Lebanon, TN – Here we report on the five “best among the rest” of the remaining FBS programs on our slate this year including CFP contenders. With some new, recent information we’ve received, some impending developments may bump a team or two from our current schedule. Significant opportunities to see a few more Top 25 teams may come to light to replace these contests. However, we will do our best to hold on to spots to attend games with current CFP contenders already slated if possible.
For now, these stand as the best of the rest of the teams we plan to see play in 2024. Some actually threaten to compete for College Football Playoff (CFP) contention. Several can pursue the opportunity for the fifth of conference championships eligible for an automatic playoff position among the top five conferences. A Group of Five champ mixes in with the Power Four champs for now. We strongly believe some of the best we will see can lay claim as CFP contenders for that fifth playoff spot. Read below to find out who these legitimate contenders are.
August 29 – Wake Forest vs. North Carolina A&T: getting back on track with the Deacs!
As one of our traditional favorites to visit annually with our good friend Jim “Bugaluga” Harton, we squeezed their opener in here against lowly FCS NC A&T, 1-10 a year ago. The Demon Deacs look to right themselves from last year’s tumble to 4-8. Prior to that, HC Dave Clawson led WFU to seven straight bowl games. In addition, we saw them lose to Florida State last season, 41-16. This ruined my Wake Forest nickname of “11 and almost oh Koreivo” among my extended Wake Forest, tailgate friends.
Since 1979, the Deacs traipsed to an undefeated record of 9-0 under my watch until they lost to Louisville in OT, 62-59, in 2019. Deac fans exclaimed that no one had ever seen the Deacs play nine times and never seen them lose! After that blemish on my record, my name was adjusted to “almost oh.” Since, they defeated NC State, 45-42, when I attended in ’21. Next year, Bugaluga and Courtenay came to Nashville. We watched The Deacs beat Vandy, 45-25, to update my WFU monicker. However, FSU laid a heavy loss on my unbelievable mark last year.
We have our priorities in store for 2024
Of course, Wake Forest will not be among CFP contenders for Group of Five (G5) CFP bid. We prefer to see them play comparable Atlantic Coast Conference teams. Though we looked for a better opponent this season to get back on a Deacon roll again, our schedule left us with little flexibility but to attend the Wake opener. I needed to assure that October 26 would “officially” be recognized as collegefootballfan.com’s 700th game! For this “special” season, I had to schedule 18 NCAA football games during the first eight weeks of this season. That’s the plan now. I pray it stays intact!
Determined Deacons
The Deacs look to get better at QB since the loss of Sam Hartman to Notre Dame. Last year, they could not come up with an effective signal caller to replace him. For 2024, it looks like transfer Hank Bachmeier from Louisiana Tech steps for the task. Can’t say he impressed us much in Tech’s loss to Middle Tennessee last year when we saw the Bulldogs fall, 31-23. Under Clawson, maybe he will come around with some better weapons for Bachmeier from his arsenal. WR Donovan Greene returns from injury and second leading receiver Taylor Morin returns. Desmond Claibourne and Tate Carney return at RB. Adept TE Cameron Hite comes back, and three return to start on the O-line.
Eight defensive starters including DE Jasheen Davis with seven sacks return. With veterans and some experienced transfers, they could improve at linebacker and in the secondary.
Demon Deacon Season Ahead
FCS North Carolina A&T won’t be much of a test to open 2024. They struggled as a new member of the Colonial Athletic Association in 2023. Wake will also pick up their next three contests at home against Virgina, Ole Miss and Louisiana. Clemson visiting Truist Field on October 12 will be a true barrier again having lost 15-straight to these Tigers. Late in the season, with Miami and North Carolina slated back-to-back on the road, they’ll pose typical challenges to the Demon Deacons. We don’t forecast their 2024 record as being best among our rest, but we do see them rebounding to a winning record. Most likely, they will need to win one of these later games to get back to a bowl again. We will try to catch them against a better team in 2025 to get our history headed back in the right direction.
September 19 – Appalachian State vs. South Alabama: Big Sun Belt Battle in Boone
Appalachian State has become a great favorite of ours. We return to Boone, NC on this Thursday night to see them take on Sun Belt foe South Alabama. Known for their famous 34-32 upset over Michigan at the Big House in 2007, we admire them most for their toughness and grittiness. With them, our history goes back to 2001 in their 38-24 loss at Georgia Southern in the FCS playoffs.
At Kidd Brewer Stadium on a cold, snowy day in early November 2014, we welcomed them as a first-year FBS member. They won with a 41-0 trouncing of Georgia State, another inaugural FBS member that season. In a subsequent night game in 2021, we watched them stun undefeated Coast Carolina, 30-27. Last season, we watched them hang with Troy, but they eventually fell, 49-23, in the Sun Belt championship game. This season, they definitely appear among the best of our rest to challenge for a bid as CFP contenders with a possible SBC title.
