How high does Notre Dame rank in Phil Steele's College Football Preseason Rankings? (2024)

Thoughts: Louisiana is coming off back-to-back 6-7 seasons but have reached a bowl game in each. They bring back significant experience which could have them threatening double-digit wins in 2024.

Thoughts: Kentucky isn’t anywhere deep enough to contend for an SEC crown but should be good enough to go bowling again and could throw a wrench or two in a conference rival’s CFP hopes. Also, if you’re not familiar with Deone Walker’s game yet, become familiar. The defensive lineman will be a top-five pick in 2025.

Thoughts: Appalachian State used to compete for FCS championships but entering 2024 as one of the favorites in the Sun Belt, this year’s Mountaineers squad will be taking aim at a College Football Playoff berth.

Thoughts: Steele mentions in his Kansas writeup that if quarterback Jalon Daniels stays healthy that this is way too low for the Jayhawks. Daniels has been great when healthy the last two years but that’s been anything but the norm.

Thoughts: Texas State has a chance to run the table as both Arizona State and UTSA have to travel to San Marcos to take on the Bobcats. If they can win those, Texas State could be a real threat to crash the 12-team playoff party. Obviously, a date in the conference title with Appalachian State could eliminate one of them.

Thoughts: West Virginia won’t fly under the radar on anyone this year like they did in 2023. They do however have a very talented group of quarterbacks, running backs, and one of the Big 12’s better offensive lines.

Thoughts: North Carolina has felt like they were on the cusp of something special for a few years with star college quarterbacks Sam Howell and Drake Maye. Could entering this year without the same quarterback hype allow the Tar Heels to fly a bit under the radar and surprise some folks?

Thoughts: Nebraska has played in 53 bowl games all-time but in zero since 2016. It seems that Matt Rhule has this ship starting to turn as the Cornhuskers try to reemerge after what has been a very tough decade.

Thoughts: Louisville is coming off a year which saw them threaten for an ACC crown and they very well could again this fall. The Cardinals return much talent and get Miami at home. They have to go to Clemson but if they get through the ACC slate with just one loss, another trip to the conference championship game could be in sight.

Thoughts: NC State went to the portal to try and help their offense in 2024. Like Louisville, they avoid the heaviest of hitters in the ACC (besides Clemson) and it shouldn’t suprise anyone if the Wolfpack are in the ACC championship running late into November.

Thoughts: Arizona moves to the Big 12 where we may have the most highly contested race for a conference champion in 2024. The Wildcats were able to avoid mass losses to the portal after Jedd Fisch left for Washington and should compete in the Big 12 this fall.

Thoughts: It seemed like 2023 was a lost cause after the Cyclones lost in September at Ohio but they rallied to make noise in the Big 12. Matt Campbell returns a lot of talent this fall and despite the lack of intense hype, could have a 10-win team in waiting.

Thoughts: Texas A&M has been a sleeping giant in college football for seemingly as long as I’ve been alive. They finally have a head coach that isn’t just excellent but seems to get the whole “Texas A&M thing”. Just how fast can Mike Elko turn that into wins? The talent is there to impress early.

Thoughts: Liberty went unbeaten last regular season and should be in great shape to do so again this fall. The schedule is mega-friendly with a mid-season trip to Appalachian State appearing to easily be the toughest ask entering this season.

Thoughts: Quarterback Seth Henigan is back for a team that won 10 games last season. The Tigers are loaded with experience and seem to be the favorite in the American Athletic Conference entering 2024. Can they play Florida State close enough in a road battle to stay in the College Football Playoff race?

Thoughts: Even in losing quarterback Caleb Williams to the NFL, USC should again have one of the best offenses in the country. Will the change at defensive coordinator mean more wins in Troy? Early on it doesn’t seem the Trojans lines are as strong as even two years ago when they challenged for a College Football Playoff spot.

Thoughts: Nico Iamaleava should be an upgrade at quarterback for the Vols, who continue to improve on defense. By SEC standards the schedule is rather forgiving which could mean a special fall in Knoxville.

Thoughts: A full year of Avery Johnson at quarterback and a forgiving conference schedule have the natives in Manhattan thinking Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff berth.

Thoughts: SMU brings back a bunch of talent from their 11-3 team from a year ago and although they won’t likely compete for a championship in the ACC, could be a tougher out than most and have an impact on determining the conference’s ultimate champion.

Thoughts: Jeff Traylor is one of the best coaches in the country that only diehard college football fans have heard of. Traveling to Texas State followed by a trip to Texas the first two weeks of September will go a long way in determining if UTSA can sneak into the 12-team playoff.

