The entire college football landscape has altered in ways that we have never seen before. Teams on the West Coast are playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Big 10 has 18 teams. It is utter chaos, and I am all for it.
1.) South Florida: 8 or more wins in 2024
While not a member of the major conferences, South Florida has a chance to build off of their 2023 success, where they found themselves 7-6 and winning a bowl game. Their first-year coach and quarterback had a lot of offensive success, seeing record setting numbers from quarterback Byrum Brown. Brown stepped up for the big games, including an eventual 59-50 loss to the AAC Champion Memphis, where he threw for 5 touchdowns and 357 yards. He also rushed for 100 yards in that game. His talent is clear, and if the defense can step up in year two under coach Alex Golesh, the Bulls may be able to exceed their 7-win projections. Schedule wise, they have a few tough games against Alabama and Miami early on that may be losses, but the rest of their schedule is wide open. Overall, I can see USF finishing with 9 wins in 2024.
2.) Ole Miss: 10 or more wins in 2024
Asking for 10 wins is a lot, but when it is the high-powered offense that Lane Kiffin has cultivated, they may be able to lure everyone into a shoot-out that. They managed to finish with 11 wins in 2023, including their Peach Bowl victory over Penn State. A lot has been said of the recruiting that Ole Miss has done, bringing in athletes from all over to attempt to build a NIL super team. They may be able to rout and run through most of their schedule, but their challenges will be when they face LSU and Georgia. They do not have to deal with Alabama this time around, who accounted for one of their two losses last year. I can see them stealing one against Georgia or LSU and maybe finishing with 1 loss on their way to the new playoff.
3.) California: 6 or more wins in 2024
Welcome to the Atlantic Coast Conference, California! This one is truly just entertaining to think about because of how absurd it is to have the western most state in the continental U.S. join a conference that resides as far east as it gets. Either way, I could see Cal having better luck this season after finishing 6-7 in 2023. They started last season alternating between wins and losses before losing 4 straight to the talents of the PAC-12. Now in a new conference, facing different talents, Cal may be able to clear 6 wins if they can play solid defense and utilize the transfers they received on offense to bolster their squad. It will not be all sunshine and rainbows though, as they do have to face tough road games at Auburn, Florida State and Pittsburgh which could pose challenges for them early on.
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