Hey All,
Training camps have begun to open for the guys who play on Sundays and media days have been held for the college conferences. That means it's time to start looking at the schedules of the four power conferences in the undergraduate game. This week let's take a look at the slates of the Big Ten and SEC. We still miss you, Tom Kelly.
Big Ten Conference
This coast-to-coast league has 18 schools. The members are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Ohio State, Oregon, Rutgers, USC, UCLA, Washington, and Wisconsin. Top two teams at season end will play for the league title at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on 12/6.
Big Ten Top Out of Conference Games
A disclaimer here first. The USC-ND, Iowa-Iowa State, Washington-Washington State and Oregon- Oregon State games aren't on this list because the significance of these annually played rivalry games have been well known for a very long time. Also, outside of the top two games listed here, it's not a strong slate of OOC games.
8/30- Texas at Ohio State: This rematch of semi-finalists from last season has the Longhorns visiting Columbus for the first time since this 2005. Of the four times these schools have met, only two have been contested on campus with the visitor wining both times. Yes, it is a huge game, but will a close loss do serious damage to either team's post season hopes? Either school here has ample opportunity to erase a close loss in the minds of the playoff committee with a real shot to win their league title. However, a blowout loss will stick in everyone's mind for a long time.
9/6- Michigan at Oklahoma: This is one is very intriguing as each team needs a big win here. UM heralded Freshman QB Bryce Underwood will get a baptism by fire with staring his first game ever as a Wolverine on the road in the hostile environment of Norman. Even though the Maize and Blue return seven started on both sides of the ball, having eight players drafted off last year's squad will hurt a bit. For the Sooners, there would be nothing better to start the year than by grabbing a big win to make everyone forget about last year's 6-7 record. The pundits in the national previews rags look for OU to have a bounce back year and even make the playoff. The loser of this game is not in the same boat as the Texas-TheeeOSU loser. Not much slack will be given to the team that loses here and they will face a huge uphill battle just to get back in the playoff picture for 2025.
Fun Facts: Oklahoma and Michigan have met only one other time on the gridiron. That was in the 1976 Orange Bowl where the Barry Switzer's Sooners held on for a 14-6 win over Bo Schembechler's Wolverines. The stat line for Oklahoma was classic for a team that ran the Wishbone. The Sooners ran the ball 65 times and passed it just five times en route to the hard fought victory.
Trivia Time: After Ohio State was upset by UCLA in the 1976 Rose Bowl, Oklahoma was voted in as the National Champs by the Associated Press. Who was the AP #2 team for 1975?
9/13- Wisconsin at Alabama: Last year, Bama shook off a slow start at Camp-Randall Stadium and ran away from the Badgers for a 42-10 win. This year the game is in Tuscaloosa and features two HCs on the hot seat. UW HC Luke Fickell has not had a great time of it in Madison. He came to the land of cheese as one of the hottest names in coaching circles and seemed destined to be great at whichever team he chose to coach next. In his first two years the Badgers are just 13-12 overall and went 5-7 last year. A win at Bama would wonders for both Fickell and the program as a whole. On the other side of things, Bama'a Kalen DeBoer is on a hot seat after his first year as the HC. 2024's record of 9-4 was a bad year for the Crimson Tide. DeBoer is facing the fact the he's not Nick Saban and that because of Saban, near perfection is now expected every year in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer may wish he stayed at Washington by season's end.
Big Ten Intriguing Out Of Conference Games
8/28: Nebraska v. Cincinnati- Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO: This is the make or break year for Matt Rhule. His teams take dramatic leaps forward in his third year at a program. Nerbraska has the chance to set to the tone for a big year. Offensively, the Huskers return 10 starters and should be able to move the ball well now that much heralded QB Dylan Raiola survived a freshman year that seemed to have way more downs than ups. On the other side of the ball, Nebraska replaces their entire DL and most of the LBs. If the new starters don't start strong the Huskers may be having to put up 40 points a game to survive. Like Rhule, Cincy HC Scott Satterfield is in his third year at the helm. However, his Bearcats lost their final five games of the year after they upset Arizona State. A win has been wanted by the returning starters from this team since 10/19 of last year. The Huskers should pull this win out at the stadium where Taylor Swift has been known to hangout.
