2024 college football rankings: RJ Young's Ultimate 134

Welcome to my ultimate 134 college football rankings.

These rankings are fluid, but my job has always been to look ahead and make a claim based on what I know and why I know it. I start with three questions: 

These are the three questions I thought about most when ranking all 134 programs in the Football Subdivision as I set out to write a piece that is exhaustive and detailed. At the end, more than 15,000 words later, I wrote about who I think is good and why I think they're good.

The process included excessive reading and studying of rosters, transfer portal additions and attrition, 2024 recruiting classes, changes in coaches, changes in philosophy, changes in athletic department administration and grasping what the addition of new members to the four most powerful conferences might mean in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff. In this ranking, you'll find that I accounted for all of those details. You'll find that I accounted for variables like predicted strength of schedule, star players, and players I expect will become household names by season's end.

None of that was as difficult as shaping the 134 into a piece that reflects my sensibilities within my traditional top 25, which often reflects who I think is most likely to win the national championship: For instance, I ranked Michigan No. 1 after Week 5 last year — a full nine weeks before either the AP or CFP Selection Committee finally did the same. And the Wolverines won the 2024 national title.

With that, here is a look at my ultimate 134 college football rankings heading into the 2024 season.

Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on Twitter, @RJ_Young , and I'll