There were many storylines that took place during the 2023 college football season.
Here is our top 5 of the season.
Deion Sanders To Colorado
From the time he was hired by the Colorado Buffaloes in December 2022, Boulder has never been the same. From day one Sanders told Buffaloes players that most wouldn’t be back and he was bringing in his own guys, “Louis Vuitton” luggage, as he called it.
While the regular season started off great (3-0) but ended with eight losses in nine games, Coach Prime and his team still dominated the headlines in college football.
Even in the offseason Coach Prime and the Buffs have dominated the headlines, from the loss of both coordinators (Sean Lewis and Charles Kelly) to him landing the top-ranked class in the transfer portal.
But no story has been bigger than landing Jordan Seaton, the top-ranked offensive lineman in the 2024 recruiting class. Seaton didn’t sign until the final day of the early signing period, but he did put to pen to paper and join the Buffs.
And who can forget the sidelines littered with celebrities weekly.
Michigan Sign-Stealing Controversy
The Wolverines are the No. 1-ranked team heading into Monday’s Rose Bowl CFP matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide. And while they’re here and undefeated, it didn’t come without controversy.
During the season reports leaked that Jim Harbaugh’s gang had been cheating for some time.
While nothing much has come from it as of now, Harbaugh was suspended by the Big Ten for the final three games of the regular season.
Harbaugh’s name has also come up in NFL head coach talks. But, as his team prepares for Monday’s game, Harbs is doing his best to defuse any drama.
“Such a one-track mind” Harbaugh told reporters after his team arrived in Pasadena. “That’s the way we’re going about things,” Harbaugh said.
Harbs is saying he’s only focused on the task at hand, which is trying to beat Alabama.
Pac-12 Goes Up In Smoke After 108 Years
Late in the summer Colorado announced it would be headed back to the Big 12, which it left in 2011. That move seemed to start a domino effect, as Oregon and Washington then announced they’d be joining conference traditional powers USC and UCLA in the Big Ten.
Utah, Arizona and Arizona State decided to follow the Buffs to the Big 12 leaving only Washington State and Oregon State to pretty much fend for themselves.
They’ll reportedly be a two-team conference in 2024 with six games versus the Mountain West conference. It’s sad to see such a legendary staple in the game of college football dismantle like that.
Former Miami Hurricanes coach Dennis Erickson offered his take on the situation to the Palm Beach Post in August
“It had nothing to do with education. It has nothing to do with players, it had nothing to do with the school. It had to do with money.”
Florida State Snubbed From CFP
Despite doing everything asked of them, winning their conference championship and going undefeated (13-0), the Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff.
The ’Noles lost star quarterback Jordan Travis late in the season, and even though they were winning, the committee didn’t believe they were one of the four best teams in college football without their quarterback.
The decision caused a stir amongst the college football world, and as a result 23 Noles players, including 11 starters, opted out of Saturday’s 63-3 Orange Bowl loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.
Caleb Williams Cries In Mom’s Arms After Loss
Following his team’s 52-42 loss to eventual Pac-12 champion Washington, the Trojans star QB and likely No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft wept in his mom’s arms in the stands. The image of Williams went viral, and he of course he caught a lot of blowback for doing such. Williams was obviously overcome by emotion and went to his safe haven, as mom covered his face with a blanket.
It showed the sensitive side of Williams as his chances as a repeat Heisman winner and the Trojans’ playoff chances went up in smoke.
