Every AP Top 10’s Greatest Strength and Weakness Heading into the 2024 Season

As the College Football season begins, there is a lot of buzz regarding the recent AP Top 10 Preseason Poll. The SEC and Big Ten headline the rankings, with eight of the top ten being from one of those respected conferences. With a lot of question marks regarding every team this upcoming year, there is a lot to like and dislike about each of these top ten teams. We’ll be taking a deep dive into each team’s best strengths and weaknesses for each of these ranked teams.

10. Florida State University Seminoles

Biggest Strength For FSU: Defensive Line

This is by far the biggest strength of this FSU lineup. Not only are they returning top ACC defensive end Patrick Payton, but Norvell made it a priority to gather more valuable assets on the line after losing many key pieces to the draft last year. Sione Lolohea of Oregon State is transferring in alongside Marvin Jones Jr. transferring from The University of Georgia. Both players are expected to contribute at a high rate for this upcoming season. The Seminoles also snagged Tomiwa Durojaiye and Grady Kelly out of the portal, who were both very productive at their previous school. Returning alongside Payton are Joshua Farmer and Darrell Jackson, who are both expected to have huge seasons. There is way too much experience and depth along the entire D-Line to not have them ranked as their biggest strength. Their biggest challenge to me this season will be the Clemson Tigers at home, who have given the Seminoles trouble in regards to being able to get into the backfield on a yearly basis.

Biggest Weakness: Wide Receiver

The Seminoles lost receivers that amounted to a total of 1507 passing yards last season to either the NFL Draft or the transfer portal. The highest returning wide receiver back this year is 5th-year senior Ja'khi Douglas, who only contributed 243 yards last season. Sophomore and highly talented Destyn Hill sustained a season-ending injury in spring practice. On the upside, the Seminoles were able to land Alabama transfer Malik Benson, who was previously the consensus number one overall JUCO recruit in 2023. According to Norvell, he is slated to have a very productive season and has had a great preseason camp. The Seminoles do return a lot of upperclassmen in Deuce Spann, Kentron Poitier, and Darion Williamson, however, they all combined for a total of 286 yards last year. I think Hykeem Williams, the former five-star recruit, is in a perfect position for a breakout season. This is a very experienced, but not productive room, giving them the biggest weakness for the Seminoles this season.

9. Michigan Wolverines

Biggest Strength: Cornerbacks

Michigan returns the best Cornerback in the country in Will Johnson. The consensus First Team Preseason All-American is looking to solidify this defense’s secondary this year and ensure they maintain one of the top passing defenses in the country. The cornerback room also bolstered themselves this offseason by picking up FCS All-American Aamir Hall and UNLV star Ricky Johnson. They also return senior Ja'Den McBurrows who has been injured the past few seasons but is looking to make a big splash this upcoming season. This room could easily prove to be the best in the country if they can stay healthy.

Biggest Weakness: Quarterback

This is the biggest question mark for the Wolverines this season after losing first-rounder J.J. McCarthy. As of now, redshirt sophomore Alex Orji is projected to be the starting quarterback this upcoming season. While he has incredible athletic ability and is touted as the “most athletic” quarterback the Wolverines have had possibly ever, he hasn’t had a lot of time to prove himself yet. The Wolverines also acquired graduate transfer Jack Tuttle from Indiana. While this could be an option for them at quarterback to have someone with experience, he only has a little over 1000 career passing yards. This is a large mystery for this Wolverine offense who is looking to repeat.

8. Penn State Nittany Lions

Biggest Strength: Runningbacks

This was a toss-up between the running back room and the defensive line. However, Penn State returns lead rushers Nic Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who were an absolute two-headed monster in the run game for the Nittany Lions last season. Allen comes off a season where he amounted to 902 rushing yards and only one touchdown, while Singleton amounted to 752 yards and eight touchdowns. This team can easily get into the playoffs come December if they stick to the ground and pound. With an offensive line that is one of the top in the country, this should give Penn State one of the best backfields in the nation this year. 

Biggest Weakness: Quarterback

This may come as a surprise for some people, and may not for others, but in all honesty, I have no faith in Drew Allar being able to perform at an elite level to be able to boost this team to the College Football Playoffs. While he did show flashes of being very good last season, he couldn’t show up in big games whatsoever. Allar threw under 48% in every single game Penn State lost last season and had a season completion percentage of 59.9%. While he did seem to show up against teams that Penn State should have beaten, he needs to make the jump to an elite quarterback if they want to make the playoff this year. Losing number one receiver option Keandre Lambert-Smith to the transfer portal also doesn’t help whatsoever. We will see if he can lead this team to a potential playoff spot if he can win his big games.

