College teams opened up training camp on campuses all around the nation last week. Camp will be long, hot and hard, but with less than a month until opening weekend, some great matchups are right around the corner. Here are the best non-conference games to look forward to all season, including some great matchups to kick off the season.
Week 1 (Sept. 1st):
Alabama vs. Michigan (Cowboy Stadium)
This monster matchup headlines the week 1 games. This game may be the best non-conference game of the entire season, on the biggest stage possible - Cowboy Stadium. Denard "Shoelace" Robinson and the Michigan spread will face off against a reloaded Alabama D. Whoever wins will be on the fast track to a BCS game.
Boise State at Michigan State (August 31st)
Boise's annual play somebody from a major conference to kick off the season game will be in Lansing, Michigan in front of a rowdy Friday night crowd. The Broncos have played exceptionally well in these season openers recently, knocking off Oregon and Georgia, but this year the Broncos will be without quarterback Kellen Moore.
Auburn vs. Clemson (Atlanta)
The Chick-Fil-A kickoff game has been known to produce some wild finishes and this year shouldn't be any different. High flying offenses dual it out in the battle of the Tigers.
NC State vs. Tennessee (Atlanta)
The undercard of the Chick-Fil-A kickoff pits ACC vs. SEC to warmup the Georgia Dome before the big Auburn-Clemson matchup. If the Vols lose, Derek Dooley will feel some major heat in his seat.
Navy vs. Notre Dame (Dublin, Ireland)
Only Notre Dame can get away with scheduling a game overseas.
Washington State at BYU
New WASU coach Mike Leach shows off his pass happy O for the first time.
Southern Miss at Nebraska
Southern Miss will be thinking upset going into the Sea of Red. The Golden Eagles were Conference USA champions last year, but are replacing head coach Larry Fedora who is taking over in Chapel Hill.
SMU at Baylor
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SMU's run and gun goes up against the RGIII-less Baylor Bears in a battle for Texas.
Arkansas State at Oregon
Points anyone? Oregon usually lights up the scoreboard to a tune of 70-something in their season openers. Arkansas State won't be scared to run with them. Guz Malzahn, the former Auburn offensive coordinator, is their new head coach.
Ohio at Penn State
Penn State's first game since the mess that has been this off-season. Ohio comes in with MAC championship hopes and a stellar QB in Tyler Tettleton.
Week 2 (Sept. 8th):
West Virginia at Florida State
Well, this would have been a sweet game, but it's not going to happen. West Virginia couldn't get in scheduled because of conflicts dealing with their move to the Big-12.
Washington vs. LSU
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Washington's dual threat QB Kieth Price goes against another crazy good LSU D. Remind you of Oregon-LSU last year? It should.
Miami (FL) at Kansas State
Al Golden leads his sanctioned Canes into Manhattan where Bill Snyder will once again have a solid squad. Look for Kansas State QB Collin Klein to run wild.
Oklahoma State at Arizona
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Air Raid vs. Crazy Fast. The pass happy Cowboys take on Rich Rodriguez's first Arizona team.
Penn State at Virginia
We get to see Bill O'Brien go against BCS talent, and Mike London has been stockpiling quite a bit of talent in Charlottesville.
Illinois at Arizona State
New Sun Devils head coach Todd Graham will be welcomed by the half-full Sun Devil Stadium.
Iowa State at Iowa
The Cy-Hawk rivalry crowns the champion of Iowa.
Nebraska at UCLA
Taylor Martinez leads Nebraska into L.A. where Jim Mora is focused on rebuilding the Bruins.
Vanderbilt at Northwestern
The High-IQ bowl?
Wisconsin at Oregon State
Wisconsin has brought in another transfer to lead the team at QB in Danny O'Brien. The Badgers could be BCS bound out of the Big 10, but Oregon State will put up a tough fight at home.
Week 3 (Sept. 15th):
Notre Dame at Michigan State
Brian Kelly will probably have gone through about 7 QBs by this game.
