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kamiller2020 Ballot for 2024 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 19, 2024, 2:39 a.m.

Overall Rationale: Personally, I think the difference between 1-4 is razor thin and any of these can be argued as the best team in college football, though I have Ohio State and Georgia slightly ahead of Texas and Oregon. I think there's a wide gap between those four and everybody else. Besides Alabama, I'd be shocked if somebody besides those four won the national title. I think Ole Miss is firmly the 5th best team in CFB given returning talent and upside though I don't really think they're a legit title contender. Those are the five teams I'd be pretty surprised if they missed the playoff though history says one of the five will miss the inaugural 12-team playoff. Outside of that, I feel there are about 20-25 schools in the running for a playoff spot given the criteria.

Rank Team Reason
1 Georgia Bulldogs What makes Georgia the top team for me is I believe they have the 2nd best overall roster combined with the best head coach and best-known commodity at QB(there's a chance Beck is not the best QB by season's end). Carson Beck is a stud and the end of last season showed he's capable of being a top 10 pick in the NFL Draft. While Brock Bowers can't be replaced, Oscar Delp will do the best of anybody in making up the talent gap. Combined with Dominic Lovett's and Arian Smith's return, UGA will have quite a few weapons on the outside. And the transfer of Etienne is going to give the Bulldogs a main bell cow to add onto a solid stable of backs. Defensively, Mykel Williams and Malachi Starks are the standouts but there's quite a few guys on the defense that should hear their names in the NFL draft the next two years. Look for Daylen Everette to have an improved season at CB this season given the amount of talent that returns for the Bulldogs upfront.
2 Ohio State Buckeyes On paper, Ohio State has the best college football roster. Starting with the best RB duo in CFB with Quinshon Judkins and Trey'vonne Henderson that will give Will Howard a lot of leeway to learn his role in the offense. Out wide it's a room that needs to prove itself(outside of Egbuka) but there's tons of guys with potential star power. None being bigger than freshman WR Jeremiah Smith who looks to have a big role in the offense year one. The Buckeyes have made big strides on the defense under DC Jim Knowles that have gotten OSU back to championship caliber. Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoliau had the seasons people expected out of them when they were recruited and return for their 4th years alongside a DB room that's taken big steps in the last two years. None bigger than getting SEC freshman of the year Caleb Downs to transfer. The defense is not at 2019 level, but it should be the best unit they've had in Colombus in the 2020s. If the OLine and Will Howard are improvement from last year's group than Ohio State should be hoisting the national title. However that question is what's keep Ohio State from the #1 spot.
3 Texas Longhorns Can Texas replicate last year's offense? That's the question Longhorn fans will need to see answer if they want to see Texas secure it's first national title since '05. Last season Quinn Ewers made massive improvements in his deep ball accuracy and overall touch that led him to having the caliber of season people expected from one of the highest-rated HS prospects ever. But the loss of Worthy and Mitchell means it'll be more on Quinn to lead the offense if transfers Isiah Bond and Silas Bolden don't translate their flashes of talent to consistent production. The loss of CJ Baxter is a massive blow as well, but the hope is Jaydon Blue can take a bigger role to pair with one of the best OLines in CFB which future first-rounder Kelvin Banks Jr headlines. Defensively Texas should have one of the more underrated units in the country with Trey Moore being the big name player.
4 Oregon Ducks
5 Ole Miss Rebels
6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7 Alabama Crimson Tide
8 Missouri Tigers
9 Penn State Nittany Lions
10 Florida State Seminoles
11 Oklahoma Sooners
12 Clemson Tigers
13 Arizona Wildcats
14 Miami Hurricanes
15 Utah Utes
16 Kansas State Wildcats
17 Tennessee Volunteers
18 Michigan Wolverines
19 LSU Tigers
20 Kansas Jayhawks
21 Oklahoma State Cowboys
22 NC State Wolfpack
23 West Virginia Mountaineers
24 USC Trojans
25 Iowa Hawkeyes

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