The latest preseason college football top 50 rankings released via USA Today, which reflect transfer portal additions, various roster changes and conference-title perception among contenders. Compared to 247Sports own post-spring rankings, this one looks vastly different with numerous surprises.
With the spring transfer portal cycle closed and only a handful of potential depth options left uncommitted, two-deeps are on the horizon.
The newly-expanded SEC and Big Ten dominate early rankings with Notre Dame seemingly being the only unanimous top-10 team not from one of those two conferences. The 2024 season offers a ton of intrigue with the debut of the 12-team expanded College Football Playoff and a couple new rules being implemented.
RELATED: 50 thoughts on college football’s 2024 season: Predictions and analysis
Here are USA Today’s preseason top 50 rankings coming out of spring practice:
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 2
There is plenty of ammunition left for the Bulldogs despite Georgia seeing its school-record 29-game winning streak snapped in last year’s SEC Championship Game by Alabama. That was the only blemish during another otherwise flawless season at a program with two national titles over the last three seasons. Where are the weaknesses for Georgia in 2024? One would be hard-pressed to find any. After signing another top-ranked recruiting class and convincing quarterback Carson Beck to return, the Bulldogs are one of the favorites to win another title. The schedule is arduous, but this team has enough talent to overcome it.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 1
No elite program made more power moves in terms of talent accumulation this spring than the Buckeyes. Ohio State went from College Football Playoff threat to one of the national title favorites given the roster and coaching staff additions accomplished by Day. On top of securing one of the nation’s top transfer classes with Alabama All-American safety Caleb Down, Ole Miss standout ballcarrier Quinshon Judkins and multi-year Kansas State starting quarterback Will Howard, the Buckeyes also quickly replaced newly-hired offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien with UCLA head coach Chip Kelly.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 3
Equipped with the best quarterback duo in the country, several difference-makers on defense and an offensive line that has a chance to be the SEC’s best, Steve Sarkisian’s national championship window at Texas is happening right now. The Longhorns’ 2024 two-deep might be even better than last season when Texas finished one win short of a title-game appearance. Texas is a recruiting powerhouse and Sarkisian’s calculated moves in the transfer portal should pay immediate dividends in the big-play department.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 4
Most expect Dan Lanning to make his first playoff appearance at Oregon this season. Anything less than that, given this program’s rise, resources and offseason work in the portal, would underwhelm. Not only did Oregon button up its quarterback room with portal additions Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore, but the Ducks are being built on the defensive side of the football similar to Georgia in terms of depth, skill and ferocity — from the trenches out is the motto for Lanning. Former Texas A&M wideout Evan Stewart will be a star.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 10
The Fighting Irish have been good — but not great — in Marcus Freeman’s early tenure in South Bend. Hiring Mike Denbrock from LSU was a power move by Notre Dame, which expects to be much better offensively from a well-rounded standpoints. The Fighting Irish will be difficult to contain on that side of the football in 2024 if Clemson transfer Beaux Collins and others are the immediate stars they were recruited to be. Much of Notre Dame’s success will hinge on the shoulders of Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard, who missed the spring after recovering from surgery.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 13
Brian Kelly swiped Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker to solve his program’s Achilles heel after a 10-win season. It’s hard to believe Jayden Daniels winning the Heisman almost played second fiddle to how bad the Tigers performed defensively, which cost LSU a shot at a second consecutive SEC West title and trip to Atlanta. Garrett Nussmeier is the new starter at quarterback in 2024 and he flexed impressive tools in the spring game. He has a blossoming group of lesser-known wideouts to throw to following Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.’s entry into the NFL.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 5
How much trust do you have in Kalen DeBoer during his first go-around in the SEC? Will Jalen Milroe duplicate last season’s success as a now seasoned vet? Can Alabama’s secondary, littered with new faces, still produce at an elite level? There’s a few questions facing the Crimson Tide in the post-Nick Saban answer we don’t know the answers to yet, but given this program’s level of prestige and overall talent level sans a few notable portal departures, Alabama gets the benefit of the doubt after spring.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 11
