2024 SID Sports Preseason Primer

Breaking down the Top 25, playoff field and Heisman watch heading into 2024

Week 0 is here, and that means it’s time for prognostication to take a turn into everyone's favorite in-season stories - rankings!

I did this last year and you all seemed to enjoy it, so we’ll bring back the Monday Rankings and the Friday Games of the Slate. If you want updates on what games to watch during the week, follow SID Sports on Facebook and Instagram for in-week updates on hot games to watch and polls on who’s going to win.

So, without further ado, let’s rank the teams heading into the season!

SID Sports Preseason Top 25

1. Georgia
   Georgia is known for two things in the recent Kirby Smart era - driving fast and keeping their foot on the gas in the rankings. Well, that and defense. But is the offense the key for the Bulldogs in 2024?

2. Ohio State
   Ohio State made it’s biggest foray into the portal yet, snagging major contributors in quarterback Will Howard, tailback Quinshon Judkins and safety Caleb Downs, plus adding Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator. If that doesn’t get Ryan Day a title, there’s going to be questions.

3. Oregon
   Dan Lanning is the guy in Eugene, and the Ducks are primed and ready to go in the new Big 10. Dillon Gabriel is the new quarterback, but he has a plethora in weapons in Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart. Add in Lanning’s stingy defense and you have a team that both SP+ and FPI mark a title contender.

4. Texas
   The Longhorns are finally back, and so is the dynamic duo of Steve Sarkisian and Quinn Ewers. They lost a lot of weapons in Adonai Mitchell, Xavier Worthy, JaTavion Sanders, and CJ Baxter (injury), so who is going to step up for the Longhorns?

5. Penn State
   Every year we start by saying “This is the year Penn State breaks through!” Well, they don’t have to beat Ohio State or Michigan to break through this time. I really like the combo of new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and Drew Allar, too. Let’s see if that kickstarts something for the Nittany Lions.

6. Oklahoma
   First things first - this is a Brent Venables defense. They’re going to be good. But is Jackson Arnold ready to lead this team his first season as starter? He struggled in the Alamo Bowl against Arizona, but with a full offseason under his belt, I expect improvement as the full time starter.

7. LSU
   Yes, they’re without Jayden Daniels, but there’s been a lot of optimism from Baton Rouge regarding Garrett Nussmeier. He’s not as dynamic as Daniels was, but he is a smart, talented quarterback that should take care of the football. Look for LSU to rely on its defense, a unit led by the best linebacker in the nation Harold Perkins.

8. Michigan
   Michigan is in a spot unlike any other in the Harbaugh era. They’re coming off a title, but have a ton of change. 13 players from last year’s roster were drafted into the NFL. Head coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter hold the same roles with the Los Angeles Chargers. Sherrone Moore is the right guy for the job and they have a talented roster, but circle their September 7 matchup against Texas to see what they really have in store.

9. Alabama
   Similar to Michigan, Alabama is without Nick Saban for the first time since 2007. They made a solid hire in Kalen DeBoer, but he’s got big shoes to fill. I’m excited to see what Jaden Milroe does in the DeBoer offense, but his right-hand man Ryan Grubb is running the offense for the Seattle Seahawks. How much does that impact DeBoer’s Tide?

10. Florida State
    I may sound like a broken record, but Florida State has a ton of turnover this season. Only 56 percent of their production returns from last season, and all the major contributors are gone. Mike Norvell has done a great job supplementing his recruiting with the portal, but I have serious questions on if D.J. Uiagalelei is the right guy to avenge last year’s playoff snub.

11. Tennessee
    Finally we turn away from the big questions to just one: is Nico Iamaleava ready for the job? Josh Heupel’s high-octane veer and shoot attack is in the hands of the talented sophomore signal caller and he seems like an immediate upgrade over Joe Milton. Make no mistake - this team will go as far as Iamaleava will take them.

12. Missouri
    2023’s biggest surprise was Missouri, who was among the nation’s best the entire season. I think the 12-team format is designed for teams like this that can beat anyone but don’t have the national attention many blue bloods get. Brady Cook to Luther Burden III is a lethal combination, and most opponents will struggle to slow them down.

13. Ole Miss
    Ole Miss bested Ohio State for the best transfer class in the nation in my mind, but they get a knock for just that - heavy transfer reliance. That doesn’t work out in most cases, but Lane Kiffin isn’t most coaches. Keep an eye on Ole Miss to either vault to the top of the rankings, or plummet out of the Top 25.

14. Utah
    Two words: Cameron Rising. The super-super senior is back from injury and is ready to do what he’s had his eyes on for five years: take Utah to the playoff. They’re going to play Utah brand physical football, but a new conference home in the Big 12 presents new challenges. I think the Utes will rise to that and compete for a playoff spot.

15. Notre Dame
    Last year’s transfer quarterback swing by the Irish was good, but not playoff worthy as Sam Hartman played a solid, but not great season. Can Riley Leonard build on that? I think Leonard is more talented, but he’s dealt with a ton of injuries. If he’s healthy, look out for the Irish.