8/30- Utah at UCLA: Last year, Utah was the darling of the Big XII Media Days. HC Kyle Whititngham's charges were supposed to walk right in and run away with the league title in year one after their departure from the Pac 12. Ummmmmmm, that didn't happen. In fact, the Utes limped through the 2024 campaign finishing in 13th place finish in the conference. A big Utah win in front of 1/2 the state of Utah plus a smattering of bRuins fans would go along way towards putting last season behind them. For UCLA, anything has to be better than in year one when their new HC DeShaun Foster froze on the mic at Big Ten media en route to leading his team to a 5-7 finish. Foster has picked up a few good recruits plus the huge transfer of QB Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee. Last two times these teams met, the bRuins lost by 10 and 7 points with a good deal less talent. I'm looking for this one to turnout to be a pretty good game.
Fun Fact: Utah's QB of the last 20 years, Cam Rising has finally stopped playing college football.
8/30- Northwestern at Tulane: The Green Wave owns a 3-1 series advantage over the Wildcats but the schools haven't met on the gridiron since 1956. For Northwestern this game is a measuring stick for how far they've come in year three under HC David Braun. This team is still missing a decent amount of talent on offense with question marks at the RB, WR and RT spots. A win here is a must of the Purple&White to keep hope strong for a bowl game this year. For Tulane, HC Joe Sumrall seems to have taken over from where Willie Fritz left off and the Green Wave should be a an AAC title contender again with a 10-win season possible. While they are still looking for which QB will lead the team, they have enough defense to keep winning while they figure that out.
9/6- Georgia Southern at USC: For the SC faithful this game is pretty important. Most want to see the Trojans wipeout former SC HC Clay Helton's squad. The intriguing part is can SC do it? The Trojans haven't just throttled a team in all phases in years and fans realty want to see this happen. Helton was allowed to run the program into a ditch before he was finally canned. For GSU, they have nothing to lose here other than the game, but they do get a big paycheck to go with the L.
9/6- Boston College at Michigan State: I have this game as an intriguing game just like last year. The followers of the Green and White want to see how far HC Jonathan Smith's team has progressed under his tutelage coming into year two. Smith's teams are built around a strong defense, tough running and a wealth of hard to cover tight ends. The defense may turn out better than believed, but the TE group and RBs need to take a big leap forward if Sparty is to go bowling this year. A win here is critical for that to happen. BC really needs this win for a shot at bowl as well. They host both Clemson and Notre Dame along with road trips to Pitt and Louisville in ACC play. The Eagles need to stack wins just as desperately as the Spartans do. Look for a sloppy but close affair in East Lansing.
Fun Facts: After last year's 23-19 loss to Boston College, MSU is 1-5-1 all-time v. the kids from Chestnut Hill. Sparty's only win over BC came back in 1995 when they held BC scoreless in the final period of a 25-21 win at East Lansing.
9/13- Minnesota at California: These two teams meet for the first time since 2009 when Jeff Tedford's charges beat the Golden Gophers, 35-21 in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers come into the season off an 8-5 campaign with a win in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. Minnesota seems to have reached a ceiling under HC PJ. Fleck. Eight or nine wins max including a bowl game in a good year, six or seven wins in a bad year. The Gophers will be breaking in a new QB in redshirt frosh Drake Lindsay and have holes to fill in their defense, but they should have enough in the tank to beat Cal. The Golden Bears do not beat winning teams much. In a stat I'm quoting from the great Phil Steele, "Cal is 7-36 vs. teams with a winning record under Wilcox (0-5 LY)." Minnesota should be 2-0 by the time they arrive in Berkeley. Looks like the odds for a Gophers win are high.
Trivia Answer: Arizona State was voted #2 by the AP. The Sun Devils finished 12-0 under legendarily tough HC Frank Kush. They capped off their season with a 17-14 win over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.
Big Ten Top Conference Games
Note: Almost every league game is big nowadays. These games just stood out to me. I put all the traditional rivalry games aside for this list. I think well all know how important games like Ohio State-Michiagn, Wisconsin-Minnesota and USC-UCLA are every year.