Norvell is a transfer portal guru and again ensured the Seminoles have one of the ACC’s top-tier rosters. Equipped with an elite signing class to pair with his portal additions, Norvell showcased his offseason expertise with another talent reload and should be one of the coaches who significantly benefits from playoff expansion. Former Oregon State and Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei learned the offense quickly and has a variety of weapons around him. FSU’s defensive back seven are extremely athletic, too.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 16
Coming out of spring, the hype seems to simmer on Clemson — just the way Dabo Swinney likes it. Clemson gets Phil Mafah back, but it’s going to have to manufacture production elsewhere in the run game to take some of the pressure off Cade Klubnik, who’s back for his second season as the Tigers’ QB1. Clemson’s defense should be one of the nation’s best.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 9
The proof of an improvement offensively should come in September when the Nittany Lions take the field with a new play-caller and the promise of explosive plays for the first time in several years. That’s what it will take to be an expected force in the Big Ten alongside other elites. James Franklin made changes to a 10-win team he felt were necessary to get over the hump and into the expanded playoff.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 6
This is the most-talented roster ever assembled in Oxford — on paper. Ole Miss grabbed a couple high-end defensive starters out of the portal, coaxed South Carolina’s top returning playmaker Juice Wells to switch sides and feel good about their backfield despite the loss of Quinshon Judkins moving over to Ohio State. The Rebels are one of the offseason’s poster boys for “teams to watch” and have an impressive trajectory based on what Lane Kiffin’s group accomplished in 2023 with 11 wins. If quarterback Jaxson Dart has another banner season, Ole Miss will be one of the SEC’s multiple playoff teams with a chance to win it all.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 15
Deion Burks is a baller. The Purdue transfer at the wideout spot was one of the spring MVPs for the Sooners, who found their new go-to playmaker in the passing game. Jackson Arnold looked in full control of Oklahoma’s offense heading into his first campaign as the starter as Brent Venables and this team heads into the SEC.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 12
Iamaleava leads the Vols at quarterback in a new era of sorts offensively. He was responsible for four touchdowns in his first career start in the Citrus Bowl win over Iowa and last season’s sensation at the position, Hendon Hooker, already deemed him “the chosen one” in Knoxville. That’s high praise given Hooker’s importance to the program and heightened success during his tenure. Like Michael Penix Jr. managed at Washington, Iamaleava is the type of talent that makes everyone around him better. Much of the defense is back, despite losing leading tackler Elijah Herring to the portal recently.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 7
Michigan is a tough nut to crack. The quarterback situation remains undecided, but everyone knows the other side of the football will be championship-caliber based on what’s coming back. Can Sherrone Moore keep it going at Michigan and have his team playing with an elite edge? Pounding the football with Donovan Edwards and others might be a winning recipe for a team on the nation’s longest winning streak.
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 18
Quarterback Cam Rising returns, but does he make Utah a championship contender? Utah joins the Big 12 with a couple other former Pac-12 departures in hopes of getting to the expanded playoff. The Utes managed to sign several key plug-and-play guys in the transfer portal, including former Arizona and USC star Dorian Singer at wideout.
16. Louisville Cardinals
247Sports post-spring ranking: N0. 20
Jeff Brohm and the Cardinals signed more players from the transfer portal than any other in the ACC this offseason coming off an appearance in the league championship game last fall. The roster revamping of sorts should keep Louisville among the list of contenders along with Florida State, Miami and Clemson.
17. USC Trojans
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 21
After ending in disappointment with seven wins during Lincoln Riley’s second season, USC enters the Big Ten with renewed optimism after making widescale changes defensively to its coaching staff and personnel.
18. Iowa Hawkeyes
247Sports post-spring ranking: N/R
Can Phil Parker’s defense once again lead Iowa to a better-than-expected season? The Hawkeyes are hoping the other side of the football is much-improved under a new play-caller in 2024, too.
19. Kansas State Wildcats
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 17
You know why the Wildcats are one of the trendy picks to win the expanded Big 12? Avery Johnson is a rising superstar after throwing for two touchdowns and running for another during Kansas State’s Pop Tarts Bowl win over NC State. After losing multi-year starting quarterback Will Howard to the transfer portal, this Kansas State offenses showed no ill effects of his departure after Johnson handled the offense with a flare for big plays on the move.
20. Virginia Tech Hokies
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 24
No team in college football returns more starters than the Hokies, who were red-hot to end 2023 in the ACC.
