The 2024 season kicks off a new era of college football

Following a soft opening last weekend, college football is back in full swing; a whole slate of marquee matchups are scheduled for tomorrow.

But, while many things will feel familiar, this season is shaping up to be much different than those of the past (even beyond QR codes on helmets facilitating donations).

Conferences are welcoming new teams. Texas and Oklahoma are now members of the SEC. The Big Ten is up to 18 teams after adding a western wing of USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington. And to further prove geography really doesn’t matter in this new era, the Atlantic Coast Conference now includes Stanford and Cal, two programs located on the West Coast.

This conference realignment even extends to broadcasts. After a long run on CBS, the SEC is moving to ABC; CBS now has a full Big Ten schedule. But one thing isn't changing: The Pac-12 After Dark. ESPN will still be hosting the 10:30 pm ET games.

The College Football Playoff is expanding. This season will be the first to culminate with a 12-team playoff, instead of four.

Transfers are taking over. 2,000+ players transferred to FBS teams ahead of the 2024 season. And many have, as RGIII would say, “big Penix energy” – 43 of the 68 power conference teams are projected to start transfer QBs this week.

👀 Looking ahead… Tomorrow’s games include #7 Notre Dame vs. #20 Texas A&M, and #1 Georgia vs. #14 Clemson. See other top Week 1 matchups here.