College basketball is full of Cinderella stories, and every year an unexpected team makes a magical breakthrough: The Liberty goes undefeated all the way to the New Year’s Six in 2023, Cincinnati makes the College Football Playoff, and we all remember UCF in 2017 (they won’t let us forget).
With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, there are more opportunities to sneak into the playoffs and make headlines. There are more opportunities than ever before for other teams who may not win their conferences to get in a little dance — and with that comes party crashers.
Here are six teams that could crash the CFB party in 2024.
Virginia Tech
I have high hopes for the Virginia Tech Hokies entering the 2024 season. According to ESPN’s Bill Connelly, the Hokies return 86% of their performance from last year, winning four of their final six games. During that time, young QB Kyron Draughns has really developed as a QB and the defense finished 30th nationally in pass EPA per attempt (min. 100 attempts). Head coach Brent Pry has done a great job with the Hokies so far, and with their freshmen and transfers finishing 6th and 5th in the ACC, respectively, Virginia Tech may be on the verge of a comeback.
Texas A&M
In 2024, the Aggies will be under a new head coach in former DC Mike Elko, but Texas A&M has the potential to be a major party crasher in the now-powerful SEC. Adding Collin Klein to the offense was a great move. He emerged as a play-caller and helped design a very versatile offensive line at Kansas State. It all depends on QB Connor Weigman returning healthy from injury, but if he’s close to 100%, that offensive line could scare a lot of teams in the SEC. Defensively, the addition of Purdue transfer Nick Skorton along with defensive lineman Shemar Turner will be a big boost up front. The schedule won’t be easy, especially with a game against Notre Dame to start the season. But if they go into Missouri with a record of about 4-1, things will get interesting.
West Virginia
This would be a big turnaround for Neal Brown, who went from potentially being fired to potentially crashing the CFP party. West Virginia is 24th in returning players, but a lot of that is down to QB Garrett Green, who isn’t afraid to test teams downfield. With a QB who scores a lot of points in the Big 12 and a strong running back in CJ Donaldson, the Mountaineers will be a pain for anyone. Two early tests against Penn State and Kansas will tell us a lot about this team.
Northwestern Wildcats
I promise I’m not trying to hit a home run when I say this. The Northwestern Wildcats are going to be a good football team this year. After making it to a bowl game and winning, the Wildcats are bringing back 76% of last year’s total production, sixth-most in the country. That includes a large part of a defense that finished the season with the highest EPA allowed against the pass and run. There will be a big question mark at quarterback, but if they can figure it out in a relatively easy stretch to start the season, they could be a team to watch.
Memphis
Memphis has one of the best Group of 5 offenses in the country, led by QB Seth Hennigan, who is a leading candidate for the best Group of 5 player in America. The Tigers also return most of Hennigan’s top receiving targets. Defensively, there is a lot of work to be done, but if the offense can stay in the race, they could be in the running to win the Group of 5 this season.
Jacksonville State University Gamecocks
Well, the Gamecocks could be the ones to crash the party. Coming off a win over UL Lafayette in the New Orleans Bowl last year, the Gamecocks are 9-4 and could be a strong challenger to the Liberty in Conference USA. They return 77% of their production on a defense that was 4th overall in EPA per play last year. Offensively, Zion Turner will transfer from UConn as their QB, but the offense won’t lose too many players. Rich Rodriguez knows how to coach an offense, and having 4-5 starters on the offensive line looks pretty good.
