Georgia Emerges as the Team to Beat Among Top 25 College Football Teams

After Missing the College Football Playoffs, Alabama is Ready To Return to the Top

This is the calm before the storm regarding the college football world. Conference media days have started, and before long, the top 25 college football teams will be focusing on the start of the 2023 NCAAF season.

Georgia has won the last two national titles, and despite another group of stars heading to the NFL, the Bulldogs are the team to beat and figure to be the No. 1 team when the NCAA football rankings come out.

When looking at the college football point spreads, many of the top teams won’t exactly be scheduling challenging opponents in Week 1.

However, the LSU-Florida State and North Carolina-South Carolina games could shake up some things.

Bulldogs Still the One

There appears to be some clarity regarding who will replace the two-time national championship-winning quarterback Stetson Bennett. Georgia coach Kirby Smart told the media that Carson Beck has the inside track to be Georgia’s starting quarterback.

Beck was 26 of 35 for 310 yards with four touchdown passes and no interceptions in the seven games he played in a season ago.

Beck will be throwing the ball to Brock Bowers, perhaps the best tight end in the country, and receiver Ladd McConkey as Georgia leads the way when it comes to the Top 25 college football teams with +225 odds to win the national title.

Seven of the top eight tacklers from last year’s team were either freshmen or sophomores, so even with Kelee Ringo gone to the NFL, there is plenty of returning talent for Georgia to have a dominant defense once again.

Who’s No. 2?

Alabama missed the College Football Playoffs last season, and that is a rarity. Even with quarterback Bryce Young and edge rusher Will Anderson being two of the top three picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, Alabama is priced at +600 to win the national title.

Offensive tackle JC Latham, linebacker Dallas Turner and cornerback Kool-Aid McKinistry are among the top returnees for Alabama.

Annually bringing in one of the best recruiting classes, Alabama has plenty of talent to make a run at the national title.

Nick Saban is among the highest paid college football coaches for a reason, as Alabama has been a dominant force for years.

Ohio State is also priced at +600 in the title odds, followed by Big Ten rival Michigan at +900.

Any mention of Ohio State has to start with receiver Marvin Harrison as he could threaten to be a rare WR to be in the running for the Heisman Trophy. He is just one of the reasons Ohio State is among the front-runners for the Top 25 college football teams.

Running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams are key pieces of the offense as well as receiver Emeka Egbuka. Cornerback Denzel Burke is Ohio State’s best returning player on defense.

Unlike the three NCAAF teams ahead of them, Michigan has a proven quarterback to rely on. J.J. McCarthy threw for 2,719 yards and 22 touchdowns despite attempting fewer than 20 passes on five occasions. Getting running back Blake Corum back after an injury-shortened 2022 season is huge.

Linebacker Junior Colson could be one of the best players in the country in 2023.

Another Trophy for Williams?

Caleb Williams did just about everything in his first season at Southern California, except get the Trojans into the College Football Playoff field.

Williams won the Heisman Trophy and is favored to win it again in 2023 despite losing star receiver Jordan Addison to the NFL.

Once again, USC coach Lincoln Riley was active in the transfer portal so the Trojans have restocked the cabinet and come in at +1400 in the odds to win the national title. It will be interesting to see where the Trojans land when the NCAA football rankings come out.

Who Emerges Out of the ACC?

No ACC team has made it into the College Football Playoff field in each of the last two seasons, and it could be argued that the 2022 season was about as non-descript as it gets in the ACC.

Now, Clemson and Florida State are emerging as title contenders.

Both have quarterbacks to keep an eye out for with Cade Klubnik the starter for Clemson and Jordan Travis going into his fourth season as the starter at Florida State.

Clemson’s recruiting classes have been ranked 10th and 11th nationally in the last two years while Florida State has been aided by some high-profile transfers once again.

Clemson comes in at +1600, and Florida State at +1800 in the title odds. Having arguably the two best teams in the conference meeting on Sept. 23 is curious scheduling by the ACC.

There is a major dropoff when it comes to the rest of the ACC, with North Carolina (+10000) and Miami (+15000) among the teams hoping to play their way into championship consideration.

Best of the Rest

There is more to the SEC than just Georgia and Tennessee, as LSU (+1600) and Tennessee (+2800) shouldn’t be overlooked. Texas A&M was one of the biggest disappointments a season ago. Perhaps the reward from having the top-ranked recruiting class in 2022 will start to pay off for a team priced at +5000 in the championship odds.

LSU arguably added the best group of incoming transfers to an already talented team as Brian Kelly’s second season could be special.

Texas (+2000) and Notre Dame (+3000) are other talented teams who underperformed last season.

Is this the year that Penn State (+2500) proves that there is more to the Big Ten than just Michigan and Ohio State? Wisconsin comes in at +6000 even with a change in coaches.

Oregon (+3300) and Washington (+4000) could have the best chance to keep USC from dominating in the Pac-12 conference. Utah has a way of finding ways to win so keep that in mind when looking at the +6000 odds for the Utes.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables and Colorado’s Deion Sanders have been exchanging insults that are plastered all over social media. Will their teams do as much talking with their play once the season starts?

For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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