25 storylines to follow for the 2024 College Football season

While every new college football season comes with its own unique storylines and expectations, the 2024 season will be unlike any other we've ever experienced.

For one, the way college football will crown its champion will drastically be altered as the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams. Who gets to that playoff changes as the entire sport has gone through massive changes to conference memberships that will alter the future of the sport and, sadly, crush its past? The Big Ten and ACC now stretch from coast to coast and the Big 12 nearly does. The Pac-12 is now just two teams and the Group of 5 is guaranteed to have one of its schools in the playoff. Divisions are gone in every conference but one, and how we consume the sport changes this season.

We also say goodbye to championship coaches and hello to 31 new head coaching jobs. It really is a year of significant change. So here are 25 storylines to watch for the 2024 college football season.

12-team playoff (1 of 25)

Here we are. Just one decade after finally relenting and having a four-team playoff to determine college football's national champion, this year begins the expansion of that format. This season starts the 12-team format, where the top five ranked conference champions and seven at-large bids (the seven highest-ranked non-champions) earn the right to play for a national title. Some notes:

*There will be four first-round byes made up entirely of conference champions.

*The first round of the playoff will occur at the higher seed's home field.

*The second and third rounds will be played as bowl games at bowl sites

*The championship will be played at a neutral site

*Since five conference champs earn automatic bids, that means at least one Group of 5 school will get a playoff bid.

This is a massive deal in so many ways. In the ten years of the previous College Football Playoff format, only 15 different schools made it to the dance. There will be 12 different schools this year alone. One of those schools will be a Group of 5 school, giving them an actual chance to play for a title. We will get home playoff games. Plus, the conference championship games mean more now since the winner will likely get a first-round bye while the loser will have to win four games to win the national title.

This also isn't set in stone. The new format will be in place for the next two years but could be expanded or amended after the 2025 season.

Nick Saban retires; Jim Harbaugh off to the NFL (2 of 25)

Not seeing Nick Saban on the Alabama sideline will get some getting used to. Saban retired this offseason after winning seven national championships (six with Alabama; one with LSU), 11 SEC championships, and a 292-71-1 lifetime record ... which includes a 201-29 record with the Crimson Tide. He goes down as one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football -- heck, of American sports.

That isn't all of the big changes. Jim Harbaugh won a title at his alma mater Michigan last season and then left for the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers. Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher last season, meaning that only Kirby Smart, Dabo Swinney and Mack Brown are active coaches with a national championship. Brown is likely entering the last few years of his coaching career at North Carolina (he won his title at Texas) while Swinney's Clemson Tigers have struggled to maintain their hold on the ACC. Smart, on the other hand, has his Georgia Bulldogs sitting where Saban's Tide used to -- beginning each season with a legitimate chance to win another national championship.

Still, Saban leaves a massive legacy on college football and is yet another retirement from a longtime championship college head coach.

Georgia restarts its dynasty (3 of 25)

Georgia is high on the list of teams who could win the 2024 national championship and enters the season with a big chip on its shoulder. They wanted to win a third straight national championship but put up a dud performance in an SEC championship game loss to Alabama. So they are mad and they are loaded.

With Nick Saban retired, Kirby Smart has moved to the top coach in the country and the Dawgs as the premiere program of the moment. They lost a lot to the NFL (led by TE Brock Bowers and T Amarius Mims) but Georgia has become a program that just reloads every year. QB Carson Beck is back and so are a trio of his receivers and offensive line. Georgia's defense will be back to its suffocating self, especially when their rebuilt defensive backfield gels.

If Georgia wins its third title in four years, it will have certainly earned it. Its schedule is brutal: Clemson to open the season, road trips to Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss, Tennessee visiting Athens, and the usual rivalry game with Florida.

Georgia has won 25 straight home games and their slate at Sanford Stadium in 2024 doesn't look very daunting. Expect the nation's longest active streak to continue.