16. Clemson
    I’ve already talked about my disappointment with Clemson’s 2023 season, so I’ll skip it here. Instead, I’m going to channel last year’s optimism. Cade Klubnik is a good quarterback. Garrett Riley is a good offensive coordinator. Phil Mafah is a good tailback. That should equal a good team, especially with a Clemson defense behind them.

17. Kansas State
    Will Howard is out, but could Avery Johnson have a higher ceiling? I think he might, and that could be what the Wildcats need to break into the playoff. They’ve pulled wins over playoff teams before, see: 2022 Big 12 Championship win over TCU. I think this could be the year Kansas State makes the dance on their own.

18. Oklahoma State
    Oklahoma State boasts the nation’s best player in Ollie Gordon (spoiler alert for later) and Alan Bowman was really good down the stretch. Both players return in 2024 and if they can keep going at the pace they did last year, the Pokes will be dangerous. They just can’t pull a 37-0 loss to a team like South Alabama again.

19. Iowa
    New year, same Iowa. Show me some offense. Literally anything. SP+ give the Hawkeyes the number 1 defense, but ranks the offensive unit at 114. Even an average offense would be an improvement. If they get that, the Hawkeyes can be serious contenders in the Big 10. Plus, it helps that Brian Ferentz is gone.

20. USC
    I’ll be honest - I didn’t want to rank USC. They’ve been disappointing and I feel like they’ve wasted Caleb Williams. Miller Moss is a good quarterback, but Williams is a Heisman winner. The only reason USC is here is because I believe D’Anton Lynn can turn around their defense. If that can happen, Lincoln Riley’s Trojans can take off. If it doesn’t, this may be their ceiling.

21. Kansas
    Kansas, like USC, is going to be reliant on their offense. They have a stud at quarterback in Jalon Daniels and one of the nation’s top backs in Devin Neal. Neal’s going to be great, but Daniels has had a long injury list. Can he stay healthy? Stopgap man Jason Bean has graduated, so the ball really is in Daniels’s court. Also, keep an eye out for how the loss of offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki affects this team.

22. Louisville
    Aside from maybe Northwestern, Louisville was the most surprising team in 2023. First year head coach Jeff Brohm led the Cardinals to a 10-4 season behind a strong transfer class. They’ll have to do that again with journeyman Tyler Shough leading the Louisville offense. Shough’s in a similar spot as Jack Plummer was a year ago when Brohm turned him into a quality quarterback. Can he do it again? Especially without top wideout Caullin Lacy, who broke his collarbone in fall camp? One thing to note: the Cardinals faltered down the stretch and dropped their final three games. Did they get figured out, or was that just a slumping team?

23. NC State
    Speaking of transfer classes, NC State is relying on theirs to bring bigger dividends than it did before. The Brennan Armstrong-Robert Anae connection was not magical, but could Grayson McCall be the answer? He’s more dynamic than Armstrong, but I’d give Armstrong the edge in arm talent. The Wolf Pack have a stud out wide in Kevin “K.C.” Concepcion so McCall will have a target. But how will he fare outside of Jamey Chadwell’s triple option scheme?

24. SMU
    I hinted at this in my ACC Preview, but I think SMU could really be good this year. They’ve got an impact transfer class, a top-tier quarterback in Preston Stone, and a coach in Rhett Lashlee that’s called plays in the most toxic of SEC environments. Plus, having the Pony Express alumni base in your corner never hurts. The Mustangs have an easy schedule avoiding Clemson and getting Florida State at home. The makings are here for something special

25. Arizona
    It’s wild to think that a program with a new head coach in Brent Brennan can land here, but I don’t think it’s too crazy. Brennan’s air raid attack meshes very well with Arizona and he seems like a spiritual successor to the Jedd Fisch era. The Wildcats are in a very winnable Big 12 and the combo of quarterback Noah Fifita and wideout Tetairoa McMillan is going to be hard to contain. Let’s see how they adapt to the new system.

Next Five Out: Auburn, Miami, Memphis, Texas A&M, Iowa State

And now, some notes on the five teams sitting on the outside. Auburn may seem like a risky pick, but I think the team is coming together better under Hugh Freeze. It’s a complicated system and there should be solid Year 2 jump here. Miami may be one of the ten most talented teams in the nation, but they have to put it together. I think Cam Ward and Damien Martinez can anchor a solid offense, but can Mario Cristobal get out of his own way? Memphis takes the crown as the top Group of Five team because they return a ton of production and I believe teams with veteran quarterbacks like Seth Henigan will do well. We just need the defense to show up for the Tigers. Texas A&M is a perennial disappointment under Jimbo Fisher, but Mike Elko is a different dude. They’ve got a solid quarterback in Conner Weigman and Elko also build a stout defense - is that enough? Finally, Iowa State returns the most production in the nation and they were pretty good last year. I’m excited to see Rocco Becht grow in Year 2 and the Cyclones could shock everyone starting with a CyHawk win - Iowa’s won 8 of the last ten and it’s time Iowa State bucks that trend.

