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1. Ohio State Buckeyes (PQ1)

Over the last three seasons, Ohio State has gone 24-3 in Big Ten conference games, with all three losses coming against Michigan.

The Wolverines winning the national championship last season only added to the sting. So, what did Ryan Day and the Buckeyes do?

They went all in on the transfer portal and landed the top class in the nation. Not to mention plucking Chip Kelly from UCLA as their new offensive coordinator.

Will Howard should thrive in that system and the backfield features not one but two of the best backs in the nation in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinson Judkins.

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2. Oregon Ducks (P5)

Dan Lanning has won back-to-back bowl games, compiling a 22-5 mark in his first two seasons in Eugene.

He has built a physical team that should have no trouble adjusting to the Big Ten in Year One.

Dillion Gabriel steps in at QB and for as good as Bo Nix was, Gabriel may even be a step up. The QB will have plenty of options to throw to in what may be the best receiver unit in America.

The transfer additions of Jabbar Muhammad and Kobe Savage bolstered the backend of the defense. There and elsewhere, Lanning has built a team in the image of his mentor Kirby Smart at Georgia.

Is this finally the year that Lanning moves ahead of his old boss?

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3. Georgia Bulldogs (PQ2)

The Bulldogs are 46-2 in their last 48 games and have not lost a regular-season contest since 2021.

Georgia opens with Clemson and travels to Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss.

A third straight unblemished regular season could be in doubt, but if the Dawgs can pull it off, they will certainly deserve the top Playoff seed.

The Bulldogs lost some pieces from last season but have reloaded, as usual. Carson Beck returns under center, and that is a pretty good place to start.

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4. Texas Longhorns (P6)

Steve Sarkisian has Texas back on track. The Longhorns are loaded and ready for a 2024 season in which they should be as good as anyone in the nation.

That distinction is a product of their experienced offense. Quinn Ewers returns as do most of the guys who protected him on the line.

The wide receiver room got restocked after the NFL departures of Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell.

The defense will have to get better against the pass after ranking 113th in the nation in that department last season.

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5. Mississippi Rebels (P7)

Lane Kiffin knew how to work the transfer portal before it was the thing to do. This offseason was no different.

The Rebels lost some key players but found plenty of replacements in continuing to make progress. The return of Jaxson Dart returning is a big piece of the puzzle.

Ole Miss has made some mistakes during Kiffin’s tenure that have cost them chances to play for the SEC title.

In Year Five, if the Rebs can keep it all together, a trip to the SEC title game may not be in the works but a playoff appearance should be.

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6. Alabama Crimson Tide (P8)

Replacing a legend in the world of sports is no easy task.

In head coach Nick Saban, the Tide had one of the best, if not the best to ever do it.

While things may be different in Tuscaloosa, one constant should be Ws. Kalen DeBoer is 104-12 in his coaching career and this Bama team has more talent than the Washington squad he took to the National Championship.

Alabama’s defense should be one of the best in the nation and Jalen Milroe in DeBoer’s offense could be magical.

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7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (P9)

Marcus Freeman had a slow start to his head coaching career dropping his first three games as head man at Notre Dame.

Since that start, the Irish have gone 19-5 with a pair of bowl victories.

Riley Leonard will be under center, and he knows how to win football games. At Duke, he willed the Blue Devils to some victories and now he will have a more talented supporting cast.

You can wake up the echoes, the Irish have a chance to be really good in 2024.

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8. Utah Utes (PQ3)

The 2023 season was a difficult one for the Utes and Kyle Whittingham. But it tells you what kind of program he has built in Salt Lake City when 8-5 is looked upon with disappointment.

Last year the Utes lost their top two QBs to injuries and had almost no passing game down the stretch.

Cam Rising is back and healthy in 2024 and the Utes should be favored in all but perhaps one game they play this season. They might be road dogs against Oklahoma State.

Utah will play great defense and own the trenches on both sides of the ball.

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9. Penn State (P10)

In 10 seasons as head coach at Penn State, James Franklin has been phenomenal—most of the time. He has had four 11-win seasons, winning almost 70% of his games.

Of his 39 losses, 26 came against ranked teams with just 12 wins in those 38 games vs. teams with a number by their name.

PSU is 3-17 against Top 10 opponents under Franklin. This season, the Nittany Lions have the talent to be pretty special, and the schedule lines up for them.

They don’t face Michigan or Oregon and get Ohio State at home. If they can find a way past OSU the sky is the limit.

Penn State has a 52-16 record vs. Big Ten teams not called Michigan or Ohio State in the last ten years.

But with a dire 4-16 record vs. the big boys of the league, it’s time for Frankin and Penn State to turn the corner.

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10.  Michigan Wolverines (P11)

The Wolverines won the national championship last year while taking their third straight Big Ten crown.

However, 13 players from that team have gone to the NFL along with head coach Jim Harbaugh.

The defense will be there and may need to keep them in games early, especially in an early-season clash with Texas.