Scrapping divisions (4 of 25)

Conference divisions are a thing of the past. In 2024, only the Sun Belt Conference will have a divisional format in their league. One year after the ACC dumped divisions (goodbye, Coastal Division), both the SEC and Big Ten (among others) have decided to do the same. That means the top two teams in each conference will face off in their respective title games. This is especially meaningful for the Big Ten, which routinely saw its three best programs (Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State) play for the right to blow out the West's best teams. While the SEC didn't have that kind of scenario, their Western Division was much more loaded than the East.

SEC adds powers and ditches divisions (5 of 25)

Normally I would just use one section to discuss all the conference realignment that is on tap for the season, but what happened this offseason is so massive and consequential that it warrants touching on each conference individually.

Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the SEC was the catalyst for the crazy conference realignment you will read about later. The two powerful football programs instantly make the SEC an embarrassment of riches -- both are traditional powers, while Texas was in last year's College Football Playoff.

That's the headline, but what may be the biggest change in the SEC this season is the elimination of the division format. This opens the league for all kinds of interesting opportunities going forward and makes the SEC's schedule and conference championship game even better. For instance, we get Georgia-Alabama, Georgia-Texas, Georgia-Ole Miss, Alabama-LSU, Alabama-Oklahoma, Oklahoma-Ole Miss, Texas-Oklahoma, Oklahoma-LSU, Texas-Texas A&M, Ole Miss-LSU, and plenty of other fantastic matchups ... and that's before we get to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta to end the season.

That SEC championship game should be epic. While the loser likely still gets into the Playoff, the winner (likely) gets a key first-round bye and a spot in the quarterfinals. Every week should have at least one or two top-tier games with national relevance.

There's also a bit of a chip on the SEC's shoulder. Georgia felt snubbed last year and the SEC failed to have a team in the national championship game for the first time since 2014 and just the second time since 2006.  Alabama has a new coach and schools like Missouri and Ole Miss have legitimate hopes of crashing the SEC title party.

Pac-2 (6 of 25)

One of the most jarring impacts that has happened in college athletics over the last several years was the sudden destruction of the Pac-12. It started with the shocking announcement in 2022 of USC and UCLA bolting for the Big Ten, but a crash no one really saw coming happened over a weekend last September. Colorado saw the writing on the wall and jumped ship back to the Big 12. That began a panic among the other nine schools about the feasibility of keeping the conference alive. Once the update on the league's broadcast negotiations was underwhelming, Oregon and Washington looked to leave and coaxed an invitation from the Big Ten. Utah, Arizona and Arizona State decided to follow Colorado to the Big 12. Cal and Stanford chose to join the ACC and cross-country membership over trying to rebuild the Pac-12 from its ashes.

What remains is Oregon State and Washington State. Neither team had a power conference landing spot and isn't ready to give up what small amount of chips they have yet. For now, the two schools are sticking in the Pac-12 to hold on to the brand and some of the financial gains that come with it. There have been lawsuits between the nicknamed "Pac-2" and the ten departing members over control of the league and its assets, but it seems Oregon State and Washington State have the monumental task of trying to save the conference from extinction.

There will be only one Pac-12 game this season: Washington State at Oregon State on November 23rd (the game will be on CW).  Both schools were able to keep their rivalry games (with Washington and Oregon, respectively), and their schedule is filled with Mountain West opponents as the two leagues dance around what form a future partnership could be. Will the two leagues merge? Will the Pac-12 be able to rebuild the league by luring Mountain West members? Will Oregon State and Washington State close the Pac-12's doors and move to the MW?

It is a sad moment for long-time college sports fans to see this happening to a once great and always proud conference.

Big Ten's big changes (7 of 25)

There are a lot of changes in the Big Ten this year. Of course there is the addition of a western wing of the conference. Washington, Oregon, USC, and UCLA now join what used to be a midwestern conference and change some of the dynamics of the league. Another huge dynamic that changed was the elimination of divisions. The Big Ten was power-heavy in their eastern division which forced Michigan and Ohio State (as well as Penn State) to have to battle for one spot to (usually) destroy the western division champ in the conference title game. That's gone now, which opens up some very interesting scenarios this season.

