College football's post-spring Top 25 projections for 2024
25. Oklahoma State
While Mike Gundy is one of the best coaches in college football and probably the current class of the Big 12 with Texas and Oklahoma leaving, I'm just not sure he brought in enough from the 2024 recruiting class and the transfer portal to really be a playoff contender. He still has arguably the best player in the country in Ollie Gordon and Alan Bowman should be solid again. The offense should have no problem putting up points.
24. Wisconsin
I may be a little higher on Wisconsin than most but that's because I really like the addition of Tyler Van Dyke at quarterback and I think Luke Fickell is going to have a quick turnaround after a quiet first season. They will have to adjust to life after Braelon Allen who is now with the Jets, but Chez Mellusi has shown flashes during his time in Madison. And like always, Wisconsin should have a top defense.
23. West Virginia
A lot of people are high on West Virginia after spring ball and it's fair considering the Mountaineers just finished 9-4 a season ago and were right in the thick of the conference title race. They bring back Garrett Greene and it looks like Neal Brown has escaped the hot seat after living on it the previous season. West Virginia brings back a lot and there are some newcomers from the portal who will have instant impacts. This team will be a Big 12 contender.
22. Louisville
Jeff Brohm's first season at Louisville was more successful than anyone could have imagined and the common expectation after a great first year is to see a slight regression in year two. I do think that happens in 2024, but not to the extent that Louisville will be bad, by any means. This team still has ACC contender written all over it, especially with Tyler Shough transferring in with the 11th-best transfer portal class in the country.
21. Kansas
For some reason, people are still sleeping on Kansas football. Lance Leipold has done an excellent job since taking over the laughingstock of the Big 12 and the Jayhawks look like serious contenders to win the conference with Jalon Daniels back next season. Kansas has gotten better each year under Leipold and I don't see that changing in 2024.