Overview
Across all sports, there’s almost always an unnerving amount of pressure to be successful. Taking it a step further, there’s usually a championship or bust mindset with fans, teams, and coaches alike. Few would dispute that college football teams and their coaches are at the top of that list. In professional sports there’s surely a level of pressure, but with widespread tanking for draft positioning, salary caps to deal with, & constant turnover in roster and team management, there’s a bit of a window to work with.
To the contrary, one bad loss in college football and a team/coach that was once considered the next big thing or considered a consistent standout can turn into a laughingstock and be thrown on the “hot seat” in a heartbeat. You’d better win, and you’d better win now. With that expectation comes pressure and without a shadow of a doubt there’s some universities that will have that pressure residing over every waking moment of the 2023 season.
The 2023 college football season will be one of the most compelling in over a decade in more ways than imaginable for a plethora of reasons. There’s storylines galore, which we’ll get into later. Past the storylines, the 2023 season will be a farewell to the current structure of the sport as a whole. While that inevitable change is certainly contentious within the college football community, it’s swiftly approaching nonetheless.
USC QB Caleb Williams (13) – Gary A. Vazquez/USA Today
Conference realignment will be the biggest shift to adjust to after this season. Texas and Oklahoma, two giants of the sport, will play their last season in the BIG12 conference before heading to the vaunted SEC. Re-emerging powerhouses such as USC & UCLA will leave the surging PAC-12 conference for the BIG10. With recent ‘24 & ‘25 schedule announcements touting dream matchups, there’s a large faction of people looking ahead to the next season already.
On top of realignment, the college football playoff format will shift from 4 to 12 teams. A move that significantly compounds the sweeping changes to the college football landscape. All this to say, there’s more pressure than ever to win now and make the most of the present structure and the benefits they currently afford teams at the top. For teams like Texas, Oklahoma, USC, & UCLA, the road only gets tougher from here.
The same can be said for the teams from the SEC & BIG10 that will have those programs join an already strenuous lineup. The Notre Dame, Oregon, Florida State, & Clemsons of the world will also face tougher roads going forward as it will be tough for those teams to contend with the résumés of the aforementioned teams when the time comes for rankings and playoff seedings. The road to the top is only getting more difficult.
Texas QB Quinn Ewers (3) – Timmy Warner/Getty Images
Here are the teams with the most pressure to win now in the 2023 season.
Florida State: 2022 Record 10-3. After a strong close to the season including huge wins over Florida & Oklahoma, FSU went from a fringe bowl team and spiraling powerhouse to national darling overnight. Mike Norvell is no longer on the hot seat, Jordan Travis is garnering top 50 pick buzz, they’ve added arguably the best portal class to a 10 win team, and the ACC isn’t some gauntlet to run through. The pressure is on and in a big way. The Noles are getting preseason top 5 love and they’ll have more pressure than anyone to maintain that level week by week and get into the playoff.
Michigan: 2022 Record 13-1. Arguably no team had a more disappointing end to the 2022 season than the Michigan Wolverines. After going undefeated through BIG10 play, beating Ohio State & winning the BIG10 title game in back to back years, the Wolverines lost in the CFP to underdog TCU. With the best running back duo in the country (Corum & Edwards), projected 1st round QB JJ McCarthy, an elite defense, & a top tier coach in Jim Harbaugh, the pressure is heavier than ever to get over the hump & win a title before realignment makes that task tougher.
Texas: 2022 Record 8-5. Sarkisan. Ewers. Manning. Get used to hearing those names. Whether it’s good or bad news, the Texas program will continually be under the microscope. After a loaded portal class and some key freshmen additions, the Longhorns are projected to go from budding upstarts to contender. Realistic or not, the Texas program will be expected to vie for a national title and with the financial investment into both the roster and staff, the weight of that expectation can make diamonds or burst pipes. We shall see.
USC: 2022 Record 11-3. While the PAC12 certainly isn’t a cakewalk, the Trojans will likely not see a more favorable path to a national title for at least the foreseeable future. Furthermore, while the Trojans surely have a young stable of QB’s, Caleb Williams caliber players don’t come around very often. With the addition of key transfers such as former UGA 5 star DT Bear Alexander, the USC defense will be much improved. How much? That remains to be seen. All we know for sure is that Lincoln Riley & company will have about as much pressure to win as any program in the country.
Ohio State: 2022 Record 11-2. Admittedly, this team probably shouldn’t be here, but realistic expectations and college football don’t go hand in hand. Young head coach, new quarterback, largely new offensive line, and a BIG10 schedule to compete against, Ohio State should probably be extended grace this season, but it just doesn’t work that way. Rabid fan base, national spotlight, and perhaps the ghost of underachievement hovering over the program, the pressure is undoubtedly immense. Buckeyes will have a mountain to climb and a lot of pressure on their back while doing so.
Honorable Mention
Notre Dame
Oklahoma