If they can field a quality QB from among Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle, or Davis Warren they could be dangerous again.

But if Michigan doesn’t get good QB play a step back seems likely. The defense can only take them so far.

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11. Oklahoma Sooners

Brent Venables has built a defense with the Sooners, and they will be tested often.

By playing Texas in Dallas, Oklahoma has just three home conference games this season and faces all the other projected top-six teams in the league.

Four of those six games are on the road. We could see a rough start to the SEC for the Sooners, but they have the talent to win those games.

It’s just a matter of getting it done.

If the Sooners can string them together, it could be a special year in Norman. If they stumble, though, they may fall hard.

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12. Florida State Seminoles (PQ4)

The end of 2023 was not pretty for the Seminoles.

Injuries deprived them of a shot at a national championship and then the roster was decimated ahead of the 63-6 shellacking at the hand of Georgia in the Orange Bowl.

Mike Norvell has reloaded and restocked the Noles for 2024.

With DJ Uiagalelei, the Seminoles could get the playoff berth they lost last season.

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13. LSU Tigers

The departure of Jayden Daniels leaves LSU’s potent offense in the hands of Garrett Nussmeier.

A first-time starter, but veteran, Nussmeier should have no trouble putting up huge passing numbers.

The offense will once again be in good shape. The deciding factor for the Tigers’ improvement this season will be how much the defense has improved.

The ‘D’ can’t get much worse and Blake Baker is the new man in charge on that side of the ball.

If the defense takes a significant jump this could be a playoff team. If not, LSU will win a lot of games, but drop some they should not.

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14. Kansas State Wildcats

Kansas State has a lot of production to replace and a lot of talent on the offensive line to replenish.

Avery Johnson will take over at QB and he will be a better runner than Will Howard proved to be. Johnson, along with DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards, will give K-State a dynamic running attack.

Some receivers will need to step up for the passing game to click.

The defense will be solid once again, and creating pressure in the backfield will be the key to success on that side of the ball.

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15.  USC Trojans

Caleb Williams is gone, but the Trojans offense will once again be potent. Lincoln Riley is blessed with talent on that side of the ball, but SC will need Miller Moss to be good.

The real thorn for the Trojans in recent seasons has been the play on the defensive side of the ball.

Riley looked to address that in the offseason with D’Anton Lynn taking over as defensive coordinator charged with improving a unit that was 118th in the nation last season.

Lynn was excellent running UCLA’s defense and has talent to work with, especially among the front seven. The secondary, the strength of the ‘D’ in recent years, will be down comparatively this season.

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16. Clemson Tigers

A 9-4 season typically is not a bad year for most programs. But it did not measure up to the standard Dabo Swinney and the Tigers have built over the last decade or so.

The four losses were marked with issues Clemson did not have in the past, plagued by 9 total turnovers committed and kicking woes.

To get back to the standard Clemson aspires to be they will need better play in 2024 out of QB Cade Klubnik. The signal-caller will also need better protection and production from his receivers for the offense to roll.

The backfield will be fine with Phil Mafah stepping into WIll Shipley’s role at RB.

The defense lost a lot of talent and may not be as dominant as last season, but the front four and the secondary have a lot of talent.

The LBs are young, but in the middle of that youth is Barrett Carter who might be the best in the nation at the position.

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17. Arizona Wildcats

Jedd Fisch did wonders in Tucson.

Arizona’s 10-3 season in 2023 could have been even better with just a few plays being the difference in the three losses.

It could also have gone the other way with a few off plays against some Pac-12 bottom feeders in 2023.

But Fisch left for Washington and the Wildcats were hit hard by the portal.

Enter Brent Brennan. What he was able to hang on to from the roster was big. Noah Fifita is back, and so is Tetairoa McMillan, who might be the best WR in the nation.

On Defense, the Wildcats will need production from some new faces on the line. The backend of the defense will be very tough with one of the best LB units in the nation and an exceptionally good secondary.

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18. NC State Wolfpack

Dave Doeren has built something in his 11 seasons in Raleigh. NC State has had 13 nine-win seasons all-time, and four of those have come during Doeren’s tenure.

Seven of his 11 years have produced at least eight wins. A 10-win season hasn’t yet materialized, nor has a spot in the ACC championship game.

The Wolfpack have not played for the conference title since 2005. But this season could be the breakthrough.

NC State will have an excellent QB in Grayson McCall, and he will have plenty of weapons to work with on the outside.

If the Wolfpack can get something out of the running game this could be one of the top offenses in the nation. Defensively they lost some talent from a great unit in 2023 but have a ton of talent ready to step in this season.

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19.   Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State lived in the shadow of Oklahoma and Texas in the old Big 12; now they seem to be in the shadow of Utah and Arizona in the new Big 12.

But the numbers would say otherwise. Over the last five seasons, OSU won 30 regular-season Big 12 games while Oklahoma won 31 and Texas won 28 during that same span.

