It's way too early to predict what will happen in the next college football season, but the first top 25 rankings are already out, so let's talk about them. 25-21
Full disclosure, the top 25 rankings are based off ESPN “The 2024 Way to Early College Football Top 25 rankings” which was released pre-Saban retiring.
My mistake was writing this in several sittings before the portal and recruiting window closed and using ESPN as one of my sources.
All player “losses” are players predicted to enter the draft or transfer.
Twenty-odd weeks and three playoff games ago, we started this college football season as fans with hopes and dreams that our team will pull off a miracle. Instead, we saw a shake up and controversy in the 4 teams selected for the playoffs, and for the first time since 2014, we saw a team from north of the Mason-Dixon line win the championship, congrats Michigan. So now with the best part of the year over with, we get to look ahead to August 24th when our weekends and sometimes Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and even Fridays, thank you MAC, are filled with games once again.
So, let us talk about the very first rankings to come out, and then watch as we navigate through winter conditioning, spring ball, and finally summer/fall camp before the real official rankings come out.
So here is 25-21! According to ESPN Senior writer Mark Schlabach.
25. Iowa Hawkeyes
2023 record: 10-4, 7-2 Big Ten. Lost in the Big Ten Championship.
Losses: CB Cooper DeJean, P Tory Taylor, G Rusty Feth, DT Logan Lee, DE Joe Evans, WR Nico Ragaini
My slightly biased thoughts: Inept and nepotism are words that metaphorically bring to mind the Iowa Hawkeye logo and a picture of Brian Ferentz. Iowa averaged 15.4 points per game (132nd) and dead last in yards per game in 2023. There are only 133 teams in FBS. Iowa’s offense was so bad that even Nebraska was saying “at least our offense wasn’t that bad”. Somehow, through an extraordinary turn of events, Iowa went 10-2, winning the Big Ten west and making it to the Big Ten Championship. They were also shut out two straight games, by Michigan and Tennessee. First time since 1966 that the Hawkeyes were shut out in consecutive games. Brian Ferentz was fired by the then-interim AD with no replacement announced until January 28th with the hiring of former Western Michigan head coach and Green Bay Packers analyst Tim Lester. Former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst was reported to have turned Iowa down for the position, it remains a mystery why Kirk Ferentz waited so long to find a replacement. Kirk was unwilling to fire his son, but he did gave DC Phil Parker a $500k pay raise, which honestly, he deserves more. He led the 4th best defense in the country and is the major reason why Iowa won as many games as they had.
Quarterback Cade McNamara says that he plans on returning for the 2024 season after missing nine games with an ACL tear this past season. TE Luke Lachey, entering the 2023 season was supposed to continue the long line of Iowa tight ends to make an impact in the NFL, but ankle surgery after the Western Michigan game, and his NFL future is uncertain. He still has the possibility of playing his senior year. As of right now, I have yet to see anything that he has declared for the draft. All signs seem to be pointing to him returning for his senior season which will help McNamara by replacing team leading receiver TE Erick All who will be in the draft. Leading rusher Leshon Williams will be back, Freshman all-American Kadyn Proctor transferred in from Alabama, but the Hawkeyes best weapon, punter Tory Taylor, will forgo his senior season and enter the draft. Taylor was by far Iowa’s best offensive weapon last season constantly pinning opposing offenses deep into their own territory, and he finishes his career with an NCAA record for most punting yards in a season with 4,479 yards. That is over 300 yards a game. The defense is getting corner Jermari Harris and linebacker Jay Higgins back but will be losing all-everything Cooper DeJean. It would be surprising if there was a massive drop off on defense going into the 2024 season.
Iowa enters the 2024 season with the 30th ranked recruiting class and the 35th ranked portal class with 1 transferring in (Freshman All-American Kadynn Proctor from Alabama) but lost 6.
Season Review: Unfortunately for Iowa and the rest of the former Big Ten west teams, there will no longer be divisions in the Big Ten. The top two teams at the end of the regular season will be in the Big Ten Championship now. They do face Iowa State at home, whom they beat in Ames last year. They also have home games against Washington, Wisconsin, and rival Nebraska. Their only away challenges will be Ohio State and UCLA whom they face later in the year. Maybe the warm weather will throw them off.
Prediction- 11-1 (loss to Ohio State) Playoff bound.
