The 2024-25 College Football season began 35 days ago, when Florida State fell to Georgia Tech in Dublin. In the intervening 35 days, we have learned plenty about where this season is ultimately headed.
The first College Football Playoff rankings are still a month away (to be revealed for the first time on November 5th), but until then, we can still review the first month of games to learn important lessons in this first season of the new 12-Team College Football Playoff system.
College Football 2024: What We Have Learned At The 1 Month Mark
Florida State’s collapse should be studied. From 13-0 and ACC Champions to having lost the Orange Bowl 63-3 to a 1-4 start to this campaign. Florida State’s hopes for this season probably died the moment the final 2023 College Football Playoff rankings were revealed.
Notre Dame went down against Northern Illinois in Week 2, but have bounced back ever since, taking down #15 Louisville 31-24 in Week 5 to improve to 4-1 on the campaign. Notre Dame’s quest to climb into the Top 12 continues in two weeks’ time against Stanford.
Do you remember the last time the Texas Longhorns were the #1 team in all of College Football? The year was 2009, and a playoff system was still not under consideration at the time. Welcome back, Texas. Their biggest tests of this season occur on back-to-back weekends when they continue the Red River Rivalry on October 12th, then travel to Athens, Georgia, to face the Bulldogs on October 19th.
Speaking of Georgia…
Nick Saban exiting Alabama did not change the SEC calculus, even in spite of Texas joining. Kalen DeBoer’s unit took down the #2 team in the nation, but not before almost blowing a 28-0 lead first. With the new College Football Playoff system in place, DeBoer and Kirby Smart may yet meet again this season.
