College Football

2023 College football predictions: Projected standings of every Power 5 conference

Updated Aug. 29, 2023 9:25 a.m. ET

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Bryan Fischer

College Football Writer

Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

RJ Young

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

In 2024, college football will undergo dramatic change, thanks to realignment that will impact the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC and beyond.

That makes 2023 a season of transition as schools prepare to deal with the changing landscape.

Meanwhile, we can anticipate a lot of great action on the field, including a returning Heisman winner in Caleb Williams at USC, a Georgia powerhouse seeking a third straight championship, and a dynamic Big Ten duo that could very well turn into a power trio.

And we're here to break it all down with a comprehensive look at each Power 5 conference, from FOX Sports college football experts RJ Young, Michael Cohen and Bryan Fischer.

BIG TEN

In consecutive seasons, Michigan has bludgeoned its way to wins over Ohio State, secured back-to-back Big Ten titles and frequented the College Football Playoff for the first and second times in school history. 

The only program with a better résumé during that stretch is Georgia, the two-time defending national champions.

With the amount of talent head coach Jim Harbaugh returns in 2023 — headlined by quarterback J.J. McCarthy and tailbacks Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards — there's little reason to think the Wolverines won't repeat those feats for the third season running. 

Harbaugh believes his roster is so deep that Michigan could have 20 players drafted next April, a number that would shatter the NFL record for the most from one school in a single year. 

That, ladies and gentlemen, is why the Wolverines will win the Big Ten again this season.

Here is the predicted order of finish:

Big Ten East

• Michigan
• Ohio State
• Penn State
• Maryland
• Michigan State
• Rutgers
• Indiana

Big Ten West

• Wisconsin
• Iowa
• Illinois
• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• Purdue
• Northwestern

Click here for a detailed breakdown of the Big Ten, including players to watch, potential weak spots, and more for each team.

RJ Young's Preseason Top 25: Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State on top

BIG 12

The Big 12 had a surprise entrant in the College Football Playoff last season thanks to TCU's magical run to the championship game. Even more remarkable, the Horned Frogs didn't even win the conference championship — that honor went to Kansas State.

Here is the predicted order of finish:

• Texas
• Oklahoma
• TCU
• Texas Tech
• Kansas State
• Kansas
• Baylor
• Oklahoma State
• BYU
• UCF
• Cincinnati
• Houston
• Iowa State
• West Virginia

Click here for a detailed breakdown of the Big 12, including players to watch, potential weak spots, and more for each team.

Is it the Texas Longhorns year to win the Big 12?

PAC-12

It's truly the end of an era out West as the Pac-12 looks destined to dissolve after at least eight member schools announced they were leaving for greener pastures in 2024. 

The "Conference of Champions" is at least going out on a high note however, featuring some of the best quarterbacks in the country — including the reigning Heisman winner — and a roster of contenders that truly rolls six deep.

The question remains if all that will be simply entertaining deep into "Pac-12 After Dark" territory this year or if it could produce the first playoff team from the league in six seasons after constantly beating each other up in late October and November. 

Three new head coaches also present a new wrinkle, highlighted, of course, by Colorado's Deion Sanders attempting the most audacious roster revamp in the sport's history, and Kenny Dillingham taking over at Arizona State as the youngest head coach in the country.

Either way, it should be a nostalgia-filled farewell for many along the West Coast right up until kickoff rolls around, when we could see the best campaign for Pac-12 football in, well, league history take place between the lines.

Here is the predicted order of finish:

• USC
• Washington
• Utah
• Oregon
• Oregon State
• UCLA
• Washington State
• Arizona
• Colorado
• Arizona State
• Cal
• Stanford

Click here for a detailed breakdown of the Pac-12, including players to watch, potential weak spots, and more for each team.

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SEC

It just means more in the SEC — more wins, more NFL draft picks, and, this season especially, more storylines from top to bottom than at any point in recent memory.

Naturally, all eyes are on reigning champ Georgia, where the Bulldogs will be looking to put a turbulent offseason behind them to focus on a historic pursuit of a three-peat for the first time in the modern era. 

Chasing them all the way to Atlanta (and possibly beyond) are a host of others, including an improved LSU squad in Year 2 under Brian Kelly, and an Alabama program in transition as Nick Saban tries to reboot the Tide on both sides of the ball to get back into the College Football Playoff.

Here is the predicted order of finish:

SEC East

• Georgia
• Tennessee
• South Carolina
• Kentucky
• Florida
• Missouri
• Vanderbilt

SEC West

• LSU
• Alabama
• Texas A&M
• Ole Miss
• Arkansas
• Auburn
• Mississippi State

Click here for a detailed breakdown of the SEC, including players to watch, potential weak spots, and more for each team.

If Georgia three-peats will Kirby Smart surpass Nick Saban?

ACC

This was far from a quiet offseason throughout the ACC footprint, as conference realignment elsewhere has only added to the unease among many of the members about the future. 

On the field, the product has been going through some ups and downs as well, with the middle class of programs looking stronger but the league failing to produce a CFP contender for the second year in a row.

Despite all that, this just might be the most interesting season in a while along the coast. Clemson and Florida State are both ranked in the top 10 and could play twice, there's a potential No. 1 overall pick at North Carolina, and new coaches like Jeff Brohm are bringing plenty of fresh energy to dark horse contenders like Louisville.

Here is the predicted order of finish:

Atlantic Division

• Clemson
• Florida State
• Louisville
• North Carolina State
• Syracuse
• Wake Forest
• Boston College

Coastal Division

• North Carolina
• Duke
• Miami
• Pitt
• Georgia Tech
• Virginia Tech
• Virginia

Click here for a detailed breakdown of the ACC, including players to watch, potential weak spots, and more for each team.

Clemson replaces Brandon Streeter with TCU's Garrett Riley

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.

Bryan Fischer is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He has been covering college athletics for nearly two decades at outlets such as NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and NFL.com among others. Follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.

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College Football

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Big 12

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Michigan Wolverines

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Texas Longhorns

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TCU Horned Frogs

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Clemson Tigers

Bryan Fischer

RJ Young

Michael Cohen