For one, we could see a Michigan-Ohio State title game. These two programs have been the best in the league for the last few years and should have been matched up for the conference crown. Now that could really happen, and what a sight it would be to see Buckeyes and Wolverines fans side by side in Indianapolis to see that game with a first-round College Football Playoff bye on the line.

Penn State also gets a huge advantage with this new setup. Last year the Nittany Lions lost just two games but were shut out of having any chance to play for a league title. Those two losses came to -- Ohio State and Michigan. With divisions gone, Penn State now has a better shot at reaching the Big Ten title tilt and earning a playoff spot.

There's also a huge change at the top with defending national champ Michigan losing Jim Harbaugh to the NFL and national runner-up Washington losing Kalen DeBoer to Alabama. Both lost their star quarterbacks to the draft and will have to regroup if they want to challenge a loaded Ohio State squad. Oregon and Wisconsin are lying in the weeds as their programs continue to build back to elite status.

Big 12's overhaul means ... what? (8 of 25)

No conference has gone through more changes over the last decade or so than the Big 12. A league that was once defined by the plains and Texas schools has morphed into a league with teams in Florida, West Virginia,  and two in Arizona and in Utah.  Nine of the 16 teams in the conference entered the league in the last two years.

But what does that mean? That's difficult to say, as the Big 12 also watched its two largest assets walk out the door. Either Oklahoma (14) or Texas (4) won at least a share of the Big 12 title in 18 of the 28 seasons since the league was formed, including 7 of the last 9 years. TCU's run to the national championship game in 2022 was the only time the Big 12 had a school outside of the Sooners and Horns reach the College Football Playoff.

This conference lacks a football identity right now. Utah enters the league as the favorite while holdovers Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State feel they have the chops to win the conference. Arizona is coming off a breakout season but watched their coach leave for Washington and the typical exodus of players when that happens. There seems to be a lot of mediocrity and some bad teams that are muddying up the standings.

Someone will win this thing and get one of the top seeds in the playoff. Who knows who that will be? So while the Big 12 may not produce a strong national title contender, at least the regular season should be an old-fashioned Big 12 shootout.

ACC adds new members; fights lawsuits with others (9 of 25)

Last year, the Pac-12 was the league filled with uncertainty, which caused instability and, eventually, its collapse. The ACC isn't in quite the same place, but no other conference is quite the powder keg as this league heading into the school year.

For one, both Florida State and Clemson have filed various lawsuits challenging the ACC"s Grant of Rights documents that is binding the members right now. In short, the ACC's Grant of Rights creates an extremely punitive penalty if any member wants to leave for another conference, and essentially ties the members until 2036. The bigger brand schools like Florida State and Clemson believe their TV deals are bad and keep them woefully behind the SEC and Big Ten (and eventually the Big 12) and limit their ability to compete on the national stage. This argument grew legs when Florida State went 13-0 last season, won the ACC championship, and were still kept out of the College Football Playoff.

For its part, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips says he will aggressively defend the league against the lawsuits and anyone wanting to defect. The problem is that half the league's members are closely monitoring what Clemson and FSU are doing and if there's a chance to follow them out the door, they'll take their shot. Schools like North Carolina, Virginia, NC State and Miami could form a bloc of schools who could force the ACC into a war. While the league's members all are moving forward together, there are a lot of personal agendas happening concurrently. There is no way to know if we will get any answers to these pressing issues during the football season, and the hard feelings that are bubbling in the league could worsen.

So there's that, just as the ACC is welcoming three new members. And not just any three members, but schools outside the ACC's geographic footprint who know something about their conferences imploding. California and Stanford just watched the Pac-12 crumble around them and jumped into a lifeboat that takes them into the Atlantic Coast Conference. This move wasn't popular among the ACC's members (Florida State, Clemson and North Carolina voted against it; NC State flipped their vote to make it happen) and isn't very popular among ACC fans. The additions bring on unique travel concerns and does not strengthen the league's football profile in any way.