Mike Gundy and the Pokes are a little like the Rodney Dangerfield of college football, no respect.

The problem with OSU is the losses they suffer: Last season, there was a 33-7 loss to South Alabama and a 45-3 loss to UCF following a win over Oklahoma.

This season, OSU should once again flirt with 10 wins in the regular season, taking the next step will require the letdowns to disappear.

Ollie Gordon is the best RB in the nation, and the receiving room is deep and talented. To take the next step the defense will need to be better against the run this season.

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20. Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee has gone 20-6 in the last two seasons, and the 27 wins in the first three seasons with Josh Heupel as head coach mark the best three-year run for the Vols since winning 28 from 2002-04.

The wins should continue to pile up in 2024 and the offense will once again be dynamic. Nico Iamaleava is a playmaker at QB, and the offense should look more like it did in 2022 than last season.

The talent at WR is deep and the line will be among the best in the nation.

The defense has been quietly good the last couple of seasons and this year could be better. The secondary will be inexperienced but should be helped by a line that should put a lot of pressure on opposing QBs.

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21. Boise State Broncos (PQ12)

During the college playoff era, Boise State has the second most wins in the nation without making the Playoff.

Only Appalachian State has won more among non-Playoff teams—with just one more win.

That could change this season with the expanded Playoff. What won’t change is the Broncos winning ways. Spencer Danielson stepped in and righted the ship last season.

This year, the team is his from the start, and that team is loaded! Taylen Green left for Arkansas, but Malachi Nelson comes in from USC and is going to be an upgrade at QB.

Alongside him in the backfield is one of the best RBs in America, Ashton Jeanty. He should be the first RB off the board in the 2025 NFL draft.

Defensively they are led by Ahmed Hassanein on the line and Andrew Simpson at LB. Both of them are among the best in the nation at their positions. In the backend, Alexander Teubner makes plays all over the field.

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22. SMU Mustangs

SMU makes the step up in weight class this season jumping from the AAC to the ACC. Teams making that leap recently have struggled (see the Big 12 additions in 2023).

SMU is built a bit differently though.

Almost everyone returns from last season’s 11-3 squad. The Mustangs were 16th in the nation on offense in 2023 and could be better this season.

Preston Stone is back at QB and so are all of his weapons and a line that will give him a lot of time.

Defensively they welcome back seven of their top tacklers from 2023 and the pass rush could be among the best in the ACC. SMU could jump right into the mix in the ACC.

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23. Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa needs to improve on offense, that is no shock to anyone. But how much do they really need to improve?

I mean, without an offense they have still managed to string together 11 straight winning seasons and three 10-win seasons since 2019.

Iowa may not be fun to watch all the time, and they certainly are not flashy, but the formula works, and they win games!

That said, the 15.4 points per game they averaged last season (though they still went 10-4) finally necessitated a change. Brian Ferentz is out as OC and Tim Lester is in.

More downfield passing is promised, and a healthy Cade McNamara at QB will actually be the biggest difference if improvements are to be made.

The Hawkeyes will once again be dominant on defense and a unit that was eighth in the nation in 2023 could be even better in 2024.

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24. Miami Hurricanes

All right Miami, I am buying in again, though I have bought in for the past few seasons, and it has not panned out.

For the Hurricanes, it has not panned out much at all since entering the ACC in 2004. During the heyday of The U, from 1983-2003, the Canes produced 14 10-win seasons.

The 20 years since have seen just one. In his first two seasons, Mario Christobal has gone just 12-13. Is this the new U or can they begin to make the return to glory?

The offense should be good. Cam Ward is an upgrade at QB from Tyler Van Dyke and Ward will operate behind an extremely good offensive line.

The defensive line will look different and that might be a good thing.  Incoming transfers Tyler Baron and Simeon Barrow will make plays in the backfield.

Francisco Mauigoa could be the best LB in the ACC and the secondary should be upgraded from the portal.

Yes, I’m buying in again—hesitantly—and if it proves futile again then next season if I buy in it probably will not be with Christobal on the sidelines in Coral Gables.

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25. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Okay, we have Big Ten expansion, the last time the league expanded it did so with the additions of Maryland and Rutgers.

In their ten seasons in the conference, the Scarlet Knights have yet to post a winning record in conference play. That just might change this season. The Knights will run the ball and play good defense.

The defense was 16th in the nation last season and will be every bit as good this year. Offensively, Rutgers will look to minimize mistakes. Kyle Monangai is the best RB you’ve probably never heard of.

The passing game struggled last season and this season Athan Kaliakmanis comes in from Minnesota. While he may not light things up through the air, he will be another added weapon in the run game.

When Kaliakmanis does put it up though, the receivers he is throwing it to have a ton of talent.

Greg Schiano got Rutgers rolling in his first stint and it was in Year Six following a bowl season that they made the big jump to 11 wins.

This season, in Year Five in his second stint with the school, the team comes off a Pinstripe Bowl win. They may be set for a big jump again—or at least a winning conference record.