Georgia picked to 3-peat in USA Today preseason poll; Penn State at No. 7

Staff And Wire Reports
Monday, Aug. 7, 2023 5:39 p.m. | Monday, Aug. 7, 2023 5:39 p.m.

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Georgia tight end Brock Bowers returns to help the Bulldogs in their quest for a third consecutive national championship.

Two-time reigning national champion Georgia was the overwhelming favorite in the USA Today preseason poll released Monday. The Bulldogs, who dismantled TCU, 65-7, in last season’s national championship game, earned 61 of 66 possible first-place votes.

Michigan, Alabama, Ohio State and LSU rounded out the top five. Alabama received four first-place votes, and Ohio State received the other.

Penn State, which finished 11-2 last season and capped it with a victory over Utah in the Rose Bowl, came in at No. 7.

The rest of the top 10: Southern Cal at No. 6, Florida State at No. 8, Clemson at No. 9 and Tennessee at No. 10.

Pitt, 9-4 a year ago, was among the other teams receiving votes. The Panthers ended their 2022 season with a Sun Bowl victory over UCLA.

Rounding out the top 25: 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, No. 20 North Carolina, No. 21 Wisconsin, No. 22 Mississippi, No. 23 Tulane, No. 24 Texas Tech and No. 25 Texas A&M.