North Carolina at Louisville
New head coach Larry Fedora brings his up-tempo offense and aggressive defense into Louisville, where Charlie Strong is quietly building a contender. If the Tar Heels can get the road W look for them to sweep the non-conference slate.
Virginia Tech at Pitt
Virginia Tech gets a feel for Pitt before they come to the ACC.
Cal at Ohio State
Cal brings a talented but inconsistent offense into Urban Meyer's new home.
Texas at Ole Miss
Ole Miss will not be very good this year.
Arizona State at Mizzou
I wonder what jerseys the Sun Devils will be wearing?
BYU at Utah
The battle for Utah has one of the cooler names for a rivalry - "The Holy War." It also has one of the cooler trophies- the winner receives the "The Beehive Boot."
Texas A&M at SMU
SMU is not scared to schedule the big boys of Texas.
UConn at Maryland
Maryland head coach Randy Edsall goes up against his old team, but more importantly we get to see what Maryland is wearing.
Week 4 (Sept. 22nd):
Michigan at Notre Dame
If the 2012 edition is anywhere near as good as last years Michigan-Notre Dame game, we are in for a good one.
Virginia at TCU
Mike London takes his talented Cavaliers team into Dallas, where Gary Patterson has another very good Horned Frogs team. TCU QB Casey Pachall will be slinging the pigskin all around the field for the Horned Frogs.
BYU at Boise State
A battle of "Mid-Majors" if you will.
Week 5 (Sept 29th):
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Florida State at USF
Florida State could easily be undefeated heading into this West Florida matchup. If so, look for 'Noles fans to pack Raymond James Stadium in support of Jimbo Fischer and Co. Don't forget that USF and Skip Holtz still have a talented BJ Daniels quarterbacking the squad.
Cincinnati at Virginia Tech
Could be a good game if the Bearcats catch VT sleeping.
TCU at SMU
Another SMU vs. Every other Texas team battle. Should be a lot of scoring.
Week 6 (October 6th):
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Notre Dame vs. Miami (Chicago)
Just another part of Notre Dame's cupcake schedule.
Do they ever actually play at home?
Boise State at Southern Miss
Another "Mid Major Matchup" for Boise.
Week 7 (October 13th):
Stanford at Notre Dame
No more Andrew Luck for Stanford.
Week 8 (October 20th):
Cincinnati at Toledo
Clearly there is not to much going on out of conference in week 8.
BYU at Notre Dame
The Refuse-To-Be-In-A-Conference Bowl
Week 9 (October 27th):
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Notre Dame at Oklahoma
Just another ho-hum week for Notre Dame. I wish they would man up and schedule some real teams.
Week 11 (November 10th):
West Virginia at Oklahoma State
Crap, I just remembered West Virginia is in the Big 12.
Week 12 (November 20th):
Wake Forest at Notre Dame
The ACC makes its pitch to bring in Notre Dame: "Look, you could play Wake Forest every year!"
Week 13 (November 27th):
Georgia Tech at Georgia
Now we are talking about some real out of conference games. The Ramblin Wreck makes the short drive to Athens, where Georgia could be undefeated.
Florida at Florida State
The two premier programs in Florida square off. Will Muschamp is still in rebuilding mode in Gainesville, but Jimbo Fischer and the 'Noles could be a darkhorse national tittle contender.
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South Carolina at Clemson
After being an overrated rivalry between two average teams for years, the battle for the Palmetto State is finally living up to its potential. These teams are both really good, and flat out don't like each other. Sammy Watkins and Marcus Lattimore could put on quite a show.
Notre Dame at USC
USC and Lane Kiffen will be stacked. Matt Barkley will lead the Trojan's high powered offense against the Irish.
USF at Miami
The "Other Teams" in Florida match up. While neither of these teams are as storied as FSU-Florida, both have talented squads this year.
Vanderbilt at Wake Forest
Another High IQ Bowl.
Army vs. Navy (Dec. 8: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa.)
To cap it all off, the classic Army vs. Navy.