The best non-conference games of the 2023 season

Today, we’re going to look at the best non-conference games of the 2023 college football season. And we’re just 25 weeks from the first real weekend of the season, by the way.

There are a handful of truly anticipated non-conference matchups, though there were better non-conference games last season.

Preference was given to non-conference games that don’t occur annually (i.e., Notre Dame-USC, Florida-Florida State, etc.). We already spotlighted the most egregiously bad non-conference matchups.

13. Oregon at Texas Tech

Date: September 9
The buzz: There are high expectations for Oregon because of the return of QB Bo Nix, who revitalized his career by transferring from Auburn to the Ducks after the 2021 season. Texas Tech could be a surprise in the Big 12 thanks to the return of QB Tyler Shough, who suffered through an injury-filled 2022 but was 5-0 as a starter. He began his career at Oregon, transferring after the 2020 season. This is the first time Texas Tech has hosted a Power 5 non-conference opponent since 2017, when Arizona State visited Lubbock. Heck, the Red Raiders have played just eight regular-season non-conference games against Power 5 opponents in the past 20 seasons.

12. Minnesota at North Carolina

Date: September 16
The buzz: This is one of five ACC-Big Ten matchups on September 16. This will be the first-ever meeting of the Golden Gophers and Tar Heels. Both are coming off nine-win seasons, but how they got to nine wins varied greatly. Minnesota was all about defense, UNC all about offense; the other sides of the ball for each need to improve this season. The Tar Heels will feature QB Drake Maye, who should be one of the preseason Heisman favorites. Minnesota needs to find a new lead back for its run-oriented offense.

11. UCF at Boise State

Date: September 9
The buzz: The teams met in 2021 in Orlando as Group of 5 teams in Gus Malzahn’s first game as Knights coach. This time, UCF will travel to Boise as a Power 5 team, and that should spice things up a bit. In the past five full seasons, Boise State is 2-5 vs. Power 5 teams. Boise State plays two Power 5 teams this season – both at home (the Broncos welcome in Washington the week before this game). UCF has a new offensive coordinator – Darin Hinshaw replaces GJ Kinne, who became coach at Texas State – and the Knights need a better passing offense if they’re to keep up in the Big 12.

10. Texas A&M at Miami

Date: September 9
The buzz: Both are coming off bad seasons – given the preseason expectations, A&M’s 2022 was worse – and new offensive coordinators for both are under pressure to change things. Both open against (presumably) overmatched Group of 5 teams – New Mexico for A&M, Miami (Ohio) for UM – so this will be an interesting and anticipated test for both teams. A&M slogged past the Hurricanes 17-9 last season in a game that featured just 495 total yards.

9. West Virginia at Penn State

Date: September 2
The buzz: One reason this is on here is that this will be the first meeting since 1992. The teams played annually from 1947-92. The “rivalry” was one-sided, for sure: Penn State leads 48-9-2. They also will meet in 2024, in Morgantown; this two-game set was announced in 2013. WVU has had back-to-back losing seasons and also had a losing record in 2019. In short, there is a ton of pressure on fifth-year coach Neal Brown to get things right. He needs to find a consistent quarterback. Penn State was 11-2 in 2022 and expectations are high for ’23. QB Drew Allar ascends to the starting job, and his performance will determine how the season goes. A spotty (or bad) game by Allar could be cause for alarm.

8. Florida at Utah

Date: August 31
The buzz: The Gators (6-7 in 2022) beat the Utes (10-4 in ’22) in Gainesville in the opening game of the 2022 season, which was the best win of Billy Napier’s first year. These Gators will have a new quarterback (much-maligned Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz), a rebuilt offensive line and a revamped receiving corps. Defensively, the hope is that an influx of young talent helps the unit get a lot stingier. Utah has won the past two Pac-12 titles, but returning starting QB Cameron Rising recently had ACL surgery. Utah returns four starting offensive linemen as well as eight defensive starters, and will be one of the favorites in the final iteration of this version of the Pac-12.

