College football top 25 rankings: ESPN reveals Football Power Index for 2024 (2024)

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. 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. 3

Equipped with the best quarterbackduo 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 betterthan 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. 1

No elite program made more power moves in terms of talent accumulation this springthan 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 head coach Ryan Day. On top of securing one of the nation's top transfer classes with Alabama All-American safety Caleb Downs, 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 former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly.

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 are a few questions facing the Crimson Tide in the post-Nick Saban era 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 doubtthis summer.

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. 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 standpoint.The Fighting Irish will be difficult to contain on that side of the football in 2024 if Clemson transfer Beaux Collins and othersare 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. 15

ESPN's FPI loves Oklahoma. Maybe it's quarterback Jackson Arnold or a veteran-laden defense or the fact Purdue transfer Deion Burks is a certified baller.He'll be the new go-to playmaker in the passing game. 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. The schedule is absolutely brutal, part of the reason for an 8-4 projected finish per the computers.

247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 12

Nico Iamaleavaleads the Vols atquarterback 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 the previous 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.

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 freshmanWilliams Nwaneri, a returning starter at quarterback in Brady Cook coming off a statistically-noteworthy season and filledseveral major needswithtransfer-market signings.

247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 11

Mike 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 classto 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. 7

Is Michigan flying under the radar this summer? ESPN's FPI has placed the Wolverines outside the top 10.Everyone knows thedefensive side of the football will be championship-caliber based on what's coming back. Can Sherrone Moore keep it going at Michiganand 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. 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. 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 anotheryear 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. First-year coach Mike 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 thenew-look SEC as one of college football's best jobs. But for now, in 2024, the Aggies are a pretender.

247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 16

Clemson gets Phil Mafah back, but the offense will 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 bestwith Peter Woods and a number of other important returning starters, including Barrett Carter at linebacker. Freshman Sammy Brown is one of the ACC's strongest players and will be an immediate impact guy.

247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 6

Outside the top 15 with a projected record of 8-4? That's a big whiff for the Rebels if it happens, per ESPN's FPI. 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 Rebelsare one of the offseason's poster boys for "teams to watch" and have an impressivetrajectory 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: 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. The league itself is wide open with newcomers Utah, Arizona and others feeling just as confident they're going to take the conference as Kansas, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and some of the holdovers following the departures of Texas and Oklahoma.

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. Not only do the Trojans bring back a handful of key starters, but they've added strength from the transfer portal and pulled UCLA's top assistant for a philosophical change on defense. This is an important year for Riley, whose supernova-like rise in the coaching ranks began to dissipate a bit last fall.

247Sports post-spring ranking: N/R

The Tigers have the talent to be a nationally-ranked team this fall, butthey're going to have to prove it in September given last fall's struggles under Hugh Freeze. Auburn hasn't yet named a starting quarterback, but a top-end signing class fueled by several additions at wideout means this offense should be better in 2024. This is the highest we've seen Auburn ranked in any preseason poll. Perhaps ESPN's computer analytics know something about this team the rest of us do not.

20. Florida Gators

247Sports post-spring ranking: N/R

Facing college football's toughest schedule according to ESPN's FPI and 247Sports' metrics, all 12 opponents on Florida's schedule are from Power Four conferences this season. And if Billy Napier finishes with a losing record, this could be his final season in Gainesville.

21. 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.

22. Kansas State Wildcats

247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 17

You know why the Wildcats are one of the trendy picks to win theexpandedBig 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 offense showed no ill-effects of his departure after Johnson handled the offense with a flare for big plays on the move.

23. Miami Hurricanes

247Sports post-spring ranking: No. 14

Mario Cristobal did impressive work in the transfer portal to bolster what has shaped 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.

24. Arizona Wildcats

247Sports post-spring ranking: N/R

With coach Jedd Fisch leaving for the Washington job, there's considerable uncertainty surrounding the Wildcats according to most preseason rankings — except this one. Quarterback Noah Fifita and star wideoutTetairoa McMillan returning to Tucson was vital.

25. SMU Mustangs

247Sports post-spring ranking: N/R

SMU's first season in the ACC could be special if multi-year starting quarterback Preston Stone has an impact campaign for the Mustangs. SMU plays two nationally-ranked opponents during conference play — Florida State and Louisville.