9/20- Michigan at Nebraska: If they're going to make that leap into the top of the league that the Cornhuskers are hoping for, they have to beat the Wolverines. If UM loses at Oklahoma two weeks prior, this win would be a much needed bounce back for the Maize & Blue. If UM beats OU, then a win here makes them a true force to be reckoned with the rest of the year.
9/20- Illinois at Indiana: These two squads have a lot of talent returning, (35 combined total starters), a pair of loud mouth coaches that to love to give their opponents bulletin board material and a mutual need to announce their presence in the league race with authority. Look for a bare knuckle brawl here with a more than a few personal fouls.
9/27- USC at Illinois: After the above two schools square off the week before, USC will get either an angry, hurt Illini team looking to avenge a loss or a squad brimming with confidence after a huge road win. Either way, the Trojans need to shine from the opening snap in this one or it could be another so-so year for the Cardinal & Gold.
9/27- Oregon at Penn State: Oregon faded in the playoff and was widely forgotten outside of Phil Knight U. However they are the defending Big Ten Champs and without Ohio State or Michigan on their schedule, a stumble in Happy Valley could get the Ducks looked down upon by the CFP Committee.
Fun Fact: Oregon and Penn State have only faced each other 5 times ever. All but one of the games have been played at neutral sites with Penn State hosting the only game played at a home field. The Lions lost that game to Oregon in 1964, 22-14.
11/1- Penn State at Ohio State: The Fighting Paternos have lost eight straight and 14 of the last 16 games in this series. Yes, this game is huge for both squads, but if Penn State wants to make that big stride towards the Big Ten crown and a National Championship, they have to win this game. The Nittany Lions don't face Michigan this year either. This is their biggest game of the regular season.
Bonus Game: 10/18- Purdue at Northwestern: Nobody wants to be 18th in the Big Ten. Loser of this looks to be on that path.
Big Ten Scheduling Notes
...Weak sauce; Penn State's non-conference slate is the weakest in the league. The Fighting Paternos host Nevada, Florida International and cross state FCS foe Villanova to start the year.
...Nearly as weak; Indiana's non-conference slate is a three game run with Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and then FCS foe Indiana State
...Well rested opponents; Washington faces five teams coming off a bye this year.
...From both sides now; Purdue gets the feel both sides of the USC-ND rivalry when they host USC on 9/13 then go to ND on 9/20.
...A Golden Zero; Minnesota won't face a single team coming off a bye this year.
...49 years; The last time USC played Purdue and Iowa in the same season was 1976. The Trojans beat Purdue in West Lafayette, 31-13 then came home the next week to smash Iowa, 55-0 in John Robinson's first year as HC of the Trojans. SC heads to Purdue on 9/13 then host Iowa on 11/15.
...Comfortable at home; Penn State doesn't leave Happy Valley until 10/4 when they take on UCLA at the Rose Bowl. The Nittany Lions have four home games and bye before ever hitting the road.
...Everybody gets their letter game: USC host Missouri State on 8/30. This will be MoState's first ever FBS game.
...Everybody gets their letter game part II; Nebraska hosts FCS also ran Houston Christian on 9/13. The HCU Huskies went 5-7 last year, finishing fifth in the Southland Conference of the FCS.
...Not properly introduced; In an effort to further weaken their non-conference schedules, there will 14 new matchups between teams that have never met before in the Big Ten. Four of those involve FCS teams.
... September in Evanston; After their game 8/30 at Tulsa, Northwestern won't leave their cozy home again until 10/11 when they head to Penn State.
...Negating their weather advantage; Michigan State hosts Maryland on 11/29 at Ford Field in Detroit.
...All tricks no treats; Wiscosnin's October slate from 10/4 to 10/25 has the Badgers going to Michigan, then two weeks at home v. Iowa and TheeeOSU and finishing this nightmarish month at Oregon.
...A Pac 12 finish; Washington's last two games of the regular season are at UCLA on 11/15 and home for Oregon on 11/22.
...Crossroads of America double dip; Illinois will take road trips to Indiana on 9/20 and Purdue on 10/4.
...Just a rumor; There's no truth to the rumor that if Michigan wins at both Oklahoma and Nebraska this year that they will be named Big 8 Champions and be given an Orange Bowl berth.
