College Football Preseason Coaches Poll: Georgia at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2 | CBS Sports

Intro Welcome to CBS sports HQ. We are inside three weeks until the start of the 2024 college football season. And that means we are in pole season. And the latest pole to hit the scene is the coaches poll. 69 coaches participating. Georgia the runaway number 147. First place votes. Big ten favorite Ohio State comes in at number two. Big ten newbie Oregon. You see them sitting at three. Texas, Alabama rounding out the top five. The big Ten and SEC contributed eight of the top ten teams for each. All right. So let's welcome in college football writer, analyst and cover three podcast host Chip Patterson to talk about this chip Georgia grabbing roughly 69% of the first place votes. Georgia at No 1 Here is there any disagreement anywhere except maybe in Columbus, that they are not the number one team in the nation going into 2024? Yeah, Jeremy, they're my number one team as well. And you hint at the people in Columbus. To me, this is a top two next two conversation when we talk about the very top of the coaches poll, the CBS sports 134 and all the rest of the preseason rankings because it's Georgia or Ohio State that boasts the most impressive rosters on paper. And the big difference maker to me for Georgia is the quarterback position, because we are returning, Carson Beck, who even last year I think went overlooked and underrated in terms of what he was able to do for the Bulldogs offense, a top ten passer in terms of completion percentage, top ten passer in yards per attempt, top ten passer in terms of passer rating. And I think that even though he didn't have the gaudy touchdown totals as some of the other quarterbacks like a Dylan Gabriel, for example, the fact that he is returning with the same offense, with the same coordinator, you can't say that at Ohio State, you can't say that at Oregon, and you can't say that at Alabama either. Another top five team that has a little bit of turnover. So with all the continuity that the Bulldogs have from a team that came just like a couple plays away from being undefeated heading into the College Football Playoff and then pasted the ACC champions by 60 points in the Orange Bowl. I think that that's what gives us the Bulldogs as the overwhelming pick to be number one. All right, so speaking of Columbus, you mentioned the Buckeyes seven first place votes after a standout haul in the transfer portal. Chip for you are the margins that slim between the Buckeyes and Georgia other than the quarterback position perhaps. Or is it apples and oranges right now? Right now, Ohio State is closer to Georgia than I think it is to Oregon. Right there at number three. And it's not the quarterback position. It's really more about the defensive side of the ball, where you've got a lot of players who could have gone to the NFL draft but decided to come back for another season with the Buckeyes. You know, I'm talking about J.T, I'm talking about Jack Sawyer, talking about Tyler Williams, Denzel Burke. You know, these are players that you might not have been first round picks like a Marvin Harrison Jr, their teammate, but certainly had a really good chance to be second, third fourth round picks. And now we'll be playing on Saturdays I think Ohio State had an amazing defense last year. It seemed like the Silver Bullets are back and that is one of the reasons why I think Ohio State is well rounded. I mean, look, the wealth is just overwhelming when it comes to the wide receivers, the running backs, the offensive line quarterback is still a big question mark, but I just don't think it's going to be put a lot on Will Howard's plate. My expectation for the starting quarterback for Ohio State? I just don't think he's going to be asked to do a lot, because all the other places are so strong. Ohio State will be able to overwhelm the competition. So yeah, I do think Ohio State is nipping at the heels of the Bulldogs, Jeremy, but I still think there's enough of a gap. Maybe quarterback the big difference maker something that catches the eye. Texas receives one first place vote in the coaches poll. Chip, can we find this person? Was it Mack Brown? Perhaps It perhaps was. I think I know that we will get our opportunity to dig in on the Longhorns, first place vote. Also, Michigan's first place vote and some of the other stray votes that are out there that were not Georgia or Ohio State. But I get it. I mean, this was a team that finally had its back moment, winning the big 12 for the first time since 2009. You know, making it to the College Football Playoff for the first time. And really coming just a couple plays away from getting a shot to play for the national championship. As Quinn Ewers led that furious rally against Washington in that sugar Bowl semifinal. But the Longhorns to me, are replacing a lot. But this is where Steve Sarkisian, I think, gets a lot of credit for the way that he's built out this roster because he has recruited at an SEC level. Before Texas was even an SEC member, and he has done a fantastic job at