Georgia

College football rankings: Georgia, Alabama, Michigan lead way-too-early top 25 ahead of 2024 season

Published

2 years ago

January 9, 2024

College football rankings: Georgia, Alabama, Michigan lead way-too-early top 25 ahead of 2024 season

The Bulldogs have still won 29 out of their last 30 games. If not for a stumble against Alabama, they would have been playing for a third straight national championship. With Carson Beck and most of a rock-solid defense returning, there’s no shame in winning three out of the last four nattys. 2

Nick Saban has stiff-armed retirement rumors as he turns 73 next Halloween. The defense will take some hits, and there’s a question whether Saban will go after a quarterback in the transfer portal, but expect the Crimson Tide to be a slam dunk for the expanded College Football Playoff. 3

Disclaimer: This ranking is based on what we know the day after the national title game. Jim Harbaugh is still the coach. He is poised to land the No. 15 recruiting class, per 247Sports. J.J. McCarthy has a decision to make, but with or without Coach Khaki, the Wolverines aren’t going to slide much. 4

Bo Nix is gone. So is underrated runner Bucky Irving. But Dan Lanning might have the best quarterback room in the country with Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore transferring in. The Ducks will be some folks’ favorite to win the Large 18 in their first year as part of the league. 5

What was Quinshon Judkins thinking by entering the portal? The warm embrace of Oxford, Mississippi, and the Lane Train would have made him a Heisman Trophy contender. Now? Well, good luck with NIL riches, kid. Kiffin has plenty of running back depth even after making Judkins a star. 6

One of the strongest quarterback rooms in the country is suddenly in transition. Upset that freshman Avery Johnson was being promoted at Kansas State, Will Howard transferred to Ohio State to replace Kyle McCord, who transferred out because …? Will the Buckeyes be better at the position in 2024? C.J. Stroud seems like a decade ago. 7

Quinn Ewers has decided to stay at Texas, and he might grow into a Heisman finalist next season. Arch Manning remains on the roster, too. The wide receiver room is being rebuilt, and Steve Sarkisian has plenty to build off following a transformative 2023 season. 8

Eli Drinkwitz lost defensive coordinator Blake Baker to his former employer, LSU. That’s significant but nothing Drink can’t overcome with two-thirds of the Triplets coming back — Luther Burden and Brady Cook. 9

Have you seen Notre Dame’s 2024 schedule? It is Charmin soft, which means the Fighting Irish should not have any problem winning nine games. To get into the playoff, Notre Dame better win 11 games as it does not have a conference affiliation to fall back on as an automatic qualifier. 10

Jedd Fisch for president — and any other public office you’d like to name. The third-year Wildcats coach established himself as a big-timer and Arizona as a playoff contender in 2024 by winning 10 games for only the second time since 1998. Noah Fifita should contend for the Heisman. 11

Quarterback Jackson Arnold was impressive in his bowl game debut. The Sooners should be OK after the loss of Gabriel. The defense improved significantly in Year 2 under Brent Venables. 12

The Grant Nussmeier era begins. Brian Kelly has made sure his QB will get plenty of support on the other side of the ball by blowing out the core of the defensive staff. By this metric, the sixth-best team in the SEC should be able to make the CFP. 13

Quarterback Cam Rising’s return marks his 27th year of eligibility — and it makes the Utes a playoff contender. Just kidding … about the eligibility part. Utah is definitely a contender with its typical physicality across both lines. 14

Nico Iamaleava, the floor is yours. The much-hyped, NIL-fueled QB will be more hyped after an impressive Citrus Bowl debut. He’ll operate behind an offensive line that returns mostly intact. There is depth at running back, too. 15

There are too many roster losses to project a top-10 finish even after an inspiring run in 2023. Michael Penix Jr. and WR Rome Odunze are gone. It will be fascinating to watch Mississippi State transfer — and Mike Leach prodigy — Will Rodgers take over. Cal WR Jeremiah Hunter also transfers in. 16

There have been six offensive coordinators in the last 10 years for James Franklin. The talented Andy Kotelniki is the latest. One issue? Kotelniki is a master in squeezing most out of dual-threat QBs; Drew Allar is not that. 17

Wildcat Nation can’t wait for Johnson’s first full season. The native of Maize, Kansas, is amaz-ing. His seven rushing touchdowns tied the K-State freshman record. In his starting debut against NC State in the bowl game, Johnson accounted for 249 yards and three total touchdowns. 18

