College football rankings: 24 most meaningful games of 2024 season (2024)

24. LSU vs. USC (Sept. 1, Las Vegas)

Two coaches whose stock took dipped,Brian KellyandLincoln Rileylook to get back to the elite ranks. This one's made for the bright lights of Las Vegas and features a quarterback battle that attracts considerable attention with first-year startersGarrett NussmeierandMiller Mosstaking over. Both come off fantastic performances during bowl wins and each have multiple years in their respective offensive systems. Fireworks are expected here to open.

23. Alabama at Wisconsin, Sept. 14

The first of five contests involving the defending SEC champions, college football will see quickly how far along Alabama is under first-year coachKalen DeBoerwhen the Crimson Tide take their first road trip of the season. This matchup's equally important toLuke Fickellto being Year 2 with a bang after the Badgers failed to impress — based on lofty expectations — last fall.

22.Utah at Oklahoma State,Sept. 21

One of the loneBig 12 inclusions in this power ranking of most important games, apologies ahead of time for those expecting more from an expanded league that now includes Arizona and Utah, among others. Consideringthere is a scarcity of teams from the Big 12 in the rankings, this is how it shakes out. A trip to Stillwater for the first time is a vital game for the Utes in their quest of taking a conference title from last season's runner-up.

21. Kansas at Kansas State,Oct. 26

Might the winner of this game get to the Big 12 finale? It's possible. The schedule is extremely favorable for the Jayhawks, whose first game of the season against a ranked opponent comes year.

20.Missouri at Alabama, Oct. 26

Missouri plays seven games in 2024 before facing its first nationally-ranked opponent in Alabama, that is unless the Crimson Tide flounder under DeBoer. TheTigers have one of the nation's most-favorablesschedules and a win at Bryant-Denny all but punches their ticket to the playoff if all else goes well.

19.Florida State at Miami, Oct. 26

The first of a couple ACC gamesthis season we're expecting to heavily-impact the league's title picture, this Sunshine State rivalrycouldbe a midseason indicator of the league's playoff hopes this fall and if the Seminoles will be good enough for another unbeaten regular season.

18. Penn State at USC, Oct. 12

In addition to playing the Nittany Lions in Los Angeles, the Trojans host Wisconsin and Notre Dame, and also travel to Michigan, UCLA and Washington. They also open against LSU in Las Vegas. It's a brutal schedule for Lincoln Riley and his first year in the Big Ten.

17.Florida State at Notre Dame, Nov. 9

Clemson played Notre Dame in these non-conference tilts a couple times in recent years, but now it's defending ACC champion Florida State's turn to get a bite at the apple in South Bend. DJ Uiagalelei has started a game against the Fighting Irish before on the road and lost, doing so as Clemson's QB1 in 2022. He gets a chance to right his wrongs with a better performance as the leaders of the Seminoles, one of the nation's elite who must replace a considerable amount of production from this season's 13-win squad.

16.NC State at Clemson, Sept. 28

The "Textile Bowl" as the two natives call it, the winner of this early-season ACC tilt has a leg up on the rest of the competition in a league that goes four-deep at the top.

15. Clemson vs. Georgia (Aug. 31, Atlanta)

The Bulldogs are double-digit favorites for this ACC-SEC opening matchup, which is exactly the A1 bulletin board materialDabo Swinneyand the Tigers needed for their locker room. These two opened the 2021 season in Charlotte and the only touchdown was an interception return by Georgia that swung the contest's momentum. These elites battle for the same players annually on the recruiting trail and will use this game as a springboard of sorts into the rest of the season as a national championship contender.

14. Alabama at Tennessee, Oct. 19

This matchup's often reserved for the top 10 in terms of importance, but there's so many rivalry games in the expanded SEC this season with substantial meaning that Alabama-Tennessee is just the tip of the iceberg. From early-October onward, every weekend in the SEC is going to have league title implications with constant fluctuation near the top of the standings. In fact, don't be surprised if there's not an unbeaten in Atlanta when the conference is decided.

13. Ole Miss at LSU, Oct. 12

By SEC standards, Lane Kiffin has to appreciate what the league office did for him in 2024 as far as scheduling is concerned. The first of three games against top 25 teams for the Rebels, if Ole Miss can topple LSU for the second straight season, a 7-0 start is likely heading into the open week with the playoff conversation beginning to commence. Ole Miss is one of four ranked teams the Tigers battle in Brian Kelly's third season. The loser of this game still has a shot to reach the playoffwith an at-largeberth.