21. Missouri Tigers
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 8
The Tigers return a ton of production despite filling a void through the portal after losing Doak Walker finalist Cody Schrader in the backfield. Unexpectedly having to replace defensive coordinator Blake Baker, who departed for LSU, was a headache Eli Drinkwitz may not have been all that prepared for this spring. Missouri has two former five-stars on its roster in wideout Luther Burden and freshman Williams Nwaneri, a returning starter at quarterback in Brady Cook coming off a statistically-noteworthy season and filled several major needs with transfer market signings.
22. NC State Wolfpack
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 22
With one of the ACC’s top transfer portal classes, including the arrival of Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall, Oklahoma tailback Hollywood Smothers and Ohio State pass-catcher Noah Rogers, there’s reason to believe in NC State getting over the nine-win mark under Doeren this season. Early matchups with Tennessee and Clemson in September will show college football just how far the Wolfpack have come — or not.
23. Kansas Jayhawks
247Sports post-spring ranking: N/R
With Jalon Daniels returning at quarterback, perhaps Kansas can take advantage of a favorable first half of the 2024 season and enter the home stretch with a shot to win the new-look Big 12 Conference.
24. Miami Hurricanes
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 14
Mario Cristobal’s not done yet in the transfer portal as he continues to bolster what is shaping up to be Miami’s best-looking depth chart in years. The addition of several vital pieces up front and at the skill spots, including Washington State quarterback Cam Ward, makes the Hurricanes one of the headliners in the ACC this offseason. There’s no excuse why Miami shouldn’t be challenging for a spot inside the top 15 entering November. Still have to prove it, however.
25. Nebraska Huskers
247Sports post-spring ranking: N/R
While Matt Rhule hasn’t yet announced his starting quarterback, all signs point toward the Huskers handing the reins over to five-star freshman Dylan Raiola after a splendid spring performance.
26. Texas A&M Aggies
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 19
It feels like the Aggies are one year away under a new staff from rightfully garnering expanded playoff buzz. Now, part of that hope is that quarterback Conner Weigman returns for another year in 2025 since he’ll be draft-eligible after this season. He was one of the SEC’s hottest signal callers the first month of the 2023 season before an injury put him on the shelf for the remainder of Jimbo Fisher’s ill-fated last hurrah. Elko hit the portal hard this cycle and if that’s a sign of things to come, Texas A&M should be able to find success in the new-look SEC as one of college football’s best jobs. But for now, in 2024, the Aggies are a pretender.
27. Iowa State Cyclones
247Sports post-spring ranking: N/R
28. Oklahoma State Cowboys
247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 23
Surprisingly, Oklahoma State has the fifth-best odds to win the Big 12, according to the latest updates over at FanDuel Sportsbook, despite returning Ollie Gordon in the backfield along with 20 other starters to a team coming off an appearance in the league title game. Underrated perhaps?
29. Liberty Flames
247Sports post-spring ranking: N/R
30. North Carolina Tar Heels
247Sports post-spring ranking: N/R
31. Wisconsin Badgers
32. Boise State Broncos
33. Florida Gators
34. JMU Dukes
35. Memphis Tigers
36. TCU Horned Frogs
37. Washington Huskies
38. Toledo Rockets
39. Kentucky Wildcats
Wisconsin faces a daunting schedule, but that means more opportunities for the Badgers to impress doubters during Luke Fickell’s second season. Wisconsin is not mentioned in the same breath as several elites within the conference coming out of spring, which is just how Fickell likes it — underrated and undervalued.
40. Arizona Wildcats
41. UCF Knights
42. West Virginia Mountaineers
43. Appalachian State Mountaineers
44. Auburn Tigers
45. Texas Tech Red Raiders
46. SMU Mustangs
47. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
48. Troy Trojans
49. UTSA Roadrunners
50. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
Not ranked in the 247Sports post-spring poll, Jedd Fisch and Arizona actually cracked the top 20 under ESPN’s designation, but fell to No. 40 in USA Today’s update. Pointing to the Wildcats’ transfer portal haul, including 12 players from Fisch’s former Washington program, is a primary reason Arizona should be a factor in the Big 12 title picture.
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