You’re reading this right. Based on this ranking, the Mustangs are the ACC favorite. The defending AAC champions won 11 games for the first time since pre-death penalty days in 1982. Preston Stone returns at QB. Rhett Lashlee is just getting started. 19

Opt outs and injuries that impacted the Orange Bowl appearance gave us a glimpse of how much the Seminoles will lose in 2024. D.J. Uiagalelei is the biggest get, but going on his third school, DJU has a long way to go if he wishes to leave a lasting college legacy and get ready for the NFL. 20

Here’s how great college football is entering 2024. After winning nine games for the first time since 2007, the Jayhawks can legitimately contend for a playoff spot. Coach Lance Leipold gets back firestarter QB Jalon Daniels after an injury. The defense has made huge strides since Leipold’s first year in 2021. 21

The Tigers seems to be on their way back up after finishing 9-4, winning the last five games in a row. Will Shipley declared for the NFL Draft. Cade Klubnik made progress, but the Tigers are a borderline playoff team unless they win the ACC. 22

The Wolfpack are going to be interesting as hell. You might as well pencil in NC State for at least eight wins given Dave Doeren’s consistency. Grayson McCall comes over from Coastal Carolina to give the Pack a difference maker at QB. Kevin Concepcion could have a breakout season catching his passes. 23

The Cowboys will get a sniff at the Big 12 title again after losing to Texas in 2023. Heisman-worthy RB Ollie Gordon is back along with QB Alan Bowman. There’s a reason there are four Big 12 teams in this top 25. The league is going to be entertaining as hell in its new configuration. 24

New coach Mike Elko has plenty to work with in his first season. Connor Weigman should progress if he stays healthy. The offseason’s biggest get was offensive coordinator Collin Klein from Kansas State. Klein is a play calling wizard. 25

Let’s face it. The Cardinals’ defensive effort against Florida State in the ACC Championship Game kept the ‘Noles out of the CFP. In Year 2, Jeff Brohm has one of the top transfer classes. QB Tyler Shough (Texas Tech), WR Ja’Corey Brooks (Alabama) and RB Don Chaney (Miami) make the Cardinals darkhorse ACC contenders.

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Georgia

Georgia special election to replace MTG tests the power of Trump’s endorsement

Published

12 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Georgia special election to replace MTG tests the power of Trump’s endorsement

People cheer for President Trump en route to his speaking engagement at the Coosa Steel Corporation on Feb. 19 in Rome, Ga. Trump delivered remarks on the economy and affordability as the state started voting to replace the seat vacated by former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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ATLANTA — Voters in Northwest Georgia are choosing who should replace former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Voting closes in the district’s special election on Tuesday night.

The election will test the weight of President Trump’s endorsement of one of the candidates in a crowded race. Some voters say the president’s choice is not who they think would best support the conservative MAGA movement championed by both Trump and Greene.

Greene resigned at the beginning of this year, leaving Georgia’s 14th Congressional District without representation in Congress — and slimming the GOP’s majority in the House — following a bitter split with Trump.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., speaks during a press conference on the "Epstein Files Transparency Act" at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on November 18, 2025.

Greene rose to prominence over five years in office as a strong ally of Trump, bombastically attacking critics and pushing the MAGA movement’s “America First” policy. Yet the two had a very public clash after she pushed for the release of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Greene has also been sharply critical of Trump’s actions abroad, saying he has strayed from his promises to focus domestically.

With Trump now in the second year of his second term, other high-profile spats with key parts of his MAGA coalition have erupted over his administration’s handling of other issues, including sweeping tariffs, immigration policy and more. More recently, rifts have emerged over the war with Iran.

Some, like Greene, argue that though Trump helped create the “America First” worldview, he is not the sole arbiter of what it looks like.

Then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene puts on her red "Make America Great Again" baseball cap while addressing a campaign rally for then-candidate Donald Trump in March 2024 in Rome, Georgia.

Most of the GOP candidates in the special election have said they want to focus on Trump’s priorities and the concerns of their district, rather than become headlines themselves — an approach they say Greene embraced in her public disputes with Democrats and even with members of her own party.

“The difference between Marjorie and I is I will not use the press to become a celebrity,” Republican Star Black said during a candidate forum on Feb. 16. “I will use the press to actually show what I have done — the accomplishments,”

Trump has endorsed Clay Fuller, a district attorney in northwest Georgia for the state’s Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit. He emphasized his support last month during a visit to Rome, part of the state’s 14th District, where he held a rally to tout his administration’s economic policy.