Also joining is SMU. The Mustangs were one of the odd schools out when the Southwest Conference fell apart in the mid-1990s and they've spent nearly 30 years trying to get back into a power conference. For their part, the Mustangs passed on their piece of the TV pie and have done a fantastic job fundraising from boosters. Of the three new addictions, SMU seems the most likely to challenge the ACC's better teams now and in the future.

On the field, the two teams that want out seem to be the two teams favored to win the conference crown. Florida State is retooling, but has a massive chip on their shoulder after being snubbed last season. Dabo Swinney and Clemson have fallen back to the pack, due in part to an unwillingness to embrace the new culture of college athletics. Miami wants some returns on the Mario Cristobal contracts; North Carolina is in the post-Drake Maye era (and could be looking at Mack Brown's looming retirement); while Louisville and NC State look to make their run at a playoff spot.

Notre Dame's fight for a title (10 of 25)

The new playoff format puts an interesting twist on Notre Dame and their ability to win their first national title since 1988. For one, only conference champions can receive a first round bye and since the Irish are still a football independent they cannot become a conference champ. Their schedule isn't particularly daunting, but it does provide opportunities for the Fighting Irish to get some key wins that they'll need to move up the rankings.

Notre Dame opens up at Texas A&M for what should be an outstanding scene at Kyle Field. They will also travel to Purdue, host Louisville, play on the road at Georgia Tech and in their finale against USC. Wedged in, there is a November 9th matchup against Florida State, the defending ACC champions. That could be a pivotal game for the Irish and their playoff hopes.

It could all come down to Duke transfer Riley Leonard, who is coming off an ankle injury that ended his 2023 season early. Leonard is a lethal running option at quarterback and is a fantastic leader. He'll need to be to lead an offense that has nearly been completely overhauled. The defense will be the foundation of this team, and if Leonard can keep the chains moving on offense then this team has a chance to out-muscle opponents and stack up some wins. They'll need to in order to grab one of those seven at-large bids that aren't that easy to get.

Deion Sanders, Year 2 (11 of 25)

Last year, Deion Sanders brought a lot of attention to Colorado and the Buffaloes program. It began well, with three wins to open the season that included victories over TCU and Nebraska. Then a high profile game at Oregon ended with a 42-6 loss and the reality set in. The Buffs lost 8 of their final 9 games to end the season with a 4-8 mark (and 1-8 in Pac-12 play).

What's in store for Year 2? Well, Colorado is now back in the Big 12 which means a whole host of new challenges. Deion's son, Shedeur, is still quarterbacking the team and he gets to throw it to Travis Hunter. Of course Deion Sanders needs to figure out how to protect Shedeur or it will be another rough season in Boulder. It would also help if they can find any semblance of a rushing attack. The Big 12 should be an easier road than last year's Pac-12 slate, which means a bowl game isn't out of the question.

That would be a big step for this program. Last year drew a lot of attention, but the critics feasted on the Buffaloes crash landing as a sign that "Coach Prime" is more about style than substance. In reality, Sanders took over a horrible program that has now suddenly switched conferences and is trying to build a foundation for the future. Those eyes will watch how this team improves.

Ryan Day (12 of 25)

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has a 56-8 record at Ohio State. He has a 39-3 Big Ten record and has won two Big Ten titles in five years. Talk to a certain bloc of Buckeyes fans and they'll tell you he hasn't done enough and if things don't get better, Day is on the ... hot seat?

Yes, there are Buckeye fans who aren't too happy with Ryan Day. That 39-3 Big Ten record? Those three losses came to bitter rival Michigan and all happened in the last three meetings. In fact, Day's bunch hasn't beaten the Wolverines since 2019.

