Heading into the 2024 college football season, one thing was certain: this season in particular will look significantly different in comparison to seasons in the past and even in recent memory.
With all the conference realignments, the new 12-team playoff format, the new rules that were enforced such as the two-minute warning in the 2nd and 4th quarters, etc., this season has lived up to, and perhaps even surpassed, expectations.
There have already been so many upsets, instant classic games and bizarre headlines such as UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka opting out of the remainder of the season due to an NIL dispute.
Through all of this, as a fan, it has been more than entertaining.
There were questions pre-season on how Texas and Oklahoma would adapt to the SEC, and it appears that one team adapted fine while the other did not. However, in Oklahoma’s defense, injuries have plagued that team all season long.
Another question surrounding the Big Ten conference was whether or not any of the former Pac-12 teams could dethrone Ohio State and Michigan as the top dogs of the conference. The answer to that question became very clear in week seven as Oregon took down Ohio State 32-31 in Eugene.
As mentioned earlier, this college football season has been full of upsets, but the Vanderbilt over Alabama upset takes the cake, with no close second.
After Alabama had just come off the most impressive performance of the year, beating Georgia in Tuscaloosa the week prior, the Crimson Tide traveled to Nashville as the number one team in the land.
Most people, myself included, expected Alabama to run right through Vanderbilt, but the Commodores had other plans. Thanks to the performance of rising star Diego Pavia, Vandy took down Alabama 40-35 in one of the craziest, most unpredictable upsets in college football history.
While all of this mayhem has been unfolding so far throughout the season, it all leads up to one goal and one regulator: the brand-new 12-team playoff format.
A worry that many fans had was that the 12-team playoff would take away the importance of regular season games, which has not been the case so far.
In fact, it puts more emphasis on every game, especially the big matchups because teams have to treat these games like play-in games and even potentially “elimination” games if they were to lose.
I think that regardless of how the rest of the season plays out, the 2024 college football season will go down in history as the “turning point” or “beginning” of the new era of college football. I am just excited to be able to witness it and see it all unfold.
