The 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 155th season of college football in the United States, the 119th season organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the 49th of the highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 24 and ended on December 14. The postseason began on December 14, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, end on January 20, 2025, with the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. This was the first season of the new College Football Playoff (CFP) system, with the bracket being expanded to 12 teams.[1]
It was the first time since the 2021 season that no major team finished the season undefeated, as the Oregon Ducks, the season's last undefeated team, were defeated by the eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes 41–21 in the Rose Bowl. The season's Heisman Trophy winner was Colorado Buffaloes cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter, the first two-way player to win the award since Charles Woodson in 1997.
One school is playing its first FBS season in 2024; Kennesaw State (from FCS independents) began its transition from Division I FCS in 2023 and joined Conference USA (CUSA) in July 2024.[2] One formerly independent school, Army, joined the American Athletic Conference (AAC) in 2024.[3] SMU left the AAC and joined the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2024.[4]
Overall, 10 schools from the Pac-12 left for another conference in 2024. The 10 teams and their new conferences are:
The remaining two schools in the Pac-12, Oregon State and Washington State, made an agreement with the Mountain West Conference (MW) such that each remaining Pac-12 team will play six MW teams in 2024.[7]
The 2024 season is the last for one team as an FBS independent.[8][9]
Two FCS schools, Delaware and Missouri State, started transitioning their programs to FBS in the 2024 season. The two schools are respectively playing that season in CAA Football and the Missouri Valley Football Conference, but will not be eligible for the FCS playoffs due to NCAA transition rules. Both will join CUSA in 2025.[10][11]
On September 12, 2024, the Pac-12 announced that MW members Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State would join the Pac-12 in 2026.[12][13] On September 24, 2024, the Pac-12 announced that another MW member, Utah State, would also join alongside the four aforementioned schools in 2026.[14] This will bring the Pac-12 to seven members, one short of the number needed to preserve its status as an FBS conference.[c] On October 1, 2024, UTEP announced that it would join the Mountain West from Conference USA starting in 2026.[17] This gave the MW seven full football-sponsoring members in the 2026 season; it had to add at least one more such member no later than 2028–29 to preserve its FBS status. The needed eighth member proved to be current football-only member Hawaii. On October 14, Hawaii athletic director Craig Angelos confirmed outside reports that the school would upgrade to full MW membership in 2026.[18] The MW officially announced this move the next day.[19] On January 7, 2025, the Mountain West got a ninth member in Mid-American Conference member Northern Illinois joining as a football-only affiliate.[20]
The following rule changes were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for the 2024 season:[21]
Points of emphasis for the 2024 season include:[22]
The regular season began on Saturday, August 24 with four games in Week 0.
Rankings through Week 10 reflect the AP poll. Rankings for Week 11 and beyond list College Football Playoff Rankings first and AP poll rankings second; teams that were not ranked in the top 10 of both polls are noted.
This section lists unranked teams defeating AP Poll-ranked during the season.
The Top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls
On December 8, 2024, the College Football Playoff selection committee announced its final team rankings for the year. It was the eleventh season of the CFP era, and the first in which the playoffs were expanded from four teams to twelve teams. The top five ranked conference champions were selected to compete, along with the seven highest ranked remaining teams. The top four conference champions received a first-round bye.[citation needed]
This is the first year under the expanded College Football Playoff format. Under this format, the five highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids, while the next seven highest-ranked teams will receive at-large bids. The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive a first-round bye in the playoff.[36]
Normally, a team is required to have a .500 minimum winning percentage during the regular season to become bowl-eligible (six wins for an 11- or 12-game schedule, and seven wins for a 13-game schedule). If there are not enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records may be chosen to fill available bowl slots. Additionally, on the rare occasion in which a conference champion does not meet eligibility requirements, they are usually still chosen for bowl games via tie-ins for their conference.
Number of postseason berths available: 82[b] Number of bowl-eligible teams: 82
Rankings in this section are based on CFP rankings released prior to the games (Week 13–December 3).
Note: Clicking on a link in the Conference column will open an article about that conference's championship game, where applicable.
For conference champions not part of the College Football Playoff.
CFP bowl games are denoted in bold type. First-round CFP playoff games are included, and denoted as CFP1.
Note: The Alamo Bowl was contested by two Big 12 teams (one was selected as a former Pac-12 member), while the Rose Bowl was contested by two Big Ten teams.
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
Quarterback
Running back
Wide receiver
Tight end
Lineman
Defensive front
Defensive back
The following players were recognized as consensus All-Americans for 2024. Unanimous selections are followed by an asterisk (*).
This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2024, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled game but before its bowl game. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2024, see 2023 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.
The list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.
All times Eastern. Rankings are from the AP Poll (before 11/5) and CFP Rankings (thereafter).[111]
All times Eastern. Rankings are from the CFP Rankings.[111]
This was the first year of a new 10-year television deal for the Southeastern Conference, whose games are now fully exclusive to ABC, SEC Network and the ESPN networks. ABC replaces CBS as the over-the-air television home of the SEC and exclusive television home of the SEC Championship Game.[112]
Oregon State and Washington State, the two remaining members of the Pac-12 Conference, announced a one-year agreement with The CW and Fox (2 games) on May 14, 2024.[113]
After extending their contract in March with the College Football Playoff, ESPN sublicensed two first-round games to TNT Sports, their first since 2006. ESPN will also sublicense two quarterfinal bowl games to TNT beginning in 2026. The games were presented as an ESPN production, with no graphical changes or any hosts from TNT Sports.
Beginning this season, TNT Sports aired third-tier Mountain West Conference games on TruTV.[114]
A conference classified as a Football Bowl Subdivision conference shall be composed of at least eight full Football Bowl Subdivision members that satisfy all bowl subdivision requirements. An institution shall be included as one of the eight full Football Bowl Subdivision members only if the institution participates in the conference schedule in at least six men's and eight women's conference-sponsored sports, including men's basketball and football and three women's team sports, including women's basketball.
Media related to 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season at Wikimedia Commons