Week 1 of the 2024 college football season is right around the corner and, even this early, there’s sure to be plenty of focus on the new 12-team College Football Playoff. An important domino already fell last Saturday, as No. 10 Florida State dropped its season opener to Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland.
Though the Seminoles aren’t out of the race, it’s certainly going to be an uphill battle to get back near the top 10. It also opens the door for more teams to enter contention.
Week 1 promises to bring more landscape-shifting results. No. 14 Clemson and No. 1 Georgia are set to meet in Atlanta, Georgia’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. No. 8 Penn State and No. 19 Miami face steep road tests as they travel to West Virginia and Florida, respectively.
No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 20 Texas A&M will do battle in College Station as the Aggies look to get the Mike Elko era started on the right foot. All of these games have major implications on the College Football Playoff race, especially since each top-25 team — and even a handful outside of the rankings — has a realistic shot at making the final field.
With the 2024 season set to begin in earnest, here’s a rundown of some early potential playoff teams to watch, separated into tiers.
Tier 1: The conference champions
Georgia: Last year Georgia missed out on the SEC title, and subsequently the College Football Playoff, giving Kirby Smart plenty of offseason bulletin board material. Not that he’d really need it. The Bulldogs are as strong as ever on their defense. Now they can pair that with a likely first-round pick at quarterback in Carson Beck, arguably the best offensive line in the nation and some tremendous skill talent. The schedule is difficult, but Georgia should be a favorite in every game it plays.
Ohio State: A trendy pick to make it all the way to a national title game, Ohio State certainly set that expectation with several bold offseason moves. Coach Ryan Day welcomes a quality transfer class and convinced UCLA coach Chip Kelly to leave his job and join the staff as offensive coordinator. With Michigan potentially facing a reset year given all it lost to the NFL, the return path to the Big Ten’s mountaintop seems relatively open. The Buckeyes just have to watch out for newcomer Oregon.
Clemson: Florida State was the preseason favorite to win the ACC, but the Seminoles have already put themselves behind the eight ball with a Week 0 loss to Georgia Tech. Clemson now looks poised to pick up the pieces. It has been a while since the Tigers factored into the national scene, leaving some to proclaim the Dabo Swinney dynasty over. The Tigers have the defense to win a championship, though. It’s the offense that needs to take some serious strides to get there.
Utah: Winning the Big 12 isn’t going to be easy. There are five or six teams that have a legitimate path to the championship game. But Kyle Whittingham is built for this. He has a knack for getting the most out of his players, something he displayed as he won two Pac-12 titles in the last three years. Seventh-year quarterback Cam Rising is back to lead the offense, while the defense is stacked with one of the Big 12’s best front sevens. Whittingham’s brand of physicality should lead the Utes to big things in their new conference digs.
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