7. Utah at Baylor

Date: September 9
The buzz: Two teams that pride themselves on being physical square off in Baylor’s first regular-season non-conference game against a Power 5 foe since it played Duke in 2018. Indeed, this is just Baylor’s third regular-season non-conference contest against a Power 5 opponent in 14 seasons. Utah opens the week before at home against Florida, while Baylor will be coming in off a game against Texas State. Utah has won back-to-back Pac-12 titles; Baylor won the Big 12 title in 2021, then stumbled to a 6-7 mark last season.

6. North Carolina vs. South Carolina

Site: Charlotte
Date: September 2
The buzz: An interesting season-opener for teams that hope to make some noise in their division in their respective leagues (no, South Carolina is not winning the SEC East, but there is some thought it can finish second or at least third). There are a couple of interesting subplots with this one. The biggest is the quarterback matchup between the aforementioned Maye and the Gamecocks’ Spencer Rattler, who at one time was a presumptive Heisman favorite while at Oklahoma. Both teams are coming off surprisingly good seasons, though in different ways. UNC (9-5) played great early, then tailed off. The Gamecocks (8-5) struggled early, then played well, then struggled, then played well again. This will be the 60^th meeting, but just the sixth since 1991 and 10^th since 1983.

5. Washington at Michigan State

Date: September 16
The buzz: Washington isn’t getting enough attention for a team coming off an 11-win season – including a victory over the Spartans in Seattle – and with a quarterback who led the nation in passing yards per game in 2022 (Michael Penix, at 357.0 ypg). Washington also returns its top seven receivers, including two 1,000-yard guys. Michigan State was really good in 2021 (11-2), then really mediocre last season (5-7). The Spartans have to find a way to run the ball against good teams and play better defense against everybody. Washington’s trip to East Lansing figures to be its toughest road game until the Huskies travel to USC in early November.

4. Notre Dame at Clemson

Date: November 4
The buzz: The Irish hammered the Tigers last season in South Bend, and this is the return visit. It also is one of five games against ACC teams for the Irish as part of their scheduling deal with the league. This will be the fifth time Irish QB Sam Hartman – a Wake Forest transfer – faces Clemson. He is 0-4 against the Tigers, though this will be the first time he has faced Clemson while on a team with a good defense. Worth noting: He threw for 337 yards and six TDs against the Tigers last season in an epic showdown.

3. Ohio State at Notre Dame

Date: September 23
The buzz: Ohio State rallied past the Irish in the season-opener last season, but this will still be just the seventh meeting in history between these storied programs. Because Notre Dame opens in Week 0 against Navy, this will be the Irish’s fifth game (they play half their regular-season schedule by the end of September). While both teams have new starting quarterbacks, Hartman brings a ton of experience with him from Wake Forest. Meanwhile, this would be just the fourth career start for the Buckeyes’ Kyle McCord.

2. Florida State vs. LSU

Site: Orlando
Date: September 3
The buzz: This figures to be a match of preseason top-10 teams; at worst, it will be two teams in the top 15. Both won 10 games in 2022: LSU was 10-4, Florida State 10-3. The Seminoles beat the Tigers 24-23 in New Orleans to open the 2022 season. Both return quarterbacks coming off big seasons: LSU’s Jayden Daniels and FSU’s Jordan Travis. Both return defenders in line for big seasons: LSU LB Harold Perkins and FSU DE Jared Verse. And both also look to have hit it big in the transfer portal. In short, this is a big one and well-suited for a prime-time spot on Sunday night of Labor Day weekend.

1. Texas at Alabama

Date: September 9
The buzz: This will be the 11^th meeting between these schools – and Texas’ first trip to Tuscaloosa since 1902. The Tide won in Austin last season, and that was the first regular-season meeting between the teams since 1922. Texas opens with Rice and Alabama with Middle Tennessee, so this will be the first test for each. Quarterback looms large for both. With Bryce Young gone, who starts for the Tide? And while Quinn Ewers returns for the Longhorns, touted freshman Arch Manning is on campus and that means things already are interesting. Both teams have to replace some key pieces on defense, and neither first-game opponent figures to truly be able to test the new starters. That adds an extra layer to this one between teams that will be in the same conference next season.