The Mt. Vernon Rams are the #1 football team headed in to the 2023 season. The Rams had a meteoric rise last season after Dan Mings returned as head coach. The Rams hit a road bump in the middle of the season, stripping some of their wins away due to a clerical error that made one of their players ineligible, but the Rams still returned to the postseason for the first time since 2013. The Rams impressed enough under Mings last season to pick up 7 of our 12 first place votes.
No Kerry Martin at Marion isn’t slowing down expectations for the Wildcats, they received a pair of the first place votes among our voters and come into the season ranked #2.
The Carterville Lions finished the year in 2022 as the #1 team in Southern Illinois but after graduating several offensive playmakers they have dropped down to #3 in the 2023 preseason poll, just a vote away from Marion.
Here’s a look at the Full Rankings:
| Rank | School (First Place Votes) | Points | Rank Last Week |
| 1 | Mt. Vernon (7) | 103 | – |
| 2 | Marion (2) | 78 | – |
| 3 | Carterville (1) | 77 | – |
| 4 | Benton (1) | 67 | – |
| 5 | Murphysboro | 61 | – |
| 6 | Centralia | 56 | – |
| 7 | Nashville (1) | 50 | – |
| 8 | Johnston City | 43 | – |
| 9 | Harrisburg | 33 | – |
| 10 | Fairfield | 30 | – |
Also receiving votes: Carbondale 22, Sesser-Valier-Waltonville 17, Herrin 9, Pinckneyville 4, Carmi-White County 3, Du Quoin 3, Anna-Jonebsoro 2, Chester 2
