This 2024 college football season could be unlike any other. From the massive conference realignment, to the Pac 12 breaking up, to teams being allowed to pay players, to the four team playoffs expanding to 12 teams, we truly haven’t seen anything like it. There are still a lot of questions: Will Texas and Oklahoma be able to continue their success into the mighty SEC? What will the 12 team playoffs look like? Will paying players turn college football into a giant free agency? This makes it even harder to rank teams because of all of the players changing schools left and right. With that being said, I put together my top 10 before the season begins.

1. Georgia Bulldogs

After barely missing the playoffs last year, the Dawgs showed that they were hungry after a 63-3 victory in the Orange Bowl. During the offseason, all this team did was get better. Led by the best head coach in college football, Kirby Smart, Georgia had the top ranked recruiting class in the country with five-stars and 19 4-stars. The offense is led by arguably the best quarterback in the country, Carson Beck, who has a great chance to win the Heisman Trophy. They still have a top efive defense year in and year out.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

This Ohio State team lost their best player to the NFL Draft and somehow still got better. Ryan Day had a great offseason in the transfer portal acquiring safety Caleb Down from Bama, running back Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss, and quarterback Will Howard from Kansas State. The Buckeyes also upgraded their coaching staff replacing Bill O’Brien with UCLA head coach, Chip Kelly, at the offensive coordinator position. The Buckeyes have a great shot at challenging Georgia for a national championship.

3. Oregon Ducks

Coming off of a dominant Fiesta Bowl win over Liberty 45-6, head coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks got better. Their biggest move of the offseason was acquiring Oklahoma quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, from the portal. Gabriel has the best odds to be the 2nd Oregon player to win the heisman trophy. Not only did they improve on offense, but they improved on the defensive side of the ball as well. They have built up a defense that could potentially be better than the mighty Georgia defense. The defense is led by Texas A&M transfer, Evan Stewart.

4. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama has a new head football coach for the first time since 2007. With the departure of the great Nick Saban, the Tide hired Kalen DeBoer from Washington. DeBoer is coming off a national championship loss and is looking to prove that it wasn’t just a fluke season. Alabama is by far the most successful program of the last two decades. This year they had the one recruiting class for the first time in a few years. The reason they are not top three is because they have a lot of brand new faces and not a whole lot of experience, however I think that will wear off early on.

5. Texas Longhorns

The 2024 season will be Texas’s first season in the best conference in college football. The SEC. Coming off of a Big 12 championship and playoff berth, Texas is trying to continue that success. Steve Sarkishian built a great new class of recruits from the portal and high school. Quarterback Quinn Ewers is another heisman favorite for this upcoming year.

6. Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss might have their best roster of all time! The Rebels have never been to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game but many think that this could be their year, and I agree. They are coming off of a fantastic 2023 season with their only losses being to Georgia and Alabama. They beat a great Penn State team by 13 in the Peach Bowl to cap off that season. Jaxon Dart, the starting quarterback, is trying to have another banner season and lead Ole Miss’s offense to another fantastic season.

7. Missouri Tigers

Last year, Missouri had maybe their most talented team ever. They lost only two games and capped the season off with a 14-3 Cotton Bowl victory over Ohio State. They already had probably the best receiver in college football, Luther Burden, but they added to the receiver room when they got 5-star Williams Nwaneri. Quarterback, Brady Cook, is looking to have another amazing season. Head coach, Eli Drinkwitz, has built a great squad to get Mizzou to their first playoffs in program history.

8. Penn State Nittany Lions

James Franklin has Penn State as a consistent threat year in and year out. Last year the Nittany Lions went 10-3 with only losses to eventual national champs, Michigan, powerhouse, Ohio State, and Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. The problem is, they consistently are a 10 win team, missing the playoffs. With the new 12 team playoff format, I think this is the year they get over that hump. They got a new play caller for the offense to try and take Penn State to the next level.

9. Michigan Wolverines

Even after a 2023 national championship season, the Wolverines are barely cracking the top 10 on my list. Michigan had a lot of their starters leave for the NFL including star running back, Blake Corum, and starting quarterback, JJ McCarthy. With that being said, the backups for those players are still great. Alex Orji played well with the limited time he got last season. Donovan Edwards was great when Corum was injured or just taking a breather. He even made it onto the cover of the new college football video game. However, their biggest loss to the NFL was head coach, Jim Harbaugh. They are bringing in Sherrone Moore who was the interim coach last year during Harbaugh’s two game suspension. The biggest question for this team is how they will look under the new leadership.

10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Marcus Freeman’s tenure at Notre Dame has been OK so far, but I think this is their breakout year in the Freeman era. They got a brand new offensive coordinator from LSU who coached the heisman trophy winner last year. Their biggest move of the offseason was acquiring Duke quarterback, Riley Leonard, who almost beat Notre Dame last year before getting injured. Because Notre Dame is independent, their schedule is relatively easy. They play some good teams but I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Irish go undefeated in 2024.