It's a new era of college football and the road to the national championship this season will be dramatically different.
The Southeastern Conference has added Texas and Oklahoma, and the Pac-12 lost 10 of its teams to the Big Ten, Big-12 and the ACC, which is also adding SMU.
USA Today Sports National Columnist Dan Wolken says, "The SEC was already the deepest and most difficult conference week-in and week-out. Now you have Texas and Oklahoma coming in. That's only going to make it tougher, especially for the mid-tier of teams. And then the other side of that is the Big Ten, which is significantly expanding, adding USC, UCLA, and then they add Oregon and Washington, who were both in the national championship chase last year."
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The Atlantic Coast Conference has grown to 17 teams and not only extends from Miami up to New York but all the way across the country.
With Cal and Stanford joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, should the ACC change its name to All Coast Conference?
"Well, this was a bit of a desperation move on both sides," Wolken said. "When the Pac-12 broke up last year, Stanford and Cal were two of the most prominent schools that just frankly didn't have a place to go."
That's because Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah jumped to the Big 12, leaving Oregon State and Washington State behind. Those schools are not technically in the Group of Five smaller conferences, but will play a partial schedule in the Mountain West.
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In addition to changes in the conference schedules, the postseason will look different. There will be a 12-team playoff with first-round games being played on campus sites before moving to traditional bowl game locations.
"I think it just makes for a better atmosphere, better fan experience, and really potentially better football," Wolken said. "Of all the schools that changed conferences, I really have an eye on USC. Is USC going to be built with the talent they have available to them in Southern California to be competitive with the Michigans, with the Ohio States, with the Penn States?"
The other major change fans will notice this year is the two-minute warning, just like in the NFL. While players will get an added break, it will also allow for more commercial time.