 7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Biggest Strength: Secondary

I was going to do their safety room as the biggest strength, but there’s too much talent at the corner spot to ignore. Notre Dame returns All-American Safety Xavier Watts who is coming off a seven-interception season. They also return Benjamin Morrison who is very experienced and is coming off a season last year where he amounted ten pass deflections and three interceptions. Pair this up with Northwestern transfer Rod Heard II who can play both safety and corner, and it really looks like one of the best secondaries in the country this year. The addition of graduate transfer Jordan Clark also gives this secondary much-needed depth and experience to be able to make that push for a playoff spot.

Biggest Weakness: Wide Receiver

This can simply be attributed to their top two receivers from last season Chris Tyree and Rico Flores Jr. who both transferred out. They did add former Five Star Beaux Collins from Clemson this offseason who has the potential to be a breakout candidate, as well as FIU transfer Kris Mitchell. Mitchell has by far the best stats from last year amounting over 1100 yards, but it is tough to tell if he’ll be able to make the jump up to the power four level. I’m just not very confident in this wide receiver room and feel as if quarterback Riley Leonard is going to have to rely on his legs a lot this year as well as his running backs.

6. Ole Miss Rebels

Biggest Strength: Quarterback

Jaxson Dart is one of, if not, the best quarterback in College Football. He is an elite dual-threat who has only continued to get better as his career has gone on. Last season he solidified himself as one of the best in the nation, passing for 3364 yards and 23 touchdowns while running for 389 yards and adding eight touchdowns to his resume. He is currently seventh in the pre-season Heisman rankings and is looking to propel Ole Miss to its first-ever College Football Playoff berth. They also return almost every starting receiver from last season, especially huge playmakers Antwane Wells Jr., Jordan Watkins, and Cayden Lee. If all of these playmakers can continue what they did last season, it could truly make Dart the best quarterback in the country.

Biggest Weakness: Offensive Line

The offensive line for Ole Miss was very below average last year, ranking 105th in PFF rating for the entire season. Jaxson Dart was constantly under pressure every single game and had to use his legs to be able to turn possible sacks into some plays. If this group is able to protect Dart on a consistent basis, they could be a sleeper team to win the SEC. That is, a big IF they can protect Jaxson Dart. 

5. Alabama Crimson Tide

Biggest Strength: Quarterback

Jalen Milroe absolutely burst onto the scene last season and helped put the Crimson Tide into the College Football Playoff. He’s coming out as a Heisman frontrunner this year after amounting to a total of 35 touchdowns last season, 23 passing and 12 rushing. Alabama did lose a lot of offensive depth and starters to the transfer portal following Nick Saban retiring. However, Kalen DeBoer was able to utilize the transfer portal and obtain weapons for Milroe. This offense is entirely running behind whatever Milroe does. If he performs at the elite level he has shown in multiple games last season, it’ll be hard to beat the Crimson Tide this year. 

Biggest Weakness: Wide Receivers

Although DeBoer was able to bring in some weapons this offseason, Alabama also lost so many receivers that shined to either the draft or transfer portal. They do have a lot of very talented receivers that could see some playing time such as consensus five-star true freshman Ryan Williams and Kobe Prentice who was just behind in the depth chart last season because of all the others in front of him. Germie Bernard, who transferred from Washington, is also set to be a name to watch, as he was a part of that incredible passing attack last season. Overall, this is a very experienced room that could turn a lot of heads, but desperately need one of these players to emerge as a true number one.

4. Texas Longhorns

Biggest Strength: Wide Receiver

I was going to go ahead and state the obvious that Quinn Ewers would be this team's biggest strength. However, his cast around him for this upcoming season looks even better. While losing three key receivers to the NFL Draft last season, they completely reloaded. First and foremost, Alabama star Isaiah Bond was brought in, bringing a lot of big play experience to replace what was lost. They also were able to bring in Oregon State’s number one receiver last year, Silas Bolden. Houston transfer Matthew Golden will also be someone who can contribute to the Longhorns’ passing attack this year. Ryan Wingo is a true freshman phenom who should also contribute early. All in all, this really does look like a solid group, and they will definitely need to use the passing attack this season, which brings me to this team's recent and most astonishing weakness.

