Preseason Notebook Dump: A 2024 College Football Season Primer
Ideas, thoughts and breadcrumbs before a ball is kicked in ten days.
The wait is almost over, my friends. We’ve endured a long, winding offseason and the finish line is within sight. A soft launch Week 0 beckons, with a juicy Week 1 to follow.
If you’re keeping score (and checking your inbox) at home, you’ve noticed August has been a hot month for the Three-Point Stance newsletter. You’ve received deep dives on everything from Stranger Than Fiction Matchups and the 2024 Pre-Fired Coaches List to a Game of Thrones-adjacent 2024 Nebraska preview.
With less than 10 days until a ball is kicked, I’m bringing you a small, and hopefully worthwhile, offseason parting gift: A notebook dump. What’s a notebook dump? I’m glad you asked! Consider this newsletter a high-level look at my college football brain.
Today’s line items are questions/ideas I’ve been kicking around in my iPhone notes app and brain. Instead of keeping them there, I’m bringing them to you. You are very welcome. Also, I’m sorry.
The first order of business…
How likely is it that fans in Ireland see something as horrendous as Scott Frost and Nebraska’s botched onside kick in 2022?
Tempting the football gods will always come back to haunt you. It may not be today. It might not be tomorrow. But things will come back on you.
Two years ago to kick off the 2022 college football season, Nebraska fell flat to a historically awful Northwestern team in Dublin, Ireland. Things got so weird the stadium’s POS system went down, resulting in free food and beer for those in attendance.
Speaking of weird…for anyone who forgot, here was the failed onside kick.
Was the decision to kick it onside at all dumb? Yes.
Was the kick itself bad? Yes.
Did what happened after the onside kick was recovered by Northwestern make it much, much worse? Yes.
Before the kick, Nebraska was rolling and seemingly had the game in the bag. Frost and company got cute and an avalanche of Guinness-stained karma came rolling downhill. After recovering the kick, a Ryan Hellinksi-led Northwestern offense kicked into high gear to the tune of 16 unanswered points en route to a 31-28 win in Ireland.
Thanks for the memories, Scott Frost.
The answer to the question…I doubt it. Unfortunately, Florida State and Georgia Tech fans, I wouldn’t get your hopes up about seeing something quite this stupid when your teams kick off the 2024 season in Ireland.
Is SMU poised for a step back in Year 1 of the ACC?
In 2023, UCF, BYU, Cincinnati and Houston all made the Power 5 jump, joining the Big 12 conference. Those four schools combined to lose 28 of 36 conference games. Moving into a more competitive league is hard. Are we so sure SMU isn’t a safe bet to follow suit in 2024 with its move to the ACC?
According to Vegas Insider, SMU is straddling the 8.5 win mark. It feels like a safe bet to take the under.
Even if you’re bullish on SMU long-term in the ACC (I am), it’s fair to assume the Mustangs could experience some real challenges in Year 1 in the Power 5.
Last year, SMU had the luxury of playing some truly awful football teams down the stretch of the season with matchups against Charlotte, Temple and Tulsa. And in its marquee matchups against Power 5 competition, the Mustangs fell flat. SMU lost at TCU by 17 points and the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College by nine points.
SMU faces far fewer cupcakes in 2024, and I think it will be hard sledding until it can recruit the lines and adjust to the grind of a P5 slate.
Can Michigan win the Big 10 with Alex Orji at quarterback?
Michigan has been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons. Let’s save that topic for another day.
What is piquing my interest with the Wolverines is whether quarterback Alex Orji is a proficient enough passer to keep Michigan in big games.
Orji was a glorified Wildcat QB last season, coming in for gadget plays to show off his insane athleticism and running ability. Surely new Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore will incorporate Orji’s legs into game plans. But last year, Michigan went long stretches without then-quarterback JJ McCarthy being required to make big plays in the air. And on the off chance Michigan needed McCarthy to make a play, he came through.
I’m skeptical that Michigan can take that same approach this time around. The Wolverines lost a lot of NFL-caliber beef up front, and no longer have the one-two running back punch it possessed last year. In big games against teams like Texas, Oregon and Ohio State, defensive coordinators would be doing their team a disservice if they didn’t force Orji to prove he can beat teams through the air consistently.
Which SEC quarterback takes a major leap?
