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Power ranking college football teams based on their championship odds
By Jack McKessy, USA TODAY,
3 hours ago
Given everything that has happened in the last 12 months, this season of college football is shaping up to be a good one. Who will come out on top in 2024?
Each one of these factors alone would be a big change in the college football landscape. All four changes coming ahead of the same season sets up what could be college football's most fascinating year in decades.
The 2024 season begins this Saturday, when Florida State and Georgia Tech kick off in Dublin, Ireland for Week 0 action. The contenders will separate themselves from the pretenders as the season rolls along before culminating in the first-ever 12-team CFP.
In the end, only one team will get to raise the national championship trophy. Here's how some of the top teams rank ahead of the season using their odds to win this year's title:
College football power rankings: CFP championship odds
T-5. Alabama (+1500)
Welcome to the post-Nick Saban era of Alabama football. How will new head coach Kalen DeBoer perform in his first season as head coach? That's one of the biggest questions of this college football season. DeBoer managed to retain some talent – like quarterback Jalen Milroe – but the team lost some excellent players to the NFL and transfer portal. The Crimson Tide won't have any time to recuperate in their first year without Saban – a matchup with Georgia opens SEC play in late September – so we may see very early on how real Alabama's contender status is.
T-5. Ole Miss (+1500)
Don't sleep on the Rebels, who bolstered their roster in the offseason with some major transfer portal acquisitions for both sides of the ball. They're also returning third-year starting quarterback Jaxson Dart and two of his top three wide receivers. Head coach Lane Kiffin will be looking to bring Ole Miss to the top of the SEC for the first time in over 60 years this season, and he has tons of talent to work with. A CFP appearance with the new expanded format should be the bare-minimum expectation for this year's squad.
4. Texas Longhorns (+850)
Quarterback Quinn Ewers is back and will throw behind one of the best offensive lines in the country. The big question remaining is how a new cast of skill players around him will perform after last year's top performers – receivers Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Jordan Whittington, plus running back Jonathon Brooks – all made the leap to the NFL. It's also Texas' first year in the SEC, so the Longhorns will have to contend with a potentially tougher slate of conference games – including a clash with Texas A&M for the first time in over a decade.
3. Oregon Ducks (+700)
On paper, Oregon has a lot of promise entering its first season in the Big Ten. The Ducks may have lost Heisman finalist quarterback Bo Nix to the NFL, but they brought in Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel coming off of his best statistical season. He'll get to throw to a couple of talented receivers in returner Tez Johnson and fellow transfer Evan Stewart. Meanwhile, the defense is also loaded with young talent and brought in a couple of transfers of its own to improve it further. Oregon could contend with Ohio State for a Big Ten title in its first year in the conference.
Ohio State is the only other clear contender for the national title along with Georgia. They not only retained tons of talent from last year's roster, but the Buckeyes added potential upgrades in the transfer portal. Quarterback Will Howard will be the team's new starter after transferring from Kansas State, and running back Quinshon Judkins joins the backfield after back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at Ole Miss. On defense, safety Caleb Downs – the 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year with Alabama – will patrol the defensive backfield.
1. Georgia Bulldogs (+300)
Georgia narrowly missed reaching the College Football Playoff last season, but they'll always be among favorites as long as Kirby Smart is still in charge. The Bulldogs enter the 2024 season having "lost" eight players to the NFL, but they're returning some excellent defenders, a quarterback that could be the No. 1 pick in next year's draft and one of the best offensive lines in college football.
No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels (11-2) Brett Davis, Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
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