MVPs for every 2023 Top 25 college football team

By now, all but two teams are looking ahead to the 2024 season. Bowls are over, team banquets have wrapped up and awards have been distributed.

But there’s still time to look back at the most valuable players for the nation’s top 25 teams, based on the final CFP rankings. I reached out to coaches and dove into the numbers to gauge the players who meant the most to their team’s success in 2023. The goal also was to get a representative sample rather than only a list of quarterbacks. Although Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and several standout quarterbacks appear below, so do players at other positions who helped their teams throughout the fall.

Actual team MVP selections informed my picks but didn’t completely determine them if there was some debate at the top.

Listed in the order of the final College Football Playoff rankings:

I covered the Wolverines’ final three regular-season games and the Big Ten championship. Sainristil consistently jumped out with his playmaking ability in the back end of the defense. He led the team with five interceptions and had a Big Ten-leading two pick-sixes, while adding two forced fumbles, six pass breakups and two sacks. Despite being one of the smaller players on the field (5-foot-10, 182 pounds), Sainristil has made numerous massive plays for a Michigan defense loaded with talent but lacking many true superstars. He was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week four times, including in the league championship game, when he forced two fumbles against Iowa to set up Michigan scores. His performance down the stretch during coach Jim Harbaugh’s league-imposed suspension stood out to those inside the program. “The big moments of the season that Mikey came up big, with interceptions and forced fumbles and touchdowns, he’s definitely the MVP,” a Michigan source said.

Although Penix was the Heisman Trophy runner-up and would have been a deserving winner, he faced some stiff competition for team MVP from wide receiver Rome Odunze, who is having an exceptional season as Penix’s top target. Still, Penix gets the nod after following up his breakthrough 2022 season with another outstanding performance, highlighted by immaculate downfield passes. He had 16 touchdown passes in Washington’s first four games and had multiple touchdown passes in…