Here is a list of all Day's losses: three to Michigan, a national championship loss to Alabama, a College Football Playoff loss to Georgia, a College Football Playoff loss to Clemson, a 2021 regular season game vs Oregon, and last year's Cotton Bowl to Missouri. That's it. But he's getting some heat in Columbus.

There is added pressure on Day this season because this squad is loaded. They've added Kansas State transfer Will Howard to QB, an offense that still has receiver Emeka Egbuka and running back Treveyon Henderson, and added Ole Miss star Quinshon Jenkins. The defense is filled with guys who played many meaningful snaps in the past and will be playing on Sundays. This is a team that can win a national championship, but they've been able to say the same thing the last two seasons right up until they face the team up north. Beating Michigan is a must or there will be calls for Day's job.

Hot seats in big places (13 of 25)

Day isn't the only coach feeling some sort of heat. Miami's Mario Cristobal is hearing whispers after a season filled with some odd coaching decisions (remember the Georgia Tech loss?). Miami's movers and shakers spent a lot of money and fired a capable coach to bring him in and they want to see the Hurricanes begin to challenge in the ACC. Baylor's Dave Aranda may be on the hottest seat of them all after going 3-9 last season. Florida's Billy Napier and Arkansas' Sam Pittman also need to turn their programs around or they could be shown the door.

Group of 5 finds its place (14 of 25)

The Group of 5 conferences -- Sun Belt, AAC, Mountain West, MAC and Conference USA -- is having a moment right now. With the Pac-12 essentially gone, there is a battle to see who that fifth conference is. After some upheaval over the last few years, the massive conference realignment happening this year doesn't really touch the G5 leagues as it did before. In fact, the opposite has kind of happened. While Oregon State and Washington State are still technically in the Pac-12, they are essentially linked with the Mountain West and almost guaranteed to be G5 programs in the very near future.

As for now, the new 12-team College Football Playoff means at least one of the G5 schools will actually have a chance to play for a national championship. In the ten years of the playoff thus far, only Cincinnati earned a playoff berth from the Group of 5. Over the years, we've watched as Boise State, UCF, Tulane, and Hawaii have big seasons that are rewarded with big-time bowl games but dismissed as nothing more than a lesser team. Even if the G5 representative never comes close to winning a national championship, seeing them play in these playoff games and possibly pulling off an upset makes for a thrilling event.

So who could that team be? Liberty would've been that team last season and looks to be the best of the G5 bunch again. They are the overwhelming favorites to run through Conference USA and has a key date with Appalachian State on the schedule. App State must hold off James Madison, Marshall and Texas State if they want to win the Sun Belt. Could Memphis or UTSA take over The American?  Boise State feel like they are back as the top program in the Mountain West and can make a run for that playoff spot. Miami, Toledo and Northern Illinois look to bring the MACtion to the playoff.

This will be a fantastic season for the Group of 5 and should set the stage for how these conference conduct themselves going forward.

Transfers look to make a difference (15 of 25)

In the transfer portal era, teams are able to make massive additions to their teams quickly and not have to wait for development and experience to replace NFL defections and players who have exhausted their eligibility. There is no position where this is more evident than at quarterback. Schools look to add talent that is ready to play now instead of hoping a guy takes a leap after being a backup.

The most impactful transfer could be Cam Ward, who left Washington State for Miami. The Hurricanes have needed an elite talent at QB and they have found it. Will Howard transfers to Ohio State after a brilliant four year career at Kansas State. Dillon Gabriel leaves Oklahoma to make a title run at Oregon. After the Ducks revitalized Bo Nix's career after his transfer from Auburn, Gabriel threw for 3,666 yards and 30 TDs for the Sooners last year and has started 49 games in his college career. Riley Leonard heads to Notre Dame from Duke, where he helped resurrect the Blue Devils' program before an injury ended his season early.

