College Football burning questions that need to be answered heading into the 2024 season

The game of college football is such a fascinating one. With the constant evolutions of the game, as well as the changing landscape of player acquisition (transfer portal, NIL opportunities), it is so interesting to keep evaluating and see where things are going. It really is an evolving game, and evolving sport.

Heading into the 2024 college season, there are several burning questions that need to be answered. It could end up shaping the game we know and love, both in the short and long term.

Ohio State , Miami, and Ole Miss went all in: Can they deliver?

The age of the transfer portal has made many programs rethink roster building, similarly to free agency in the NFL. Programs were typically fixed through recruiting, building for the long term in a much slower fashion. Now with the portal, turnarounds are happening way quicker. While the former is still vitally important to sustainability, the new formula certainly has its place as long as cohesion is created.

Several programs like the Buckeyes, Hurricanes, and Rebels utilized the portal in a big way this offseason. With the NIL, pay for play, and collectives allowing the teams to compensate players so easily now, the talent acquisition is something that fans love. Each of these three programs have a chance to be worlds better in 2024, with the potential to make big playoff runs. The law of averages does say that all of them will not be successful.

Evaluating which ones succeed or fail will be interesting to watch. It will most likely come from the amount of buy in and stable coaching. Each coaching staff has their present flaws that they are looking to work past with successful seasons. The odds seem most in the favor of Ohio State, but how things end is nothing more than speculation at this point.

Changing of the Tide

Perhaps the biggest storyline of the offseason was the retirement of head coach Nick Saban, the greatest college coach of this generation. He got the Crimson Tide back to prominence, creating a sustained level of success that we hadn’t seen in a long time. Now the mantle is handed over to former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer.

There is little question that DeBoer is a fantastic football coach. His track record, including a 104-12 overall record, certainly points to success. But following a living legend isn’t easy. It’s going to have to look a bit different in Tuscaloosa. The formula that Saban created might not be replicable.

With so much excitement for what it could look like under DeBoer, we are left to speculate and spectate. If there are some signs of early success, and the recruiting continues, this new era of Alabama football could prove to be the start to a successful one. Heading into a new look SEC conference, the new hierarchy will begin to take shape in 2024.

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Is Texas really back?

There is a lot of optimism around Coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas program, and for good reason. 2023 seemed like a great sign of things to come, eliminating some of the naysayers and preparing for the jump into the SEC. The Longhorns are recruiting at an outstanding level right now, and it has become a destination spot for some key portal players.

In terms of transforming to the SEC, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of people who doubt it will work out. In reality, we have only seen one great season under Coach Sarkisian. Is the program sustainable enough currently to consistently win in the SEC? We will know soon enough.

Does the expanded playoff change the parity in college football?

The answer seems to be yes on paper. You throw in the addition of the transfer portal, as well as NIL money and the playing field doesn’t seem to be evened out as much as we have seen in recent memory. That makes the expansion to a 12-team playoff a pretty good opportunity. In theory, this should lead to a lot of competitive games and even some potential upsets.

Devil's advocate would beg the question about what happens if that isn’t the case. What if all we get is a bunch of first round blowouts and the product isn’t what we hope for? The hope for increased parity in college football isn’t just wanted with the changing landscape, it really is needed.