Southeastern Conference
The SEC stands pat at 16 teams this year. The teams are Alabama, Arkansas Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. Top two teams at the end of the season play for the league title at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on 12/6.
SEC Top Out of Conference Games
Note: Texas at TheeeOSU and Michigan at OU can be found above in the Big Ten section. Also, the Florida- Florida State, Florida-Miami, Kentucky-Louisville and Clemson-South Carolina games don't make the list because the annual import of those games is well known.
8/29- Auburn at Baylor: It's the third year at the helm of the Tigers for Hugh Freeze. His record is 11-14 the past two years and the big news around The Plains before fall camp is that Auburn's 2026 recruiting class is in the toilet. It is currently ranked one of the worst among the power conferences. That prompted Tigers AD John Cohen to issue the first Tammy Wynette of the season and sing words of praise for Freeze in a recent article on AL.com. He golfs Auburn opens up 2025 on the banks of the Brazos to face a Baylor team that may be as good or better than the 2021 team that went 12-2. We take the Baylor hype with a grain of salt as last year Utah was picked to win the league and tanked. An Auburn loss here could all but end the tenure of Freeze with Orange and Blue.
8/30- Alabama at Florida State: Officially the Crimson Tide holds a 3-0-1 record against the Seminoles. That doesn't include a 21-14 win by the Garnet and Gold in 2007 that was vacated by the NCAA as punishment for players being caught in an "Academic Dishonesty" scandal that stretched over several teams at the school including football. Most notably, the scandal was used as the vehicle to send Bobby Bowden into retirement. This is game full of redemption expectations. Kalen DeBoer's first year at Bama ended at 9-4, which was deemed unacceptable to the Bama fan base spoiled by the greatness of the Saban era. A win here keeps the DeBoer haters at bay for at least three days, a loss turns the heat up on the seat of a really good coach fighting to win games with the lingering presence of St. Nicholas of Tuscaloosa over his shoulder 24/7. FSU and HC Mike Norvell would like everyone to forget about last year's 2-10 season and an upset of the Bama would do just that.
Fun Fact: Alabama has won 23 straight season openers.
8/30- LSU at Clemson: This battle of the blowhard HCs is pretty big. LSU needs to win an opening game. The Bayou Bengals haven't won a season opener since 2019 when they pasted Georgia Southern, 55-3 on the way to the national title under HC Ed Orgeron and QB Joe Burrow. Going to the other Death Valley in college football to get that win doesn't seem prudent for LSU. Clemson returns 17 starters and is the pick of most media members to win the ACC. Couple that with Brian Kelly's ability to choke an opener away and LSU could easily be 0-1 for a sixth straight year.
9/13- Texas A&M at Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish hold a 4-2-0 series edge with this being only the second game ever held in South Bend. First game at Notre Dame Stadium was a 24-10 Irish win back in 2000. ND ruined TAMU's season opener last year with a win a Kyle Field, can they beat the Aggies at home now? Coming off a deep playoff run and national title game loss, the word is that ND now has enough experience to win it all this year. However, 15 returning starters with a whole lot of Texas swagger and a HC in Mike Elko who knows what playing a game the house that Rockne built is like could put a kink in ND's title plans.
Fun Fact: There are only two independent teams left in college football. Notre Dame is one. Connecticut is the other.
SEC Intriguing Out of Conference Games
8/30- Tennessee v Syracuse: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA: The big story here is what will Volunteer football look like after QB Nico Iamaleava left for UCLA in a big hubbub after the Volunteers were smashed by eventual NC TheeeOSU, 42-17 in the CFP. The Vols replaced Iamaleava with QB Joey Aguilar. Aguilar was the starter at App State and had agreed to transfer to UCLA in December of last year before Iamaleava transferred to the bRuins. Aguilar then backed off his commitment to UCLA and signed with the Volunteers. So, Aguilar is under helluva lot of scrutiny. He's looked at as if he was traded for Iamaleava. A big Tennessee win over what will be a .500 at best 'Cuse squad will help keep the rabid Volunteer fans happy for at least a week.
9/6- Kansas at Missouri: The Border War returns. The football version of the rivalry between these two schools dates back to 1891 but hasn't been played since 2011 when the Tigers bolted for the SEC. Forget the records, forget the roster analysis and other football punditry. These two schools represent states that have had a long history of bad blood since the pre-Civil War days. After a good 13 years off, the first new game in this series will be a heated and fiercely fought one in Columbia.
