The Top 25 is the benchmark for most rankings but here in the disheveled living room that is the headquarters for this poll, the Top 50 is just as important of an accomplishment. Defeating teams that are ranked within this section of the rankings can show just how strong a conference is or isn't.
This is the first time since 2007 that Alabama will be in this section of the rankings after they failed to make the playoffs and lost to Michigan (also in this section) to hand them four losses and not reach the 10-win mark. 2007 also marked a time when teams that were never going to be recognized as champs finished atop the Pool Poll with Hawaii and Kansas earning the top 2 spots that year.
Two coaches were hired away from this part of the rankings as Jake Dickert left Washington State for Wake Forest and Rich Rodriguez is coming back home to West Virginia after establishing Jacksonville State as a perennial CUSA Champ. PJ Fleck got a Duke's Mayo bath to celebrate his team's appearance in the Top 50, while Dabo Swinney is the first to make the playoffs and finish out of the Top 25. The National Championship winner may not be the actual Pool Poll Champ, which hasn't happened since we recognized UCF as the true champs of college football in 2017. This is all thanks to the wildness of this year's playoffs. So if you must know, I'm pulling for Notre Dame so they can keep the integrity of this poll and also because I would never cheer for Ryan Day's Just for Men beard.
So with that in mind, let's celebrate those who did more than enough to call their season a success, unless your Dabo or Kalen DeBoer then appearing here is not to be celebrated by anybody except the rest of the college football world.
50. Georgia Southern (8-5, 82.4 WA, 54.6 LA)
Preseason Rank: 93
Prediction: 7-5
Bowl Game: New Orleans Bowl (L Sam Houston State 31-26)
Recap: The Eagles had an up-and-down season that saw them earn big wins over Marshall and James Madison, but then lost to Old Dominion by 28. They earned a trip to a bowl game where they came up just short against Sam Houston State to drop their third straight bowl. Marques Watson-Trent was a menace to any Sun Belt foe as he led the league in tackles (120) and forced four fumbles.
49. Washington State (8-5, 82.1, 84.2)
Preseason Rank: 77
Prediction: 6-6
Bowl Game: Holiday Bowl (L Syracuse 52-35)
Recap: Jake Dickert is on the move and headed East as the Cougars conference status remains in limbo. The Pac-12 will see a reemergence with pieces from the Mountain West, but Dickert will be in North Carolina helping Wake Forest. Wazzu came out like gangbusters going 8-1 including a win over Washington in the earliest Apple Cup perhaps ever. Then they were stunned by New Mexico, lost the defacto Pac-12 Championship to Oregon State, and lost by one to Wyoming in the finale. They ended up with four straight losses after being picked apart by Kyle McCord and Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl. Jimmy Rogers will take over as the new head coach in 2025.
48. Minnesota (8-5, 80.8, 45.8)
Preseason Rank: 56
Prediction: 6-6
Bowl Game: Dukes Mayo Bowl (W Virginia Tech 24-10)
Recap: What a season the Gophers could've had if they had won any of the four games decided by one score. They nearly upset Penn State but did successfully knock off Illinois. Minnesota also took care of business in their rivalry with Wisconsin to keep the Badgers from bowling. Then in the Dukes Mayo Bowl, the Gophers fell behind early only to rally and get PJ Fleck doused in the tangy substance.
47. Texas A&M (8-5, 80, 48.6)
Preseason Rank: 31
Prediction: 8-4
Bowl Game: Las Vegas Bowl (L USC 35-31)
Recap: The Mike Elko era started with a loss to Notre Dame but was then followed by seven straight wins. Although, one of those wins was a six-point victory over the feisty Bowling Green Falcons. Then things fell apart with losses to South Carolina, Auburn (4OT), and Texas in the final four games. This bad luck carried over into the Las Vegas Bowl as they became one of many SEC teams to lose to a Big Ten school.
46. Baylor (8-5, 79.8, 27.2)
Preseason Rank: 89
Prediction: 5-7
Bowl Game: Texas Bowl (L LSU 44-31)
Recap: The Bears fell into a quick hole at 2-4 but didn't let that stop them from rallying in the second half. They won their final six games of the regular season scoring more than 35 in five of those six contests. That high-flying offense looked to tame LSU in the Texas Bowl, but it was the Tigers who proved to have too much offense for Baylor.