Biggest Weakness: Running Backs

I would have never thought I would be saying this about Texas. They’ve produced some really good backs almost every single season for decades now, but, injuries are a plague that has sickened this room to death over the past few days. Star CJ Baxter was poised for a huge year this year and just had a season-ending injury earlier this week. Texas fans and the staff were sickened but still had hope with Jaydon Blue and freshman Christian Clark, but, Clark also suffered a season-ending injury this week. This puts the Longhorns in a position where they only now have three healthy scholarship players in that position. Jerrick Gibson and Blue will likely be the one-two punch for the start of the season, but with frequent injuries to running backs being a large part of the game of football, things aren’t looking bright for the Longhorns in this aspect.

3. Oregon Ducks

Biggest Strength: Offensive Line

This is in my opinion, the most important reason that the Ducks will be very good in the Big Ten this upcoming season. They return the 4th-rated offensive tackle via PFF Ajani Cornelius as well as Josh Conerly Jr. to fill out the ends of the line. As far as the interior goes, they have to replace Jackson Powers-Johnson after getting drafted, and Iapani Laloulu seems like just the guy for that job. Laloulu is entering his sophomore season and has big shoes to fill, but being able to play behind a guy like Powers-Johnson should certainly help him learn how to play that position at a very physical level. If this unit is able to protect leading preseason Heisman candidate Dillon Gabriel, the Ducks could run the table and not only win the Big Ten but make a run to get to the National Championship.

Biggest Weakness: Defensive Line

While Oregon has a lot of big players up front, almost every one of them weighing over 270 pounds, they haven’t lived up to their full potential. Last year, this unit was very good with Brandon Dorlus, Popo Aumavae, and Taki Taimani all leaving for the NFL. Their most experienced returning player is Keyon Ware-Hudson, who had a very average season last year. They did bring in transfers Jamaree Caldwell of Houston and Derrick Harmon of Michigan State, which could prove to help a lot. However, they’ve never played in this system before and will likely need to adjust. I just don’t see this group being as good as they were last year for Oregon.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

Biggest Strength: Running Backs

On the contrary to Texas, Ohio State has the best backfield in the nation. TreVeyon Henderson has been a pivotal part of this offense for three years now, and we will 100% see it again this coming year. Not only does Henderson make this room the best, but Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins has been one of the most electrifying backs since he stepped on the field in 2022. Having this duo for Ohio State could take a lot of pressure off transfer Will Howard in the passing aspect, as this could easily be a duo that can single-handedly score points at will. Not to mention, both running backs went for over 1100 yards and both over ten touchdowns last season. This could be another big year in Columbus if they focus on the ground and pound. 

Biggest Weakness: Quarterback

I was going to try to put a defensive position here, but the defense is too stacked. I don’t see any holes in the defense whatsoever. However, Will Howard will have to prove himself by playing for a real blue blood this season. Howard had a pretty good year with Kansas State last year, but not overly impressive. A true dual-threat, Howard did pass for over 2600 yards and added another 350 on the ground, while throwing for 23 touchdowns and adding nine from his legs. The two things that stand out to me are his completion percentage and turnovers. A 61.3% completion percentage might not be the best, especially transitioning from Big 12 defenses to Big Ten defenses. Ten interceptions last season is also a bit of a worry. If Howard can fix these with his elite wide receivers he has on this roster in Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss, and true freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, then I could easily see this as the best offense in the country.

1. Georgia Bulldogs

Biggest Strength: Linebacker

This team, without a doubt, truly has the best linebacking corp in the country. Smael Mondon Jr. has been turning heads his past couple of years with the Dawgs and is looking to do it yet again. C.J. Allen is coming off a very good freshman campaign where he was splitting reps, and now is looking to create even more for a name for himself. Chaz Chambliss is a monster of a human at 250 pounds coming off the outside. Jalon Walker had a sophomore season where he racked up five sacks and is looking to only get better. Another guy not talked about that much but could break out during this campaign, is sophomore Raylen Wilson. This team is just entirely too deep at the linebacker position and is on track to have by far the best in the country. This unit can propel Georgia to another year of giving opposing offenses trouble no matter how good they are.

Biggest Weakness: Defensive Line

Known for producing guys like Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, this Bulldogs rushing attack had a down year last season. Their two starting defensive tackles, Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson only amounted to four total sacks last year. Yes, four. The defense also finished ninth in total sacks in the SEC last season. While Mykel Williams had four and a half sacks last year, he needs to truly step up this season to be able to provide stability on the line. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins only had two and a half sacks last year. If all of these guys can step up this season, it’ll be terrifying for opposing offensive lines. Until then, the process needs to play out and there needs to be improvement.