Preseason rankings are among the most interesting things about college football, as they spark all kinds of debate and vary greatly depending on who you ask.
At the end of the day, they are virtually meaningless, as the College Football Playoff Top 25 determines where teams will land in the postseason and is usually very different from what we see to begin each year.
However, 247Sports’ Brad Crawford put an interesting spin on things Monday morning when he released the “cumulative top-25 rankings” for the 2024 season.
According to his article, “post-spring polls from the following outlets factored into this cumulative ranking: 247Sports, CBS Sports, ESPN, The Athletic, USA Today, Athlon Sports, Lindy’s, and Fox.”
The points system used to determine rankings was that of a simple poll: 25 points were awarded to No. 1 in each poll, 24 points for No. 2, and so on.
There weren’t many surprises among the top five teams, as Georgia (197), Ohio State (194), Texas (181), Oregon (180), and Ole Miss (161) were the top teams in the country.
However, what was interesting was how the Big 12 fared. Utah, the highest-ranked team in its new league, comes in at No. 13 with 91 points. With Cam Rising back at quarterback, the Utes were selected as the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 among league media members.
Kansas State is next on the list and in the preseason poll, coming in at No. 18 with 59 points. Avery Johnson has a ton of folks feeling that the Wildcats are a serious contender to win double-digit games in 2024 and compete in the College Football Playoff and if he lives up to the hype, they very well could.
Oklahoma State is next on the list at No. 18 (45 points) and is a bit of an oddity this offseason. The Pokes return 21 of 22 starters from a 10-4 season in 2023, yet have just the fifth-best odds to win the Big 12. Ollie Gordon and Co. could be seriously underrated, but Mike Gundy and the Cowboys don’t mind that one bit
Lance Leipold and the Kansas Jayhawks check in two spots later at No. 21 (34 points) and look like a team poised to crack the 10-win threshold in 2024. If Jalon Daniels stays healthy, there’s a better than good chance that they’ll do just that.
Finally, just behind KU is the second Big 12 newcomer on this list, with Arizona’s 32 poll points good enough to land them at No. 22. Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan might be the most dangerous offensive combination in college football, and if they build off their chemistry from a season ago, watch out.