45. Florida (8-5, 73.8, 34.4)
Preseason Rank: 47
Prediction: 5-7
Bowl Game: Gasparilla Bowl (W Tulane 33-8)
Recap: The Gators looked like they might be in for another season without a bowl appearance under Billy Napier. Florida sat at 4-5 with two games against ranked opponents and it looked dire. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, Florida went out and pulled off back-to-back upsets over LSU and Ole Miss before dismantling their pathetic rivals Florida State. They took this energy into the Gasparilla Bowl against a depleted Tulane team and closed the season out with four straight wins.
44. Texas Tech (8-5, 58.4, 72.6)
Preseason Rank: 49
Prediction:8-4
Bowl Game: Liberty Bowl (L Arkansas 36-26)
Recap: The Red Raiders were sweating bullets in their home opener as they needed overtime to hold off Abilene Christian 52-51. They followed that with a loss to Washington State and it looked like a long season for Texas Tech. Instead, the offense kicked in and they were one of the few teams to beat Arizona State and then scored 108 points in their final two wins. Unfortunately, that final win wasn't in the bowl game as they fell short to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl.
43. Michigan (8-5, 46.5, 19.6)
Preseason Rank: 3
Prediction: 8-4
Bowl Game: ReliaQuest Bowl (W Alabama 19-13)
Recap: Well, somehow this season could be defined as a success for Sherrone Moore. Despite having no quarterback for 13 games, Michigan managed to win 8 games. Sure they got smoked by Texas and Oregon, but they ended up facing a schedule with 10 teams that went to a bowl game (Northwestern and Michigan State were the lone exceptions). They earned wins over ranked opponents USC and of course The Ohio State University, a loss so bad, that it forced the Buckeyes to remember how to use their skill players in the CFP. They followed that unbelievable upset with a bizarre defense clinic despite having most of the defensive starters either transfer or enter the draft. They were also down to their third-sting running back and needed Alex Orji to finish the Reliaquest Bowl. Despite all these setbacks, they still managed to beat Alabama for the second straight year. Thanks to some disgusting NIL money and some transfers the Wolverines could have a QB in 2025.
42. Jacksonville State (9-5, 87.7, 52.6) *CUSA Champs
Preseason Rank: 58
Prediction: 8-4
Bowl Game: Cure Bowl (L Ohio 30-27)
Recap: Rich Rodriguez brought Jacksonville State out of obscurity to Group of 5 Powerhouse. The Gamecocks began the year 0-3 including a wild double-overtime loss to EMU that saw them blow a goalline situation with a fumble that forced them to settle for a field goal instead of the game-winning TD. That spurred them to win eight straight before losing to Western Kentucky to see who would host the CUSA Championship. Jacksonville State exacted sweet revenge as they pummeled the Hilltoppers 52-12 to win their first-ever CUSA title. Their success was thanks in large part to running back Tre Stewart who was fifth in the nation with 1,658 yards and 25 TD. Their bowl game pitted them against the MAC Champs, Ohio, and it would be the Bobcats who be the champion of champions in the Cure Bowl. Rodriguez decided to return to West Virginia to make way for the Charles Kelly era in 2025.
41. Tulane (9-5, 87.4, 26.6)
Preseason Rank: 32
Prediction: 9-3
Bowl Game: Gasparilla Bowl (L Tulane 33-8)
Recap: The Jon Sumrall era in New Orleans got off to a strong start thanks to the strong play of QB Darian Mensah. Tulane earned their way to a second straight AAC Championship game. Things started to fall apart the week before that game as Memphis upset Tulane and then Army closed out their fine campaign by winning their first-ever AAC Championship 35-14 over the Green Wave. Mensah announced that he was transferring to Duke leaving the Wave without their star QB to face Florida. His absence proved too much to overcome as the Gators chomped the Green Wave in the Gasparilla Bowl.
40. Miami, OH (9-5, 79.9, 62.4)
Preseason Rank: 39
Prediction: 9-3
Bowl Game: Arizona Bowl (W Colorado State 43-17)
Recap: The Redhawks were on the struggle bus to start as they lost four of their first five games and their only win was a lengthy overtime win over UMass. Luckily, a visit to Ypsilanti was just the thing to get back on track and the Redhawks won their final six MAC contests including wins over Ohio, NIU, and Bowling Green. This earned them a trip back to the MAC Championship, but the Bobcats were due for a MAC title and clobbered the Redhawks 38-3. Miami recovered nicely and took out their frustrations on Colorado State, defeating the Rams easily 43-17 in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl.
