Georgia, Michigan and Ohio State lead preseason AP top 25 rankings

For the first time in the College Football Playoff era, Georgia is No. 1 in the preseason AP Poll. The Bulldogs are joined by several familiar names atop the top 25 rankings, including two of 2022's College Football Playoff teams.

Rounding out the top five are No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 LSU. USC, Penn State, Florida State, Clemson and Washington round out the top 10.

Here's the complete preseason AP Top 25 poll.

Preseason AP Poll top 25 rankings

Others receiving votes: Texas Tech 101, South Carolina 73, UCLA 66, UTSA 64, Arkansas 22, Boise State 17, Pittsburgh 16, Kentucky 14, Louisville 10, Troy 10, Kansas 10, Auburn 7, Minnesota 6, Toledo 4, Duke 4, Mississippi State 4, Florida 4, Illinois 3, Baylor 3, Coastal Carolina 3, South Alabama 1, NC State 1, James Madison 1, Liberty 1.

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Most weeks ranked No. 1

Here are the 10 FBS programs that have spent the most weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP poll since 1936, according to

LSU (38), Georgia (38) and Michigan (34) sit just outside the top 10.

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AP poll ranking by conference

The SEC and Big Ten lead all conferences with three top-10 teams each. Here's a breakdown of the entire top 25 by conference:

CFB PREDICTIONS: Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer predicts the 2023 College Football Season

Breaking down the preseason poll

No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Ohio State are the three highest-ranked teams after making last year's College Football Playoff. The trio and No. 4 Alabama have combined for 17 College Football Playoff appearances and six of the nine national championships during the CFP era. Those teams round out the top four of the preseason AP poll.

The fourth team from last year's CFP, TCU, opens the season ranked 17th after losing Heisman finalist Max Duggan and first-round NFL draft pick Quentin Johnston. The Horned Frogs are the third highest-ranked team in the new-look Big 12, sandwiched between two teams in their final year of the conference — No. 11 Texas and No. 20 Oklahoma — and No. 16 Kansas State.

Reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams and No. 6 Southern California leads all Pac-12 teams in what has become a "Last Dance" for the conference. The Pac-12's other ranked teams all have stand-out quarterbacks that could challenge Williams as he tries to become the first back-to-back Heisman winner since Archie Griffin in Michael Penix Jr. (No. 10 Washington), Bo Nix (No. 15 Oregon) and DJ Uiagalelei (No. 19 Oregon State).

HEISMAN: Every winner and runner-up since 1935 | Colleges with the most Heisman Trophy winners

Speaking of quarterbacks, five teams in the top 10 of the AP Poll will likely have new quarterbacks under center. No. 7 Penn State and No. 9 Clemson join top-four teams Georgia, Ohio State and Alabama as teams with different starting quarterbacks from last season's opener. It's a stark contrast in the top 10 compared to No. 5 LSU and No. 8 Florida State, as Jayden Daniels and Jordan Travis, respectively, open the season with high expectations.

Non-conference and early ranked matchups to watch

The premier matchup of the 2023 season's opening weeks is No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 5 LSU in Week 1. The Seminoles and Tigers will face off at a neutral site in a game that could have College Football Playoff and possibly Heisman implications.

Here are some other non-conference games to watch featuring top-25 teams:

• Week 0 - No. 13 Notre Dame vs. Navy (in Dublin, Ireland) | Saturday, Aug. 26 | 2:30 p.m. ET | NBC
• Week 1 - Florida at No. 14 Utah | Thursday, Aug. 31 | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN
• Week 1 - Colorado at No. 17 TCU | Saturday, Sept. 2 | 12 p.m. ET | FOX
• Week 1 - No. 21 North Carolina vs. South Carolina (in Charlotte, North Carolina) | Saturday, Sept. 2 | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC
• Week 1 - West Virginia at No. 7 Penn State | Saturday, Sept. 2 | 7:30 p.m. ET | NBC
• Week 1 - No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 5 LSU (in Orlando, Florida) | Sunday, Sept. 3 | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC

Elsewhere, Notre Dame and Navy meet across the pond in Ireland to kick off Week 0 of college football. TCU returns from its 2022 runner-up finish by hosting new Colorado head coach Deion Sanders in his first game at the FBS level. We'll also see College GameDay head to a battle of the Carolinas as North Carolina meets South Carolina in Week 1's only other ranked vs. ranked matchup.

BIG GAMES: 10 biggest early non-conference college football games you can't miss

Here's how the 2022 preseason poll turned out

Here's how the teams ranked in the 2022 preseason AP Top 25 finished last season. Click or tap here for more on how the preseason AP poll predicts the College Football Playoff teams.

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