ESPN ranks the Top 10 defenses in college football ahead of the 2023 season

Defense wins championships. Even with several high-powered offenses in college football, a big-time defense can still get you across the finish line. With that in mind, ESPN recently ranked the Top-10 units on that side of the ball entering the 2023 season.

Atop ESPN’s list was the Georgia Bulldogs who have become the poster program when it comes to defensive dominance. Defensive success has helped lead them to a pair of national titles and, based on this ranking, it could be at the core of their potential three-peat come next year.

1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. Michigan Wolverines
3. Alabama Crimson Tide
4. Penn State Nittany Lions
5. Clemson Tigers
6. Iowa Hawkeyes
7. Florida State Seminoles
8. LSU Tigers
9. Texas A&M Aggies
10. Wisconsin Badgers

Other teams getting votes in ESPN’s ranking were Illinois, Air Force, Utah, NC State, Kentucky, Ohio State, and Oregon State.

As far as Georgia, it’s hard to not wonder how they keep doing this? This is a defense that has seen a ton of their production leave through the NFL Draft and a little more depart Athens via the transfer portal. Still, as Harry Lyles Jr. pointed out, his breakdown of each position went anywhere from three to seven players deep even before he got to the Bulldog’s next wave of recruits. That’s why, from here, the ‘Dawgs look as though they’ll continue to post top-five defenses like they have the past two seasons.

In total, even with the departures each program endured, ESPN’s list includes five of the Top-10 defenses from during the 2022 season. That group is led by Iowa who allowed just 13.3 points per game last year as the second best defense in the nation. Overall, they all finished in the Top-25 with only LSU (22.5 ppg.) finishing outside of that range at No. 34.

As far as conferences, the SEC and Big Ten tied at the top with four spots each in ESPN’s Top-10. The ACC was the only other league that earned slots with two.

Again, a top-notch unit on defense can still get you where you want to go in college football. Georgia has proved as much in 2021 and 2022, albeit in historic fashion. That’s a big reason why each of these programs should feel very good about their chances in ’23 considering how they’ll be able to stifle their opponents.