Predicting Every Conference Champion For The 2024 College Football Season

Justin's conference predictions for the 2024 college football season. Which teams are the early favorites to win their conference in 2024?

The 2023 college football season is over and it's time to look ahead to next season. With the Pac-12 gone, we're down to just nine conferences in the FBS.

The consolidation of the Power 5 into the Power 4 is going to shake some things up in college football. In fact, multiple teams have viable shots to win their conference in their first season after realignment.

Let's predict who the 2024 conference champions will be.

American: Memphis

Is this finally the year for Memphis and quarterback Seth Henigan? After throwing for a career-high 32 touchdowns last season, hopes are high that Henigan can lead the Tigers to an AAC title. The team won 10 games this past season, which included a 6-2 mark in conference play, its best conference record since back in 2019.

ACC: Clemson

The Tigers struggled early in the 2023 season, but Dabo Swinney's program got things right at the end of the year, winning five in a row to close out the season. Cade Klubnik has to take another leap as a passer for Clemson to really get the most out of things, but if he does, then this Tigers team is the overwhelming ACC favorite. It helps that they play Louisville and NC State at home. Expect Clemson to make a return to the College Football Playoff in 2024 for the first time since 2020.

Big 12: Utah

The Big 12 looks much, much different than it did in the past, as the conference added four Pac-12 teams and also lost Texas and Oklahoma. This all creates a power vacuum in the conference. There are some really good teams left, but none have the upside that the Utes have. The team was just 8-5 last year, but it was missing quarterback Cam Rising all year. The schedule also looks really good for the team in 2024, as they avoid three of the conference's best teams: Kansas, Kansas State, and West Virginia.

Big Ten: Oregon

We've got another former Pac-12 school winning a power conference here, as I'm predicting Oregon to win the Big Ten in 2024. Michigan is replacing its head coach and quarterback. Ohio State will be good, but has a lot of changes at wide receiver. Oregon lost quarterback Bo Nix but replaced him with Dillon Gabriel, who comes over after throwing for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns at Oklahoma last season. The offense should still be really good. It also helps that Oregon will be at home for the Ohio State matchup, a game that likely will go a long way in determining the Big Ten.

Conference USA: Liberty

The math for Liberty is pretty simple. The team went 13-1 last season with the only loss coming to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl, and in 2024 they'll have quarterback Kaidon Salter back. Salter threw for 2,876 yards and 32 touchdowns for the Flames in 2023 on his way to winning the Conference USA Player of the Year award. He also added over 1,000 yards on the ground. Liberty has pieces to replace on offense, but this is the best team in C-USA and they should run away with the conference title.

MAC: Miami

The big question for Miami? It's whether quarterback Brett Gabbert can stay healthy. The RedHawks were 11-3 last season and 8-1 in MAC play, but lost Gabbert to injury in late October. Having him back healthy will really raise the ceiling on this program, though it won a conference title last season without him. Maybe Miami had a chance at its first undefeated MAC campaign since 2003, back when Ben Roethlisberger was under center for the program.

Mountain West: Boise State

The Broncos went just 8-6 in 2023, but they figured things out down the stretch, going 4-1 to end the year, including a win over UNLV in the MWC Championship Game. The team returns star running back Ashton Jeanty and just added quarterback Malachi Nelson out of the portal. Nelson, the No. 1 overall prospect from the 2023 class, comes over from USC. If he's even close to as good as he was in high school, the Broncos are going to be impossible to beat.

SEC: Georgia

Georgia didn't win the SEC in 2023, but they entered the SEC title game undefeated, so the Bulldogs were definitely close. With Nick Saban gone at Alabama, the SEC is Georgia's to lose, especially with quarterback Carson Beck back in the fold this season. The Bulldogs do have a tough schedule though, facing Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss all on the road, but Kirby Smart's team is just too talented to be denied.

Sun Belt: Appalachian State

The Mountaineers bring back quarterback Joey Aguilar, who threw 33 touchdown passes last year, plus a host of strong pass catchers as this App State team looks to get back on top of the Sun Belt. Last year's Sun Belt winners, Troy, should be strong again and James Madison is a threat as well, though the Dukes lost their head coach to Indiana, which should lead to a little regression there. It's going to be a tight battle for the Sun Belt this season.

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