Tajh Boyd and Clemson will take on Georgia in an early season dandy next year. (Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE)
With most non-conference games already set for next season, it is never too early to look ahead to the 2013 season. After all, the 2012 season is over for 50 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, including undefeated Ohio State.
The calendar changes to 2013 in less than three weeks, and the bowls will be over shortly thereafter with the BCS title game between Notre Dame and Alabama on Jan. 7. Then comes national signing date in February, spring practice and summer workouts, all in anticipation of another college football season.
With that in mind, we rank the top 10 non-conference games scheduled to date. Note that these games do not include the traditional non-conference rivalries like Notre Dame-Michigan, Florida-Florida State, etc., because we are accustomed to those being good — most of the time, anyway — every year.
1. Georgia at Clemson, Aug. 31 – Georgia, coming off an impressive 2012 season, traveling to Clemson to face Heisman hopeful quarterback Tajh Boyd (barring him leaving early for the NFL draft) starts the 2013 season off right. If Georgia’s Aaron Murray returns for his senior season, the Boyd vs. Murray battle will be one of the best of the year.
2. LSU vs. TCU, Aug. 31, Arlington, Texas – In another opening week goodie, Louisiana State travels into neighboring Texas to face TCU in what should be a very good test for the Tigers. The Horned Frogs will return 17 starters in 2013. LSU’s Zach Mettenberger, who will be a senior, will begin his quest to be a 3,000-yard passer after throwing for almost 2,500 this season.
3. Oklahoma at Notre Dame, Sept. 28 – The return visit of the Sooners to Notre Dame gives Bob Stoops and his staff a chance for redemption after losing in Norman to the Fighting Irish this season. Quarterback Landry Jones will be gone for Oklahoma, so this could be a big opportunity for his understudy, Blake Bell.
4. Alabama vs. Virginia Tech, Atlanta, Aug. 31 – Another good matchup on the first weekend has AJ McCarron starting his Heisman quest. Crimson Tide fans are hoping Nick Saban will be on the sideline and not in the NFL. He may be tempted if Alabama wins its third BCS title in the last four years on Jan. 7. What else does he have to prove in Tuscaloosa? On the other hand, why leave?
5. UCLA at Nebraska, Sept. 14 – Another Heisman hopeful, UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley Jr., will try avoid a sophomore slump and beat the Cornhuskers in consecutive seasons, this time in Lincoln. Taylor Martinez will be a senior for Nebraska, providing another marquee matchup of quarterbacks.
6. Tennessee at Oregon, Sept. 14 – With this game in Eugene, it has a sizable victory by the Ducks written all over it, especially with Tennessee coach Butch Jones getting his feet wet with the Vols. Just the fact that the Volunteers have the guts to travel west to play a Pac-12 team – which most SEC teams do not – adds meaning to this game.
7. Mississippi at Texas, Sept. 14 – The Longhorns will aim for a national title bid with 20 starters returning, and Mississippi figures to be better in year two under up-and-coming coach Hugh Freeze. The Rebels went from 2-10 in 2011 to 6-6 this season under Freeze, with one of the losses coming at home to Texas.
8. Texas at BYU, Sept. 7 – A week before the Longhorns host Ole Miss, they must travel to Provo to face a BYU team that is always dangerous at home. BYU will bank its hopes on sophomore quarterback Taysom Hill, who was playing well before suffering a season-ending knee injury in early October.
9. Ohio State at California, Sept. 14 – The Golden Bears’ best game in a 3-9 season that cost coach Jeff Tedford his job was their near-upset of Ohio State in Columbus. Cal will enter the 2013 game confident playing at home with the memory of almost beating the Buckeyes this season before losing 35-28. New coach Sonny Dykes will also inject some life back into the program.
10. Utah State at USC, Sept. 21 – The Aggies are not pushovers. Seven points separate them from being 12-0 instead of 10-2 this season. They lost at Big Ten champ Wisconsin 16-14 and at BYU 6-3. They are big-game tested under another fast-rising coach Gary Andersen, an Urban Meyer protégé.
