The 2015 college football season is just around the corner (Haha, just kidding, it’s still a full two months away.) and it’s time to take a look at the more intriguing match-ups of the non-conference slate.
Typically, Power 5 conference teams tend to schedule one team with a pulse and three cupcakes. But more and more we’re seeing some pretty interesting early season games as teams try to bulk up their schedule strength and prepare themselves for a playoff run.
I’ve scoured the fall slates of all the Big Ten teams (so you don’t have to) and picked the 10 games you won’t want to miss this season. I’m counting them down, Casey Kasem-style (RIP).
10. Michigan vs. Oregon State 9/12/15, 12 p.m.
It’s an early B1G-PAC battle at the Big House, but it will already be the second such inter-league clash for the Wolverines (more on this below). Jim Harbaugh will obviously be in his first season at the helm for Michigan. The Maize Sun & Blue is coming off a [REDACTED BY ANGRY WOLVERINE FANS] season that came to a halt with a 42-28 loss in Columbus. Oregon State went 5-7 (2-7 in the Pac-12). On second thought, maybe this game isn’t that intriguing.
Former Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen will be in his first year with the Beavers and gets to do something he didn’t last year because of the B1G’s lame schedule makers—play a regular season game against a halfway decent B1G East opponent. In his two seasons in Madison, Andersen went 0-2 against Ohio State and 0-1 against Penn State, and didn’t face either Michigan school.
9. Purdue vs. Virginia Tech 9/19/15, 3:30 p.m.
Hey, the Buckeyes aren’t the only team in the conference scheduling the Hokies these days. Darrell Hazell’s squad will gladly accept their beating in West Lafayette at the hands of Frank Beamer’s Virginia Tech team. (Or not, who the hell knows, with the way VT played last year?)
Purdue is coming off a 3-9 (1-9 in B1G) year and this is going to be the year Hazell either shows more significant improvement or starts sending out his resume mid-season. In fairness, the Boilers did have one more Big Ten win in 2014 than the zero they had in 2013. Virginia Tech was…well they weren’t good, exactly last year but they did manage a win in the Horseshoe which I’m pretty sure is just a fever dream I had. Let's move on.
8. Nebraska at Miami (FL) 9/19/15, 2:30 p.m.
New head coach Mike Riley, who turned Oregon State into a household name (in Corvallis, OR) takes over for Bo Pelini in Lincoln. But this game isn’t in Lincoln. Look for more Nebraska fans than Miami fans at Joe Robbie Pro Player Dolphin Land Shark Sun Life Stadium for this one. Can you believe Al Golden is entering his fifth year at Miami? Me neither, and probably neither can (both) Miami fans. With a whopping 28-22 record (16-16 in ACC play) through four seasons, it might be time for Golden to put his orange ties on eBay.
The following is a list of teams that finished ahead of the Canes in the ACC Coastal (or is it Atlantic?) Division last year: Georgia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, Pittsburgh. Miami tied for last in the division at 3-5 with Virginia Tech (sigh…) and Virginia. The Huskers, meanwhile, went 9-4 (5-3) and lost by just three against USC in the Holiday Bowl before sacking Pelini, whose time in Nebraska was undone by his inability to find a quarterback who would give the ball to his teammates instead of the other guys.
7. Northwestern vs. Stanford 9/5/15, 12 p.m.
NERD BOWL! Pat Fitzgerald will try to turn around the Wildcats’ fortunes against the Stanford Cardinal in this pivotal early season match-up between the B1G and PAC. Four straight midseason losses, capped by the dumbest of all against Michigan, did Northwestern in last season, with the ‘Cats finishing 5-7 (3-5). And, of course, the next week they beat Notre Dame, because, obviously.
Stanford went 8-5 (5-4) a season ago, finishing second to Oregon in the Pac-12 North, before waxing Maryland 45-21 in something called the Foster Farms Bowl, which only sounds made-up. David Shaw is entering his fifth season with the Cardinal (it still seems weird that they have a singular name, but hey, they had some trouble deciding). He is 42-12 overall and 28-8 in league play, but the last two years have seen his stock decline. Shaw needs a big year to build his stock back up and he’ll want an early win in Evanston.
6. Maryland at West Virginia 9/26/15, TBA
This one looks like an offensive shoot-em-up in Morgantown between the Big Ten and Big XII, but that’s mostly because neither team plays particularly competent defense. The Mountaineers were 68th in the nation in total defense in 2014, while Maryland was 97th.
Under Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia was 7-6 (5-4) a year ago. His team is exciting to watch, but not noticeably more effective at winning football games. The Mountaineers lost 45-37 to Texas A&M in the Liberty Bowl. Randy Edsall’s Maryland went 7-6 (4-4).
5. Michigan at Utah 9/3/15, 8:30 p.m.
The Wolverines visit Salt Lake City’s Rice-Eccles Stadium for their opening game. Harbaugh's group will be looking for revenge after last year’s 26-10 home loss to the Utes. Kyle Whittingham’s Utes went 9-4 (5-4) in 2014, winning the Las Vegas Bowl 45-10 over Colorado State.
The game could very well set the tone for Harbaugh’s first season in Ann Arbor, and possibly his entire career there.
