College Football Top 7 Rankings for 2024

The 2024 college football season is starting in less than 100 days, and in just over 200 days, they will choose the teams for the first-ever 5-team College Football Playoff.

Now that spring practice is over and the time for players to transfer has ended, it’s a perfect time to update the list of the top 7 teams for 2024. Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, and Oregon are still the top four teams, but there have been many changes in the rankings behind them.

There are three new teams added to the list, including a couple of teams from the ACC who are trying to get back to their old winning ways.

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Georgia Bulldogs

Spring update: The Georgia Bulldogs have a tough schedule this year. They start by playing Clemson in Atlanta, and they have to play away games against Kentucky, Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss. It might be too much to expect them to win all their regular-season games again. But Coach Kirby Smart’s team is really good—they won national championships in 2021 and 2022 and have won 46 of their last 48 games.

Their quarterback, Carson Beck, is ready for a great season, and he has a lot of talented teammates, including one of the best offensive lines in the game. They need to find new players for some defensive positions, but they’ve done that well in the past. Mykel Williams will be playing more outside linebacker and should be an excellent pass-rusher. Georgia also has a lot of strong linebackers and is bringing back Malaki Starks, one of the best safeties in college football.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Spring update: Since Coach Ryan Day took over the Ohio State team in 2019, they have won almost 87% of their games. They’ve beaten every Big Ten team in the regular season except for one—Michigan. Unfortunately, they’ve lost to Michigan three times in a row, which has been a bit of a blemish on their otherwise great record.

Last season, Michigan won a national title under former coach Jim Harbaugh, so Ohio State worked hard to get new players. They got five-star safety Caleb Downs from Alabama, tailback Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss, and quarterback Will Howard from Kansas State. Coach Day also handed over offensive playcalling to his mentor, former UCLA coach Chip Kelly.

Ohio State has an easier nonconference schedule with home games against Akron, Western Michigan, and Marshall. They will play against Michigan at their home stadium, the Horseshoe, on November 30.

Texas Longhorns

Spring update: After leading the Texas Longhorns to 12 wins and a spot in the College Football Playoff in 2023, Coach Steve Sarkisian’s challenge is to keep that success going in the SEC. The Longhorns got a bit of luck with their SEC schedule, having road games against Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and rival Texas A&M. They’ll face an early away game at Michigan, their yearly game in Dallas against Oklahoma, and a home game against Georgia.

Offensively, the Longhorns should be very strong with quarterback Quinn Ewers and a veteran offensive line coming back. They also got new players like Isaiah Bond from Alabama, Matthew Golden from Houston, Silas Bolden from Oregon State, and top recruit Ryan Wingo to help replace star receivers Xavier Worthy and AD Mitchell, who went to the NFL.

The Longhorns need to find new key players for the defensive line and improve their secondary, which struggled last year, ranking 113th in the FBS by allowing 254.4 passing yards per game.

Oregon Ducks

Spring update: In just two seasons as head coach, Oregon’s Dan Lanning has become one of the best in college football. His teams have won 22 games and two bowl games in a row. As the Ducks move to the Big Ten, Lanning’s plan for building a strong team on both offense and defense should help with the change.

Former Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel will replace the star player Bo Nix. Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart and Tez Johnson might make a strong pair at receiver. Jordan James is returning after running for 759 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns in 2023. Safety Kobe Savage from Kansas State and cornerback Jabbar Muhammad from Washington are good additions to a pass defense that led the Pac-12 last season, allowing just 215.9 yards per game.

Oregon will play a home game against Ohio State on October 12, but their November games will be crucial. They have to play Michigan (away), Maryland (home), Wisconsin (away), and Washington (home).

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Spring update: The Fighting Irish are feeling hopeful as they go into Coach Marcus Freeman’s third season. They got a new quarterback, Riley Leonard from Duke, and brought back Mike Denbrock, who made LSU’s offense really strong in the past two years. Leonard missed most of spring camp because he had surgery on his right ankle, but he should be ready for fall practices. He’ll have new help from transfer receivers Beaux Collins from Clemson and Kris Mitchell from Florida International.

The team needs to replace their key offensive tackles, Joe Alt and Blake Fisher. In spring, Charles Jagusah and Tosh Baker were practicing on the left and right sides. The biggest reason for excitement is their defense. Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills lead a tough defensive line, and cornerback Benjamin Morrison and safety Xavier Watts are standout players in the secondary.

This season, the Irish will only play three true away games at Texas A&M, Purdue, and USC. They’ll also play Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Navy in New Jersey, and Army at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Ole Miss Rebels

Spring update: With a good SEC schedule this season, Rebels coach Lane Kiffin brought in many new players through the transfer portal. He added defensive end Princely Umanmielen from Florida, defensive tackle Walter Nolen from Texas A&M, receiver Antwane Wells Jr. from South Carolina, and others. These new players could help the team compete better as Alabama and LSU are rebuilding.

Quarterback Jaxson Dart is returning to lead the team, and the offense should score a lot of points. However, there are concerns about the running back position since Judkins transferred to Ohio State. LSU transfer Logan Diggs had knee surgery and might not be ready at the start of the season. Henry Parrish Jr., who started at Ole Miss and then played at Miami, has come back to help. Another option is Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who ran for 1,190 yards and 17 touchdowns at New Mexico.

Alabama Crimson Tide

Spring update: It’s been 131 days since Alabama’s legendary coach Nick Saban unexpectedly retired, but college football is still going strong in Tuscaloosa. Saban’s replacement, Kalen DeBoer, has an impressive record of 104-12 from his previous three jobs and led Washington to the CFP National Championship last season.

Even though many players left for the NFL or transferred, Alabama still has plenty of talent. The offense looked great in the spring with returning quarterback Jalen Milroe and young running backs Jamarion Miller and Justice Haynes. The offensive line should improve after giving up 49 sacks in 2023. Getting offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor back from the transfer portal was a big win for DeBoer. New additions like defensive lineman LT Overton from Texas A&M, safety Keon Sabb from Michigan, and two Washington transfers—guard Parker Brailsford and receiver Germie Bernard—should help immediately.