20 non-conference games to watch in 2022

This may not resonate on the national scene, but the once-vibrant Backyard Brawl has been on hiatus for over a decade. The rivalry ended its 68-year-straight (and 104 overall meetings) run in 2012, becoming one of the unfortunate casualties of college football's realignment. It is back, and folks in southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia are thrilled to get after it again. This meeting begins a four-year agreement to continue the Brawl, which became official in April 2022. Interestingly enough, two former USC quarterbacks (Pitt's Kedon Slovis and WVU's JT Daniels) will face off in the battle of I-79. 

Two of the most legendary programs in college football history square off in a massive game to open the season. Notre Dame begins a tough schedule by traveling down to Columbus to face a Buckeyes team that may be the most talented in the nation. CJ Stroud may be the preseason Heisman favorite and gets to go against a Fighting Irish squad led by one of the stingiest defenses in the country. The loser of this game has a chance to claw their way back into a playoff berth, but it puts a ton of pressure to be perfect the rest of the way. A Notre Dame win would be monumental towards building a playoff resume. 

This game will be in Atlanta, so it's essentially a home game for the defending champion Bulldogs. Oregon's new head coach, Dan Lanning, was the defensive coordinator for that punishing Georgia Bulldogs defense last season and knows their personnel and schemes better than anyone. While the Ducks have aspirations to get back into the national title hunt, they aren't there quite yet. Or maybe they are? Still, a great cross-continental game that we love to see. 

One gripe about a Group of 5 team's playoff resume is that they haven't played anyone. Last season, the Bearcats went into Notre Dame and Indiana and beat two Power 5 programs (though Indiana has fallen down the Big Ten's pecking order). The Bearcats got pushed around by Alabama in the Cotton Bowl last year and will start their 2022 season down south against an SEC team again: Arkansas. The Razorbacks are a dangerous team this year behind quarterback K.J. Jefferson. Meanwhile, the Bearcats must replace quarterback Desmond Ridder and several stars from last year's stout defense. A win is a must for Arkansas, who will face the gauntlet of the SEC West; a Cincinnati win will be their signature resume point for another playoff run.

Call this the Urban Meyer Bowl. Meyer, of course, excelled at Utah and Florida, and both programs expect big things in 2022. Utah, the defending Pac-12 champion, played in the Rose Bowl last season. (They lost to another Urban Meyer program: Ohio State.) The Utes have designs on their first College Football Playoff berth this season. Florida is on the fringe of competing with Georgia for an SEC East title, but it will be interesting to see how new head coach Billy Napier has his bunch prepared for his first showing in Gainesville. 

While not technically a home game for LSU, the game is in New Orleans, so expect a strong Tiger turnout. Both programs are trying to build back up after a tough couple of seasons. This is Brian Kelly's first game as head coach of LSU, so expect the Bayou Bengals to get off on a good foot. The Seminoles are slowly building the program back up, but Mike Norvell is on a bit of a hot seat and needs to capture a meaningful win. 

The names alone make this a must-watch. I mean, Alabama travels to Austin to face the Texas Longhorns?!?! Sign me up. Of course, Alabama is, well, Alabama, and Texas is trying to get back to being relevant nationally. You also have former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian facing off against Nick Saban. It should be fun now that other former Saban assistants (Jimbo Fisher, Kirby Smart) ended his undefeated record over them last season. Soon, this will be just an SEC conference game, so enjoy the newness of it now. 

The Vols turned the ball over three times in their 41-34 loss to Pittsburgh in Knoxville last year. The game helped propel the Panthers into a would-be ACC champion and showed Tennessee they still had work to do. This game will come down to the quarterbacks. Pitt replaces Kenny Pickett with USC transfer Kedon Slovis and will try to win with a more physical style. The Vols go as QB Hendon Hooker goes this year. He threw for nearly 3,000 yards last year (and an amazing 30 TDs to just 3 INTs) while rushing for 616 yards. 

The recent golden era of Cyclones football failed to produce one win over state rival Iowa. Last year's matchup was the first time both teams were ranked — and both were ranked in the top 10. The Hawkeyes have won six straight in the series, and Matt Campbell's Iowa State is now in the post-Brock Purdy/Breece Hall era. Iowa is sort of in the same boat, but Kirk Ferentz's program has been consistently solid for two decades. Campbell is looking for the same thing in Ames. 

Texas A&M has one of the toughest schedules in the nation, beginning with an early non-conference tilt against a program that has gone all-in on changing the culture (or bringing back the culture of the good ol' days) to be a winner again. This will be Miami's first true test of the season to see what head coach Mario Cristobal has in his first season. The Canes were 7-5 last season but lost all three of their ACC games by three or fewer points. Texas A&M nearly nabbed a playoff spot in 2020, beat Alabama in 2021, and now welcomes the top recruiting classes in 2022. It should be a nice scene at Kyle Field. 

