With three of last year’s four College Football Playoff teams losing their head coaches this offseason, the college football landscape is expected to be extremely different in 2024. We’re still a few months away from the preseason AP poll, but there are two clear frontrunners to fill the void.
In a feature for 247Sports, college football insider Brad Crawford identified the Georgia Bulldogs and the Ohio State Buckeyes as the clear national title frontrunners. Georgia boasts the top odds right now at +300 to win the national title, while Ohio State are right on their tails at +450.
For Georgia, Crawford believes that the return of many core players on offense and defense along with some high-profile transfers will give them an edge in 2024.
“Georgia’s captured two of college football’s last three national championships and had it not been for Alabama’s “upset” win over the previously-unbeaten Bulldogs in last year’s SEC title game, Kirby Smart’s club would’ve had a crack at a three-peat. It didn’t happen, so that’s more than enough motivation for this loaded with roster, headlined by the return of quarterback Carson Beck and several stars on defense. The Bulldogs made a couple notable moves in the transfer portal, including the acquisition of Florida running back Trevor Etienne and Miami wideout Colbie Young, among others. They bolstered their quarterback depth with Arizona State’s Jaden Rashada as well coming out of spring,” Crawford wrote.
As for the Buckeyes, Crawford made the case that Ohio State is already a super team and made themselves better by adding some prized transfers from a few SEC powerhouses.
“How do you make a superteam even better? You pry a couple of the SEC’s best players away from Alabama and Ole Miss and insert them directly into the starting lineup. We’re talking about the additions of safety Caleb Downs and tailback Quinshon Judkins, possible All-American candidates for the Buckeyes. Ryan Day loaded up and he might be in line for his first national championship at Ohio State given the “title or bust” mentality this program took during the spring. The Buckeyes haven’t been shy about expectations after a third-straight loss to Michigan. It’s clear their focus is on getting to the College Football Playoff and advancing with an extremely impressive roster of talent,” he wrote.
Of course, there are other teams out there that could come out of the woodwork and take college football by storm the way that Washington did last year.
Who will win the 2024 college football national title?