Same Faces in New Places: Reviewing the First Seasons for Newly Realigned Power Four Teams

Evan Bainer

Jan. 11, 2025

The 2024 college football season brought a plethora of new looks to the game, including new conference matchups as a result of offseason realignment.  

With the breakup of the PAC-12 Conference in the 2024 offseason, many former PAC-12 programs moved on to join new conferences prior to the 2024 season. In doing so, the Power Five conferences aptly became the Power Four, and the effects that the new member teams have had on their conferences has become more apparent now that the season has ended.

Besides its final two games of the season, a regular season finale loss to SMU and a loss to UNLV in the Art of Sport LA Bowl, California held its own in its first season in the ACC. Behind quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who ranked 23rd in the league in passing yards, the Golden Bears were able to break even with a 6-6 record heading into their bowl game against UNLV. Further, one of those losses was to a Miami team that was ranked the entire season, and another one was late in the season against Syracuse, which had a strong surge to finish out the year.

California’s main concern in the offseason will be finding a playmaker under center. As Mendoza has opted to transfer to Indiana for the 2025 season, sophomore CJ Harris appears to be the next in line for the Golden Bears after he started in their bowl game against UNLV. Nonetheless, California could very well see a regression next season as a result of its new offensive look.

Although SMU had an early exit in the College Football Playoff, the program had a rather impressive debut season in the ACC. Led by quarterback Kevin Jennings, who ranked 13th in the league in passing yards, the Mustangs ended the regular season first in the ACC. In addition, running back Brashard Smith provided extra backfield support as his 1,332 rushing yards was the 15th highest in college football this season.

SMU entered the 2024 season, and the ACC, after winning the American Athletic Conference in 2023. Like other ACC teams, the Mustangs’ main challenge was, and will continue to be, competing against other Power Four teams. The team’s 38-10 loss to Penn State in the first round of the CFP, where Jennings also threw three-interceptions, was a prime example of that challenge. Regardless, SMU will look to continue its exceptional conference play in 2025.

Stanford’s 2024 season was almost identical to its season in 2023. After coming to the ACC from the PAC-12, the Cardinal finished its 2024 campaign with a 3-9 record and was 2-7 against ACC opponents. Stanford would finish 14th in the ACC in its first season with the conference, which was only better than a struggling Florida State team. The Cardinal’s 3-9 finish comes as the team’s fourth consecutive losing season.

Although Stanford’s success has been bleak in recent years, the hiring of former NFL quarterback and school alum Andrew Luck to the team’s general manager position could provide a new beginning for the program. The 2025 season will be a test to see if Stanford can show some light in getting back to being a .500 or above team.

After finishing 14th in the CFP rankings and 11th in the AP Poll in 2023, Arizona fell flat in its first season in the Big 12. With a 4-8 overall record and only two wins against conference opponents, the Wildcats ended the 2024 season only ahead of a struggling Oklahoma State team that was winless against Big 12 opponents. However, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was a bright spot for the Tucson-based squad. McMillan would place third in receiving yards in all of college football with 1,319 yards off 84 catches. With McMillan almost certainly headed to the NFL in April, it will be interesting to see if Arizona can make a significant turnaround next season in order to compete with other Big 12 teams, especially considering how 26 of its scholarship players entered the transfer portal only four days into its opening.

Arizona State’s underdog season ended on New Year’s Day in a 39-31, double-overtime loss to the Texas Longhorns in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. After finishing second-to-last in the PAC-12 in 2023, the Sun Devils were predicted to once again be a bottom-dwelling team in 2024, this time in the Big 12. However, led by the league’s second-leading rusher in Cam Skattebo and second-year head coach Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State would go on to win the Big 12 championship against Iowa State and rank fourth in the CFP Poll.

The Sun Devils flew under the radar for most of the season, but quickly became recognized after back-to-back wins against Kansas State and BYU. Arizona State will look to repeat its success in its second season in the Big 12 in 2025. 

