2023 College Football Rankings 1 To 133: Offseason First Look
College Football News 2023 college football rankings for all 133 teams as the offseason kicks in and before spring ball gets going.
2023 College Football Rankings 1 to 133 Offseason First Look
This is what we call a jumping off point.
No, we don’t know where all the transfers are settling, and no, we don’t have a firm grip on all 133 starting quarterback situations – and yes, it’s 133 this year with the addition of Sam Houston and Jacksonville State.
As it all looks before spring football gets going in a few weeks, here’s our ranking of how good all the teams appear to be going into next season. It’s only a few months away – there’s time to change all of this.
Two things to remember. 1) BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF are off to the Big 12. That waters down the Group of Five that much more, and 2) if it seems like we’re overrating the Power Five programs and underrating the Group of Fivers, yeah. The Power Five programs have more resources, more talent, more … more. We expect more, so we’re setting the bar higher.
Don’t get into a twist over any or all of this. We’ll reconfigure it all during the spring, and then a few more times before the official CFN Preseason Rankings in August.
CFN 2023 Rankings: Offseason First Look
101-133 | 76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10
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133 UMass
2022: 131 2021: 129 2020: 127 2019: 130 2018: 104
College Football Rankings First Look: (1-11) There’s a ton of work to do for an offense that finished dead last in the nation in scoring. There’s experience returning, though.
132 Sam Houston
2022: NR 2021: NR 2020: NR 2019: NR 2018: NR
College Football Rankings First Look: (6-5) The Bearkats start life in the FBS needing to crank up an offense that sputtered way too much in 2022.
131 Texas State
2022: 122 2021: 122 2020: 111 2019: 114 2018: 123
College Football Rankings First Look: (4-8) New head coach GJ Kinne’s offense will go fast and throw a ton. There’s a shot to make a little Sun Belt noise if the attack works.
130 New Mexico
2022: 129 2021: 125 2020: 95 2019: 120 2018: 110
College Football Rankings First Look: (2-10) Danny Gonzales has GOT to find something on offense that works. Dead last in the nation in total yards, there’s a long way to go.
139 FIU
2022: 127 2021: 130 2020: 125 2019: 85 2018: 43
College Football Rankings First Look: (4-8) There were glimpses of positive potential last season. Head coach Mike MacIntyre might just get this team to flirt with six wins.
128 Jacksonville State
2022: NR 2021: NR 2020: NR 2019: NR 2018: NR
College Football Rankings First Look: (9-2) Lots of rushing, lots of points, lots of problems for Conference USA against a FAST Gamecock attack.
127 Arkansas State
2022: 128 2021: 123 2020: 112 2019: 67 2018: 72
College Football Rankings First Look: (3-9) This hasn’t started to work yet under Butch Jones, Any improvement starts with getting anything out of the O line.
126 Nevada
2022: 130 2021: 56 2020: 57 2019: 74 2018: 48
College Football Rankings First Look: (2-10) Things can’t – and won’t – be worse after a disastrous 2022. The offense has the veterans to be a whole lot better.
125 Charlotte
2022: 123 2021: 115 2020: 116 2019: 72 2018: 93
College Football Rankings First Look: (3-9) Defense, defense, DEFENSE. The 49ers have the guys on one side, but that defensive bunch needs to be night and day better.
124 Hawaii
2022: 121 2021: 102 2020: 74 2019: 32 2018: 73
College Football Rankings First Look: (3-10) Timmy Chang was thrown into one of the toughest situations in college football. Now he has a slew of veterans to work with.
123 Akron
2022: 119 2021: 127 2020: 123 2019: 129 2018: 102
College Football Rankings First Look: (2-10) Joe Moorhead is a terrific head coach – Akron played a whole lot better than 2-10. This is a loaded veteran bunch returning.
120 Northern Illinois
2022: 120 2021: 69 2020: 122 2019: 92 2018: 38
College Football Rankings First Look: (3-9) Coming off a total collapse, the defense has to find something that works to go along with a typically strong ground game.
120 Kent State
2022: 111 2021: 90 2020: 89 2019: 66 2018: 114
College Football Rankings First Look: (5-7) Sean Lewis left to go be Coach Prime’s OC at Colorado. The fun on offense doesn’t stop under Kenni Burns – fast, fast, fast.
119 ULM
2022: 116 2021: 124 2020: 124 2019: 100 2018: 89
College Football Rankings First Look: (4-8) Consistency. Terry Bowden’s team has to find it, and it starts by getting more out of the lines. The defensive front has to hold up.
119 Louisiana Tech
2022: 124 2021: 114 2020: 103 2019: 43 2018: 77
College Football Rankings First Look: (3-9) A strange disaster in 2022, Sonny Cumbie needs a LOT more O – QB Hank Bachmeier coming in – if the D doesn’t improve.
