by Ben Tredinnick
The 2024 College Football season is set to begin, and it will be a season that will forever change the landscape of the sport.
This is the era of the so-called “Super Conferences”. The PAC-12 is dead, with its members now spread across the Big Ten, Big 12, and the ACC. The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners are now official members of the SEC, which has only made the most vital conference in college football even stronger.
The mass realignment, paired with an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, means that this season will be a season that fans have never seen before. Yet, with these changes, two teams will make the National Championship game at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
But which teams are in the running to win the national championship? Here are three teams that have a chance to win the national championship this year.
Georgia Bulldogs
The Bulldogs have been one of the best teams in college football over the last few years. They were national champions in 2021 and 2022 and were on course to make it a third consecutive natty. However, their defeat to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game ended those hopes.
In the offseason, the Bulldogs lost the likes of Brocks Bowers and Ladd McConkey to the NFL, two players who were a key part of the offense. But, they brought in transfers such as star running back Trevor Etienne to help bolster the offense led by Carson Beck, who is running for the Heisman Trophy this season.
However, their journey to the national championship may be challenging. Their schedule is harder than their previous years, facing Clemson, Alabama, and Texas in the regular season. A victory in all three of these games will cement the Bulldogs’ position as the best team in the country.
A place in the College Football Playoffs should be the minimum that Georgia expects this season. They have a team that can easily make a run to the national championship game and will likely be many people’s favorite to lift the championship trophy in January.
Ohio State Buckeyes
In recent years, the Ohio State Buckeyes were the second-best team in the Big Ten. They were strong throughout their generally easy schedule before losing the only game that mattered. The game in question was their meeting with rivals, the Michigan Wolverines. They would then have to rely on other teams’ performances to make it into the College Football Playoffs.
The same thing happened in 2023. The Buckeyes could defeat all of their usual Big Ten opponents before falling to the Wolverines, who would go on to win the national championship with an undefeated season (albeit one with a lot of controversy off the field).
2024 is set to be Ohio State’s year. They have brought many talented players into the program, including Quinshon Judkins, the former Ole Miss running back, and Seth McLaughlin, the former Alabama Offensive Linesman. These arrivals, alongside a strong pre-existing roster and the fact that many players who were instrumental in the Wolverines’ championship win left for the NFL, give the Buckeyes an advantage over their main rival.
Their schedule is the usual collection of Big Ten teams and easy non-conference opponents that Ohio State should be able to defeat. The one potential slip-up could come against Big Ten new boys, the Oregon Ducks. These two teams are strong contenders for the conference championship and will likely meet in the championship game. A defeat here would be a setback for the Buckeyes, but with the new playoff format, it will have little effect on their playoff ranking if they win the Big Ten Championship.
The one thing that could cause problems for the Buckeyes is their quarterback. Last season, Kyle McCord threw for 3,170 yards and scored 24 touchdowns. This is respectable, but more was needed to help the Buckeyes to make the playoffs. McCord is now in Syracuse, and his replacement is former Kansas State Wildcat Will Howard, which is hardly an upgrade. Add in the stacked QB room that the Buckeyes have, which includes Devin Brown, Air Noland, and Caleb Downs, and this decision could be their downfall.
Texas Longhorns
In the 2023 season, they signified the return of the Texas Longhorns. Led by quarterback Quinn Ewers (with Arch Manning on the sidelines), the Longhorns went on their farewell tour of the Big 12, which ended in comfortably winning the conference championship and getting their first-ever spot in the College Football Playoffs.
In 2024, Texas moved to the SEC, a much harder conference than they are used to. But this move has come at the perfect time.
The Longhorns are a hot team this year. Steve Sarkisian’s program has retained many players from the successful 2023 season. Two notable absences are Xavier Worthy and Adornai Mitchell, who will be in the NFL this season. However, Texas has found suitable replacements for them in Isaiah Bond and Silas Bolden.
Some may have one concern with Texas this year: the absence of running back CJ Baxter. Baxter was set to replace Jonathan Brooks, but an injury to his right knee’s lateral and posterior collateral ligaments has ruled him out of the season. His replacement is likely to be Jaydon Blue, a talented player in his own right, but he still needs to improve to become the replacement the Longhorns need.
Their schedule may, on paper, be demanding, facing the current national champions, the Michigan Wolverines, in week 2, as well as the Georgia Bulldogs and the return of the Lone Star Showdown with the Texas A&M Aggies. However, Texas is one of the stronger teams in the SEC this year, and most of their opponents are not predicted to do well.
Even if they don’t make the SEC championship game, they will likely have a spot in the College Football Playoffs for a second consecutive year.
Surprise Team
Utah Utes
With most of college football’s eyes on the Big Ten and the SEC, the Big 12 seems forgotten. But this conference could produce the Cinderella story of college football this year.
The Utah Utes have moved from the PAC-12 to the Big 12, alongside the Arizona Wildcats and Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes. But unlike the Buffaloes, the Utes are predicted to have a strong season.
In the final few years of the Pac 12, Utah was the team to beat, winning the 2021 and 2022 conference championships. They fell short in 2023 as the team was hit by many injuries, most notably to quarterback Cam Rising. But 2024 is likely to be their year. Cam Rising is back alongside Brant Kuithe, a tight end who also missed the season. Adding these two players to a talented roster only boosts their chances.
Their defense will be equally as strong, making Utah a challenge on both sides of the ball.
The Utes’ schedule is generous but still has some challenges, especially the matchup with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, last season’s runners-up, to open their conference play. Overcome this team, and the road to the conference championship becomes simpler.
If Utah wins the Big 12 championship, the first-round bye will put them in a good position to make a run. However, for this to happen, they will have to be able to compete with the Big Ten and SEC powerhouses, something that they can do if everything comes into place.
If they do not win the Big 12, they should be an 11 or 12 seed for the playoffs. Whatever happens, the Utah Utes could be the team that causes a few surprises this season.
