FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW:
The 2024 college and pro football seasons are right around the corner, and the operative word for both is change.
In the college game, Texas and Oklahoma will begin their first seasons in the SEC after leaving the Big 12 for greener, and I mean greener as in a lot of money, pastures. UT’s and OU’s arrival brings the SEC to 16 teams. It will be interesting to see how the Longhorns and Sooners fare against the likes of perennial national powers Alabama and Georgia, along with solid programs such as LSU, Tennessee and an up and coming one in Missouri. UT’s arrival to the SEC will bring back the annual Texas-Texas A&M rivalry, which is good for the state and good for college football. The last time the ‘Horns and Aggies met on the gridiron was in 2011, when Justin Tucker’s last-second field goal at Kyle Field produced a 27-25 Texas victory.
The two will meet on Nov. 30 in College Station.
While the SEC has expanded to 16 teams, the Big 12 will also feature a 16-team conference with the addition of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. The Big 10 will be the largest conference in the country with 18 teams as USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington join the likes of defending national champion Michigan and Ohio State that will form a league that will stretch from the West Coast, the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest and East. Talk about travel headaches!
And while the conference landscapes have taken on a drastic change in three of the four major conferences, so to has the College Football Playoffs. Starting this year, 12 teams will make up the CFP field, with the winners of the ACC, Big 12, Big 10 and SEC earning automatic bids, while the fifth bid will go to the highest ranked Power 5 conference winner. The remaining seven seeds will be determined by the CFP committee. Look for the SEC and Big 10 to have a chance to have as many as three teams make up this year’s inaugural 12-team field.
The top four seeds will earn first-round byes. The fifth seed will host the 12th seed on its home field, while the sixth seed hosts the 11th, the seventh seeds hosts the 10th and the eighth seeds hosts the ninth seed.
The first round will be played Dec 20-21. The quarterfinals will be the Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31), the Peach Bowl (Jan. 1), the Rose Bowl (Jan. 1) and the Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1). The Orange Bowl (Jan. 9) and the Cotton Bowl (Jan. 10) will host the semifinals. The CPF National Title game will be on Monday, Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
While the new CFP format and the changes in three of the major conferences will be the big story this year, Alabama fans have a huge void to fill as legendary head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement in January. Saban won six national titles as the Crimson Tide’s head coach (he won seven overall by winning it all at LSU). Saban built an amazing program and former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer has the unenviable task of filling Saban’s shoes. DeBoer is a solid coach, as evidenced by the 25-3 record he amassed in two years as the Washington Huskies head coach. Last year, he led the Huskies to the CFP title game, where his team fell to Michigan. Saban left DeBoer plenty of talent, especially quarterback Jalen Milroe (2,834 passing yards, 23 TDs/531 rushing yards, 12 TDs).
Folks in Austin are excited about Steve Sarkisian’s fourth year as the Longhorns head coach. Sark led UT to the Big 12 title a year ago, a 12-2 record and a spot in the CFP playoffs, where they fell to Washington. Texas returns eight offensive and five defensive starters (four of the five offensive line starters return). UT will rely heavily on QB Quinn Ewers (3,479 yards, 22 TDs) and wide receivers Isaiah Bond (48 receptions, 668 yards, 4 TDs), a transfer from Alabama, and UH transfer Matthew Golden. The Texas offense suffered a big loss when running back C.J. Baxter sustained a season-ending knee injury in preseason practice. But UT is high on backup RB Jayden Blue (398 yards, 4 total TDs) who has blazing speed.
Bama returns nine offensive and eight defensive starters, but will field an inexperienced secondary. Milroe will be called on to carry the offensive load while new faces on offense settle in.
Georgia, which enters the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the country, will be looking for its third national title in four years. The Bulldogs return 16 starters, most notably QB Carson Beck (3,931 yards, 24 TDs). Since 2021, head coach Kirby Smart has led the ‘Dawgs to a 42-2 record and you had better believe his team will play with a huge chip on its shoulder after being snubbed for a CFP spot a year ago.
Texas A&M will welcome a new head coach in Mike Elko, who comes over from Duke where he forged a 16-9 record. Elko was former head coach Jimbo Fisher’s defensive Coordinator in Aggieland and should be a big asset on that side of the ball. Aggies are hoping QB Conner Weigman stays healthy. The five-star recruit from Bridgeland played just four games a year ago after suffering an ankle injury against Auburn. If he remains healthy, the Ags could be a dark horse in the SEC.
