College football enters a season of significant changes in 2024, following years marked by conference realignment, playoff expansion, and various reforms. The Top 25 alterations in this season include the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams and the national championship game set for January 20, making it the longest season in football history. The season kicks off on August 24 with major college games like Georgia Tech versus No. 10 Florida State in Dublin, Ireland.
One of the major changes is the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the Southeastern Conference (SEC), while the Big Ten expands westward by including USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington, creating an 18-team conference. The Big 12 also grows to 16 teams with the inclusion of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) stretches from coast to coast by adding SMU from Dallas, Stanford, and California from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Furthermore, divisions become a thing of the past as the SEC and Big Ten abandon them this season. Army joins a conference for the first time in years, entering the American Athletic Conference. Notable coaching changes include Nick Saban’s retirement after 17 successful seasons at Alabama and Army quarterback Dillon Gabriel starting his sixth college season with his third school.
Other changes in the college football landscape include the introduction of a 2-minute warning at the end of each half, the use of helmet communication devices for coaches to talk to players on the field, and the allowance of computer tablets for in-game video review. The number of coaches who can provide hands-on coaching during practice and games is now unlimited, compared to the previous limit of 10 assistant coaches.
Additionally, familiar faces return to coaching roles, with Chip Kelly becoming an assistant at Ohio State, Bobby Petrino rejoining Arkansas as the offensive coordinator, and Bill O’Brien taking the helm at Boston College. Kennesaw State moves up to the top tier of college football, joining Conference USA and increasing the total of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams to 134. An interesting addition to this season is the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl, marking the first collaboration between an alcohol brand and a college bowl game.