118 Old Dominion
2022: 107 2021: 94 2020: NR 2019: 125 2018: 105
College Football Rankings First Look: (3-9) It was a rough year with nothing working right. The Monarchs need more difference-makers on both sides of the ball.
117 Ball State
2022: 118 2021: 98 2020: 46 2019: 83 2018: 106
College Football Rankings First Look: (5-7) The Cardinals let a bowl slip away with a bad late run. The passing game has to do more downfield, but the line should be good.
116 USF
2022: 126 2021: 103 2020: 113 2019: 104 2018: 78
College Football Rankings First Look: (1-12) If it’s possible to not be all that bad of a 1-11 team, that was USF. New head man Alex Golesh has a good base to work with.
115 UTEP
2022: 112 2021: 106 2020: 121 2019: 128 2018: 130
College Football Rankings First Look: (5-7) Painfully close to going bowling, UTEP will again have a strong D. The O will control the clock, but it needs to be more dangerous.
114 UConn
2022: 91 2021: 128 2020: NR 2019: 126 2018: 129
College Football Rankings First Look: (6-7) There’s still a talent gap, and there needs to be a downfield completion, but Jim Mora Jr. proved it’s possible to win at UConn.
113 Western Michigan
2022: 117 2021: 84 2020: 97 2019: 42 2018: 76
College Football Rankings First Look: (5-7) One of the biggest under-the-radar disappointments of last year, WMU starts fresh with Lance Taylor. He has to jumpstart the O.
112 UNLV
2022: 113 2021: 113 2020: 120 2019: 106 2018: 107
College Football Rankings First Look: (5-7) UNLV was rising when it fired Marcus Arroyo. Barry Odom, though, was a terrific hire. There will finally be some defense in Vegas.
111 Colorado State
2022: 125 2021: 117 2020: 100 2019: 109 2018: 120
College Football Rankings First Look: (3-9) There needed to be a reboot. Fine, but now Jay Norvell needs to find some points – CSU averaged 13.2 per game.
110 Temple
2022: 114 2021: 118 2020: 110 2019: 54 2018: 58
College Football Rankings First Look: (3-9) There’s a lot of upside here. The Owls will once again crank up the defensive pressure, and the passing game will be dangerous.
109 Rice
2022: 109 2021: 116 2020: 106 2019: 115 2018: 127
College Football Rankings First Look: (5-8) The Owls lose a slew of key playmakers, but the lines should be good. The ball control style opens up with JT Daniels now at QB.
108 New Mexico State
2022: 104 2021: 126 2020: NR 2019: 127 2018: 124
College Football Rankings First Look: (7-6) Jerry Kill once again proved he’s one of the best coaches going. Now his team is loaded with veterans to make a splash in C-USA.
107 Central Michigan
2022: 115 2021: 70 2020: 105 2019: 71 2018: 128
College Football Rankings First Look: (4-8) A weird disappointment in 2022, Jim McElwain’s team has a lot of good young players. It doesn’t matter if the turnovers don’t stop.
106 Bowling Green
2022: 105 2021: 108 2020: 126 2019: 124 2018: 118
College Football Rankings First Look: (6-7) FINALLY there was a breakthrough under Scot Loeffler. Expect more out of the passing game. The pressure on D will keep rolling.
105 Buffalo
2022: 100 2021: 109 2020: 63 2019: 39 2018: 34
College Football Rankings First Look: (7-6) UB has to build on the clutch finish to show some consistency. They’ll control the ball, but the D line has to be more disruptive.
104 Tulsa
2022: 97 2021: 77 2020: 39 2019: 86 2018: 115
College Football Rankings First Look: (5-7) New head coach Kevin Wilson knows how to get an offense moving. Step One: Fix the O line. Step Two: See Step One.
103 Louisiana
2022: 96 2021: 38 2020: 15 2019: 14 2018: 79
College Football Rankings First Look: (6-7) The rebuild from last year is over. Now the Ragin’ Cajuns are loaded with vets and should do more offensively.
102 San Jose State
2022: 94 2021: 87 2020: 47 2019: 95 2018: 126
College Football Rankings First Look: (7-5) There’s rebuilding to do on the lines – the O line has to be far stronger – but it’s San Jose State. The pass rush will be terrific.
101 Georgia State
2022: 101 2021: 68 2020: 77 2019: 75 2018: 122
College Football Rankings First Look: (4-8) The ground attack should once again be amazing, but the defense has to come up with a whole lot more against the run.
CFN 2023 Rankings: Offseason First Look
101-133 | 76-100 | 51-75 | 26-50 | 11-25 | Top 10