Aidan Chiles left Oregon State with his head coach Jonathan Smith to join him at Michigan State. We've waited for KJ Jefferson to break out at Arkansas, but now that may happen at UCF, who has playoff hopes in the wide-open Big 12. One of the more interesting transfers is Florida State's DJ Uiagalelei, who also left Oregon State after one season. If you recall, Uiagalelei began his career at rival Clemson before leaving for Corvallis. NC State goes back to the well yet again by bring in Coastal Carolina's Grayson McCall.

It isn't just quarterbacks that have made for key transfers. Ohio State made a huge grab by bringing in Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins to pair with TreVeyon Henderson. The Buckeyes also landed Alabama safety Caleb Downs, who might be the best player in the portal. Texas nets receiver Isaiah Bond, who led Alabama in receptions last season. Oregon added Texas A&M receiver Evan Stewart to five Gabriel a top threat to throw to. Georgia ripped back Trevor Etienne from rival Florida.

Big defensive movement as well with Walter Nolan (Ole Miss), Trey Moore (Texas), Jabbar Muhammad (Oregon) and Keon Sabb (Alabama) seeking new opportunities.

Five of the last seven Heisman winners were transfers.

Is Miller Moss the next Lincoln RIley great QB? (16 of 25)

USC head coach Lincoln Riley has coached three Heisman Trophy winners -- Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams -- and Jalen Hurts to a runner-up for the award. He knows how to develop quarterbacks. With Williams becoming Riley's third QB to be selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft, everyone is wondering who is next?

MIller Moss has waited patiently for this shot. He has sat for three years as a backup at USC with the last two behind Williams, Moss got his chance to shine in last season's Holiday Bowl against Louisville when Williams opted out of playing and made the most of it. He completed 23 of 33 passes for 372 yards and six touchdowns -- a school record for a bowl game. Riley would prove his confidence in Moss by not transferring in a new starting quarterback and pegged him as the starter.

Could Moss be the next great Riley QB? He was a four-star prospect coming out of high school but hasn't gotten a chance to show his talents until now. He could've transferred to another program and no one would've blamed him but he stuck it out and feels he could reap the rewards.

Who are the Heisman frontrunners? (17 of 25)

Last year we came into the season with defending Heisman winner Caleb Williams as the favorite to repeat with guys like North Carolina's Drake Maye as challengers to his trophy. Of course, LSU's Jayden Daniels came from out of nowhere to win it, which makes the 2024 race so intriguing. There really aren't any holdovers from last year's race -- only Alabama QB Jalen Milroe (6th) and Oklahoma State back Ollie Gordon (7th) received Heisman votes last season and are returning to school -- which means we have a wide-open race.

Milroe is certainly in the mix. He improved as the season went along in 2023, and now he's playing for a head coach, Kalen DeBoer, who made Michael Penix the Heisman runner-up last year. There are also SEC quarterbacks Quinn Ewers (Texas), Carson Beck (Georgia), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU) and Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee). Beck and Ewers may be the favorites among those names just due to the opportunity to run one of the best teams in the country.

There is also Dillon Gabriel at Oregon, who has piled up quite a stat line during his career at UCF and Oklahoma. Could the aforementioned USC's Miller Moss be Lincoln Riley's next Heisman winner? There are also running backs like Oklahoma State's Gordon, Michigan's Donovan Edwards, or one of the Ohio State running backs -- TreVeyon Henderson or Quinshon Jenkins. Maybe one of Colorado's stars (Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter) could shine in the high-flying Big 12.

Will Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava break out? (18 of 25)

As we've discussed, this is a wide open season as far as quarterbacks are go. Could a guy like Nick Iamaleava break out and become a dark horse in the Heisman race? Set that aside for a moment -- could Iamaleava put Tennessee in the playoff?

Volunteers fans were wowed at Iamaleava's performance in last year's Citrus Bowl, completing 12 of 19 passes for 151 and a TD, plus he added three rushing scores in the 35-0 win over Iowa's vaunted defense. That brings high expectations for this season and a reported healthy amount of NIL money for Nico. It also allows Josh Heupel and the Tennessee coaches to expand the playbook and make the Vols' offense one of the most explosive in the country.

