By Brian Murphy, WRAL

College football looks a lot different in 2024.

The SEC added Texas and Oklahoma, the Big Ten added USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, and the ACC now extends to Texas (SMU) and Northern California (Cal and Stanford). The Big 12 has 16 teams and the Pac-12 has two.

An undefeated ACC champion won’t be left out of the playoff this year because the playoff is now 12 teams and the five highest-ranked conference champions are assured of a spot. That should put a lot more teams in the playoff mix come November. Fans of teams like Penn State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and, yes, NC State can see a path.

Coaches can communicate with their quarterback and a defensive player through in-helmet communications. Perhaps a few years too late for opponents of Michigan.

Michigan, last year’s national champs. lost head coach Jim Harbaugh and star offensive players JJ McCarthy and Blake Corum to the NFL. The Wolverines are not among the consensus top seven teams.

One place college football doesn’t look much different? The top of the polls, which are dotted with perennial powers like Georgia, Ohio State, Texas Alabama and Notre Dame.

Game of the week: Georgia Tech vs. No. 10 Florida State (Dublin, Ireland)

The college football season kicks off with an ACC conference matchup in Ireland (Noon, ESPN). Don’t worry, the league hasn’t expanded across the Atlantic. Not yet, anyway. … The Seminoles, who went undefeated in the regular season and claimed the ACC title, were snubbed by the College Football Playoff selection committee after an injury to quarterback Jordan Travis. Former Clemson (and Oregon State) quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is back in the ACC. Florida State was picked to win the league in the preseason poll and placed four players (offensive tackle Darius Washington, center Maurice Smith, defensive tackle Joshua Farmer and kicker Alex Mastromanno) on the All-ACC preseason team. … Georgia Tech was picked 9th, right in the middle of the new 17-team conference. Quarterback Hayes King finished fifth in preseason Player of the Year voting. King, a Texas A&M transfer, flourished for the Yellow Jackets in 2023, passing for 2,755 yards and 26 touchdowns and adding another 648 yards and nine touchdowns rushing. He’ll need to cut down on his interceptions (15) for Georgia Tech.

All eyes on: SMU

One of three new ACC schools, the Mustangs open their season at Nevada (8 p.m., CBS Sports Network). It’s a very light schedule, so it could be an opportunity for quarterback Preston Stone, who threw for more than 3,000 yards last year, and the Mustangs to put up some style points for voters. SMU, which is favored by 27.5 points, was in the other receiving votes category in the preseason poll.

Heisman watch: Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard

The former Duke quarterback transferred to No. 7 Notre Dame in the off-season after an injury riddled sophomore season in Durham. Leonard is 22-to-1 to win the award, tied for ninth-best odds entering the year. As a redshirt freshman for Duke in 2022, Leonard threw for 2,794 yards and 20 touchdowns. He rushed for 636 yards and 11 touchdowns, too. He suffered an ankle injury in the final seconds of Duke’s loss to Notre Dame in 2023, derailing his season and Duke’s. Leonard’s first game is a big one – Aug. 31 at No. 20 Texas A&M and his old Duke coach Mike Elko.

Poll watch: Conformity.

The same 25 teams were ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches’ poll. The top 7 teams are the exact same: Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Notre Dame. NC State is No. 24 in the AP and No. 22 in the coaches’ poll.

NC State: New-look wide receiver room prepares for season
UNC: Tar Heels won’t announce a starting QB before the season opener
Duke: How wide receiver Jordan Moore went from an ‘experiment’ to a special player

In-state schedule:

No games this week

Next week:

Thursday, Aug. 29

Western Carolina at NC State, 7 p.m. (ACC Network)

North Carolina A&T at Wake Forest, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)

Wofford at Gardner-Webb, 7 p.m.

North Carolina at Minnesota, 8 p.m. (Fox, Fox 50 in the Triangle)

Friday, Aug. 30

Elon at Duke, 7:30 p.m. (ACC Network)

Saturday, Aug. 31

Davidson at Georgetown, 12:30 p.m.

NC Central at Alabama State, 3 p.m.

East Tennessee State at App State, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Norfolk State at East Carolina, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

Campbell at Liberty, 6 p.m.

James Madison at Charlotte, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)

Source: wralsportsfan.com