The highly anticipated 2024 college football season has finally arrived, with Florida State and Georgia Tech set to kick off 16 weeks of thrilling action in Week 0. This season promises to be a journey into new territory for the NCAA, and fans can't wait to see what unfolds.
This upcoming season will mark the first time in ten years that the College Football Playoff will expand from four teams to twelve. This means that the 12-team bracket will consist of the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams, significantly altering the playoff structure and increasing the chances for more teams to compete for the championship.
Another significant change in the 2024 college football season is the massive conference realignment. A staggering fifteen teams will be part of a new conference, spanning from the Big Ten to the Southeastern Conference and everything in between. This shift will undoubtedly reshape the landscape of college football.
Here are the top storylines making headlines as we head into Week 0 of the 2024 college football season.
More: Ranking the 10 best college football quarterbacks ahead of the season
The new College Football Playoff format
The upcoming season will feature an expansion of the College Football Playoff teams from four to twelve. The 13-member selection committee will stay the same, but their responsibilities will increase with more teams selected to compete for the national championship.
The new format will feature teams selected by rank. The top five highest-ranked conference champions will earn the top four seeds and receive a first-round bye. The next seven highest-ranked teams will fill the remaining spots to complete the 12 spots on the new bracket. With the increase in qualifying teams, there will be no limit on the number of teams from any given conference that can qualify.
The college football realignment
The college football landscape will look different from last season, with teams shuffling to new conferences. Here is a look at what conferences added and lost teams:
- Big Ten: The Big Ten added Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington. The Big Ten is now 18 schools.
- Big 12: The Big 12 lost Oklahoma and Texas and added Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah. The Big 12 is now made up of 16 schools.
- Pac 12: The Pac 12 is now two schools, Oregon State and Washington State.
- SEC: The SEC added Oklahoma and Texas and is now made up of 16 schools.
- ACC: The ACC added Cal, SMU and Stanford and are now at 17 teams.
- Conference USA: The Conference USA added Kennesaw State and is now at 10 teams for the upcoming season.
- Mid-American: No changes for the upcoming season.
- Mountain West: No changes for the upcoming season.
- Sun Belt: No changes for the upcoming season.
Michigan Football sanctions
In August, the NCAA issued penalties for Michigan and former head football coach Jim Harbaugh after finding that he violated recruiting and inducement rules, engaged in unethical conduct, failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance, and violated head coach responsibility obligations. As a result, he received a four-year show-cause order.
According to the NCAA, the violations in the case centered around impermissible recruiting contracts and inducements during the COVID-19 period. The agreed-upon penalties in this case included a three-year probation for the school, a fine, and recruiting restrictions in alignment with the Level I-Mitigated classification for the school.
How to watch Week 0: Florida State vs. Georgia Tech: TV, time and streaming
- Date: Saturday, August 24
- Time: 12 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
- Streaming: ESPN+
How to watch Catch College Football action with an ESPN+ subscription
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New playoff format, conference realignment, lead top college football storylines
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