The SEC is littered with interesting storylines at the quarterback position in 2024. It’s a fun and interesting crop of signal-callers.
If you had to guess, which of these four up-and-coming quarterbacks will make the biggest leap in 2024?
Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee
Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma
Conner Weigman, Texas A&M
Garrett Nussmeir, LSU
Gun to my head, I think I would lean Nico Iamaleava. Nico showed some real promise in the Volunteers’ bowl game, and as a former 5-start gem, the time feels right for him to arrive. Plus, having Josh Heupel calling the offense certainly helps. The Heupel system feels tailor-made for Nico–and I can’t fault anyone for tabbing Tennessee as a sleeper.
That said, keep an eye on Conner Weigman in College Station. Things have been fairly quiet this offseason…in a good way. Mike Elko feels like the antithesis of former coach Jimbo Fisher. He’s not ruffling feathers. He’s not making headlines. He’s an FFC and I love that about him.
I am sneaky high on A&M this year. If the Aggies can knock off No. 7 Notre Dame in Week 1, Weigman will have to look the part. And if he does, I see no reason the Aggies can’t mess around and make some noise in the SEC in 2024.
What other celebrity should buy the naming rights to a college football stadium?
Dale!
Pitbull provided the college football community with a fun news shake-up this week when news broke about him agreeing to buy the naming rights to Florida International University’s football stadium. That news got me thinking…what other celebrity theoretically could and should buy the naming rights to a college football stadium?
If Mr. Worldwide can do it, others can too. I like the idea of:
Bobby Bowden Field at Creed Stadium - Florida State - Imagine the absolute scenes of Chief Osceola on horseback spiking the flaming spear into the turf while Creed’s Can You Take Me Higher is blaring throughout the stadium. Foes would tremble in fear, and I would float to Valhalla.
Guwop Field - Georgia State - No one is more Atlanta than the East Atlanta Santa. Gucci Mane’s involvement in the Georgia State football program would instantly vault the Panthers into the upper echelon of cool. Kirby Smart might even start losing recruits to Georgia State.
Welcome to Wrexham Stadium - Temple University - The Devil works hard but the tag-team commercializing duo of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElheney work harder. Temple football is in the mud, why not add some cash and celebrity backing into the mix to change its fortunes? FWIW, Paul Mullin aka Post Route Paul could absolutely put in a shift at tight end in the American Athletic Conference. Get the big lad the ball and get out of the way.
Clearlake Capital Stadium - University of California - The Cal Bears need to start throwing some cash around to compete in the new-look ACC. And nobody knows about spending money irresponsibly than Chelsea FC shadow-owner Behdad Eghbali. If any Cal alum could make the Bears football program big and powerful while keeping them very stupid it would be him.
How far into the season will we hear ‘Florida is targeting Lane Kiffin as its next head coach’ rumors?
Billy Napier and the Florida Gators might be in a world of hurt this year. With that schedule, it feels inevitable that the Gators’ brass might have at least one eye on the next guy. And if we’ve learned anything over the last few cycles, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin doesn’t exactly have In a Committed Relationship as his Facebook relationship status.
I can almost guarantee we hear some Lane Train to Gainesville rumors. The question is, how soon will we hear it? My guess is before Halloween.
If Florida falters during its three-game stretch in October against UCF, Tennessee and Kentucky, Napier’s seat will be red hot. Can’t wait for the Pete Thamel report about the Gators’ coaching search.
Speaking of leaks…
What school’s message boards are going to lie about luring Nick Saban out of retirement and why is it LSU’s?
2024 is a big year for Brian Kelly and LSU. The Tigers ran counterculture last year, refusing to play a lick of defense and wasted Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels in the process.
LSU’s administration isn’t exactly, umm, reasonable, shall we say. If LSU doesn’t make a serious College Football Playoff push this year, the Brian Kelly whispers will grow louder. That makes things ripe for some message board dumbassery.
I can see it now. LSU hosts Alabama on November 9 in the College Gameday game of the week. The Tigers need a big win or Kelly’s job might be in jeopardy.
Saturday morning, we’ll wake up to a crappy iPhone photo of Saban eating dinner with old friends at a Baton Route restaurant. A cousin’s co-worker’s friend will hear the LSU brass was courting Saban out of retirement. Y’all were warned.