10 biggest storylines for the 2024 college football season

The 2024 college football season is almost here.

As Week 1 of the season quickly approaches at the end of August, here are 10 of the biggest storylines ahead of a season of serious change in college football.

There are now four power conferences

It may take the month of September to get used to the Pac-12’s absence. Sure, Washington State and Oregon State are still officially in the Pac-12, but the conference’s 10 other teams have been spread out across the country. It’ll be odd to see Stanford and Cal playing conference games against ACC teams, and it’ll be bizarre to see USC playing Big Ten conference games against Michigan and Penn State.

Utah appears to be the former Pac-12 team with the best chance to win its conference as the Utes are prohibitive favorites to get to the Big 12 title game. Oregon should be in the thick of Big Ten contention too, and has a Heisman co-favorite in QB Dillon Gabriel.

Click here for the Yahoo Sports Viewer’s Guide to the New College Football Playoff. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)

Welcome to the expanded playoff era. After a decade of four teams in the College Football Playoff, the field size is officially tripled in 2024. The top five conference champions will earn spots in the field along with seven at-large teams.

The top four conference champions in the final CFP rankings all get first-round byes, while teams seeded Nos. 5-8 will play at home. They’ll be the first non-neutral site playoff games ever.

After the first round, the final three rounds will all be bowl games at neutral sites. The Rose and Sugar Bowls will serve as two of the quarterfinal sites along with the Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. The Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl will be the semifinals ahead of the national title game on Jan. 20.

The four power conference title winners will have byes in the new College Football…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-08-15 13:00:16

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