In an era, over the last couple decades, that has ushered in more change than any other time in the history of collegiate athletics, 2024 may be the season in which fans' adapting and adjusting their viewing habits and tolerance for chaos gets tested to the maximum.

The dissipation of the Pac-12 has left behind just two schools (Washington State and Oregon State), and the rest of the conference has fled for high ground, to either the Big XII, Big Ten, or yes, even the ACC. Meanwhile, the SEC merely adds Texas and Oklahoma, and the rich become astoundingly richer. All of this with the backdrop of the playoff going from four teams to a dozen.

Oh, by the way, did I mention that we are heading into the fourth season where players can take money for the name, image, and likeness (NIL, for short), and that now a court ruling mandates that athletes share in the schools' television money? Well, that's happening.

I know, I know.... that's a LOT to process!

So with that as the preamble, games will soon be played, later this month, and it's time for the experts to stack rank the teams. One set of experts consist of 54 current head coaches and the longstanding Coaches Poll, so without further ado, here is the first set of rankings for the 2024 college football season:

Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Georgia (46)
2. Ohio State (7)
3. Oregon
4. Texas (1)
5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Notre Dame
8. Michigan
9. Penn State
10. Florida State
11. Missouri
12. LSU
13. Utah
14. Clemson
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Kansas State
18. Oklahoma State
19. Miami (FL)
20. Texas A&M
21. Arizona
22. NC State
23. USC
24. Kansas
25. Iowa

Others receiving votes:
Washington (123); Louisville (95); Virginia Tech (64); SMU (47); Memphis (44); Boise State (30); Auburn (25); West Virginia (22); Wisconsin (17); Liberty (15); Iowa State (15); Kentucky (12); Florida (11); South Carolina (10); North Carolina (6); UNLV (5); Maryland (5); UCF (4); Texas Tech (4); UTSA (3); Tulane (2); Texas State (2); Nebraska (2); Colorado (2); Appalachian State (2); Troy (1); Syracuse (1); Miami (OH) (1); James Madison (1); Air Force (1)

Okay, a few thoughts on these rankings:

The New World Order of college football is on full display
With the Pac-12 dying the ignominious death they did over the last year or so, the Power Five conferences have shrunk to a Power Four — the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big XII, and the ACC — with each of those conferences picking up anywhere from power house schools to table scrap leftovers from other conferences. Here is how the Top 25 lays out in terms of conference affiliation:

SEC (9): 1. Georgia; 4. Texas; 5. Alabama; 6. Ole Miss; 11. Missouri; 12. LSU; 15. Tennessee; 16. Oklahoma; 20. Texas A&M;

BIG TEN (6): 2. Ohio State; 3. Oregon; 8. Michigan; 9. Penn State; 23. USC; 25 Iowa

BIG XII (5): 13. Utah; 17. Kansas State; 18. Oklahoma State; 21. Arizona; 24. Kansas

ACC (4):  10. Florida State; 14. Clemson; 19. Miami (FL); 22. NC State

INDEPENDENT (1): 7. Notre Dame

The big takeaway here is that the rich do indeed get richer, as not a single Group of Five (code for "non power conference") school is in the Top 25, and they don't even get votes until 30th ranked Memphis. Thank the football gods that the Coogs escaped the AAC!

State of Texas status
The state of Texas got its two big dogs into the Top 25, the University of Texas and Texas A&M, and after that, you have to page down to "Others receiving votes" to find other schools from the Lone Star State:

4. Texas
20. Texas A&M
SMU (47 points)
Texas Tech (4)
UTSA (3)
Texas State (2)

What's interesting is that, other than Texas Tech's four points, none of the Big XII Texas schools received a single vote — Baylor, TCU and Houston were all shut out.

Very little confidence in Coach Prime
Last season, the University of Colorado Buffaloes, led by Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as their head coach, were the biggest story in the sport during their 3-0 start. Unfortunately, that fast start turned into a comical finish, and the Buffs ended up 4-8 on the season. With just two points in the polls, it doesn't appear that Deion's bluster is doing anything to inspire the confidence of his peers.

In the coaches' minds, here is what the College Football Playoff would look like right now....
So the new College Football Playoff is a 12 team deal, with the top five conference champions automatically qualifying, and the first four of those getting a first round bye, while garnering the top four seeded slots. The next four highest rated teams all host a first round playoff game on their respective college campuses.

To be clear, there is a separate poll, made up of a hand picked committee of 13 people, that decides the playoff teams. However, let's just pretend for a second that it's THIS poll that decides it, and that the highest ranked team from each conference is deemed the conference champion. Here is what the 12 team playoff would look like:

TOP FOUR CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS (all receive a first round bye):

1st seed. Georgia, SEC Champion
2nd seed. Ohio State, Big Ten Champion
3rd seed. Florida State, ACC Champion
4th seed. Utah, Big XII Champion

FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS

12. Memphis at 5. Oregon
11. Penn State at 6. Texas
10. Michigan. at 7. Alabama
9. Notre Dame at 8. Ole MIss

I doubt the 12 team tournament ends up this top-heavy with SEC teams, since so many of them are going to beat up on each other once the season starts, but it is fun to imagine these marquee matchups on college campuses in December.

Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.