39. Liberty (8-4, 101, 71.3)
Preseason Rank: 13
Prediction: 11-1
Bowl Game: Bahamas Bowl (L Buffalo 26-7)
Recap: The Flames looked ready to coast through CUSA after going 5-0, but after a cancelation because of the hurricanes that ravaged North Carolina, the Flames seemed out of whack. It started with an unbelievable loss to Kennesaw State to give the Owls their first win as a member of the FBS. Then Liberty lost to Jacksonville State, before nearly losing to UMass in overtime, and then losing to Sam Houston State to keep them out of the conference championship. The losing continued albeit in a tropical location as they ended the season with a lopsided 26-7 loss to Buffalo in the Bahamas Bowl.
38. UConn (9-4, 105.2, 54.5)
Preseason Rank: 125
Prediction: 4-8
Bowl Game: Fenway Bowl (W UNC 27-14)
Recap: Jim Mora Jr. has officially made UConn respectable again. After going 3-9 last season, the Huskies reversed their luck and took advantage of a weaker schedule in 2024. They won all the games they were supposed to and were competitive in losses to Syracuse, Duke, and Wake Forest. They finally got their ACC win when they upset North Carolina in front of the Green Monster at the Fenway Bowl.
37. Duke (9-4, 90.9, 28.8)
Preseason Rank: 57
Prediction: 3-9
Bowl Game: Gator Bowl (L Ole Miss 52-14)
Recap: The Manny Diaz era began pretty well as the Blue Devils picked up right where they left off under Mike Elko. The season began 6-1 before they lost a heartbreaker in overtime to SMU. They followed that up with a blown lead to Miami but regrouped and won their final three. They had a chance for three straight bowl wins, but that dream ended as soon as Jaxson Dart and Ole Miss started finding the endzone early and often to roll 52-14 in the Gator Bowl.
36. Buffalo (9-4, 88.2, 64.5)
Preseason Rank: 119
Prediction: 4-8
Bowl Game: Bahamas Bowl (W Liberty 26-7)
Recap: The Bulls looked like they could be a really good team thanks to wins over Toledo and Northern Illinois (the week after they upset Notre Dame), but then came a bad loss to Western Michigan and a 30-point loss to Ohio. They recovered by rattling off four straight wins to close out the regular season. They made it five straight with a convincing Bahamas Bowl win over Liberty. The success was anchored by the two leading tacklers in all of college football. Shaun Dolac had a staggering 168 tackles, six sacks, and had five interceptions while Red Murdock added another 156 tackles and forced seven fumbles. Both also added an interception returned for a touchdown.
35. James Madison (9-4, 86.7, 58.5)
Preseason Rank: 41
Prediction: 6-6
Bowl Game: Boca Raton Bowl (W WKU 27-17)
Recap: The Dukes didn't miss a beat after Curt Cignetti left for Indiana. In fact, they've now won 28 games in their first three seasons as members of the FBS. This year's crowning achievement came when they dropped 70 points on North Carolina. Losses to Appalachian State and Marshall to end the season kept them out of the Sun Belt Championship, but they capped the year off with a win over Western Kentucky in the Boca Raton Bowl for their first bowl win in program history. Eric O'Neill finished in the Top 5 in sacks with 13.
34. TCU (9-4, 83.3, 83.8)
Preseason Rank: 63
Prediction: 7-5
Bowl Game: New Mexico Bowl (W 34-3 Louisiana)
Recap: The Horned Frogs offense was a strong point as they scored 34 points or more in 10 games this season. Sometimes the defense was not up for the task as they allowed 30 points in five games this season. They finished the season with a convincing win over Louisiana in the New Mexico Bowl.
33. Colorado (9-4, 73, 44.8)
Preseason Rank: 62
Prediction: 5-7
Bowl Game: Alamo Bowl (L BYU 36-14)
Recap: If the Buffaloes had a defense that went with their dynamic offense they would've been at least in the Big 12 Championship. Travis Hunter brought home the Heisman Trophy joining Charles Woodson as the only two-way player to win the honor. Hunter had 96 catches for 1,258 yards and had 16 total TDs to go with four interceptions and a forced fumble. Shedeur Sanders set himself up to be a top 5 pick after throwing for over 4,000 yards and accounted for 41 touchdowns. Sometimes though, the Buffs took their opponents for granted as teams like Nebraska, Kansas State, and Kansas and narrowly escaped North Dakota State on their way to an FCS Championship. That left them on the outside looking in and earned a match-up with fellow Big 12 member BYU in the Alamo Bowl. After all the awards and accolades, they decided to take the bowl off and end the dynamic duo of Hunter and Sanders with a 36-14 loss to the Cougars. Now Deion Sanders is rumored to be a candidate to become the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Will this be the end of Coach Prime in Boulder?
