College Football Playoff contender rankings by division: Georgia and Ohio State among favorites, while Clemson moves up

Week 1 of the 2024 college football season is just around the corner and even so early on the focus will certainly be on the new 12-team college football playoff. An important domino effect fell last Saturdayas No. 10 Florida State missed his season opener to Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland.

Although the Seminoles are not out of the race yet, it will certainly be an uphill battle to get back near the top 10. It also opens the door for more teams looking to enter the competition.

Week 1 promises more game-changing results. No. 14 Clemson and No. 1 Georgia will meet at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. No. 8 Penn State and No. 19 Miami face tough tests on the road to West Virginia and Florida, respectively.

No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 20 Texas A&M will face off in College Station as the Aggies look to start the Mike Elko era off right. All of these games have major implications for the College Football Playoff race, especially since every top-25 team — and even a handful outside the rankings — has a realistic chance of making the final field.

With the 2024 season about to begin in earnest, here’s a division-by-division breakdown of some potential playoff-bound teams to watch out for.

Level 1: The Conference Masters

Georgia: Last year, Georgia missed out on the SEC title and then the College Football Playoff, giving Kirby Smart plenty of offseason material. Not that he really needs it. The Bulldogs are as strong as ever on defense. Now they can combine that with a likely first-round pick at quarterback in Carson Beck, arguably the best offensive line in the country, and some tremendous talent. The schedule is tough, but Georgia should be a favorite in every game it plays.

State of Ohio: Ohio State is considered the favorite to make the national championship game and has certainly raised that expectation with several bold transfers in the offseason. Coach Ryan Day is welcoming a quality transfer class and convinced UCLA coach Chip Kelly to give up his job and join the team as offensive coordinator. With Michigan potentially facing a fresh start after all of its losses to the NFL, the path back to the top of the Big Ten 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 fallen behind with a Week 0 loss to Georgia Tech. Clemson now appears ready to pick up the pieces. It’s been a while since the Tigers were a factor on the national stage, so some have declared the Dabo Swinney dynasty over. The Tigers have the defense to win a championship, however. It’s the offense that will have to make some serious moves to get there.

Utah: Winning the Big 12 won’t be easy. There are five or six teams that have a legitimate path to the championship game. But Kyle Whittingham is built for it. He has a knack for getting the most out of his players, which he showed in two Pac-12 titles over the past three years. Seven-year quarterback Cam Rising is back to lead the offense, while the defense is loaded with one of the best front sevens in the Big 12. Whittingham’s physicality should lead the Utes to great success in their new conference quarterback.

Level 2: The Favorites

Oregon: The Ducks are a real threat to the Big Ten title, with the Oct. 12 clash with Ohio State emerging as the most important game of the season. Dan Lanning has 22 wins in his two seasons at Oregon, and he and his staff are recruiting at a pace matched by only a handful of programs, so it’s hard to find any real holes on this roster.

Texas: From one conference newcomer looking to compete right away to another, Texas has a good chance of making it to Atlanta in its first year as an SEC program. The Longhorns return veteran starter Quinn Ewers, who is coming off his best college season, and have stocked up on talented wide receivers through the transfer portal. Their defense has lost some key players, but like Lanning, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has recruited enough players to maintain a solid core. A series of injuries to running backs this offseason haven’t dented Texas’ hopes too much, but it’s certainly worth watching as the year progresses.

Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin is betting everything on the middle of the table. The Rebels spent big on transfers this offseason, bringing in a whopping 25 newcomers to supplement their returner production. Topping the list of Rebels incumbents is quarterback Jaxson Dart, who is on the verge of becoming a star. It helps that Ole Miss has a very manageable schedule, the Rebels look like betting favorites in every game they play outside of Georgia.

Alabama: Alabama faces perhaps its toughest task of the 2024 season as it replaces legendary coach Nick Saban. Fortunately, the Crimson Tide has signed a proven winner in Kalen DeBoer, who just led Washington to a 14-1 season and an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Despite some key transfer losses, the cupboard in Tuscaloosa is far from empty.

Penn State: James Franklin has done a great job holding Penn State to a 10-win level the last few years, but the Nittany Lions have left a lot on the table. This could be the year they finally break through, thanks in part to the Big Ten’s new scheduling model. Penn State only has to play two AP Top 25 teams in the preseason, one of which is No. 2 Ohio State. If this is the team’s only loss in December, it will be hard to keep the Lions off the field.

Level 3: Monitoring the Group of Five

Boise State: Boise State would have been a CFP mainstay under players like Dan Hawkins and Chris Petersen. New coach Spencer Danielson, who took over as interim coach for 10 games in the 2023 season and led the Broncos to the Mountain West Conference title, wants to return his team to those glory days.

Memphis: Ryan Silverfield has led the Tigers back to national prominence thanks to a 10-win performance in 2023, capped by a win over Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl. Seventeen starters from that team are back, including QB Seth Henigan, the most productive passer in program history.

Freedom: Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell has at least 10 wins in three of the last four seasons, including a 13-1 performance in 2023 capped by a first-year victory in the C-USA Championship Game. The Flames have a very favorable schedule with no Power Four teams in the non-conference and are clear favorites to defend the conference title.

Level 4: The Outsiders

Notre-Dame: Notre Dame has steadily improved each year under Marcus Freeman and now has a dynamic quarterback in Riley Leonard. As long as the Irish’s undermanned offensive line can hold up, they have a chance.

Oklahoma State: They finished No. 3 in the Big 12 preseason media poll despite making it to the conference championship game last year. They return 21 starters from the same team, including Ollie Gordon II, the best running back in college football.

Tennessee: There is a lot of confidence in Knoxville, thanks in large part to new starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the presence of real superstars like edge rusher James Pearce Jr. Aside from these two, coach Josh Heupel has a very strong squad that could take the Vols pretty far.

Miami: Florida State’s loss makes Miami’s path to the ACC Championship Game at least a little easier. The Hurricanes have the best quarterback in the ACC in Cam Ward and a lot of people around him who could make a splash.