14 non-conference games to look forward to in 2023
As of today we are one week into the college football offseason; only 33 sit between our present-day selves and the 2023 season.
Two-time defending national champion Georgia will start the season No. 1. It'll likely be unanimous. The rankings we're using here not withstanding, two-time defending Big Ten champion and two-time College Football Playoff semifinalist Michigan looks like your consensus No. 2. While 33 weeks of uncertainty sit between now and then, if you're holding your breath for a season-shaking upset of those two, don't.
Georgia opens with UT-Martin and Ball State, after a date with South Carolina (also at home), the Dawgs host UAB before beginning the meat of the SEC schedule -- by which I mean five straight games against unranked teams. Michigan's non-conference slate: East Carolina, UNLV, and Bowling Green, all at home.
But just because 1 and 2 will stay intact doesn't mean the 2023 non-conference slate is a bummer. I count
Rankings courtesy ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25.
14. Auburn at Cal (Sept. 9)
The Culture Clash Classic of 2023 brings us Auburn's third trip to a Pac-12 stadium ever, and first to Berkeley, in the de facto debut of the Hugh Freeze era on the Plains.
13. Pitt at West Virginia (Sept. 16)
Last year's game in Pittsburgh was so good that it left me feeling melancholy that it's not the Thursday night opener every single season. This is Pitt's first trip to Morgantown since 2011.
12. West Virginia at No. 6 Penn State (Sept. 2)
West Virginia's first Happy Valley visit since 1991 gives us a first look at Neal Brown's second offensive reboot (new coordinator, new quarterback) and a first look at 5-star QB Drew Allar leading a Penn State team looking to make a Playoff run.
11. Nebraska at Colorado (Sept. 9)
Coach Prime's first home game happens to be the rekindling of an old Big 8 rivalry. The Buffs and Huskers played a home-and-home in 2018-19; CU won both, signaling troubling waters ahead for Scott Frost. His replacement Matt Rhule will have an opportunity to show progress here.
10. No. 20 Ole Miss at No. 19 Tulane (Sept. 9)
Tulane's most recent home game saw the Wave win the American championship, but this should be the most anticipated and highest-attended game in Yulman Stadium history. The defending Cotton Bowl champs enter 2023 as the favorite to retain the New Year's Six bid as the highest-rated Group of 5 champion.
9. No. 22 UTSA at No. 10 Tennessee (Sept. 23)
Tennessee opens the season in Nashville against Virginia, but this is the bigger game. Seventh-year QB Frank Harris gets a national opportunity to showcase his Frank Harris-like ability to do Frank Harris things, and to build UTSA's case for a New Year's Six bowl, while Tennessee gets an opportunity to collect on an 187-year-old debt for Davy Crockett's death.
8. No. 9 Oregon at No. 23 Texas Tech (Sept. 9)
Texas Tech unveils an upgraded Jones AT&T Stadium with a doozy: a ranked, Power 5 non-conference opponent hasn't come to Lubbock since Philip Rivers brought No. 17 NC State to the Jones way back in 2002. Bo Nix and Oregon look to launch a Playoff push in the South Plains, while Texas Tech's Tyler Shough will aim to make his former team pay for their sins.
7. No. 21 North Carolina vs. South Carolina, at Charlotte (Sept. 2)
South Carolina has won seven of nine in this on-again, off-again rivalry that dates back to 1903. This will be an opportunity for Drake Maye and Spencer Rattler to battle for the approval of Heisman voters and NFL scouts, for promoters to sell out Bank of America Stadium, and for all of us to drink in a competitive, aesthetically pleasing game.
6. Texas A&M at Miami (Sept. 9)
The two most disappointing teams of 2022 meet in South Beach to play the "Well, At Least We're Not Them" Bowl.
5. Colorado at No. 12 TCU (Sept. 2)
We can state confidently this is the most anticipated game involving a team coming off a 1-11 record in college football history. Colorado is not playing Arizona State in Week 0, so the Coach Prime era of Colorado football begins at Amon Carter Stadium. And, somehow in the undercard, we get a first look at TCU's encore to its 2022 national title game run.
4. Florida at No. 15 Utah (Sept. 2)
Billy Napier gets an opportunity to show how much he's revamped the Gators program after a 6-7 debut, while Utah gets a do-over after dropping a game in Gainesville they should've won. It's the first time Utah has ever hosted an SEC team, and Florida's first Pac-12 road trip since visiting USC on Sept. 10, 1983.
3. No. 16 Texas at No. 5 Alabama (Sept. 9)
The 2022 game was much closer than expected, but neither team had the season they anticipated. Will a Texas quarterback play a complete first quarter against Alabama this time around? Will this be our first look at Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson, or perhaps a Mystery QB enters through Door No. 3?
2. No. 2 Ohio State at No. 14 Notre Dame (Sept. 23)
Ohio State's third trip to South Bend, and the return visit for a 21-10 Buckeyes win where Marcus Freeman's team played well but just didn't have a quarterback to threaten the Ohio State defense. That won't be the case this season as Sam Hartman leads a Notre Dame offense opposite... we don't know who, yet.
1. No. 8 LSU vs. No. 4 Florida State, at Orlando (Sept. 3)
No one knew quite what to expect when these unranked teams met in New Orleans. What we got was a doozy: a 24-23 FSU upset, an LSU comeback thwarted by a missed extra point.
One season later, both teams, 10-game winners in 2022, are gathering "They could rise up and challenge Georgia!" vibes as we head into 2023. Expectations won't be a problem this time around. Tigers-Noles II, again on Labor Day Sunday, will be the centerpiece of Opening Weekend, and the entire 2023 non-conference schedule.