Thoughts: The recently extended Brent Venables and the Sooners get no breaks from the SEC his first run through the league but should have one of the conference’s best defenses from jump.

Thoughts: Brian Kelly needs to turn around the defense in a hurry after it cost the Tigers from winning big in 2023. Replacing a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback and offensive coordinator are easier said than done but avoiding preseason top-five Georgia and Texas is certainly a gift.

Thoughts: Missouri has to replace running back Cody Schrader, who finished in the top-10 in last year’s Heisman Trophy voting but returns quarterback Brady Cook and all-world wide receiver Luther Burden III.

Thoughts: Enter Sandman? It feels like forever since Virginia Tech has been anything of note nationally but they bring back as much talent as anyone in the nation and have a very favorable ACC slate that should keep them in the conference running late into November.

Thoughts: Spencer Danielson coached Boise State the final four games of 2023, leading the Broncos to a 3-1 record. They have to go to Oregon a week after opening the season at Georgia Southern, but those in Boise are looking to be the first Group of Five team in the newly expanded College Football Playoff.

Thoughts: Experience matters? If so, Oklahoma State brings back more than anyone in the Big 12 and could very well be earning a top-four seed in this year’s College Football Playoff.

Thoughts: This is easily the furthest down I’ve seen anyone have Ole Miss in a preseason rating. Dates with LSU, Georgia, and Oklahoma will determine if the Rebels end up spending the post-season in the College Football Playoff or in one of those old school bowl games.

Thoughts: Florida State plays a very formidable schedule this year with non-ACC dates against Florida and Notre Dame. They’ll go as far as former Clemson signal caller DJ Uiagaleilei will take them after transferring from Oregon State.

Thoughts: It seems like Phil Steele is one of those who subscribes to the temple of Dabo as he regularly ranks Clemson a little higher than most of the other outlets. Continuity is one thing but not plugging key holes via the portal is another. With dates against Georgia, Virginia Tech, and Florida State this year a 10-win regular season would be massive win for Clemson.

Thoughts: One of the nation’s best defenses should again perform as such and one of the nation’s most woeful offenses should be improved. Could Iowa be a dark-horse 11-win and College Football Playoff threat?

Thoughts: If you thought you’d seen every way to lose a game then Miami football in 2023 proved you hadn’t. Miami gets a favorable schedule after getting some major transfer portal wins this off-season. Can Mario Cristobal overcome his failures on Saturday and make the Hurricanes great again though?

Thoughts: The reigning national champions have to replace 13 players who heard their names called in the NFL draft, including quarterback JJ McCarthy. Oh, and their head coach. Expectations go down a bit understandably for Michigan in 2024 but don’t get it twisted, the natives are still expecting a College Football Playoff appearance.

Thoughts: Quarterback Cam Rising is back for another year and this time he’s not entering the season coming off an injury. The most consistent performer in the Pac 12 over the past handful of seasons enters its first year in the Big 12 as the conference favorite.

Thoughts: How do you replace Nick Saban? It’s not easy but hiring a guy who has gone 104-12 all-time as a head coach seems like a decent idea.

Thoughts: The overall depth of talent on Notre Dame‘s roster hasn’t been this great in decades. A favorable schedule in 2024 has expectations not just being to make the College Football Playoff, but to make some noise once they get there in Marcus Freeman’s third season.

Thoughts: With the overhaul in talent and coaching at Michigan, all eyes are on Penn State to break through the glass ceiling that’s seemingly been on top of the program in recent years. Quarterback Drew Allar has a chance to make Penn State a national title contender in his junior season, assuming he’s allowed to actually throw the ball downfield in big games this year.

Thoughts: Texas has battled the whole “back” thing for years now and finally got over that hump by making the College Football Playoff berth last year. The Longhorns return a ton of talent from what was already a great team and enter the SEC as a real threat to win not just the conference but the whole stinking thing.

Thoughts: Much like Texas, Oregon enters a new conference not just happy to be there but as a real threat to win the whole thing. The Ducks will have one of the very best offenses in the nation and bring a level of physicality that most in the Midwest haven’t traditionally associated with West coast teams. It’s College Football Playoff run or bust for Dan Lanning and the Ducks this fall.

Thoughts: Nobody invested more ahead of the 2024 college football season than Ohio State. You’d have to think that anything less than a Big Ten championship or trip to the College Football Playoff national championship game would make Ryan Day’s seat extremely hot by mid-January.

Thoughts: Georgia doesn’t get many breaks in terms of the SEC slate and opens with anything but any easy game against Clemson but is as good and as deep as anyone in college football. It’s almost impossible to think they’ll run the regular season unbeaten, but just as tough to see anyone better setup for success come playoff time than them, either.