25 non-conference games to watch for 2023

The "Urban Meyer Bowl" will open the season once again, this time in Salt Lake City. Last year the Utes — who were a sleeper to make a College Football Playoff run —b opened up the season with a loss at Florida. For their part, the Gators would then have an unbalanced season that ended with a losing record. Wisconsin transfer QB Graham Mertz takes over at Florida, while Utah brings back Cam Rising for a shot at a third straight Pac-12 title. Utah likes to play physical and Gators head coach Billy Napier wants to have his team playing the same way. 

Well, well, well. Colorado begins the Coach Prime era by traveling down to Ft. Worth to take on the national runners-up, TCU. Last year the Horned Frogs spanked the Buffaloes, but quarterback Chandler Morris was knocked out of the game and Max Duggan took over. The rest is history. Both teams are very different a year later as TCU lost Duggan and several others to the NFL after their title game run, while Colorado's roster is completely revamped after Deion Sanders' hiring. 

It is so much fun when the two Carolinas meet up in Charlotte for a season opener. Despite this not being a regular rivalry, these two programs have met up quite a few times over the past few seasons with the last three coming in Charlotte (including the 2021 Duke's Mayo Bowl). Both teams enter the season with big time quarterbacks facing off — North Carolina's Drake Maye could be one of the top picks in the 2024 NFL Draft while South Carolina's Spencer Rattler has been climbing back to the national forefront after an uneven run at Oklahoma. Both programs are trying to make a run at their respective conference crowns and a non-conference win over their neighbor would be a great way to start off the season. 

This game may be more about the nostalgia than the actual on-field product. Before conferences began expansion in the early 1990s — back when independent teams were at their heyday — Penn State and West Virginia would meet every season for 46 straight years until the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten and the Mountaineers would help form the Big East football conference. These two have agreed to a two-game series (they will meet in Morgantown next season), though Penn State has designs on a Big Ten championship while West Virginia is coming off consecutive losing seasons. 

Last year's battle between these two teams came down to an improbable ending in New Orleans. LSU made a valiant comeback to tie the game as time ran out, except the Tigers missed the extra point and lost to the Noles. These two match up in Orlando this year and both bring in emerging quarterbacks: Florida State's Jordan Travis and LSU's Jayden Daniels. These two programs, which had hit hard times recently, had bounce-back seasons in 2022 and both are looking at big goals in '23. The winner of this game will immediately have a key piece for their resume locked in.

This is a treat, with Texas making their first trip to Tuscaloosa since 1902 just one season before the Longhorns join the Tide in the SEC. Alabama won in Austin last season in a tight contest, but that was with Heisman winner Bryce Young running the Crimson Tide's offense. This will also be an interesting test for Steve Sarkisian, as Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning battle to run the Horns' offense. Remember that Ewers got hurt late in their meeting a year ago, and that may have turned the... tide.

These two were probably the most disappointing teams of 2022 and they played in an ugly game last year (the Aggies won, 17-9) that should have prepared us for the worst. Jimbo Fisher and his coaching staff is under some heat and really can't afford to lose this game in South Florida, while all the luster of Mario Cristobal's hiring at Miami came up dusty in his first season. Both teams need this win badly to stablize their programs and keep their head coaches' seats a bit cooler. With Texas set to join the SEC next season, A&M really wants to get back to their 2021 success. Meanwhile, Miami wants to keep up the momentum of the Cristobal hiring by actually having the team look like they're on the right track. 

These two met two years ago in Orlando as a dream matchup of two of the most successful Group of 5 programs of the 21st century. Neither team has lived up to that standard of late, but UCF enters this game as a newly minted Power 5 program (the Knights are entering their first season as members of the Big 12). I'm a sucker for cross-geographical matchups and seeing UCF leaving sunny Florida for the Smurf Turf of Boise should be one of the fun scenes of the 2023 season. 

