With spring games in the books, programs across the country are beginning to truly lock-in on the upcoming season.
It may not come as quickly as we all like, but the fact of the matter is we are under four months away from the return of college football.
2024 promises to be one of the most fascinating seasons of all-time.
With the playoff field expanding to 12-teams and several top players choosing to remain in college rather than leave for the NFL (thanks, NIL), the quality of play on the field figures to be better than ever.
While there are quite a few teams capable of winning the national championship, especially with the expanded playoff-field finally in-play, two teams stand alone at the top as of now: Georgia and Ohio State.
A lot of things can and will happen between now and January, but in many ways, it feels like we’re on a Bulldogs-Buckeyes collision course.
FOX Sports lead college football analyst, Joel Klatt, recently dove in-depth on who he believes are the top 25 teams in the country entering the 2024 season…
#25. Texas A&M
#24. Iowa
#23. Kansas
#22. Nebraska
#21. Arizona
#20. Kansas State
#19. Oklahoma State
#18. Miami (Florida)
#17. Oklahoma
#16. Tennessee
#15. USC
#14. LSU
#13. Clemson
#12. Florida State
#11. Notre Dame
(Way too low for the Fighting Irish!)
#10. Missouri
#9. Penn State
#8. Michigan
#7. Alabama
#6. Utah
#5. Ole Miss
“Jaxson Dart is back for his third season at quarterback, while Lane Kiffin has become the portal king. South Carolina transfer Juice Wells should pair well with Dart at receiver. Ole Miss will miss Quinshon Judkins at running back … The Rebels don’t have a bad schedule. It’s backloaded with Oklahoma and Georgia at home, and they play at LSU. That isn’t as much of a gauntlet compared to other teams in the SEC.”
#4. Oregon
“Welcome to the elite teams tier, where I’ll be surprised if our national championship winner isn’t one of these four teams … Dillon Gabriel is a good fit for offensive coordinator Will Stein’s system. He’s got 49 career starts, which means he’s even more experienced than Bo Nix was entering last season … Dan Lanning is building a powerhouse. If I had to buy stock in one coach, it’s Lanning. He’s young and already knows how to win. He clearly likes where he’s at because he could’ve gone to Alabama. He’s got the resources to win in Eugene. His recruiting has been off the charts, recording the third-best high school class and the second-best transfer class in 2024 … One of those transfers was Texas A&M receiver Evan Stewart, replacing Troy Franklin. Tez Johnson might be the best slot receiver in the country. Running back Jordan James might be a breakout star … Oregon is going to be a problem.”
#3. Texas
“Texas is also going to be damn good … Quinn Ewers is back for his third season as the Longhorns’ starter, so he’s going to be even more seasoned. I was able to see them practice during spring ball to record our upcoming interview with Steve Sarkisian, but Ewers was firmly entrenched as their starting quarterback. He’s a large reason why Texas has had this resurgence and I think he’ll have a really big year … Texas replenished the wide receiver room in the portal, landing Alabama’s Isaiah Bond, Matthew Golden from Houston and Silas Bolden from Oregon State in the portal. All are really good, and they have a pair of impressive five-star receivers (Johntay Cook II and Ryan Wingo) … The Longhorns’ offensive line is likely the best in the country, and they were good on defense last year. They’ve got to replace a pair of NFL players on the defensive line, and they need to improve in the secondary, so those are their concerns … But Texas is no doubt a top-four team.“
#2. Georgia
“Carson Beck is going to be a Heisman frontrunner and there’s never going to be a question about Georgia’s talent. The Bulldogs’ last five recruiting classes were all in the top four, with a couple of No. 1s … Georgia’s front seven is going to be great, like it always is. Mykel Williams is terrific off the edge and will likely be a first-round pick. Safety Malaki Starks might be one of the best defensive backs in the country … Georgia is 46-2 in its last 48 games. That’s ridiculous. But its schedule doesn’t give it many favors. Georgia opens against Clemson in Atlanta and has road games against Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss. It also has Tennessee at home … There’s no doubt Georgia will be around at the end of the season and Beck should be one of the best quarterbacks.“
#1. Ohio State
“There was a lot of debate about who should be No. 1 between Ohio State and Georgia … I was initially going to put Georgia at No. 1 because the Bulldogs have a strong incumbent quarterback in Beck. But that couldn’t make up for the fact that Ohio State’s roster is the best in the country … What the Buckeyes did this offseason is unprecedented in many ways. They kept an impressive amount of talent, with 11 key players opting to forgo the draft this offseason. They acquired impressive talent through the portal and high school recruiting. Their quarterback situation is their biggest question and could cause some to hesitate from ranking them No. 1 … Ohio State’s defense earned the Buckeyes the No. 1 ranking here, though. It’s the best defense in the country and as good of a defense as we might see in a long time. It’s littered with players who’ll be draft picks in the next two years. We might not see the Buckeyes score as many points as we’re used to seeing them score, but the defense will be incredible. By the middle of the year, you’re going to look up and say, βDang, it’s going to be tough to beat this team because it doesn’t give up any points.’ … The defense will also allow Will Howard or whoever is at quarterback to go through some growing pains. It allows Chip Kelly to get Ohio State’s feet settled on offense. Kelly’s effect on the run game can’t be overlooked. It hasn’t reached its potential in that element over the last few years, and he has the best backfield in the country with Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson.“
So, there you have it … Great job by Klatt who along with Kirk Herbstreit and Greg McElory is one of the best analysts in all of college football.
What do you think about his top 25 rankings?
What do YOUR rankings look like?
At the end of the day, who do you think will end up winning the national title???