Deion Sanders’ sophomore season coaching the Buffaloes produced two top NFL Draft prospects in his son Shedeur Sanders, who ranked third in passing yards and second in passing touchdowns across college football, and Travis Hunter who ranked fourth in receiving yards and second in receiving touchdowns in his Heisman-winning season.

After finishing 2023 with a 4-8 record, which included a six-game losing streak to end the season, Colorado made a significant turnaround in its 2024 campaign as it ranked 20th in the AP Poll and 23rd in the CFP rankings with its 9-3 record. Moreover, Colorado’s 7-2 record against Big 12 opponents in 2024 was a notable improvement over the team’s 1-8 conference record in the PAC-12 in 2023.

Although the Buffaloes’ season ended with a 36-14 loss to BYU in the Valero Alamo Bowl, much of the focus for the team has been on the departure of Hunter and Shedeur Sanders. With the quarterback and wide receiver duo projected to go in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Colorado’s main adjustments will likely be based on filling the spots of two of its best players.

Utah was a team that was a favorite in terms of playoff potential in 2024. After ranking 12th in the AP preseason poll, the Utes found themselves on the outside looking in after a week seven loss against Arizona State. Moreover, starting quarterback Cam Rising, who has dealt with injury throughout his college career, would sustain a season-ending leg injury in the matchup against the Sun Devils. Having to rely on freshman backup Isaac Wilson, Utah would lose five straight contests since the Arizona State game and would finish with a 5-7 record with only two wins coming from Big 12 opponents.

Utah is another program that was hit hard at the end of the season after at least 18 of its players elected to enter the transfer portal within its first week of opening. However, the Utes were able to land quarterback Devon Dampier, who threw for 2,768 yards for the New Mexico Lobos in 2024. Dampier also ranked 22nd in the nation in rushing yards with 1,166 for the Lobos. With Dampier looking to take over the lead role under center for Utah in 2025, there could be some revitalization for the Utes’ offense in the program’s second season in the Big 12.

Oregon’s undefeated season came to a surprising end on New Year’s Day as the Ducks fell to Ohio State 41-21 in the Rose Bowl. Oregon had won its regular-season matchup against Ohio State in a 32-31 thriller.

As its record would suggest, Oregon was dominant throughout the season, picking up wins against Big Ten powerhouses Penn State and the aforementioned Ohio State. Moreover, the Ducks scored more than 30 points in all but two of their victories on the season. The Ducks took over the number one AP Poll spot after Texas’ loss to Georgia in week eight bumped the Longhorns out of first. Oregon would then ride its momentum to an undefeated regular season, which included a Big Ten Championship game victory over Penn State, as well as to the number one seed in the College Football Playoff.

Despite its Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State, Oregon had a strong debut season in the Big Ten, which was in large part because of Heisman-finalist quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel, who finished third in Heisman voting, ended the year seventh in both passing yards and passing touchdowns.

While many Oregon players are expected to enter the 2025 NFL Draft, the program is unlikely to see a significant decline for the 2025 season. The Ducks have been atop the college football landscape in recent years, and with large NIL influence coming from Nike co-founder Phil Knight, Oregon’s dominance seems to be well intact.

The program’s first season in the Big Ten, as well as under head coach Deshaun Foster, was one that many college football fans would argue went as expected. Although UCLA had a tough draw with conference opponents this season, as the Bruins had two-plus score losses to teams like Indiana, Oregon, and Penn State, the team did get solid wins against Iowa and Rutgers which both had winning seasons in 2024.

UCLA’s 5-7 record comes after struggles offensively in 2024. UCLA has turned to Indiana quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri to become the team’s new offensive coordinator for the 2025 season. Sunseri’s hiring comes after Eric Bieniemy was fired from the position in early December after just one season. The refreshed Bruins offense should look to help the program improve in its second season in the Big Ten.

The separation of the PAC-12 came in large part from the teams wanting to play in more competitive conferences. USC, which left for the Big Ten along with UCLA, Oregon, and Washington, was a major proponent for a departure from the PAC-12. 

