Playoff expansion and conference restructuring are the headlines for major changes in the 2024 football season
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Talk about a new college football landscape.
The 2024 season will certainly give the college football campaign a different look, starting with the calendar opener on Saturday.
Yep… it’s the end of August, which means we’re back to football at the Four-Down stage with a mini schedule – only four games on the schedule, compared to seven last year.
That includes another game in Dublin, where Ireland hosts the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday at Aviva Stadium (12 p.m. ET, TSN2).
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The odyssey for 134 Division 1 teams – one more than last year with the Kennesaw State Owls’ promotion from the FCS level to Conference USA – continues to the FBS climax, the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, scheduled for Monday, January 20, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Here are 10 big – and this year, really big – storylines in play for the 2024 NCAA season:
1. PLAYOFF EXPANSION
Like it or not, it’s here… the original College Football Playoff, now on steroids. No six-team. No eight-team. But a 12-team playoff, which still shocks many a year after its inception. This expansion pushes the schedule a week and a half into January. More football? That’s good, right? Or is one Final 12 too many when playoffs have never been college football’s hallmark? Traditionalists might rightly disagree with the vastly different format.
2. Shift in power
Throw away your map—and the Power Five, for that matter. There really is no rhyme or reason—at least geographically—to the four growing conferences and one mini-Thing that have come to comprise the cream of college football. The Big Ten, for example, is now the “Mega 18” as most of the Pac-12 powers—Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington—have moved from the West Coast to the Midwest. The ACC grew by three when California, SMU and Stanford joined, and is now a 17-team conference coast-to-coast. And the Big 12 now includes Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado in another enormously sprawling 16-school league. With the Pac-12 essentially blown into a thousand pieces and scattered throughout the NCAA, the once-proud brand is now, at least for this season, really a Pac-2—consisting of just Oregon State and Washington State. Strange thing.
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3. RICH GET RICHER
With all this upheaval, we can’t forget the SEC. Of course, the move of top teams Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 has finally happened, giving the SEC even more bragging rights than ever before. And that’s exactly what it’s going to do, right? The SEC is now 16 teams, too. But is it as big and fun as the new and improved Big Ten, which now does without two divisions to dampen its top teams’ national title hopes?
4. BIG BLUE GOES TO TWO
Speaking of which, can Big Ten king Michigan defend its title as national champion in 2024-25? It says “not without Jim Harbaugh” and “not without more sign-stealing.” Yes, Coach Harbaugh has moved on to the NFL, as have QB leader JJ McCarthy and star running back Blake Corum, among other big stars who have made the difference for Michigan. Big Blue probably won’t come close to the dominance of its 15-0 championship campaign.
5. Consequences of sign theft
The sign-stealing scandal in Ann Arbor just won’t go away. And why should it, if it was cheating? The NCAA is still investigating, and more punishments are likely to follow. But shamefully, Harbaugh will no longer be around to face punishment, having washed his hands of the dirty program. And what will be the impact of the upcoming ESPN broadcast of Untoldwhose episode featuring the man at the centre of the controversy – Conor Stalions – is set to be released on Netflix on Tuesday?
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6. SABAN ALSO CONTINUES
“Khaki Pants” Harbaugh wasn’t the only big-name coach to leave the NCAA. The legendary Nick Saban is also gone, retiring after decades of success with Alabama. How much success? Seven national titles, 11 SEC titles and a 292-71-1 record with the Roll Tide. That’s a big blow, considering he’s the best coach in college football. But without Saban and Harbaugh, it probably helps level the playing field for other programs trying to fulfill their destiny.
7. Crown Candidate
The headline of those “others,” of course, is Ohio State. But we hear that every year, so it’s hardly news. We think the recession in Alabama and Michigan opens the door for Texas, Utah, Oregon, Penn State and Florida State. And then we can add USC in, too, although we’re not counting on that program. Southern Cal has underperformed for years in a weak Pac-12 and now has to try and find its way through the superpowered Big Ten. But bring it on, Lincoln Riley!
8. Collapse of Colorado
Deion “Prime Time” Sanders is still thriving in Boulder after catapulting Colorado into the spotlight with a promising start to the 2023 season. But his program currently seems to be receiving more criticism than success. Sanders is under fire for an $11.9 million bankruptcy case involving his son, Shilo Sanders, and “reports of violence and an alleged ‘gun culture’ in Boulder, as well as controversial press conferences,” according to Sports illustrated. None of this sounds good for the buildup to what many had hoped would be a wonderful rags-to-riches story.
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9. HEISMAN HITLIST
Still, the Heisman Trophy spotlight is on Sheduer Sanders, the other son of Colorado quarterback and coach Prime Time. Many other quarterbacks are also in the spotlight, including Texas gunslinger Quinn Ewers, Alabama captain Jalen Milroe and Georgia pivot Carson Beck. The preseason hype surrounding the Most Outstanding Player award centers on Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, even if it’s underwhelming, so picking a winner early is a matter of luck. And in fact, someone usually comes from outside the race to claim the honor, although last year’s winner – LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels – was in the running from the start.
10. RESULT OF THE FINAL FOUR
Fresh blood for the CFP this year? Sure. We think the final four will be Ohio State, Penn State and Florida State, who were robbed of this honor last year after their undefeated regular season, joining – yawn – Georgia, the undisputed favorite to win the overall title after reaching the semifinals last winter. But it’s really all up for grabs, as 12 teams will be selected for the playoffs. And that will be great fun for us!
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