Tennessee has the opportunity to make noise. They get NC State in Charlotte and welcome Alabama and Kentucky to Knoxville and have road trips to Georgia and Oklahoma. With the new format, the Volunteers know they won't have to win all four of those games to play for a title but it gives them a chance to impress against some really good opponents.

Holy War returns (19 of 25)

For all the damage a lot of the realignment has done, there are some good things to come out of it as well. One is the Holy War between Utah and BYU. From 1946 to 2019, these two programs have face off every year on the football field (aside from the WWII years, the two had met every year from 1922 to 2019). That streak ended with the 2020 pandemic and then after their meeting in 2021 they took a two-year hiatus. The future of one of the better regional rivalries in the sport was in doubt.

It was in even more doubt when BYU left its independent status to join the Big 12. Of course one year later, Utah left the sinking Pac-12 to join the Big 12 as well. Now not only is the BYU-Utah rivalry intact but now it is a conference game. The two were in the same conference until 2010 (first the WAC, then the Mountain West) when both schools left the MW for greener pastures.

Now they are back together and will meet on November 9th in Salt Lake City for the first time since 2018. Utah enters their first year in the Big 12 as one of the favorites while BYU has struggled to find its footing. Still, it is called a Holy War for a reason. BYU won the last time the two met, but Utah had won the previous nine.

Dabo Swinney and Clemson (20 of 25)

From 2015 to 2020 it looked like Clemson was set to become a dynasty program that would rival Alabama for national championships and possibly replace them as the premiere program once Nick Saban hangs it up. In those six years, Clemson won six ACC championships, went to six College Football Playoffs, played in four national championship games and won two titles.

Things changed starting in 2021 that knocked Clemson down a peg. One, quarterback Trevor Lawrence went to the NFL. Second, Dabo Swinney began losing his assistant coaches to head coaching jobs. Third, college athletics changed. The transfer portal became a vital way for programs to rebuild (especially the elite ones) and NIL has revolutionized what college sports is. Swinney has been very slow to embrace those changes. He believes in his program and how he runs it.

That may be admirable, but it may not be what gets Clemson back to the national championship stage. Last year's 9-4 record was the worst for the Tigers since 2010. They've won just one ACC title over the last three years and after six straight years of finishing the season ranked in the top four of the final AP poll, they've finished no better than 13th. Swinney has also watched as Florida State has regained their hold on the ACC.

That doesn't mean Clemson cannot rebound. They are still very talented, they are one of the top programs in the ACC, and they believe their highly recruited quarterback, Cade Klubnik, is going to have a huge 2024 season. After going 4-4 to start last season, Klubnik found his rhythm and the Tigers won their final five games of the year ... including a win over Kentucky in the Gator Bowl. The defense is still stout and if the offense starts to find their way then the Tigers can compete for the ACC crown and a playoff spot.

But if that doesn't happen, what will that mean for the future of this program? Swinney has already heard the chatter from the fan base and through the media (remember "Tyler from Spartanburg"?) which would only get louder with another 9-win season. The Tigers open in Atlanta against Georgia and travels to Florida State -- their two toughest and most important games on the road.

Can Matt Rhule and Dylan Raiola bring Nebraska back? (21 of 25)

For the second straight year, Nebraska made a major addition in an attempt to finally get the Cornhuskers back to being one of the top programs in college football. Rhule didn't have a great first season in Lincoln but he tends to get his programs moving in the right direction in Year 2.  Now they add 5-star quarterback Dylan Raiola to try to get the offense going.

Raiola is the son of former Husker Dominic Raiola and is a huge get for Nebraska. He originally committed to Ohio State in 2022, then Georgia in 2023, then flipped to his father's alma mater. Not only does he look like an elite quarterback with his play, he also has the look of another famous quarterback in the area -- the Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes. He sports the same hair cut and demeanor as the three time Super Bowl champion but he will also wear his number 15. Even Mahomes has gotten into the act by calling Raiola his "cuzzo".

