This fall marks the beginning of a whole new era of college football. The FBS landscape has changed dramatically: The SEC has gone from 14 to 16 teams, the Big 12 from 10 to 8 to 12 to 16, the Big Ten from 14 to 16 to 18, the ACC from 14 to 16 to 17, and the Pac-12 from 12 to 10 to 9 to 4 to 2.

And the most interesting thing about it? Almost all of these conference realignment changes only took effect in a specific season:

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The national champion determination in college football has evolved slowly, from simply awarding a trophy to the No. 1 team at the end of the season and the end of the season, to a two-team BCS heavyweight title fight, to the four-team CFP that brought playoffs to the sport, to the much-discussed, long-demanded and laboriously but finally created true 12-team playoff system to any team in the FBS starts the season 0-0 and knows it can win the national championship. And you know what’s interesting? This playoff was designed to only take effect in a specific season:

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It’s a new era and it may be the wildest season since 2007 – or the wildest ever! Here are a few more facts to remember before the season begins:

No Nick Saban (or Jim Harbaugh)

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Since the 2007 season, Alabama has a 201-29 record, bowling every year, winning nine SEC championships and six national championships (and nine title games). Almost every year for the last 17 years, Alabama has been either champions, runner-up, or a contender in some way.

All those seasons, Nick Saban wore a headset on the sidelines and almost no one could beat him (especially if it was one of his former assistants). How high will Alabama’s standards for success be now without him? Will Georgia fully assume their dominance in the SEC?

And look at Michigan: After years of frustration trying to break through Ohio State and CFP’s ceilings, the Wolverines under Harbaugh beat the Buckeyes and made the playoffs in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and are now the reigning national champions. What a spectacular three-year rise to the top for Harbaugh and the Wolverines! In three years, Harbaugh conquered the sport, even beating Ohio State and Alabama.

Now that both Harbaugh and Saban are gone, there is a power vacuum that needs to be filled. The Kings are gone – who will take the throne?!

Kentucky now shares the SEC with Texas and Oklahoma, and the Conference East and West divisions are gone

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Kentucky’s conference football schedules will finally stop being carbon copies. Every year of the Stoops era (except 2020) they played the same six teams in the East, Mississippi State and one new team. Every year it was the same seven SEC teams plus one, which meant that season ticket holders at Kroger Field had to go without Texas A&M or Arkansas or any other team from the West for over a decade.

Now there is finally some variety and instead of a place between 1st and 7th in the East, they end up somewhere between 1st and 16th in the overall ranking.

If you’re in the Big Ten, you can finish as high as 18th in your conference.

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Finishing last in your conference has always been embarrassing and painful. But does that automatically mean dismissal in the Big Ten? I know someone has to finish last, but behind 17 other teams? All I know is that I’m glad I’m not coaching Purdue this fall. Oh, and remember to win the league: You have to be better than 17 other teams!

Power 5 – 1 = 4

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5 – 1 = 4. The Power 5 is now the Power 4, as the Big 12, Big Ten and ACC have all taken bites out of the Pac-12, leaving nothing but bones and gristle (namely Oregon State and Washington State). Convenient for this new playoff: For the top four conferences at the end of the season, their champions get byes. Man, I wonder who the top four conferences will be every year?

Two-minute warning

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What?!? Yes, that’s right – that strange and ever-mysterious difference between college and the NFL has disappeared, just like it did a few years ago when the DH finally came to the NL in baseball. Now teams have a little more chance of avoiding a loss by having the other team kneel after timeouts expire.

Everyone has a chance at the title

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As mentioned above, pretty much all FBS teams start their season 0-0 and have a chance to win the national championship, just like every college basketball team starts 0-0 and has a chance to win the NCAA tournament. Gone are the days when a Group of Five team goes 13-0 and doesn’t even come close to making the CFP.

Now anyone who simply refuses to lose can play until they drop, and football is finally about who’s last, not who’s part of the aristocracy. Kennesaw State joins the FBS this year and has immediate playoff eligibility. They can go 12-0, win the Conference USA title game, clinch the Group of Five playoff golden ticket (though it might complicate things if there’s a second Group of Five team that’s 13-0), win three playoff games, and become national champions. If that happens, they can go 16-0 and finish 11th or 12th in the final AP poll or something! Everyone has a shot at the title!