimates to his role admirably, UCLA will be a well-rounded team capable of finishing among the Pac-12’s best squads.
- UTSA
It is primarily a two-team race to become the Group of Five’s representative in the New Year’s Six, but only one of those squads received a Top 25 designation as Tulane grabbed the No. 24 slot in the AP Poll. More than likely, UTSA will crack the list at some point during the season as the reigning back-to-back Conference USA champion figures to roll through the American in its first year in the league. Everything for the Roadrunners starts with quarterback Frank Harris, who returns for a fifth year as perhaps the most prolific player the program has ever seen.
- SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina’s outlook largely hinges on the confidence level in quarterback Spencer Rattler, which seemingly wavers from analyst to analyst. The former Oklahoma transfer will shoulder much of the load for the Gamecocks this season and might have to rack up touchdowns to counteract a defense that proved leaky last year. Shane Beamer improved upon South Carolina’s win total in each of his first two seasons at the helm, and another step forward would guide the Gamecocks to at least a nine-win season — plenty good enough to finish the year inside the Top 25.
- TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech secured the final spot in the Coaches Poll but finds itself as the first team out of the AP Poll, making it the most obvious snub from the preseason Top 25. Looking for a team that could become the “next TCU” and make a Cinderella run to the College Football Playoff? The Red Raiders are as strong a pick as any to win what could be a wide-open Big 12 and turn a few heads with an unforeseen breakthrough year. Joey McGuire is a fast riser in the coaching spheres and quarterback Tyler Shough, when healthy, is capable of leading a high-powered offense that can carry the Red Raiders to a big year.