What will matter is how he performs on the field, and if he can reach his potential early on then we could be seeing the rebirth of the Nebraska program.

Bobby Petrino is back at Arkansas (22 of 25)

Bobby Petrino has certainly had an ... interesting ... career in football. He's been successful in his first stint at Louisville and at Arkansas, but also had some low points with his dismissal from Arkansas, his season as an Atlanta Falcons head coach, and his second stint in Louisville.

Petrino spent last year as the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M and now is back at Arkansas, 11 years after being fired for covering up an affair with a subordinate. Not only was it a messy separation between the school and the coach, but he's coming back just as their current head coach, Sam Pittman, is squarely on the hot seat. It is a strange situation since Pittman's job seems to be in jeopardy with a lackluster season, yet if he was fired mid-season then Petrino would likely get the job. A decade ago, no one would've guessed these two would work together again, but here we are.

Rule changes (23 of 25)

There are a couple of significant rule changes on tap for this season. The main one is a version of the NFL's two-minute warning. Instead of stopping the clock for a timeout when the game clock hits the two minute mark, the new college rule with have a timeout after the first dead ball on or after the two minute mark. That will trigger a few new rules -- stopping the clock after a first down and then restarting it when the chains are set, and 10-second run-off penalties can be imposed after the "warning".

Another major move that mimics the NFL is implementing a communication device between the coaching staff and one player on the field. That's usually the quarterback on offense and a linebacker on defense.

ESPN vs FOX (24 of 25)

College football on television will be much different in 2024. Let's begin at the end, where ESPN has the broadcast rights to all 11 of the College Football Playoff games. ESPN has placed two of the first round games on TNT.

As for the regular season, ESPN and FOX have loaded up on content. The SEC will exclusively be on ESPN's family of networks, leaving CBS and their long-standing "game of the week". CBS will now broadcast Big Ten games on that 3:30pm ET slot. The Big Ten will also continue to be on FOX while NBC will broadcast a prime-time game each Saturday. ESPN will no longer carry Big Ten football games. ACC continues to be on ESPN and CW.

ESPN and FOX will share rights to Big 12 games. Eleven of the 13  Pac-12 home games will be on CW with two going to FOX. Basically this means that ESPN/ABC houses the SEC and ACC while FOX, CBS and NBC share the Big Ten (NBC still has Notre Dame's home games).

This will also further the rivalry of ESPN's mainstay "College Gameday" and FOX's "Big Noon Kickoff" shows. While "Gameday" continues to be the standard bearer, "Big Noon" made inroads last season and hopes that taking the Big Ten away from ESPN allows their pregame show to have a strong game to lead into. The two shows clashed at times last season, most notably when both networks broadcast live from Boulder for the Colorado State-Colorado game (who would have thought that?). While "Gameday" doubled "Big Noon's" audience, it showed that FOX wasn't going to have ESPN push them off what they wanted to do.

"College Gameday" returns with Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Pat McAfee, but will also add Nick Saban as an analyst. FOX's "Big Noon Kickoff" is hosted by Rob Stone with Matt Leinart, Mark Ingram and Urban Meyer as analysts.

EA Sports College Football 25 (25 of 25)

While this isn't anything on the field or affects anything that will actually happen this season, this is a big deal. The last time we had a college football video game was back in 2013 when various lawsuits and settlements pretty much ended EA from making any more of the games. With NIL now a thing, the game is back and has gamers -- and college football players -- excited to get immersed in the rivalries, different styles of offenses and participate in all the pageantry that is college football.

The game allows fans to dig deeper into the teams and rosters (as it does with Madden and NBA2K ) and is a bonding tool for teams all over the country as they play as themselves (players that opted in to having their likeness in the game got $600 and a copy of the game).