utilizing talent from the transfer portal. And that's why when you lose all that skill, position, talent off last year's big 12 championship team, well, hello Amari Niblack from Alabama. Hello Isaiah Bond from Alabama. You know you're bringing in a star wide receiver from Houston. There are so many players on this Texas offense that are new. But you can imagine the way they're going to fit especially within Sark's system. Defensively they've got some turnover on the field and on the sidelines. So that's the big question mark here. That's what has me not being the lone voter to make Texas number 112. And four receiving a first place vote so far Notre Dame sit inside the top ten at the seven spot. Do you think that that that's a fair reflection of where the Irish are given the off season changes they made, the biggest of which bringing in former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard? Yeah, this is a little bit of I think, a anticipation of where they might finish. You're looking at a Notre Dame with a win total of ten and a half, right now. And you bring in Riley Leonard. You get Mike Denbrock as your offensive coordinator after he was just at LSU helping get Jayden Daniels to a Heisman Trophy. But I'm glad that we get to talk right now, Jeremy, because we actually had news break this morning that the expected starting tackle, Charles Jigsaw, is going to miss the entire season and they are replacing two tackles who left to the NFL draft, Joe Ault being the most notable of them, this is going to be an offensive line that needs to step up in a really big way to protect Riley Leonard, because we saw just last season, Riley Leonard, when fully healthy, had Clemson defenders on ice skates. Riley Leonard on one leg almost, you know, took a Florida State or a Notre Dame down to the wire but ultimately was not successful. That offensive line needs to be really good. And we found out actually today that this Fighting Irish team, number seven in the Coaches poll, is Power dynamics going to be missing what was projected to be one of their starting tackles and their first game, not an easy one either. Texas A&M, coming up on the 31st of the month with eight of the top ten teams from the SEC in the Big Ten for each, we're seeing the new power dynamics in college football play out in real time, aren't we, chip? Yeah, this is a spot where the additions for both of these schools and everyone's got additions. You know, ACC's got additions, big twelves got additions, but no one is seeing their reputations change quite like the Big Ten and the SEC with the fact that they didn't just add schools, they added schools that compete for championships. Now, it's been a while since Texas has won a national championship. And Oregon is still trying to finally trying to knock down that door. But there is no doubt that these teams recruit like they compete for championships. They fundraise and spend like they are competing for championships, and the expectation throughout that building is that they are competing for championships. And so I understand that, you know, it's all about big brands and television ratings. But ultimately, do you value competing at the highest level in college football? When you add those kinds of programs like a Texas, an Oklahoma, an Oregon, a Washington, a USC, that that is going to change the way that your conference is viewed. When we have a top 25 list like this. Because one of the things that we're going to do every single time is count up by conference. And what the Big Ten and the SEC have done is they've added schools that are going to be in those top 25 lists, and we talked about one of the outliers already. The other outlier is at number ten, Florida State, who are looking for an encore to last season's undefeated ACC campaign. And we get Utah, one of the big 12 newbies sitting at 13. We mentioned those two because they're flipped from the CBS sports. 134 so, Chip, how satisfied are you that the 134 appears to be a pretty accurate reflection of what we're seeing among the coaches. Yeah. I mean, 134 just might be some Florida State haters. I know I was not one of them, I'll tell you that. I had the Seminoles right up there at number ten on my personal ballot, that this is two different cases, first, let's talk about Utah. Utah finished last season way down outside of the top 30 because they had the pig farmer Bryson Barnes out there at quarterback. They had injuries at almost every single position. And what happened? They still finished eight and four. I mean we saw what the flaw of a Kyle Whittingham program was, in 2023. And the flaw is still an eight win total that a lot of coaches would sign up for, even as their ceiling. So Cam Rising is back. Brant Keith is back. You're healthier along the defensive and offensive lines. The assumption is that Utah is going to jump right back to where the Utes were the previous season, which is contending for Pac 12 or conference championships. They are the favorite in the big 12. I get that the Florida State side of things is interesting, because I do think that coaches were probably a little bit more turned off than media when it comes to Florida State's exclusion from the College Football Playoff last year. I know a lot of coaches believe the Seminoles probably deserved a shot to go compete for a national championship. The fact that they had earned that beating every single team on their schedule, winning a power conference championship. And so maybe they're a little bit softer than the CBS sports. 