For those who love physical football, feast your eyes on Waco, Texas on Sept. 9th. Both teams employ physical running styles and bruising defenses. The Utes have won the last two Pac-12 titles while Baylor followed up a nice 12-2 season in 2021 with a dud last year (6-7). These two programs have never met before and should be fun — this is a rare non-conference Power 5 opponent for Baylor while this will be Utah's second one of the season.

Under normal circumstances, putting teams that went 4-8 and 1-11 last season on a list of great games to watch this year seems foolish. But these are far from normal circumstances. For one, this is a rekindling of a once-classic rivalry. Nebraska and Colorado were long-time rivals in the old Big 8 and Big 12 before each left for the Big Ten and Pac-12, respectively. Second, both flailing programs made huge head-coaching hires in the offseason. Nebraska has tasked Matt Rhule to resurrect a once-proud Huskers program that has become a national afterthought. And you might have heard that Deion Sanders is now in charge in Colorado. Two proud and successful coaches facing off early in the season.

The last time we saw Tulane, they pulled off a shocking victory over USC in the Cotton Bowl. Now the Green Wave welcome Ole Miss to their home stadium (not a "neutral site" game at the Superdome) in what should be one of the biggest games in program history. The fact that it is Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss Rebels puts more of a sizzle to the contest. If you love rooting for the little guy (and kudos to Ole Miss for traveling to Tulane), then make this a must-watch game on a day filled with great games.  

Another great quarterback showdown as Oregon's Bo Nix goes up against Texas Tech's Tyler Shough. Nix was in the Heisman conversation for much of 2022 as he had the Ducks in the playoff chase down the stretch. Fifth-year player Shough (who began his career at Oregon) had great moments for the Red Raiders last year but just couldn't stay healthy. This should be a shootout as the Ducks become one of the rare Power 5 schools to make a non-conference trip to Lubbock. 

Last year, Washington State went into Madison as a 17-point underdog and beat Wisconsin, 17-14. Since then, Wisconsin has hired former Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell to the same job in hopes of resurrecting a Badgers program that has grown stagnant. The Badgers have moved on from the disappointing Graham Mertz era and brought in SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai to uplift the passing game. Fickell is known for his strong defenses, so look for the Badgers to be a much more physical team.

Washington State is starting to play better under Jake Dickert, with QB Cameron Ward in his second FBS season likely to make a huge leap in 2023. Ward's efficiency got better as the season went along and his turnovers (he threw two picks in the Wisconsin game) got much better (7 INTs in his first five games, 2 INTs in his final eight games). 

Washington seems to be a sleeper team nationally this season — QB Michael Penix Jr. led the nation in passing yards per game last season and the Huskies return much of their key skill players. Michigan State fell flat last season, including a loss to Washington in Seattle. The Pac-12 continues to have to prove themselves as a Power 5 league and a win on Big Ten soil would certainly help the cause. 

Last year the Cougars and Razorbacks met in Provo with Arkansas winning, 52-35. Quarterback KJ Jefferson threw for 367 yards and 5 TDs in the win while junior running back Raheim Sanders rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns. BYU is breaking in a new quarterback (former USC and West Virginia signal caller Kedon Slovis) and a new running back (UNLV transfer Aidan Roberts) while becoming a Power 5 school with their move to the Big 12. If we can get the same sparks flying like we did in last year's game, this should be a fun one.

We got a real treat last season when the 2022 season opened with the rebirth of the Backyard Brawl. Pitt won the exciting battle, 38-31, but college football fans won with the return of one of the sport's top rivalries. West Virginia may be down a bit, but that won't matter when the Mountaineers welcome their bitter rivals to Morgantown for the first time since 2011.

In the backdrop of where college athletics is in 2023, September 16th will be quite an interesting day for the ACC and Big Ten. The two conferences will face off in six games this weekend (Virginia-Maryland, Louisville-Indiana, Northwestern-Duke, Virginia Tech-Rutgers, Syracuse-Purdue) with Minnesota-North Carolina being the most interesting. The Tar Heels boast one of the nation's top offenses while the Golden Gophers are built around defense and a strong running attack. Can the Gophers keep the ball out of Drake Maye's hands? And can a suspect Heels defense be able to get off the field? We will find out during the first meeting between these schools. 

