With the 2023 college football season wrapped up and a champion crowned, it is never too early to look ahead to the next season.
Joel Klatt of Fox Sports did just that on Wednesday, doing his hardest to make his way through transfers, coaching changes, and most crucially, classes of recruits. The Joel Klatt Show’s most recent episode featured Klatt’s much-too-early top 10 rankings.
It is reasonable to assume that this top 10 is not a typical one because of all of the aforementioned changes, which include Nick Saban’s retirement, elite players from Alabama and Washington transferring around, and simply other teams peaking at the perfect time. In the majority of previous offseasons, Alabama has become a familiar sight.
and Georgia at the top spots, with Michigan not too far behind. However, the landscape of college football has changed, which means there are certain programs that can be viewed as the biggest risers, and others who may be taking a step back.
Let’s take a look at Klatt’s top 10 rankings:
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Oregon Ducks
- Texas Longhorns
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Michigan Wolverines
- Utah Utes
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Penn State Nittany Lions
While it’s not shocking to see Georgia at the top, notable teams like Ole Miss, Notre Dame, and even Penn State are clearly viewed as having a legitimate shot at the title in 2024 thanks to the expanded playoff.
However, two teams that stand out the most certainly have to be Oregon at No. 3, and Utah at No. 8. The Ducks had arguably the best offseason in program history, as their head coach Dan Lanning turned down the Alabama gig and stayed in Eugene. A transaction that the program is oftentimes on the wrong side of. As for Utah, they were expected to be big players in 2023, but ended up missing their starting quarterback and star tight end all season, and happened to be one of the most injury-plagued teams in the country. However, both Cam Rising and Brant Kuithe are returning for seventh seasons, and the Utes are the clear favorites in the Big 12.
It is also worth noting that Klatt is high on Ohio State even with Kansas State transfer Will Howard and without
The current champion Michigan Wolverines are ranked No. 7 by Marvin Harrison Jr. Klatt, who said that this is a tribute to the players they are losing, potentially including Jim Harbaugh.
“Great if he doesn’t leave. Jim Harbaugh staying at Michigan would be fantastic. I hope he does, but if not, Michigan will need to replace their head coach, quarterback, and a number of other important players,” Klatt added.
Not to mention, Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama program, the heir apparent to Nick Saban’s throne, took the No. 5 place. Something Klatt anticipates as a result of thinking DeBoer was the proper hiring.
“I adore that their athletic director, Greg Byrne, did not adopt the conventional SEC search strategy—that is, ‘I have to have an SEC guy.'” I have always said this for any job opening anyplace for as long as I can remember. Real meritocracy: the best candidate for the position, hands down. Where they originated from doesn’t matter to me. The ideal candidate for the position was Kalen DeBoer. In college football, he was the ideal candidate for the position.
The 2024 season might be the most competitive in college football history, despite the fact that there are still a lot of moving parts in place, like coaching changes and players in the portal.