In the Big 12, the University of Houston will welcome a new head coach in Willie Fritz, who comes over from Tulane where he resurrected that program. UH fans hope he will work his magic once again in Htown.
The Big 12 should be a three team race between Oklahoma State, Kansas State and newcomer Utah. Texas Tech returns a strong core, but must prove it can win on the road, which has been a problem for Joey McGuire’s team.
OSU finished 10-4 a year ago and returns QB Alan Bowman ( who is playing his seventh season of college football). Bowman passed for 3,460 yards and 15 TDS (with 14 interceptions), but the Cowboys bell cow is running back Ollie Gordon (1,732 yards, 21 TDs/39 receptions, 330 yards, 1 TD).
KSU hopes sophomore QB Avery Johnson (479 passing yards, 5 TDs/296 rushing yards, 7 TDs. Utah gets QB Cameron Rising back, which is bad news for the Big 12. In 2022, Rising passed for 3,034 yards and 26 TDs and ran for another 465 yards and 6 scores. He missed the entire 2023 season with a knee injury and he’s back, he could be the best offensive player in his new conference.
The Big 10 should come down to Ohio State and Washington. Michigan lost a load of talent and its head coach Jim Harbaugh, who bolted Ann Arbor for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Look for Notre Dame to land a CFP spot. Third-year head coach Marcus Freeman led the Irish to a 10-3 record last year and welcomed in transfer QB Riley Leonard (1,102 passing yards, 3 TDs/352 rushing yards, 4 TDs in just seven games) from Duke. Freeman has stockpiled a lot of talent in South Bend and it could pay off big time in 2024.
In the NFL, Texans fans are excited for what head coach DeMeco Ryans can accomplish in his second year as the teams head coach. In year 1, Ryans led the Texans to the AFC South title, a Wild Card win over the Browns and an 11-8 record. The Texans went from a three-win team in 2022, to 11 wins a year ago thanks to Ryans and rookie QB sensation C.J. Stroud (4,109 yards, 23 TDs in 15 games). General Manager Nick Caserio brought in more weapons for Stroud by trading for former Cinci running back Joe Mixon (1,034 yards, 9 TDs/ 52 receptions, 376 yards, 3 TDS) and former Buffalo wide receiver Stefon Diggs (107 receptions, 1,183 yards, 8 TDs). The Texans could have the best three wideouts in the NFL with Diggs, Nico Collins (80 receptions, 1,297 yards, 8 TDs) and Tank Dell (47 receptions, 709 yards, 7 TDs in 11 games). Caserio also shored up the defense with the signing of former Minnesota defensive send Danielle Hunter (16.5 sacks). He and Will Anderson (7 sacks), the Defensive Rookie of the Year, should give the Texans’ opponents fits off of the edge.
Jacksonville should contend with the Texans in the AFC South. QB Trevor Lawrence (4,016 yards, 21 TDs/14 interceptions) signed a huge contract in the offseason and now must live up to it. We shall see.
The road through the AFC, though, still goes through Kansas City, which won its second straight Super Bowl a year ago and has appeared in four of the last five big games. As long as Patrick Mahomes (4,183 yards, 27 TDs), tight end Travis Kelce (93 receptions, 984 yards, 5 TDs) and head coach Andy Reid are around, the Chiefs are still the team to beat in the AFC.
Look for Cincinnati and QB Joe Burrow (2,309 yards, 15 TDs in 10 gamers) and wide receiver Ja’Mar Chase (100 receptions, 1,216 yards, 7 TDs) and Baltimore to duke it out in the NFC North, which might be the toughest division in the NFL. Cleveland and Pittsburgh will also be in the hunt. Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson (3,678 passing yards, 24 TDs/821 rushing yards, 5 TDs) must prove he can get his team to the big game, and the addition of running back Derek Henry from Tennessee (1,167 yards, 12 TDs) should be a big boon to the Jackson and the offense.
The AFC East should be interesting. Buffalo lost its two wide receivers in Diggs and Gabe Davis, but returns star QB Josh Allen (4,306 passing yards, 29 TDs/ 524 rushing yards, 15 TDs), while the Dolphins should have one of the top offenses in the league led by QB Tua Tagovailoa (4,624 yards, 29 TDs), running back Raheem Mostert (1,012 yards, 21 total TDs) and big-play wide receivers Tyreek Hill (119 receptions, 1,799 yards, 13 TDs) and Jalen Waddle (72 receptions, 1,014 yards, 4 TDs).