Playoff Predictions

Now how about some playoff predictions? I’m not going to predict the entire bracket, but I did want to go over what the bracket would look like using my preseason predictions. This will come back later in the season when we know more and include some interesting tidbits on how the weeks’ games affect the playoff picture, so don’t worry. But this is a preseason primer, and no season preview would be complete without a playoff field to come back to and laugh about after the season.

This is how the bracket would line up based on my above rankings. But it’s not the top 12 teams? Nope, not exactly. The bracket format is:

• Five highest ranked conference champions

  • Georgia (1)

  • Ohio State (2)

  • Florida State (10)

  • Utah (14)

  • Memphis (RV)

• Seven at-large bids as decided by rankings

  • Texas (3)

  • Oregon (4)

  • Penn State (5)

  • Oklahoma (6)

  • LSU (7)

  • Michigan (8)

  • Alabama (9)

Right now, I’m excited for this bracket. It’s got some interesting conference pods with the 8-9-1 of LSU at Oklahoma and the winner taking on Georgia, or the Big 10 pocket of 7-10-2 where Michigan travels to Happy Valley and the winner gets Ohio State. Sure, it may make the conference championships a little less vital, but I think it’s an interesting wrinkle for the new format.

In this scenario, I think Texas has the easiest trip to the title. Memphis is no slouch, but they won’t hang with the Longhorns. Utah is always solid, but I think Texas is the better team here, especially at a neutral site instead of Rice-Eccles. Then, they’ll likely have to face off against Georgia or one of Oklahoma and LSU, which is where it really ramps up. But that’s a relatively easy road to the semifinal round, especially compared to the rest of the bracket.

Heisman Watch

Finally, let’s get into my Top Five Heisman candidates:

1. Ollie Gordon II, RB Oklahoma State
   To me, Gordon is the clear Heisman favorite. The junior tailback is coming off a decorated season where he took home the Doak Walker Award, Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Award, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, was a unanimous All-American and semifinalist for the Walter Camp and Maxwell Awards. He led the nation with 1,732 yards while averaging 6.1 yards per carry and punched the ball in 21 times. If he can do that again, you’re looking at the Heisman winner. And none of that factors in his receiving skills, which I think are still growing.

2. Travis Hunter, WR/CB Colorado
   Gordon may be the favorite, but Hunter may be more talented. He’s a top-tier player at two positions, both of which are elite skill positions. He’ll be the primary target as Shedeur Sanders chases his own Heisman bid, but I think Hunter’s better on the defensive end. Voters may not know what to do with Hunter if he plays a full two-way season just like MLB voters didn’t know what to do with Shohei Ohtani. The only thing that could stand in Hunter’s way is health, which is a given for a player totaling over 100 snaps each and every game.

3. Luther Burden III, WR Missouri
   Missouri is going to have one of the nation’s best offenses. Burden’s a huge reason for that. I’d say he’s a better wideout than Hunter, finishing 2023 as a Second-Team All American and Biletnikoff semifinalist. With the connection between Burden and quarterback Brady Cook growing after another year, I expect them to be even more dangerous than last season.

4. Quinn Ewers, QB Texas
   I thought Ewers was a lock for the Draft after last season, but he decided to run it back after coming up short in the CFP Semifinal. Now, without all of his weapons surrounding him, the onus is going to be on Ewers. Sarkisian’s offense is very quarterback friendly, especially to one that’s been in the system for three years now. That should allow Ewers to turn it on. But can he keep up with an SEC schedule?

5. Dillon Gabriel, QB Oregon
   Finally, we have a popular “dark horse” or sorts in Dillon Gabriel. He’s on his third stop after stays with UCF and Oklahoma, but the star really shined in last year’s Red River Shootout, when Oklahoma upset then-Number 1 Texas in my rankings and Gabriel threw for 285 yards and added 113 and a score on the ground. Now, he’s in an offense that resurrected Bo Nix’s career. I think Gabriel’s ceiling could be higher than Nix’s, and with the Ducks title contenders, there’s a clear path to the Heisman.

Conference Previews

Finally, let’s take a look at every team across the nation! I decided to break it down this year into conferences and each team got a paragraph. That way, you can get the gist of each conference race and each team before full kickoff Labor Day weekend.

ACC

American

Big 10

Big 12

CUSA

MAC

Mountain West

SEC

Sun Belt - August 29

Independents - August 30

Final Notes

• Realignment’s been wild - let’s keep up with who’s in what conference now

• There’s a ton of teams that rely on the portal. Does it ever work?

• There’s a new NIL sheriff coming to town in the form of the House v. NCAA settlement. What does that mean and should you be worried?

• “Private equity” is not a term most sports fans know and it’s a loaded term creeping into the college world. How does it work and why am I not too concerned for the future?

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