It’s been a long and eventful spring and summer, and now the 2024 college football season is nearly upon us. The battle for a spot in the brand new 12-team College Football Playoff begins on August 24 and won’t slow down until a champion is crowned next January. Last season’s National Championship game saw Michigan knock off Washington to claim its first national title in 27 years. Who will reach the pinnacle of the sport in this new playo ff format this season? It’s almost time to find out.
With the offseason chaos in the rearview mirror, it’s time to delve into the futures market for each conference. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the Mountain West, a conference that is no stranger to making some noise against Power 5 opponents, and should be a contender for that coveted Group of 5 spot in the 12-team playoff this fall. This is a league with a plethora of new coaches and a couple of established quarterbacks that could make a massive difference in the trajectory of this title race come November.
We’ll also be taking this opportunity to talk about the brand new Pac-2, as both Oregon State and Washington State will play 7 games against Mountain West opponents, having been essentially adopted into the league for at least this season. While the Beavers and Cougars are basically being treated as independents by oddsmakers, both teams will have their say in how this conference (and potentially the College Football Playoff picture) shakes out. Let's take a look at the odds and my best bet to make before the season starts.