Rece Davis makes College Football Playoff predictions for 2023

Rece Davis is making his prediction for the College Football Playoff ahead of the 2023 college football season.

The College GameDay host was joined by ESPN’s Pete Thamel on the College GameDay Podcast this week, where he elaborated on his thoughts ahead of the season beginning. One of the questions Davis answered was regarding the strength of the SEC, and it directly led to his prediction for the season.

“I will answer the question and say the SEC only gets one,” explained Davis, regarding the possibility of two SEC squads making the College Football Playoff. “It will be Georgia. And I think the four Playoff teams are going to be Georgia, Michigan, USC and Florida State.”

There you have it. Davis believes the SEC won’t be getting two squads in, so that’s bad news for the LSU Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers. Meanwhile, Davis believes Michigan will make it back to the College Football Playoff for a third consecutive season, and expects USC to make another leap under Lincoln Riley’s leadership, after coming so close to making it to the dance last season.

Alas, Davis’ most surprising selection may be Florida State, who’s faltered on more than one occasion over the last couple of seasons. Evidently, the College GameDay host isn’t scared off by Mike Norvell’s team recent history, and believes the Seminoles will take a huge step forward in 2023.

“I will admit this. I’m really, really bullish on Florida State. … I’m bullish on them,” explained Davis. “But if there is one team in this preseason top ten, might fall out of the rankings group, it does scare me. I’m sure it’s recent history that’s making me fear this, it is them. It’s probably them or maybe Washington. I have to remember if Washington is in the top ten this preseason. I’m high on both of those teams, but those would be the two.

“I think Florida State is going to come through, and I think they make the Playoff, and I think they knock either LSU or Alabama out of that second spot from the SEC.”

That’d be music to the ACC’s ears. While it’s been Clemson that’s represented the conference in the College Football Playoff over the last couple of seasons, don’t forget Florida State was the first ACC team to make it.

Rece Davis is a believer in the Seminoles, and it’ll be fascinating to see if they make good on his prediction in 2023. While the rest of his picks aren’t exactly groundbreaking, it’s easy to see how the could come to fruition, and there’s certainly a path for them all.