Key components return for Mountaineers
HC Shawn Clark, a former Appy lineman from ’94-’96, brings them into his fifth season with a 35-18 record. QB Joey Aguilar returns with 3,757 passing yards, 33 TDs and ten INTs. Four RBs come into this season with over 300 yards gained in 2024. Six WRs and TE Eli Wilson all gained at least 350 yards through the air last season. Among plenty of targets for the Mountaineers, Kaeden Robinson led all with 905 yards and ten scores. One starter returns to the OLine in Junior Thorton Gentry. He’ll be joined by experienced transfers from Virginia Tech, Georgia and USC as well with some other Mountaineer linemen looking to crack the starting lineup in front.
The defense returns six starters including Junior DE Shawn Collins and DT Markus Clark. OLB Nate Johnson brought pressure from outside last year. S Jordan Favors snagged four enemy passes.
Definitely among CFP contenders on our slate this year
We will see them face South Alabama under their new HC Major Applewhite. The Mountaineer defense should be ready. The ASU fans at Kidd Brewer Stadium will be pumped for this one creating a fun atmosphere this evening. The Mountaineer crowd gets rowdy for night games as we witnessed in their 2021 upset over Coastal Carolina.
Clemson hosts Appy on September 7. Liberty, 13-1 from a year ago, comes to Kidd Brewer the week after our visit. At Marshall, at Louisiana, and at Coastal this season present formidable SBC matchups. However, the Mountaineers have always stepped up against challenges as seen in the past. This year should be no different.
October 3 – Texas State at Troy: Bobcats going for broke this year
Under new HC G.J. Kinne, the TXST Bobcats improved to 8-5 last season for its first 8-win season since 2008. Under Kinne, who took FCS Incarnate Word to the FCS Semifinals where they lost to North Dakota State in 2022, the Bobcats will definitely contend for the Sun Belt title this season. Texas State and fellow SBC foe Appalachian State do not meet in regular season play in 2024. The top two Sun Belt teams we will see may meet for the title at the higher seed’s stadium. Texas State returns nine starters on offense and eight on D. We watched them defeat South Alabama in their final regular season game a year ago, 52-44. They continued on to defeat Rice in the First Responder Bowl, 45-21.
Kinne builds to make TXST best of our rest for 2024 and for his future
A big switch looms for the Bobcats this season. Starting QB TJ Finley transferred to Western Kentucky. We saw him play for both Auburn and TXST in recent years. In his place steps Sun Belt Player of the Year, Jordan McCloud of James Madison. Like it or not, welcome to NIL/transfer heaven in 2024. For the Dukes, in 2023 with 68% accuracy, he threw for 3,657 yards and 35 TDs. Kinne, who played QB at Tulsa and for several NFL teams, also attracted QB talent from Baylor in RJ Martinez and a highly touted Texas high-schooler, Brad Jackson. If Kinne moves somewhere else after this season, look for Jackson to transfer with him. He didn’t look to recruit adequate back-up just for 2024.
RB Ismail Mahdi returns with 1,331 rushing yards along with ten TDs. Leading WR Joey Hobert (895 yards, eight TDs) and Cole Wilson (747 yards, eight) come back as mainstays of a loaded receiving corps. Kinne’s offense throws the ball to everybody. Three starters return for the Oline, and Kinne loaded up on more blocking protection through the portal.
Can’t let Arkansas State put up 77 on them again
With eight defensive starters from last season who finished No. 2 in the nation in tackles for losses with 108, they return DE Ben Bell who recorded six. LB Alonzo Edwards gets help supposedly from key transfers from UTEP, Louisiana-Monroe and Florida. The secondary loaded up as well. Despite their returning experience on D, they allowed 33 ppg last season. We saw USA tally 44 only to lose last season, but Arkansas State routed TXST, 77-31. Now, Kinne looks not only to avoid losses, but even close, high-scoring games. He needs a defense that will give him some significant margins to display to pollsters some dominance. His Bobcats will go all out to capture the Sun Belt title this year to become not only the best of our rest, but they will probably be our best CFP contenders among all teams in the G5.
Texas State seems raring to go. We plan to attend their sixth game slated at Troy this season and possibly their season finale at South Alabama. Both are night games on the road. They will definitely be in the mix for the Sun Belt. Appy State and JMU are not on this year’s slate.