4. Wisconsin vs. Alabama (in Arlington, TX) 9/5/15, 8 p.m.
The Badgers will look to make it two straight victories over SEC schools from Alabama, when they take on the Crimson Tide in Jerry World in the Cowboys Classic. Wisconsin beat Auburn 34-31 in overtime in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1. The Badgers also gave LSU all they could handle last season, falling 28-24 in the Texas Kickoff, after forgetting Melvin Gordon was on the team for almost the entire second half. Not to worry, Wisconsin fans, Ohio State feels your pain. Les Miles is a wizard who can somehow make the opposing coach forget he's got a stud running back and YES I'M STILL BITTER.
Wisconsin finished 11-3 (7-1) in 2014, inexplicably losing to Northwestern and LSU and of course being pummeled by the Buckeyes in the B1G title game (Reminder: 59-0! Yay!). Can new head coach Paul Chryst keep the Badgers on top of the B1G West? He should, given that ridiculous schedule. Alabama looks to break in a new quarterback with a team that finished 12-2 (7-1) and also got owned by Ohio State in the postseason.
3. Minnesota vs. TCU 9/3/15, 8 p.m.
The Gophers open their season against a very good and angry Horned Frogs squad that was left out of last year’s College Football Playoff (which you might have heard from, oh...everyone). TCU will try to make the B1G look bad and they may just do it with a trouncing of Jerry Kill’s Golden Gophers. However, Minnesota has been steadily improving under Kill and will be the home team, although the losses of David Cobb and Maxx Williams will hurt their chances.
Minnesota finished 8-5 (5-3) last year, falling hard to Missouri in the Citrus Bowl, 33-17. TCU went 12-1 (8-1), taking out their anger at being left out of the CFP on Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl, 42-3. Hey, play a conference championship game, next time.
2. Ohio State at Virginia Tech 9/7/15, 8 p.m.
The defending national champions get a shot at revenge for their only 2014 loss. The Buckeyes will have to do it the hard way, in a night game at Lane Stadium, but it’s within their grasp. We’ll see if Ed Warinner does things differently on offense than Tom Herman, and whether the Slobs can keep up with the shifting and changing ways that Bud Foster’s defense attacks them.
After the upset in Columbus, the Hokies dishonored Ohio State by being completely pedestrian for the remainder of 2014. They immediately shat on the Buckeyes by losing back-to-back home games against East Carolina and Georgia Tech. They also somehow lost to Miami by 24 at home and scored only three points in a double-OT loss at Wake Forest, 6-3 (yes, that’s an accurate score from a two-overtime game). Get dumped then, Virginia Tech.
1. Michigan State vs. Oregon 9/12/15, 8 p.m.
The marquee non-conference match-up pits Sparty against national runners-up Oregon, which should just about be getting Ezekiel Elliott’s cleat marks off their asses by the time this game is played. Things did not go well for Michigan State at Eugene a year ago, with Sparty falling 46-27 after leading 24-18 at the half. The Spartans scored 24 points in the second quarter and three points in the three other quarters combined.
Oregon has to replace Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, but should still be formidable, and probably will contend for one of the four CFP slots again in 2015. Mark Helfrich’s team went 13-2 (8-1) in 2014, losing only to Arizona and some plodding Midwestern team that never plays anybody and therefore shouldn't be considered for a playoff spot. Mark Dantonio’s Spartans went 11-2 (7-1) losing only to Oregon and Ohio State and beating Baylor in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Sparty is going to be tough again this year, y’all.
Other Games of Note:
The above are the best of the B1G’s non-conference schedule, but they aren’t the only interesting match-ups slated for this fall. Here are the best of the rest:
Iowa at Iowa State 9/12/15, 4:30 p.m. — Rivalry games are always fun, and this Cy-Hawk Trophy battle between the B1G and Big XII is always entertaining hard-fought.
Illinois at North Carolina 9/19/15, 12 p.m. — On the surface, this sounds kind of assy, but if you’re going to subject yourself to Illinois football during the pre-conference schedule, here’s your game. It’s a roadie in ACC country. Sure, it’s a slap fight, but at least it’s bound to be an entertaining one. Maybe. OK, it is probably assy.
Michigan State vs. Air Force 9/19/15, 12 p.m. — Sparty welcomes the Falcons to East Lansing and I always love when the Big Ten schools play the service academies. (No, not YOU, Navy. You go play someone else with your bewildering triple option, terrifying cut blocks and competent execution.)
Northwestern at Duke 9/19/15, 12:30 p.m. — The second of the Wildcats’ “Nerd Bowl” games is on the road. Duke football being good makes me question whether I’m in a waking dream or I've possibly slipped into another dimension, but this should be a fun game.
Penn State vs. Army 10/3/15, TBA — Again, a service academy game. Unfortunately, this is the best out-of-conference opponent Penn State plays this season after having a few entertaining non-conference opponents the last couple of years. The others? Temple, Buffalo and San Diego State. SDSU was barely a bowl team, losing to Navy “at home” in the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.
Rutgers at Army 11/21/15, 12 p.m. — Here’s an even more interesting game, as Rutgers goes to West Point in a battle of the Knights (Scarlet vs. Black). If you’re going to play the service academies, at least visit them and get some sense of their history and tradition.