32. Kansas State (9-4, 68.3, 39.5)
Preseason Rank: 19
Prediction: 9-3
Bowl Game: Rate Bowl (W Rutgers 44-41)
Recap: The Wildcats jumped out to a 7-1 start and looked poised to get to the Big 12 Championship, but like so many other teams in the conference chaos ensued. They were able to avoid the upset at the hands of Kansas but dropped three of their final four games including their last regular season game to Iowa State to give the Cyclones a spot in the Big 12 Championship. They played Rutgers in the Rate Bowl and nearly dropped their bowl game. They trailed by 17 points in the third quarter but rallied thanks to Dylan Edwards who ran for two touchdowns and 196 yards including a 36-yard TD to give the Wildcats a 44-41 victory.
31. South Carolina (9-4, 60.4, 44.8)
Preseason Rank: 53
Prediction: 4-8
Bowl Game: Citrus Bowl (L Illinois 21-17)
Recap: The Gamecocks took advantage of an easier SEC schedule compared to most and even scored an upset over Clemson to earn a shot at a ten-win season for the first time since 2013. Instead, they underestimated their Big Ten opponent in the Citrus Bowl and found themselves on the wrong end of a 21-17 score.
30. LSU (9-4, 59.8, 42)
Preseason Rank: 12
Prediction: 11-1
Bowl Game: Texas Bowl (W Texas Tech 44-31)
Recap: The season started with a gut punch by USC and officially became derailed by three straight losses to Texas A&M, Alabama, and shockingly Florida. Garrett Nussmeier did his part as one of a handful of QBs to go over 4,000 yards on the season. He also threw for 29 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. The Tigers picked up a big win in the Texas Bowl as they cruised past Baylor 44-31. It still must hurt for Brian Kelly to watch Notre Dame in the championship after claiming it would be easier to get there through the SEC.
29. Louisville (9-4, 58.8, 47)
Preseason Rank: 24
Prediction: 8-4
Bowl Game: Sun Bowl (W Washington 35-34)
Recap: The Cardinals went 5-3 against bowl-eligible teams including a big win over Clemson. They struggled against Notre Dame, SMU, and Miami (all forgivable), but were stunned by a last-second field goal after a botched Hail Mary attempt on the road at Stanford to end their ACC hopes. Louisville earned a trip to the Sun Bowl to face Washington and escaped with a 35-34 win after the Huskies missed their two-point try. That win was only the second picked up by an ACC team as the conference went an abysmal 2-11 in bowl games.
28. Alabama (9-4, 55.1, 60.3)
Preseason Rank: 6
Prediction: 10-2
Bowl Game: ReliaQuest Bowl (L Michigan 19-13)
Recap: Sure, replacing Nick Saban was never going to be easy, but Crimson Tide fans didn't want to see Alabama be this vulnerable as soon as he left. Jalen Milroe was supposed to be a Heisman finalist and it looked good after he and Wonder Boy wide receiver Ryan Williams took down Georgia. Had Jeremiah Smith not existed, Williams would have had the best season as a Freshman receiver with his 865 yards and eight touchdowns. Then they were stunned by Vanderbilt of all teams and then nearly lost to South Carolina. Tennessee got the elephant wobbling with loss number two, but it was Oklahoma who shockingly routed the Tide 24-3. That knocked them out of the SEC Championship and the CFP. The bad losses weren't done yet as Michigan stuck the final dagger as they forced three turnovers to start the game and beat Alabama with a thousand cuts to win 19-13.
27. Louisiana (10-4, 96.6, 65.3)
Preseason Rank: 78
Prediction: 8-4
Bowl Game: New Mexico Bowl (L TCU 34-3)
Recap: The Ragin' Cajuns won 10 games for the first time since 2021 when Billy Napier was in his final season as head coach. They looked like they would roll through the Sun Belt but caught a hiccup against South Alabama. Still, they earned a trip to the Sun Belt Championship but were embarrassed 31-3 by Marshall. That lack of offense carried into their bowl game as they managed just three points in their New Mexico Bowl loss to TCU.
26. Clemson (10-4, 64.4, 18) *ACC Champs
Preseason Rank: 14
Prediction: 10-2
Bowl: CFP First Round (L Texas 38-24)
Recap: An ACC Championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoffs were certainly goals the Tigers had at the beginning of the season. So it might come as a surprise that the season was a disappointment throughout the 2024 campaign. It started with an ugly loss to Georgia and then came losses to Louisville and South Carolina. Since only one of those was in the ACC, they earned a trip to the conference championship. They made it count with a 34-31 win over SMU to secure a spot in the playoffs but entered as the No. 12 seed. That earned them a showdown with Texas who cruised past the Tigers to end the Clemson run before it started.
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