College football rankings 2023: Georgia leads charge for 3-peat, Michigan, Alabama close behind
College football rankings 2023, way-too-early Top 25: No. 10-9
10. Oregon Ducks
Bo Nix returning for the 2023 season gives Oregon a huge boost right off the jump. Despite the narrative around the quarterback at Auburn, he arrived in Eugene and became a legitimate Heisman candidate. Now we’ll see how much of that was 2022’s offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham — now the head coach at Arizona State — and how much was Nix. But the weapons will be there for the Ducks with Traeshon Holden and Tez Johnson transferring in to bolster the receiving corps.
My big question is on defense, a unit that loses Noah Sewell, Justin Flowe and Christian Gonzalez. However, the Oregon defense was suspect at times, particularly against the pass, and head coach Dan Lanning is bringing in a massive haul of high-end defensive recruits. If he can give that unit a facelift with young players, the ceiling could actually be raised for the Ducks in 2023.
9. Washington Huskies
Much like with the Ducks, another Pac-12 team in Washington is getting a big boost heading into next season thanks to the return of their quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. in this case. However, there won’t be any questions with the play-caller as head coach Kalen DeBoer is still in tow after his first year with the Huskies and guided an electric offense that also possibly returns two 1,000-yard receivers from the 2022 campaign.
Also in the same vein as Oregon, Washington needs the defense to be better. However, DeBoer has also seemingly found some answers by way of the transfer portal to go along with returning stars and edge rushers Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fetui. If that side of the ball takes a step forward with what Penix can do in this offense, don’t sleep for a second on the Huskies.