Big changes are on the horizon as the 2023-24 college football season gets underway

Sure, college football has been through its realignments and revamps before. We’ve gone from champions picked by writers to a playoff, and unpaid amateur status to the NIL era.

But for many, 2023 will be the end of FBS football as we know it.

Super-conferences are melding into mega-conferences, forcing historic rivalries to fall off the national conscious until there’s enough interest — and money — for a revival.

Here is what you need to know ahead of this college football season, the last of its kind:

PAC it up?

Across all sports, the 108-year-old Pac-12 has produced more champions than any conference. This likely is its final chance to add to the total.

USC and UCLA’s defection to the Big Ten next season set the groundwork for the Pac-12’s demise. And after Colorado said this summer it would rejoin the Big 12, three others followed suit. Oregon and Washington boarded the Big Ten lifeboat, leaving only four schools in the conference for 2024 — Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State — with no additions in sight.

A poor landscape for television rights ultimately doomed the Pac-12, but the conference’s last hurrah has a good chance to produce a worthy show.

Five teams are ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, led by No. 6 USC, which opens its season Saturday vs. San Jose State. Lincoln Riley returns for his second season as head coach of Trojans, whose lackluster defense remains their biggest threat to success. Riley still has quarterback Caleb Williams, a Heisman Trophy winner and top NFL prospect. USC has its eyes set on a playoff spot after falling to Utah in last year’s Pac-12 title game.

“We’ve got a lot to go get this year,” Williams said last week. “Everyone has the same goal and mindset this year. A whatever-it-takes kind of mindset to get all of what we want.”

Deion Sanders’ arrival in Boulder, along with his transfer-portal haul, has made Colorado a wild card. Still, expect the Buffs to be chasing the likes of No. 14 Utah, No. 10 Washington, No. 15 Oregon and No. 18 Oregon State — the jilted Beavers being a more likely sleeper thanks to Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei at quarterback.

Before the curtain drops, get one last glimpse in November at the 123-year-old Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State, as well as the 129-year-old rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State, both of which may be lost along with the Conference of Champions.

The B1G show

The Big Ten has slowly expanded its borders since adding Penn State in 1993, but has remained somewhat regional through several expansions. That changes next year with its Pac-12 turncoats adding Los Angeles, Seattle and Eugene, Oregon to the map. But for one last year, the Big Ten will be a two-time zone conference, with its traditional powers expected to reign once more.

Two-time defending champion Michigan is a favorite to repeat after an unbeaten regular-season led to a CFP semifinal loss. The No. 2 Wolverines return 13 starters, led by All-American running back Blake Corum, but won’t have coach Jim Harbaugh for their first three games (East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green) as the coach serves a self-imposed suspension related to NCAA rules violations. 

“I will continue to do what I always do and what I always tell our players and my kids at home, 'Don’t get bitter, get better,’ ” Harbaugh said in a statement.

No. 3 Ohio State is not far behind after falling in its own semifinal. It returns 12 starters, including All-American receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. The Buckeyes have an early test on Sep. 23 at No. 13 Notre Dame before their Big Ten schedule kicks off. Their matchup against Michigan to close the season could potentially decide the East division once more.

No. 7 Penn State again has the best chance to complicate the East, but a late September cross-division meeting with No. 25 Iowa could be a challenge. The Nittany Lions will lean on skilled running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen while expected starting quarterback Drew Allar finds his groove, hopefully before facing Ohio State on Oct. 21.

Iowa and No. 19 Wisconsin offer the biggest challenges from the West, which hasn’t produced a Big Ten champion since 2012.

Big 12-4+2+4-2+4

The Big 12 is in the midst of a real-life Ship of Theseus paradox — will it still be the same conference once so many original members have departed?

Not everyone is leaving, but the big fish are on their way out with 14-time champion Oklahoma and three-time champion Texas joining the SEC in 2024. Of the 12 founding programs in 1996, only seven will remain (including returning Colorado).

Reinforcements are here — UCF, BYU, Cincinnati and Houston — to create a one-off season with 14 teams and some in-conferences matchups we’ll never see again. Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado will complete the new-look Big 12 in 2024.