In yet another rematch from last year, Ohio State heads up to South Bend to try to replicate their comeback win over the Irish. Both teams are breaking in new quarterbacks, but Notre Dame will be running out with former Wake Forest standout Sam Hartman while Ohio State will be deciding between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown. Of course, whomever gets the nod will have the pleasure of dropping passes in Marvin Harrison Jr.'s hands. What makes this game interesting is that it will be Notre Dame's fifth game of the season while this will be Ohio State's first real test of the year.

UTSA is bringing back most of an offense, led by quarterback Frank Harris, who will be entering his seventh year of college football. The Roadrunners head to Tennessee, who will be breaking in a new quarterback in Joe Milton and replacing receiver Jalin Hyatt. Josh Heupel is building a program that is stockpiling talent and reloading — the key is raising the ceiling on their potential. This could be a blast of a game and another example of a high-end Group of 5 team playing a high-level Power 5 school. 

SMU-TCU is one of the better non-conference rivalries that flies under the radar. The battle for the Iron Skillet comes around once again on September 23rd as TCU head coach Sonny Dykes looks for his fourth straight win in this series. Dykes won the 2019 and 2021 games (the 2020 game was canceled due to the pandemic) as head coach of SMU and the 2022 game as head coach of TCU, which puts this rivalry on another level. In this year's edition, TCU is coming off an appearance in the national championship game while SMU may be the best team in the AAC. 

Non-conference games are rare come fall, so we are in the middle of a run of Notre Dame games on this list. Last season, USC pounced on Notre Dame in the regular-season finale that set up a chance for a College Football Playoff berth for the Trojans (they lost that chance with a defeat against Utah in the Pac-12 title game). This entry should be a lot of fun! Heisman winner Caleb Williams will go up against Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman in what should be a fantastic shootout in front of Touchdown Jesus. Who knows? This game could have national-title implications. 

It is a shame that Notre Dame isn't a full-time member of the ACC because these Notre Dame-Clemson battles have been so hyped over the last few seasons — even if they are blowouts. After the two teams battled to an epic finish in their regular-season matchup in 2020, Clemson blew out the Irish in the ACC championship game. Last year, Notre Dame spanked Clemson in South Bend and the Tigers are looking for some payback. Irish quarterback Sam Hartman knows Clemson well during his four-year stint with Wake Forest, and while he's never beaten the Tigers in four tries, he did throw six touchdowns in his matchup with them last season. 

Last year, South Carolina stunned the Tigers in Clemson, 31-30, in a wild affair that saw the Gamecocks erase a nine-point second half deficit. Spencer Rattler threw for 360 yards in the win. Clemson immediately moved on from DJ Uiagelelei (who was a dreadful 8 of 29 passing) after this game and began the Cade Klubnik era in earnest. The Gamecocks not only ended their seven-game losing streak to the Tigers but also ended their 40-game home winning streak. Clemson would love nothing more than to exact revenge on their in-state rivals

Last year the Seminoles ended their three game losing streak to the Gators in Tallahassee and enter 2023 with a lot of hope to be a national contender. Florida is having to replace QB Anthony Richardson, but Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz — while owning a different skill set — should have command of the Gators' offense by the time this Sunshine State showdown comes around. It is nice to see this game be important on the national scene again. 

Of course Army vs. Navy is one of the best rivalries in all of sports and a must-see for any college football fan. It has everything college football fans love: pageantry, guys who play for the love of the game, smash-mouth physicality, and one of the best atmospheres in all of sports. Add in the importance of the backdrop of the sacrifices our servicemen and -women make on a daily basis and this game can never disappoint. This edition will play in Foxborough, Massachusetts for the first time ever.