The AFC East will look much different now that New England head coach Bill Belichick has parted ways with the Pats. Belichick won six Super Bowls as he teamed with Tom Brady and won 333 games. Maybe he sits out a year and returns, say in Dallas in 2025?
In the NFL, the 49ers are the reigning conference champs and look loaded once again led by QB Brock Purdy (4,280 yards, 31 TDs), running back Christian McCaffrey (1,459 rushing yards, 14 TDs/67 receptions, 564 yards, 7 TDs) and tight end George Kittle (65 receptions, 1,020 yards, 6 TDs). If disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (75 receptions, 1,342 yards, 7 TDs) remains with the team (he’s asked for a trade), SF should be the team to beat once again the NFC.
Dallas finished 12-5 a year ago, but were embarrassed at home in the first round of the playoffs by Green Bay. QB Dak Prescott (4,516 yards, 36 TDs) had one of his best seasons, but Dallas lost starting running back Tony Pollard to Tennessee and star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (135 receptions, 1,749 yards, 12 TDs) wants a new contract and held out of training camp. Cowboy fans hope owner Jerry Jones comes to his senses and pays him what he’s worth.
The Eagles lost six of their last seven games a year ago, but shored up the running game with the signing of former Giants running back Saquon Barkley (962 yards, 10 total TDs). He should make a nice one-two punch with QB Jalen Hurts (3,858 yards, 23 TDs/605 rushing yards, 12 TDs), along with big-play wide receivers A.J. Brown (106 receptions, 1,456 yards, 7 TDs) and DeVonta Smith (81 receptions, 1,006 yards, 7 TDs).
Look for Detroit and Green Bay to battle it out for the NFC North title. The Lions finished 12-5 a year ago and are loaded on offense led by QB Jared Goff (4,575 yards, 30 TDs), running backs David Montgomery (1,015 yards, 13 TDs) and Jahmyr Gibbs (945 yards, 10 TDs) and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (119 yards, 1,515 yards, 10 TDs). The Packers rallied in the second half of the season to earn a playoff spot thanks to QB Jordan Love (4,159 yards , 32 TDs) and improved on offense by signing running back Josh Jacobs (805 yards, 6 TDs).
The AFC South should be interesting. Atlanta improved by signing former Vikings QB Kirk Cousins and they are hoping second-year running back Bijan Robinson (976 rushing yards, 4 TDs/58 receptions, 487 yards, 4 TDs) has a breakout season. TB won the division a year ago behind QB Baker Mayfield (4,044 yards, 28 TDs) and big-play wide receiver Mike Evans (79 receptions, 1,255 yards, 13 TDs).
The 2024 season will feature seven new head coaches as Harbaugh takes over the Chargers, Raheem Morris takes over the Falcons, Dave Canales is the new head coach in Carolina, Jerod Mayo replaces Belichick in New England, Mike McDonald is the new head man in Seattle, Brian Callahan is in charge in Tennessee and Dan Quinn is the new head coach in Washington.
Super Bowl 59 will be played on Sunday, Feb. 9 in New Orleans at the Caesar’s Superdome.
So, here is one man’s picks for the upcoming college and pro seasons:
COLLEGE
BIG 12 OKLAHOMA STATE OVER UTAH
BIG 10 OHIO STATE OVER WASHINGTON
ACC CLEMSON OVER SMU
SEC GEORIGA OVER ALABAMA
CFP PLAYOFF TEAMS GEORGIA, ALABAMA, NOTRE DAME, CLEMSON, OKLAHOMA STATE, OHIO STATE, LSU, TEXAS, MISSOURI, WASHINGTON, MISSISSIPPI AND PENN STATE
CFP TITLE GAME GEORGIA OVER NOTRE DAME
NFL
AFC SOUTH HOUSTON
AFC NORTH CINCINNATI
AFC EAST MIAMI
AFC WEST KANSAS CITY
AFC WILD CARD TEAMS JACKSONVILLE, BALTIMORE, AND NEW YORK JETS
AFC TITLE GAME KANSAS CITY OVER HOUSTON
NFC EAST PHILADELPHIA
NFC SOUTH ATLANTA
NFC NORTH GREEN BAY
NFC WEST SAN FRANCISCO
NFC WILD CARD TEAMS DALLAS, LOS ANGELES RAMS AND DETROIT
NFC TITLE GAME GREEN BAY OVER SAN FRANCISCO
SUPER BOWL 58 KANSAS CITY OVER GREEN BAY