For now, the outgoings will have their chance to sail into the sunset as champions.

The No. 11 Longhorns aim to prove that Texas is in fact “back” with 10 returning starters on offense, including quarterback Quinn Ewers. The team expects the scorn of the entire conference everywhere they go.

“We’re the University of Texas, we get it,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I think that they’ve kind of assumed this mentality of ‘Embrace the hate.’”

No. 20 Oklahoma is a bit of an unknown. Year One under Brent Venables was the Sooners’ first losing campaign since 1998, and it’s unclear if it was a blip or start of a trend. An upgraded defense will need to improve, and playmakers around quarterback Dillon Gabriel will need to emerge for OU to make it 15 titles.

Fresh off a semifinal upset of Michigan in its first CFP appearance, No. 17 TCU might take a step back with much of its offense departing, but Sonny Dykes’ Horned Frogs still will make some noise with its stout defense.

No. 16 Kansas State, the defending conference champs, and Texas Tech also will have their say in the Big 12 race.

The newcomers create some interesting new matchups, but the loss of Texas means the end of several in-state rivalries, including those with Baylor and Texas Tech, which date to 1901 and 1928, respectively. Oklahoma’s departure also has doomed Bedlam, making this year’s 118th meeting with Oklahoma State likely the last for now.

All quiet in the South?

With realignment dominating the rest of the nation, the SEC has remained fairly calm as it awaits its new arrivals. But the Southeast’s spotlight will deservedly return when the first ball kicks off.

The SEC boasts six teams in the AP Top 25, including three in the top five. No. 1 Georgia is No. 1 for a reason. It’s seeking its third straight national championship and owns a 17-game winning streak. The Bulldogs' last loss came in the 2021 SEC title game against its top competition this season, No. 4 Alabama. The teams won’t meet in the regular season, but an SEC title or CFP matchup seems inevitable.

Georgia sent plenty of talent to the NFL, but again is expected to reload its ranks with ease. Coach Kirby Smart, however, isn’t taking much for granted.

“I care about complacency,” Smart said last month. “If the focus is on that and the outcomes, I think the rest will take care of itself in terms of allowing our guys to focus on being the best they can be.”

Carson Beck is QB1 for Georgia after serving as Stetson Bennett’s backup. He’ll have some key weapons from last year’s squad, including running backs Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards, tight end Brock Bowers and receiver Ladd McConkey.

Alabama has its own challenge in replacing No. 1 draft pick Bryce Young at quarterback. Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Notre Dame-transfer Tyler Buchner are all vying for the job.

No. 5 LSU will be lurking in the West with Heisman contender Jayden Daniels at quarterback in Brian Kelly’s second season as coach.

Josh Heupel’s 12th-ranked Tennessee outfit could make noise in the East, but as it often is these days, the SEC is Georgia and Alabama’s to lose.

Coasting along

The ACC faces some long-term existential questions with Florida State openly questioning its future, plus the rumored additions of Cal and Stanford making it not so Atlantic anymore.

This season, however, is expected to stay close to script.

Dabo Swinney’s Clemson squad claimed the ACC title after an off year, making it seven in eight seasons. The Tigers are No. 9 in the nation to open the year.

No. 8 Florida State may be in its best position yet to dethrone them after 10 wins last year, but September showdowns with LSU and Clemson will define its season. An unbeaten start to the season will put FSU back in the national title picture for the first time since 2014.

And the rest . . .

Outside of the major conferences, No. 24 Tulane is the favorite for the Group of Five’s major bowl slot. The American champs upset USC in the Cotton Bowl last season. The Green Wave can impress the committee with a victory in their trip to No. 22 Ole Miss on Sep. 9.

Notre Dame may be a season or two away from the playoff picture under second-year coach Marcus Freeman. After opening against Navy with a 42-3 win on Saturday in Ireland, the Irish have three ranked opponents on the schedule, including that September visit from Ohio State, which could be rude awakening.

By Ryan Gerbosi

ryan.gerbosi@newsday.comRyanGerbosi

Ryan Gerbosi is an internet news manager for sports at Newsday.com. He also covers NYCFC and mixed martial arts and believes the designated hitter should be banned from baseball.