Although the program was expected to take a hit after Heisman-winning quarterback Caleb Williams was selected by the Chicago Bears first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, a three-game skid in the month of October, among other losses, would cause USC to miss out on the CFP. Miller Moss, who was predicted to be the successor to Williams after leading the Trojans to a 42-28 win over Louisville in the 2023 DirecTV Holiday Bowl, was benched after the team lost its fifth game of the season in a defeat against Washington. Jayden Maiava, a sophomore transfer from UNLV, would take over the starting quarterback role. Maiava would help USC win two of its last three regular season games, as well as its matchup against Texas A&M in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27.

With Maiava appearing to be the leading candidate for the starting quarterback spot next season, USC will look to recreate a winning atmosphere for the program in its second season in the Big Ten. 

After losing the national championship game to Michigan last season, Washington was set to see a decline in 2024 as a result of many key pieces leaving in the offseason. Washington’s Offensive weapons such as Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze, and Ja’Lynn Polk all got drafted into the NFL, and head coach Kalen Deboer left to take on the head coaching job at Alabama.

The new-look Huskies had a lackluster year in their first season in the Big Ten as they went 4-5 against conference opponents. Though they did have experience against teams like USC and UCLA, which were both former PAC-12 opponents to Washington, the Huskies struggled against new teams from the Big Ten such as Iowa, Indiana and Penn State. With one year in the Big Ten under its belt, Washington will look to improve from its rebuilding state to return to the top-contender status it had just two seasons ago.

Much like USC, Oklahoma was a team that left its former conference in the Big 12 to join a higher-revenue and more competitive conference in the SEC. Like USC, the Sooners would end the regular season with a 6-6 record. Short-handed at quarterback after starter Jackson Arnold transferred to Auburn earlier in December, Oklahoma would fall to Navy in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl after a failed two-point conversion at the end of the game. Although second-string freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. had a solid start against the Midshipmen, throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns, his performance was not enough as Oklahoma would end its 2024 campaign at 6-7 and 13th in the SEC.

For the most part, Oklahoma struggled in its first season in the SEC, as its 2-6 conference record was only better than two other SEC teams in Kentucky and Mississippi State. Although Hawkins showed promise for the Sooners against Navy, top transfer portal signee John Mateer, who finished the season sixth in the league in passing touchdowns, will likely take over the starting spot in Norman. Mateer, along with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, should be the hopeful bright spots that Oklahoma looks for as it revamps its offense in 2025.

Like Oregon, Texas was a team that stayed atop the AP rankings throughout the 2024 season. After going 11-1 in the regular season, the Longhorns secured the fifth seed in the CFP and defeated 12-seed Clemson and four-seed Arizona State in the first two rounds of the playoff. Texas would fall to Ohio State 28-14 in the playoff semifinal game at the Cotton Bowl.

The Longhorns thrived in their first season in the SEC as they returned to their playoff form from 2023. Texas was second in the AP Poll for most of the second half of the season, however the team finished fifth in the CFP rankings mainly as a result of its Achilles’ heel, the Georgia Bulldogs, defeating the Longhorns in the SEC Championship Game. Georgia also won the regular season contest between the two teams.

There are a few key pieces to this Texas team that are still undecided heading into next season. Quarterback Quinn Ewers’ future with the program is still uncertain, as he could possibly enter the NFL Draft, enter the transfer portal, or stay another year with the Longhorns. Backup quarterback Arch Manning, who throughout the season has proven to be a reliable option under center, could take over the starting gig if Ewers were to leave. However, Manning could decide to enter the transfer portal in the event head coach Steve Sarkisian lands a job in the NFL. Only time will tell as to how this Texas team will look in 2025.

Overall, there was a relatively even distribution of success for the newly realigned programs in 2024. Teams like Arizona State and Oregon made big waves in their new conferences, while others like Washington and USC had some expected, but rather surprising regressions. Nonetheless, the first season since the mass conference realignment in 2024 provided a fresh look to Power Four play this past season.