Joel Klatt's preseason top 25: Ohio State or Georgia at No. 1?

A new season of college football is upon us.

The season officially starts in less than three weeks, and it's going to be a really great year of football. You should be as excited as I am about what we're about to witness in the 2024 season of college football.

The changes that have been made, the schedules that are in front of us, the new playoff format with 12 teams rather than four, the amount of quality games that will be played in November — for all these reasons, I am over the moon excited about this college football season. 

So let's get to it. Here's my preseason top 25:

Here's a team that I've given a lot of grief to over the years, but it's a team I do believe in, and I like the direction they're going. Mike Elko begins his era there after the six seasons under Jimbo Fisher. What did six seasons and $76 million in buy-out money get you? A top-25 spot. Good job, that's money well spent.

Elko is familiar with College Station. I like him long-term — I question what they will be this year, but they still have talent, even with all the departures they've had in the transfer portal. 

One big addition that I really like: their new offensive coordinator. This was a great hire, Collin Klein, coming from Kansas State, and I really like him as a coach.

Iowa is just so steady. When you take a closer look, you realize it's going to be rock solid on defense again — shocking to nobody — and it should be better on offense. I said it, publicly here and into a microphone. We'll see if that happens.

I'm a big believer in Kirk Ferentz. It's a team that won 10 games last year and has 17 starters returning. By the way, Iowa had the worst offense in the country. So if the Hawkeyes are able to pair a veteran defense with what should be