Georgia Still No. 1 In Coaches' Preseason Poll; Alabama Too High At No. 3? LSU Is No. 5

Georgia is favored to become the first college football team to win three consecutive national championships since Minnesota in 1934, '35 and '36, according to the USA TODAY Coaches preseason poll released on Monday afternoon.

The Bulldogs received 61 of a possible 66 first-place votes in the poll of college football coaches. Georgia finished the 2022-23 season at 15-0 with a 65-7 win over TCU in the College Football Playoff national championship game Jan. 9.

Georgia lost much of its 2022 team, but then again, it lost a lot of its 2021 team after it won that national championship.

"Everybody has talked about the emphasis on three-peat," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said at SEC Media Days last month. "The emphasis on what are you going to do next. How are you going to top that? How do you top an undefeated season?"

Georgia Coach Kirby Smart Guarding Against Complacency

The list of teams that failed to win a third straight national title is long. Minnesota couldn't do it in 1942. Army failed in 1946, Notre Dame in 1948, Oklahoma in 1957 and Texas in 1972. Alabama has failed twice - in 1980 under coach Bear Bryant and in 2013 under Nick Saban. Nebraska also failed in 1996.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart will have to replace the man behind the last two national championships - quarterback Stetson Bennett. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

"The threat for us is complacency," Smart said. "The first thing you have to do is acknowledge that it's a threat. It's the first step towards stomping it out."

Georgia opens defense of its back-to-back titles on Sept. 2 against Tennessee-Martin in the last season for the four-team College Football Playoff. A 12-team playoff will dawn in the 2024 season along with drastic changes in the makeup of conferences.

Alabama received four first-place votes and the No. 3 spot in the poll, which is a bit surprising. The Crimson Tide has a quarterback issue. It had to make a late addition in the NCAA Transfer Portal to get Notre Dame projected backup Tyler Buchner after spring practice. Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson did not set the world on fire in spring drills in efforts to replace Bryce Young. Carolina made Young the first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.  

Michigan, which lost to TCU in the College Football Playoffs semifinal last season, was picked second. Ohio State received one first-place vote and the No. 4 ranking. The Buckeyes lost in the CFP semifinal to Georgia, 42-41.

Coaches Preseason Poll Likes LSU

The rest of the top 10 has LSU at No. 5, USC at No. 6, Penn State No. 7, No. 8 Florida State, No. 9 Clemson and No. 10 Tennessee. The Tigers beat Alabama last season and won the West before finishing 10-4. LSU returns one of the SEC's best quarterbacks in Jayden Daniels. It has not been ranked higher than No. 5 since entering the 2012 season at No. 3.

The second 10 features No. 11 Washington, No. 12 Texas, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 14 Utah, No. 15 Oregon, No. 16 TCU, No. 17 Kansas State, No. 18 Oregon State, No. 19 Oklahoma and No. 20 North Carolina.

The final five are No. 21 Wisconsin, No. 22 Ole Miss, No. 23 Tulane, No. 24 Texas Tech and No. 25 Texas A&M, which is expected to make a major jump after a 5-7 finish in 2022. Four other teams are expected to make significant turnarounds from last season as Texas finished 8-5 along with Ole Miss, and North Carolina ended at 9-5.

Top 25 Leaves 6 Out

Six teams that finished in the final Associated Press top 25 last season failed to make the Coaches' preseason poll - No. 19 Troy, No. 20 Mississippi State, No. 21 UCLA, No. 22 Pittsburgh, No. 23 South Carolina and No. 24 Fresno State.