24. SMU Mustangs
2023 record: 11-3, 8-0 AAC. AAC champion. Lost to Boston College in the Fenway Bowl
Losses: NT Jordan Miller, DT Elijah Chatman, LB Nelson Paul, CB Charles Woods, CB Chris Megginson, OT Hyrin White
My slightly biased thoughts: SMU finished their AAC stint with a conference win over defending AAC champion Tulane and were welcomed to the ACC with a bowl game loss to Boston College. The Mustangs had one of their best seasons since 1984 when they went 10-2 and shared the Southwest Conference championship with Houston. Just three years later, SMU would receive the NCAA's 'death penalty' sanction for giving players money and high-end gifts such as cars. SMU had only won double digit games once since 1984 when they went 10-3 in 2019 and lost in the Boca Raton Bowl.
SMU returns quarterback Preston Stone, who broke his leg against Navy in their regular season finale and missed both the AAC championship game and the bowl game. Running back Jaylan Knighton and four starting offensive linemen plan on returning for next season. The SMU offense is explosive, and we will see if they can continue heading into the ACC.
The Mustang defense will be anchored by defensive lineman Elijah Roberts, the leading sack master with 9.5 sacks last year, who decided to return. The defense still needs some help on the back end bringing in only one secondary transfer and five high school recruits. SMU is one of only a few teams who have more transfers coming in than they have going out, with 13 players transferring in to only seven leaving. Of those seven players, four have committed elsewhere.
SMU will enter the 2024 season with the 97th ranked recruiting class and the 38th ranked portal class. 13 players transferring in and 7 transferring out.
Season Review: SMU was introduced to the ACC during the 2023 Fenway Bowl, losing to Boston College. Granted, starting quarterback Preston Stone was not playing. The Mustangs have a non-conference home game against TCU after losing to them last season at TCU. They will get Boston College, and Florida State at home, and will face Louisville and Stanford on the road. They do miss Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Miami
Prediction-7-5 (Losses to Louisville, Boston College, Florida State, Cal, and BYU) Not playoff bound.
23. Kansas Jayhawks
2023 record: 9-4, 5-4 Big 12 Won the Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Losses: OT Dominick Puni, C Mike Novitsky, G Ar'maj Reed-Adams, DE Austin Booker, DL Gage Keys, S Kenny Logan Jr., LB Rich Miller, LB Craig Young
My slightly biased thoughts: When the time comes for Bill Self's retirement, and the University of Kansas erects a statue of him in his honor, he may not find himself alone for too long. Beside his bronze statue, there may soon stand another with the likeness of a coach who has taken Jayhawk football from obscurity to the forefront and one of the favorites to win its first Big 12 championship since 1968. Lance Leipold stepped onto the KU campus in 2021 following Les Miles departure, and inherited a team which went 0-9 the past covid shortened season. Since then, he can add turning the Jayhawk football around from 3-9 to 9-4 to his long list of coaching accomplishments.
Kansas exits 2023 with Jalon Daniels returning for next season after missing a massive chunk of 2023 with a back injury. Jason Bean, who stepped in for Daniels in week 5 against BYU, led the Jayhawks through the rest of the season.
Bean is gone but Daniels is back, and with Texas and Oklahoma both off to the SEC, leaving a void at the top of the Big 12 that is wide open for anyone to take. Most of the offensive weapons are back for the Jayhawks, but they will have some work that needs to be done in the trenches. Lance went out and hired former Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes to replace the departed Kotelnicki, who bolted for Penn State. The defense has some holes to fill with sack leader Austin Booker, and team leader in tackles safety Kenny Logan Jr leaving for the draft. However, they have gone out and picked up some nice roll pieces who can make an impact from smaller schools like North Dakota State’s defensive tackle Javier Derritt, and Youngstown State’s co-sack leader, edge rusher Dylan Wudke.
Kansas enters the 2024 season with the 40th ranked recruiting class and the 48th ranked transfer class with five transferring out and five transferring in.
Season Review: With the Big 12 being so wide-open heading into the 2024 season Kansas sets themselves up well to take over the top spot in the league and receive the at large bid for the playoffs. A non-conference road game in Champaigne against Illinois could be a solid test to start the season. Road games against BYU, West Virginia, and heated rival Kansas State could derail the Jayhawks plans at the Big 12 championship. They do get Iowa State, and the fighting Deion’s at home. Many of their “tough” games including the Kansas State game, are on the road and could pose as a challenge for the Jayhawks, but they do miss out on playing Oklahoma State, Utah, and Arizona.
Prediction- 10-2 (Losses to West Virginia and Kansas State) Not playoff bound.
22. Louisville Cardinals
2023 record: 10-4, 7-1 ACC. Lost to FSU in the ACC championship and lost in the Holiday Bowl
Losses: RB Jawhar Jordan, OT Willie Tyler, QB Jack Plummer, OT Eric Miller, C Bryan Hudson, WR Jamari Thrash, S Cam'Ron Kelly, CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr.