Optimism for a CFP contender in San Marcos
UTSA will be an early season non-conference toughie and possibly one of several American Athletic Conference CFP contenders. Also, a win over Power Four Arizona State could be a feather in TXST’s caps for CFP consideration it they win the conference. A home game on October 29 against Louisiana who they’ve fallen to in their previous 11 meetings, looks to be their greatest SBC challenge among all conference games. It should be an exciting season for the hungry Bobcat fans in San Marcos!
November 9 – Liberty at Middle Tennessee: Flames may have already flickered out
Liberty finished 13-0 last season until they met Power Four Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl and got slammed, 45-6. We watched them fight off Western Kentucky on the road last season with a powerful rushing performance, 45-29. This year, we will see them visit Middle Tennessee (4-8) following a close 42-35 win against them at home last season.
HC Jamey Chadwell gets the benefit of Junior Kaiden Salter returning at quarterback. He pitched for 2,876 yards last season and 32 TDs. Tossed only eight INTs. Ignore the six points Oregon allowed them in the bowl. They averaged 40.9 ppg until then. Repeat of last year? They led the nation in rushing last season with 4,106 yards averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Leading rusher Quinton Cooley returns. He netted 1,401 yards and carried the ball in for 16 scores. Salter netted 1,186 yards and 12 rushing TDs. Four of their top five receivers from last year have to be compensated for. Two team C-USA linemen return on offense, C Gordon White and RT Xavior Gray. They reload at other positions as necessary that should have them up to par against similar competition they met last season.
LU could benefit from a schedule adjustment
Eight starters return for a defense that allowed 22.3 ppg until Oregon basically doubled that at the Fiesta. This team looks to be possibly stronger than last season. On the flip side, its schedule looks no stronger. Again, no Power Fours appear on their slate. The toughest non-conference they face will be at Appalachian State at night in Week 6. No other foes on their slate seem to approach as CFP contenders this season. That will be a great challenge for them to overcome. Jacksonville State on October 30 and WKU on November 23 look to be their biggest obstacles to repeat for the C-USA championship.
However, if Liberty runs the regular season table once again, surely this schedule will be scrutinized closely if another Group of Five (G5) finishes with as good a mark against comparable or even better G5 competition to make the FBS playoff in 2024 (read Texas State and about some of the MAC teams on our slate who are legitimate CFP contenders). The head-to-head clash with Appalachian State will determine both teams’ CFP consideration that evening. Other squads from other G5 conferences may have more favorable credentials this season as opposed to an undefeated C-USA winner.
November 30 – Coast Carolina at Georgia State: Too far out to call it at this point
This Coastal Carolina Chanticleers’ game appears on the final week of college football’s regular season. We considered this game primarily for proximity to the TXST at South Alabama contest we will attend the Friday after Thanksgiving. It offered us a link to also visit the USS Alabama in Mobile before heading to Atlanta. The GSU home at Center Parc Stadium offered a chance to add another FBS venue to our goal to add more such stadiums to our current number. Not sure, at this point, if there will be any implications regarding the Sun Belt championship. This may not even happen for us, however, as we may have a better opportunity on what’s known as “rivalry weekend.”
Transfer portal mayhem
HC Tim Beck brings in 66 new players this season. That’s a lot of transfers. Is this truly a key to success as written earlier? By the time we watch the Chants play, a lot of projected starters may not have that same status by then. They finished 8-5 in 2023. Projected starting QB Noah King from Michigan State started five games for the Spartans last year for a 2-3 record before he roamed the sideline thereafter. Wide receivers arrive in Conway, SC with little experience. Three starters return for the Oline which could be their biggest plus. Defensively, they welcome back six starters, but they lost most of their key stoppers. This looks like a trial-and-error team-building strategy.
The schedule doesn’t look overwhelming which will be to their benefit. Most likely, their success will rely on the performances of many transfers. Deciding games to success: a tough non-conference game ahead finds Jacksonville State on the road in their opener; a trip to SBC foe James Madison on a Thursday night; a visit from Louisiana the week after; and Appy at home for a tough SBC battle on November 7. CCU looms as a best of our rest, but it most likely falls short of a CFP contender bid this season.
Collegefootballfan.com priorities at play here
We will determine if we still have interest in our current season finale at Georgia State to add that new venue. If we come up with a game much better between some bigger FBS rivals, we will find chances to visit Center Parc Stadium for a more competitive game during a subsequent season. Too many questions here for us to put Coastal among the top CFP contenders this season. Lots of time to contemplate between now and November 30.
Ed. by Steve Koreivo Member of Football Writers Association of America
Please buy and review my book, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Tales are about just about every Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team when I saw them play for the first time as well as at least one significant game that I attended for each FBS program over the past 50 years. It’s a unique story. Enjoy!