The 2024 college football season is here.
After a tumultuous Week 0 that featured a last-second upset, a wild 17-point comeback and plenty of other madness, a full slate of action lies ahead in Week 1.
We’ve waited years for a bigger and better College Football Playoff system, and now the moment has finally arrived. A new, expanded 12-team postseason awaits at the conclusion of the 2024 regular season, complete with byes for the top four conference champions and on-campus home games for the next four highest-ranked teams. The Group of Five’s top-ranked champion will also have a shot at the title as a member of the field.
So, which teams will make the College Football Playoff field? Which teams will play for the national championship and who will hoist the trophy on Jan. 20? Our experts dish out predictions for conference champions, the Heisman Trophy winner, biggest surprises, disappointments and more.
Ross Dellenger
In what is likely the most anticipated season in college football history — new conference makeups, an expanded playoff — the Buckeyes are my pick to win it all. Ryan Day and Co. completed the offseason with one of the country’s best (and most expensive) transfer portal hauls, nabbing Quinshon Judkins from OIe Miss, QB Will Howard from Kansas State and DB Caleb Downs from Alabama. It’s time for the athlete payroll to produce a ring for Ohio State and, this time, Michigan won’t be in the way.
Dan Wetzel
New postseason, new teams in new places, this should be a wild and exciting season. If QB Will Howard is who Ryan Day believes he will be then the Buckeyes are loaded enough to get past an equally loaded Georgia in the end. Miami has enough talent to break through, Kansas State will survive a Big 12 dogfight and I think Tennessee — great QB, great defense — hosts a playoff game. It’s going to be a fun one.
Nick Bromberg
Georgia and Ohio State look to be the two most talented teams in the country and should meet for the national title. I’m going with Ohio State in what could be a thriller to cap off the first 12-team playoff. Carson Beck seems the likeliest of players to win the Heisman — an award that will assuredly be won by a quarterback. I think Indiana is a sleeper to win eight games as the Big Ten moves away from divisions and I find it hard to see how Colorado gets bowl eligible with its gauntlet of a Big 12 schedule.
Caroline Fenton
Florida State is a popular pick to win the ACC or get an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff, but I don’t think Florida State’s roster is in a position to contend for a championship. The Seminoles lost quarterback Jordan Travis, leading rusher Trey Benson and three leading receivers. Defensively, they will have to replace three of their leading rushers. That’s … a lot. Mike Norvell hit the portal and he has proven he is an excellent coach. But if quarterback DJ Uiagalelei never lived up to expectations at Clemson or Oregon State, why should we believe things will be different in Tallahassee? There are too many holes to fill and question marks for me to be optimistic about a playoff push. (Editor’s note: This was written before FSU’s season-opening loss to Georgia Tech.)
Picking Georgia to win the national championship this season feels so icky because it is so obvious. But there is just so much to love about this roster, starting with quarterback Carson Beck. Credit to offensive coordinator Mike Bobo for facilitating Beck’s development like he did last year; Beck was never asked to do too much early on, but as the season progressed the playbook opened up and we started to see Beck take more calculated risks. Now he has a year of experience and a more complex understanding of the offense. Plus, he’ll have myriad weapons around him, including former Florida running back Trevor Etienne. Also keep an eye on Oscar Delp, who will assume TE1 duties after Brock Bowers left for the NFL. Overall, Georgia has one of the deepest and most talented rosters in college football. The Bulldogs have an absolute gauntlet of a schedule, so it certainly won’t be a cakewalk, but this team has the talent and experience where it matters to make yet another championship run.
Jay Busbee
The most important and significant college football season … ever? Maybe! For the first time in the sport’s history, there’s a legitimate pathway to the championship for well over a dozen programs.
The final four will look chalky, but there will be at least one serious upset in the playoffs’ first round (Alabama losing in Tuscaloosa? Ohio State losing in Columbus? It’ll happen, sooner or later). Between the transfer portal, NIL promises and the expanded playoff, this is as wide-open as college football has ever been. Strap in.
Jason Fitz
The expanded playoff has changed college football forever for the better. But it also means we need to be ready for a chaotic year and change the way we predict what will happen in the sport. Being the most talented team is obviously worth respecting, but it’s not the end-all be-all for me when it comes to what we expect. In a world where playoff games will decide everything, I want teams that have experienced quarterbacks. For that reason, Dillon Gabriel and Jaxson Dart are playoff quarterbacks I’m ready to bank on. Sure, Ohio State and Georgia are stacked, but a one-game sample size with everything on the line will normalize some of that dominance and create opportunity.
While the SEC is absolutely stacked, Tennessee has talent everywhere and a quarterback that I think will become a household name this fall. As much as we will fall in love with the Vols, we will fall out of love with Clemson and the ACC as a whole. None of the teams in that conference will be worthy of a top seed when all is said and done.
Ian Casselberry
I didn’t expect to be so big on Oregon going into this, especially with another powerhouse in the Big Ten. However, Ohio State is under huge pressure to succeed and has many new players to mesh together. I suppose the same could be said for Miami in the ACC, but if the Hurricanes beat Florida in their opener, the rest of the schedule is pretty smooth.
