Top Five College Football Storylines
What to Watch This Season
The 2024 College Football season is underway. At the start of the season, there was already a shocking upset, with Georgia Tech knocking off Florida State. We here at Full Press Coverage are ramping up our college football coverage this season. We have already given you the 2024-25 National Championship betting odds. The first preseason AP Top 25 poll is out, too. Now, we will get into the heart of the college football season by looking at the top five storylines.
Top Five College Football Storylines
1. Is Ryan Day Coaching for His Job at Ohio State
That is the number one storyline entering college football this season. Will Ryan Day be the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes if he loses to Michigan once again? It is a fair question and one that was raised last season after Ohio State lost to Michigan for the third straight season on the Around the Grid Iron, Around Campus College Football Podcast.
Day coaches differently in that game than he does in other games. Ohio State's defence played so well against Notre Dame and looked completely different that day against the soon-to-be National Champion Michigan Wolverines. And Jim Harbaugh wasn't coaching in that game. He got out-coached by Sherrone Moore, the coach this year, but is heading towards a suspension because of the cheating scandal.
Not to mention, Michigan's team this year is weaker than Ohio State. So the Buckeyes should roll in the game this season. Ohio State and Oregon are the favorites to win the Big Ten this season. Meanwhile, the new offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly, says he does not want to be a head coach anymore, and if Day fails, Kelly is right there to take his place.
Ryan Day is under a lot of pressure. It does not matter if they win the Big Ten or make the 12-team college football playoff; if he loses to Michigan again, that could be his end. It is rare for an Ohio State coach to lose three games in a row to the Wolverines. His predecessors did not. Now it is on Day to right the ship this season.
2. Is the 12-team College Football Designed For the SEC & B1G 10 to Get the Most Teams
This season, College Football will see the 12-team playoff come to life. Last season was the final season of the four-team College Football playoff. There was controversy. However, there is controversy about any system college football has. With the expanded playoff, the top four conference champions get a bye. The Group of Five will get a team in, and at-large bids will await the rest of the ranked teams.
That leaves Notre Dame on the outside, along with the teams that don't win the SEC, Big 12, Big 10, and ACC. Who knows what is going on with Oregon State and Washington State? They make up the Pac-12, but there are still no answers on how they factor into the playoff. So it comes down to whether the teams in the SEC and Big Ten could have the most teams in the 12-team playoff.
When conference realignment started, everyone expected the SEC and Big Ten to be the last two conferences. College Football is heading to a two-conference system. There will be divisions inside those conferences, like the NFL. So with the expanded playoff, which could go to 14 teams, to allow the Big Ten and SEC more teams, the odds were in favour of the bigger conferences getting more teams in. It will be challenging for the ACC and Big 12 to squeeze more than one school into the playoffs.
This is the current state of college football and it favors the Big Ten and SEC.
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3. How Will Alabama Fair Without Nick Saban? Kalen DeBoer Has Big Shoes to Fill?
We will keep it short and sweet. This is one of the bigger storylines heading into the college football season. There is a lot of pressure on new Alabama Crimson Tide Football coach Kalen DeBoer to make the playoff. Under Nick Saban in the playoff era, they made the playoffs eight times, with a record of 9-5 and won three National Titles. Saban won six National Titles at Alabama. Those are some big shoes to fill.
However, DeBoer is coming off a College Football Playoff and National Championship appearance with the Washington Huskies. It was the Pac-12 he had to go through, but the Pac-12 was the best conference last season. However, the expectations are for the SEC Championship, Playoff, and National Championship. With the new look SEC, it could be a tough season for the Crimson Tide and Kalen DeBoer. They need to get off to a good start, and so does Jalen Milroe.
4. How Will Need Teams Fair in Unfamiliar Conferences?
We mentioned it before—conference realignment. Many familiar teams are in new places. USC, Oregon, Washington, and UCLA are in the Big Ten. Texas and Oklahoma have joined the SEC. The Big 12 saw Colorado, Arizona, Arizona St, and Utah. ACC added Stanford, Cal, and SMU. However, out of the teams coming into new places, the expectation is that Texas and Oregon will do the best.
Texas won the Big 12 last season, and some think they can win the Southeastern Conference, the toughest division in all of college football. The Georgia Bulldogs will have something to say about that. Not to mention LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama, and the rest of the conference. No game is easy in this conference: nine conference games, no more cupcake games. While Texas is one of the favourites, Georgia is right up there, too.
Over in the Big Ten, everyone expects Ohio State and Oregon to battle it out for the Championship. Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks' offense look explosive. The question for the Ducks will be how much travel and changing time zones affect their play. The Big Ten has some good teams this season. Michigan will take a step back, but the old guard is still there, and they will make life tough for the new Kids on the Block.
5. All Eyes on Deion Sanders in Colorado for Year Two
We can't have College Football Storylines without mentioning Colorado. Deion Sanders has turned Colorado into a must-see TV show. Last season, the Buffaloes got off to a good start. They caught some teams off guard and almost lost a game to Colorado St. However, the Buffaloes came back to Earth to end the season. The Pac-12 was loaded last year, and there were a lot of tough teams. Nobody expected Colorado to make the playoffs last season.
Sanders is building sustainability in Colorado. It will be interesting to see how they fair in the Big 12. This is a familiar spot for the Buffaloes. We did not mention them above because Colorado is unique with Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. Hunter is a two-way star. Shedeur Sanders has the potential to be a Heisman Trophy finalist. However, this team can ill-afford to lose these two players to injuries.
We know what Prime Time can bring to the media room. Now, it has to be translated into the field. While the Big 12 has good teams, it is not the conference it used to be; it will still be challenging for Colorado this season.
Everyone will want to see who makes the 12-team College Football Playoff outside these five college football storylines, especially the team out of the Group of Five. Not to mention how conference realignment will affect who makes the playoff, Oregon and Washington State stand alone, and are the Miami Hurricanes finally back?