Paul Finebaum, Heather Dinich predict national championship contenders ranked outside top-six in 2024 Preseason AP Poll
It’s a very positive trend in the playoff era to be in the top-six overall of the Preseason AP Poll. Who are some teams who just missed that cut that could oppose it, though, following its release on Monday?
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich answered that question during a segment on ‘Get Up’ on Tuesday.
Dinich began by going with Notre Dame who came one spot shy of that threshold at No. 7. Between the talent on their roster and their specific circumstances in regards to the playoff, she thinks they can be a team that could win it all this fall.
“I’m going back to the Irish,” said Dinich. “11 projected 2025 NFL Draft picks. The only teams that have more are Ohio State and Georgia. This team is loaded.
“I’m going to point out one other thing in the 12-team College Football Playoff. Notre Dame does not have a conference title game so they can’t get a first-round bye. They have to win four straight games to win the national title but it also doesn’t risk losing in a conference championship game either. There is that pro-side to the Irish independence,” Dinich continued. “In addition to the talent, Riley Leonard, the defense, the coaching staff? These guys have pieces in place for a really special season.”
Notre Dame is a team that many are high on coming into this season. That comes with what they’ve done through two seasons under Marcus Freeman, with what they return on defense, and with how they’ve revamped their offense this offseason. Now, with a straightforward schedule, they’re looking for a double-digit win regular season to make the playoff as an independent.
As for Finebaum, he looked to his usual conference and selected Missouri at No. 11. He thinks that, coming off last season, the Tigers can be in contention for a playoff berth in 2024.
“I like Missouri,” said Finebaum. “Missouri has one of the easiest schedules in the world if you can possibly have that in the Southeastern Conference. They will be favorites in most of their games. Don’t forget they destroyed Ohio State. They didn’t have one of their best players but they still destroyed them in the Cotton Bowl last year. They have a player that very few people are talking about that you will hear in the Top-10 of the NFL Draft – Luther Burden.
“Keep your eye on Missouri,” Finebaum added.
Mizzou is one of several teams looking to contend this year out of the Southeastern Conference. They have much to follow up on after going 11-2 last season but return and have added enough, especially offensively, to have another high win total potentially considering how their schedule projects.
For reference, in a decade of history of the four-team playoff, no team ever went on to win the national championship that was outside the the top-six in the Preseason AP Poll. Seven of those were ranked in the top-four of the first AP Poll. From there, the remaining three went from outside to begin with into the final field and became the eventual champion. Ohio State (2014) and Georgia (2021) did so as No. 5s with LSU (2019) being the lowest at No. 6.
Just based on the recent history of the Preseason AP Poll, most teams in college football have already been eliminated from title contention. However, Dinich and Finebaum don’t feel that way at all about Notre Dame and Missouri respectively with their chances in the expanded College Football Playoff.