The 11 programs that tasted the College Football Playoff but came up short in 2024 are already yearning for a return trip. For some -- such as Oregon and Georgia -- merely getting

One of those teams is the South Carolina Gamecocks. They finished the 2024 season with a record of 9-4, their highest number of wins since 2017. South Carolina was among the first teams left out of the College Football Playoff, finishing ranked No. 15 in the final CFP standings.

NIL and the transfer portal have changed the game, but there is still a lot that works even if more reinvention is coming.

Week 1 of the 2025 college football season features a loaded slate, including LSU at Clemson, Notre Dame at Miami and Alabama at Florida State, among others. LSU-Clemson could be a top-five matchup, as could the biggest headliner: Manning and Texas visiting Ohio State in a matchup of the 2024 national champion and our early 2025 favorite.

In or out? A verdict on which of the College Football Playoff qualifiers will be back in the bracket next season.

The first 12-team Playoff had a lot of great moments. It could also use some tweaks. In the short term, leaders are unlikely to make major changes to the format for the 2025 season. The bigger stuff is more likely to come in 2026, when the new contracts kick in and the SEC and Big Ten basically get to do whatever they want.

One of the teams in focus is the Alabama Crimson Tide, who just completed their worst season since 2007. In Kalen DeBoer's first year as head coach, the Crimson Tide finished with a record of 9-4. That season marked a stark contrast to nearly two decades of dominance under legendary head coach Nick Saban.

The Bulldogs earned the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff but were defeated by the No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-2) in the quarterfinals, with a final score of 23-10. Gunner Stockton replaced Beck in the second half of the Texas game and played the entire Notre Dame game.

"The timing of Marcus Freeman and Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a powerful symbol that should be viewed with cautious optimism," said Joseph Cooper, the director of the Institute for Innovative Leader

The Lady Vols lost a third straight game, falling to No. 2 South Carolina on Monday as coach Kim Caldwell returned one week after having her son.

ACC's idea of a mini-tournament before the College Football Playoff only adds games for players, will cost more money in the long run.

The 11 College Football Playoff games averaged 15.6 million viewers according to Nielsen, as audiences increased during each round.