Fuller called himself a “MAGA warrior” at the event.

Republican congressional candidate Clay Fuller (left) shakes hands with President Trump as he arrives on Air Force One at Russell Regional Airport on Feb. 19 in Rome, Ga.

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“I really like him,” said rally attendee Jill Fisher. “I think he’s a strong candidate, seems like a very nice family man with some great values. And I think he’ll add a lot to Congress.”

Highlighting Fuller’s military service as an Air Force veteran, an ad for his campaign says, ” ‘America First’ is the story of his life.”

Fuller faces several other GOP candidates in the primary, including former state Sen. Colton Moore. Moore won elections for the state Legislature in the district before and is considered one of the most right-leaning lawmakers at the state level.

“I’m 100% pro-Trump,” Moore declared in his campaign announcement video.

Protesters hold signs saying “COUNT ME IN” at a 2019 rally against the Trump administration’s push for a census citizenship question outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

He’s made a few headlines of his own. Last year, Moore was arrested for attempting to enter the House chambers in Atlanta to attend the State of the State address by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp. Moore argued he had a constitutional right to enter the chamber. Moore had been banned from entering the chambers by the state’s Republican House Speaker Jon Burns for disparaging comments he made about a late Georgia lawmaker at his portrait unveiling.

Moore’s record matters for some GOP voters even more than Trump’s endorsement. Less Dunaway, 14th district voter, says he’s a strong supporter of Trump, but thinks Moore will do a better job carrying out the president’s agenda than Trump’s own pick.

“He actually knows what he’s doing,” Dunaway said of Moore. “He was a state representative, a state senator. He was the first one to fight the people over the 2020 election in Georgia.”

Moore was one of a group of GOP state lawmakers who called on lawmakers to investigate or impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis after she charged Trump and others with trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, when Trump and his allies pushed baseless claims of widespread election fraud.

2020 general election ballots are loaded by the FBI onto trucks at the Fulton County election center on Wednesday in Union City, near Atlanta.

Fuller insists Trump made the right choice in supporting his bid.

“I think they’re looking for someone to carry President Trump’s banner, support his agenda, and fight for him on Capitol Hill,” Fuller told Georgia Public Broadcasting last month.

Still some Republicans who attended the February rally left undecided.

“I don’t just blindly follow what [Trump] says,” said Clay Cooper of Rome.

Still, Cooper said that Trump’s endorsement means he will give Fuller more thought. “[Fuller is] someone that [Trump] thinks aligns very much with his messaging, with his actions, so that certainly weighs in,” Cooper said.

Unlike a partisan primary, all the candidates — Republicans, Democrats and third party candidates — will be on the same ballot for voters in the special election. If no one gets over 50% of the vote, the two top vote-getters regardless of party will advance to a runoff on April 7.

Follow the results below as polls close on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

NPR’s Padmananda Rama contributed to this report.

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Georgia

Georgia teacher killed in prank gone wrong: 5 teens charged

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Georgia teacher killed in prank gone wrong: 5 teens charged

A tragic prank turns deadly in Gainesville, Georgia, as beloved teacher Jason Hughes is struck and killed outside his home. Five teenagers now face charges, including vehicular homicide. Students and the community mourn Hughes’ loss, leaving flowers and memories outside North Hall High School.

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Georgia

How should cities use AI? This Atlanta suburb may hold the answer.

Published

2 days ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

How should cities use AI? This Atlanta suburb may hold the answer.

Business

Mableton, one of Georgia’s youngest cities, is heralded as an example to follow for its artificial intelligence policies.

(Illustration: Marcie LaCerte for the AJC)

When you think about the American cities on the cutting edge of technology, which ones come to mind?

Maybe tech hubs like Austin, Texas; Boston; or San Jose, California? Maybe New York City or Los Angeles?

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Mableton Mayor Michael Owens embraces artificial intelligence, calling it an equalizer. (Courtesy)

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‘Allergic to file cabinets’

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Mableton is home to Six Flags Over Georgia. (Courtesy of Six Flags Over Georgia)

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Creating boundaries

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Mableton officials cut the ribbon for the city’s first permanent office in May 2025 (Courtesy)

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Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He’s been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people’s lives.

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