134 Top 12 voters when it comes to the Seminoles plight. Speaking of the national championship, the national champions, Michigan, come in at number eight and we get LSU in at number 12. What is it about those two teams that caught your eye here? Chip too low Jeremy. Too low. First of all, disrespectful to the Wolverines player development. I understand that they had 13 players go to the NFL draft, but they've been pumping out NFL draft picks for the last half decade. And oftentimes like last year, they are not five star automatic surefire hits like the types that you get at a Georgia and Alabama and Ohio State. They have found the right types of players. They have developed those players on the field and in the weight room, and they have helped turn three stars and four stars into first, second and third round draft picks. And so I get that. They need to be docked a little bit and they'll miss J.J. McCarthy. But Sharon Moore has shown me enough in his time leading this program, and he has been so integral to the identity of this program that I think knocking them all the way down to the edge of the top ten really doesn't acknowledge what they're going to have back, because what they've got is a roster that can pretty much bowl over most teams on the schedule. I mean, you got a Texas game in week two that's going to be absolutely massive. An Ohio State game at the end of the season and Oregon on that schedule as well. But this is a 9 or 10 win team. This is a group that still is built from the line of scrimmage out. I think Michigan deserves to be closer to the top five than the top ten. And then I've got LSU inside my own personal top ten, and that's because I think Garrett Nussmeier is going to be able to pick up right where Jayden Daniels left off, and I think LSU is going to have one of the most productive offenses in the country. So from underrated to overrated, Chip, who is breathing in rarer air than they perhaps should be here. Yeah, kind of a flip of the Michigan Proposition where I think that Ole Miss needs to be a little bit closer to ten than they are to five, and this is one of many rankings that has Ole Miss really knocking on that door of saying that they deserve to be in that top tier, they bring back Jaxson Dart, their wide receiver room is fantastic and it is very clear by their own activity, you know, by their own transfer portal activity that this is an all in year, picking up a lot of players in their last year of eligibility who might be bound for the pros and then being able to just cash in on this. Lane Kiffin himself, Jeremy said. This is the highest expectations for rebels football since the Kennedy administration, but I am in a little bit of a show me mood on this because in terms of regular season wins against ranked team, they had just two of them last year. One of them was Tulane against a backup quarterback. The other one was a 55 to 49 shootout against LSU. Ole Miss is very, very good at beating up the teams that don't have as much talent. Before. I moved them close to that top five, I'd like to see them win those games against similar talent more often. Lastly, Chip, are you shocked to see no Non-power four teams in the top 25? I'm not. This has been a growing trend across conference realignment that if you are on the other side of that fence, the chances are you're getting picked up. If I was to identify one, I think that Boise State is the one I've got my eyes on, they've got a quarterback named Malachi Nelson who transfers over from USC, was actually a former five star prospect. It was surprising when you see a player like that leave USC and maybe you might think, oh, well, that means he can't cut it. Those are not the reports that we are hearing right now. I think that Malachi Nelson, the running back, Ashton Jeanty, a defense that returns almost everybody. I've been running the chip politics, Jeremy, I think Boise State's about a touchdown better than everybody else in the Mountain West. And I also think the mountain West is the highest rated of the Group of five conferences. So with a nonconference game against Oregon that I don't think they'll win, but will at least be an opportunity to show how they can stand up against the best in the country. I would not be surprised to see Boise State very much in the mix for that G5 spot come College Football Playoff time, and a team you'll be able to see on CBS Sports Network. A college football writer and analyst, Chip Patterson, joining us to break down the Coaches Poll top 25. You can catch a full article over on CBS Sports.com. Chip, also the host of the Cover three podcast latest episode, has Bodhi Elliott in conversation with Jason Scherer as they do a deep