This once-great rivalry was renewed last season, with Oklahoma barely wiping away Nebraska in Norman. As we head back to Lincoln, there's a lot to unpack. Nebraska went 3-9 last year but was in every single game. The Cornhuskers never lost by double digits. Oklahoma unexpectedly had to replace their head coach, Lincoln Riley, with Brent Venables,  a longtime Clemson assistant who finally decided to take a head job. Meanwhile, Nebraska's Scott Frost has a ton of fire on his seat, and a win over their old rivals would be a huge lift for his program. I mean, it's Sooners and Huskers!

If the SEC and Big Ten are going to run this sport, wouldn't it be nice to see more regular season games between the conferences? We get one here as the Nittany Lions head south to finish the home-and-home series with the Auburn Tigers. A year ago in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions held off the Tigers 28-20 and looked like a player in the playoff race. Then, they lost six of their last eight games and crashed to a 7-6 record. Auburn had started the season 6-2 before losing its final five games of the season. Both teams are looking to rebound while playing in two of the most competitive divisions in college football. Auburn has gone through a lot of changes, and head coach Bryan Harsin has some heat on him. James Franklin welcomes back quarterback Sean Clifford for his super senior season and has all his favorite targets back, besides Jahan Dotson.

Cap off a great day of college football with a game that may not initially grab your attention but one you'll want to watch. North Dakota State, one of the top FCS programs over the last couple of decades, travels down to Arizona to face an FBS program that finished 1-11 last year. The last time the Bison played a Power 5 opponent was when they beat Iowa in 2016, so defending FCS champion North Dakota State isn't scared to play in this kind of atmosphere. The Arizona Sun Devils know this has a chance to make them a punchline, but kudos to Jedd Fisch for scheduling this game while his program is rebuilding. 

While not a national rivalry, the TCU-SMU series has (almost) always found a way to happen despite the two schools bouncing around conferences over the years. After TCU won 17 of 19 meetings at the turn of the century, the Mustangs are currently on a two-game winning streak, and both wins came at TCU. This year, TCU's new coach is the guy who beat him those two times. Sonny Dykes left SMU to take over down the road at TCU, so expect an interesting reception for his return. His former QB, Oklahoma transfer Tanner Mordecai, threw for over 3,600 yards and 39 TDs for the Mustangs last season, and his favorite target, Rashee Rice, is back with him. His new one, Max Duggan, expects to see the Sonny Dykes influence on his game. The battle of Dallas-Ft. Worth should be a good one. 

Notre Dame vs. BYU in Las Vegas. How cool is that to say? Yeah, Notre Dame and BYU are playing in Sin City for what could be a huge game for both programs and their playoff chances. The two independent heavyweights will be battle-tested heading into this one, with the loser likely out of any playoff talk. 

Neither team may be in the College Football Playoff race by the time this game comes around. Arkansas will be coming off a stretch where they played Texas A&M, Alabama, and Mississippi State before they head to Provo (BYU would have played Notre Dame the prior week). Still, this should be a blast to watch. Quarterbacks K.J. Jefferson and Jaren Hall are two of the best under-the-radar QBs. Seeing a good SEC team go on the road to play a top 20 team in October is fun for everybody. 

In 2020, Clemson and Notre Dame played two games that had a huge impact on the College Football Playoff. The Tigers and Irish each fell back a bit last season but looking to turn the corner and get back in the playoff mix. If Clemson takes care of things before this game (most notably taking care of NC State on Oct. 1), a win in South Bend could place the Tigers in the driver's seat for one of the four playoff berths. Notre Dame could have wins over Ohio State and Clemson by the end of the night and have a firm grasp on a playoff spot. Even if you forget the playoff implications, this should be a good old-fashioned great game between two of the better defensive units in the country. 

There is a scenario in which BYU and Boise State are undefeated heading into their matchup on Nov. 5. For BYU, that means beating Baylor, Oregon, Notre Dame, and Arkansas. Boise State would have to beat Oregon State, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Air Force. A win over the Cougars would be a huge lift to the Broncos' resume. At worst, this game will be between two of the West's best non-Power 5 programs, with quarterbacks Hank Bachmeier and Jalen Hall lighting up the Idaho sky above the blue turf.

The Gators-Seminoles game has lost some flavor over the last several years, but there's hope that a revival begins now. Florida welcomes former Louisiana coach Billy Napier to run the program, while FSU is trying to get the Mike Norvell era off the ground. Another tough season and this could be Norvell's final game as Noles' head coach. Napier, meanwhile, is all about quality control and building an infrastructure to be successful now and in the long term. So, what does that mean for what happens on the field after Thanksgiving? Well, by the time we get to this game, Florida should be a more finely tuned unit that limits mistakes and can make the most of quarterback Anthony Richardson's skill set. Florida State has been building towards this season as the turning point of Norvell's rebuild. He has his quarterback (Jordan Travis) and a stout offensive line that has been retooled. The calling card will be on defense, dramatically improving over the second half of 2021. The point is, we should get both teams at their best, and hopefully, the great rivalry will be reborn. 

Lincoln Riley, no stranger to major college football rivalries, gets his first look at the Notre Dame-USC rivalry. New Irish head coach Marcus Freeman got his first glimpse as their defensive coordinator last year and now takes his squad into Los Angeles for hopefully a re-energized tussle. It will be interesting to see how far along Riley's offense will be against Freeman's hard-nosed defense.