9/27- Notre Dame at Arkansas: This is the first meeting between the two schools. Hogs HC Sam Pittman's hot seat is at boiling level in Fayetteville. An upset over the Irish just might save his job.
10/11- Washington State at Mississippi: For Wazzu this game is a paycheck and a void filled on an empty schedule after the Pac 12 collapsed. For Ole Miss this is the breather game before taking a brutal two road trips to Oklahoma and Georgia. Even with Ole Miss expected to be heavy favorites, Wazzu isn't The Citadel. This one could be a lot closer than expected. I say could be. Wazzu could also be the level of Cougar team that USC trounced 55-13 when Lane Kiffin was SC's OC back in 2005.
SEC Top Conference Games
Note: I used the same criteria here that I used with the Big Ten conference games.
9/20- Auburn at Oklahoma: Nether team will make a serious run at the SEC crown, but we could see the first firing of the year if Auburn gets embarrassed by the Sooners like they did last year.
Fun Fact: Oklahoma is 3-0 lifetime v Auburn. The first two wins were in the Sugar Bowl (1972, 2017).
9/27- Alabama at Georgia: Winner has an inside track to the league title tilt. Loser has to hope for the other to drop two games the rest of the way. That is rough.
10/18- Ole Miss at Georgia: The Rebels have a very favorable league schedule. Translation of the previous sentence is that Ole Miss won't play Bama or Texas. Ole Miss did beat the Bulldogs last year so a it is a winnable game that can propel HC Lane Kiffin's kids toward the SEC title game. The Bulldogs would love to have this win to take into their bye week before facing Florida on 11/1.
11/15- Texas at Georgia: This is a SEC title elimination game. If Texas lives up to their hype with Arch Manning playing under HC Steve "Cuttty Sark" Sarkisian and Georgia handles Bama early on in the year this will be a big big big game between the hedges.
11/22- Tennessee at Florida: If The Vols have things go their way this year, this is the last big hurdle before an SEC title tilt. It's also a needed win to exercise some ghosts. The Big Orange only have one win at Florida this century and that was way back in 2003.
SEC Scheduling Notes
...Not at AT&T; In taking Jimmy Buffett's advice to heart, for the third time since 2013 these two teams will not meet at the Death Star in Dallas. Texas A&M plays at Arkansas on 10/18.
...Over a month away; Texas hosts Sam Houston on 9/20, the Longhorns won't play at home again until 11/1 when they host Vanderbilt.
...Three; Georgia plays only three true road games this season. They do play two neutral site games v. Florida in Jacksonville and Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
...They've heard of each other; SEC members Alabama and Kentucky have played each other only 16 times since 1972.
...There was a war on; Oklahoma heads to Temple on 9/13. This is OU's first trip to Temple since 1942. That year, the Owls pulled off a 14-7 upset over the Sooners at old Temple Stadium.
Fun Fact: Temple only won two games in 1942. Their other win was over VMI.
...Weak Sauce SEC style; Outside of facing GaTech, Georgia's non-conference slate is very weak with Marshall, Austin Peay of the FCS and Charlotte taking up space on their schedule.
...Gone by the half; Fans that stay past halftime for Florida's home opener v. Long Island University should get an award from the school for just staying for the whole game. LIU is coming off a 4-8 season and a 4th place finish in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference of the FCS.
...It's a tossup; Who will score more points v. Ole Miss this year, Wazzu or The Citadel?
...Too much citrus; The Syracuse-Tennessee game on 8/30 might break a few TV sets with that much orange on display.
...49 years; Last time Baylor and Auburn met in 1976, the Bears won 15 -14 at Jordan-Hare. Baylor HC was the legendary Grant Teaff.
...Actually in Austin; Vanderbilt faces Texas for just the second time since 1928 when the Commodores take a trip to Austin. That trip to Austin is the first for Vandy since 1903.
Fun Fact: Vanderbilt holds an 8-4-1 series edge over Texas.
Until next time folks, remember that every game is really a big game. Like John Madden once said, "Somebody tell me when there's a little one. They're all big."
-The Commissioner
