We’re still roughly five months away from the start of the 2024 college football season, but there’s already plenty to be excited about. Significant coaching and roster changes have many fan bases eager to see what their new-look teams are capable of, while conference realignment and playoff expansion has added significant intrigue to what the 2024 season could bring.

When it comes to the conferences specifically, few can match what the Big Ten promises to provide this season. Here are three major factors that will make this season one of the most memorable seasons in Big Ten football history.

Conference Realignment

Let’s start with the most obvious and most talked about change coming to the Big Ten, and that’s the addition of Oregon, USC, Washington, and UCLA to the conference.

Oregon poses the most immediate threat of all the newcomers, as the Ducks return a significant amount of talent from the 2023 season – a season that resulted in a 12-2 final record. Additionally, Oregon added two of the top transfer portal quarterbacks available this off-season in Dante Moore (UCLA) and Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma). It’s a pretty safe bet that Gabriel (a sixth-year veteran) will land the starting job in 2024, but Moore is a former five-star prospect who thew for over 1,600 yards as a true freshman with the Bruins. Regardless of who ends up winning the starting job, the Ducks will certainly be a serious contender for the Big Ten championship in 2024.

USC, Washington, and UCLA should be formidable opponents, but each program enters the new season with plenty of unknowns. USC and Washington are both replacing Heisman-caliber quarterbacks in Caleb Williams and Michael Penix Jr., and former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly left the Burins last month for a coordinator position with Ohio State.

East and West Divisions Have Been Eliminated

After 10 years of the East and West divisions, the Big Ten opted to do away with the format for the 2024 season and beyond. This comes as welcome news for the vast majority of Big Ten football fans who have watched the conference championship game become an annual lopsided event.

During the 10 years of the East and West divisions, the East put together a perfect 10-0 record over the West in the conference championship game. In those 10 contests, the East beat the West by an average of 20.7 points per game – and the last three championship games have been decided by an average of 28.7 points per game.

Without divisions in the way, the Big Ten championship game will now feature the two best teams from the conference. This means that it’s possible for fans to witness the Wolverines and the Buckeyes square off in back-to-back weeks – once in that final weekend of November, and then again in the conference championship game the following week. Hell, it’s possible that Michigan and Ohio State could square off three times in 2024 based on the next significant change below.

College Football Playoff Expansion

The days of the four-team playoff are now over, and the 2024 season will now feature a 12-team playoff format for the first time in college football history. This means that fans of the Big Ten can expect several teams from the conference to be a part of the playoff on a yearly basis, which will certainly make for a more interesting regular season. The harsh reality under the previous format was that a single regular-season loss could cost your team a shot at the national championship. Under the new format, a solid one or two-loss team from the conference could still find itself playing for a national championship moving forward – and that’s a good thing for college football.

One of the most exciting features of the new playoff format is the fact that teams will host a playoff game on campus for the first round. That means it’s possible for a first-round playoff game to occur at the Big House in Ann Arbor…in December. Under the new format, teams ranked 1-4 will receive a first-round bye. Teams ranked 5-12 will play each other in the first round, and the higher ranked teams will host the playoff game on campus.

Here’s how the new playoff format will look:

First Round – Dec. 20-21:

• No. 5 vs. No. 12 – On Campus
• No. 6 vs. No. 11 – On Campus
• No. 7 vs. No. 10 – On Campus
• No. 8 vs. No. 9 – On Campus

Quarterfinals – Dec. 31

• Fiesta Bowl – Glendale, AZ

Quarterfinals – Jan. 1

• Peach Bowl – Atlanta, GA
• Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA
• Sugar Bowl – New Orleans, La

Semifinals – Jan. 9

• Orange Bowl – Miami, FL

Semifinals – Jan. 10

• Cotton Bowl – Dallas, TX

National Championship – Jan. 20

• Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta, GA