12.Tennessee at Georgia, Nov. 16

If the SEC still had divisions, this one would likely decide the East in 2024 unless Missouri had its say. Still, this matchup in Athens could act as a playoff-eliminator of sorts for the loser considering the schedule challenges each of these teams face.

11.Alabama at LSU, Nov. 9

The winner of this SEC tilt reached the league's championship game in each of the pastsix seasons, so why would 2024 be any different? For starters, this is not the only matchup the Crimson Tide and Tigers are focused on down the stretch any longer with Oklahoma and Texas in the league along with varied schedules. Both of these teams will face the Sooners after playing each other thesecond weekend of November.

When do the Nittany Lions going to end their losing skid to the Buckeyes? Ohio State beat Penn State seven-straight seasons, including double-digit victories in each of the past two trips to Happy Valley. This should be one of college football's most raucous atmospheres this season and is certainly a game both teams will have circled in terms of importance. Franklin is doing everything he can to improve his record against Ohio State and Michigan as the Big Ten's third-best program, though Oregon's close to that title now.

The SEC is keeping this long-standing Big 12 rivalry around for the foreseeable future. Oklahoma's win over Texas during the 2023 regular season wasn't enough for the Sooners to reach the league title game after consecutive losses down the stretch nullified an otherwise terrific bounce-back campaign out of Brent Venables. For the Longhorns, they ran off seven straight wins after that setback to make their first playoff appearance.

The Seminoles snapped a seven-game losing streak to Clemson with last season's overtime win in Death Valley. The victory catapulted Florida State to bigger and better things under Norvell. This is one of four ranked opponents Clemson faces during one of the toughest schedules Dabo Swinney's program faced. This is Clemson's fifth game and third against a top-25 team.

Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs have an arduous road in hopes of getting back to the SEC Championship Game in 2024. And if they're still unbeaten by the time this one kicks off in Oxford, that means Georgia will have beaten three top 20 opponents already with quite the resume ahead of the selection committee's initial rankings reveal. Beating the Bulldogs or winning in Baton Rouge will assure the Rebels of a top-tier SEC finish unless there's an unexpected toe-stubbing along the way.

Another seismic matchup in the Big Ten this season — Oregon's trip to Ann Arbor to open November may decide first-place in the conference standings alongside Ohio State coming down the stretch with the playoff committee looking on. Expect the final month of college football's regular season in 2024 to be the most-watched month of games of all-time in the Big Ten and SEC thanks to pairings like this. Michigan leads this all-time series, 3-2, but the Ducks have woneach of the most-recent meetings in 2003 and 2007.

Is this where the nation's longest winning streak ends for Michigan in 2024? It could be. The gargantuan non-conference matchup of the 2024 season,you're looking at two of the frontrunners to reach the expandedCollege Football Playoff, again. The winner of this game will have quite the resume bonus when the selection committee meets one final time in December despite this one being played in early September. The margin for error is slim the rest of the way for the loser of this game, by the way.

It's hard to believe this is a conference game in 2024, isn't? Welcome to college football's new era. This one drips with conference championship and College Football Playoff implications given the expected strengths of two teams coming into the season with loaded rosters. Dan Lanning and Ryan Day are two coaches next in line to win their first titles if they pull the right strings in the coming years. Ohio State's 9-1 all-time against the Ducks, the lone loss coming in Columbus during the 2021 season.

Georgia-Alabama was always must see-TV during Saban's tenure in Tuscaloosa and DeBoer's first taste of the Bulldogs should garner expansive interest as well.The Tide may even be a home underdogwith both teams coming off an open week. If Alabama is ahead of schedule under its new regime, this could be the first of a couple games between the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide in 2024. The SEC will continue to go through Georgia and Alabama until it doesn't in the expansion era.

Texas beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl a couple years ago and that's been the only meeting between the two bluebloods since the 1980s. That's going to change over the next several years given the likelihood two annual frontrunners duke it out often as fellow conference brethren. These are two recruiting powerhouses who could be two of the SEC's several playoff participants in 2024. The good news for the Longhorns is Georgia is one of only three nationally-ranked opponents Sarkisian and his crew will have to crunch pads with later this year.

This game ranked as the No. 1 most-anticipated showdown this time a year ago ahead of the 2023 season and it delivered, two unbeatens that went wire to wire at the Big House. The stakes should be usually high in 2024 as the Buckeyes try and snap a three-game skid to their rival in hopes of getting to the Big Ten Championship. Playoff expansion benefits both the Buckeyes and Wolverines, by the way. Double-digit wins for either, given the schedule strength, should give each a golden ticket inside the top 12.