My slightly biased thoughts: After starting the 2023 campaign on a tear, ripping off 6 straight wins along with a 13-point victory over Notre Dame, Louisville stubbed their toe against Pitt before getting back on track to win their next four games, but finished on a three-game losing streak, including losses to an offensively toothless Florida State squad in the ACC championship and being surprised that USC had another quarterback besides Caleb Williams with Moss leading the Trojans in a thumping of the Cardinals in the Holiday Bowl.
Once the offseason hit, Louisville's head coach, Jeff Brohm dove headfirst into the transfer portal, and may be the true “portal king” instead of Ole Miss’s Kiffin. Brohm is leading Louisville as one of only a small handful of programs which has brought in more players than they have lost in the portal. 26 transferring in with 21 transferring out, and there is still a chance for that discrepancy to grow with six of the outgoing transfers having yet to commit to another school.
One of the many big acquisitions, and someone who Louisville expects to make a massive impact is Oregon and Texas Tech transfer quarterback Tyler Shough. Shough has been injury prone throughout his career, having broken his collar bone in the 2021 season, missing six games after hurting his shoulder the following season, and most recently, breaking his fibula against West Virginia.
There are so many new faces on this Cardinal squad that it makes it hard to pinpoint where to start. From former Alabama receiver Ja’Corey Brooks, two-time John Mackey Award watchlist tight end from San Diego State Mark Redman, 2023 MAC offensive Player of the Year running back from Toledo Peny Boone, and watchlist for the All-Best Name in College 2024 and FCS All-American defensive tackle Thor Griffith transferring in from Harvard. The issue for the Cardinal offense is that they are losing 3 starters up front who all had over 750 snaps each last season.
Louisville enters the 2024 season with the 55th ranked recruiting class, and the top transfer class, 26 transferring in and 21 transferring out.
Season Review: With return trips to Notre Dame, Clemson, and in-state rival Kentucky, the Cardinal’s schedule shapes up to be a challenge. With Miami heading to Louisville, but missing Florida State, the Cardinals have an opportunity to get back to the ACC championship with only the away game against Clemson being the lone tough conference game. It will be interesting to see how Louisville offense flows and gels with all the new faces.
Prediction- 9-3 (Losses to Notre Dame, Clemson, and Kentucky). Not playoff bound.
Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson. Credit © Austin Van Meter/K-State Sports21. Kansas State Wildcats
2023 record: 9-4, 6-3 Big 12. Beat NC State in the Pop Tarts Bowl
Losses: QB Will Howard, G Cooper Beebe, S Kobe Savage, TE Ben Sinnott, WR Phillip Brooks, DE Nate Matlack, RB Treshaun Ward, CB Will Lee III
My slightly biased thoughts: Howard bolted for Ohio State. We'll see how that works out. Sophomore Avery Johnson will now lead the Wildcats into the 2024 campaign. One thing that we know for certain, the weather is going to suck in Kansas late in the year, and the Wildcats will play everyone tough and wear them down. It’s been their MO since coach Bill Snyder was at the helm. Under coach Chris Klieman that doctrine has not gone away. The Wildcats may be undermanned in most games, but they will make the other team work for it. In their four losses in 2023, the Wildcats lost by a total of 21 points and pushed both Missouri and Texas to the edge.
With the loss of Howard came another blow with the loss of offensive coordinator and Mr. Kansas State football, Collin Klein who left to take over the OC role at Texas A&M. Avery Johnson showed that he is that next Kansas State quarterback who is not flashy but is full of competition. Johnson amassed 249 total yards (178 passing and 71 rushing) to go along with his 3 touchdowns (2 throwing and 1 rushing) in Kansas State’s victory over NC State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The Wildcat offense looks bright with him leading the way. The issue arises from the fact that Kansas State will be entering 2024 with four new offensive linemen and without 4-year starter and All-American Cooper Beebe who is ranked 3rd in blocking graded by PFF.com.
The Kansas State defense will be stout and will be looking to improve on their 27th ranking from last season. Safety and leading tackler Marques Sigle returns along with linebacker Desmond Purnell and 3rd place leader in sacks, end Cody Stufflebean. The defense does not look to drop off much even with the loss of sack leaders’ defensive ends Khalid Duke and Nate Matlack.
Kansas State enters the 2024 season with the 42nd ranked recruiting class and the 60th ranked portal class, four transferring in and 14 transferring out.
2024 outlook: Kansas State might have one of the toughest Big 12 schedules with away games against West Virginia and Iowa State. They do get Arizona, Oklahoma State, and Kansas at home though. If the Wildcat offensive line can protect Johnson and hope the holes open for the running game, especially in the later part of the schedule when the weather gets bad.
Prediction- 9-3 (Losses to BYU, Iowa State, and Oklahoma St) Not playoff bound.
