The college football season is rapidly approaching. There’ll be a lot of changes this season, as the new transfer rules and the NIL deals have caused a lot of turnover in college football. This year, we’ll see some great non-conference games.
We’ll see some of college football’s elite programs square off in the first month of the football season. These games could have a direct outcome on whether or not a team makes the College Football Playoffs.
Let’s take a look at some of the 2022 season’s top non-conference matchups so you can keep planning your bets against the College Football Betting Lines.
Must-Watch Non-Conference College Football Games in the 2022 Season
100 Years In the Making
Believe it or not, Alabama and Texas haven’t met in a regular-season matchup in 100 years, but that will change this season, as the two will square off at Austin on September 10th. These two met in the Rose Bowl 10 years ago, and in that one, Nick Saban won his first national title with Alabama.
Texas is looking to return to their glory days. Steve Sarkisian didn’t have a great start last season, but with some high-profile transfers, he’s looking to have a great second season. Texas’s defense could still struggle, but the offense should be better.
Alabama lost a lot of key pieces from last season’s squad, but as they do every season, they don’t rebuild; they just reload. This team should be ready to contend for a national title once again this season.
Sarkisian was the former offensive coordinator under Saban at Alabama, so this game will be full of storylines. College football fans won’t have to wait long to see this one, as this will take place on September 10th.
A Huge Season Opener
More times than not, big-time college football programs open up their season with a fairly easy non-conference game at home. Well, this won’t be the case this year in Columbus, as two top 10 teams will square off as the Ohio State Buckeyes will host the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on September 3rd.
Marcus Freeman will be making his head coaching debut for Notre Dame, and he’s not starting off with an easy one. Notre Dame will be one of the top teams in the country, but they’ll have their work cut out for them when they meet the Buckeyes.
Although Ryan Day’s squad lost two top-tier receivers from last year’s team, they’ll still have plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball. Quarterback CJ Stroud will be a Heisman candidate, and the core of last year’s offense will be ready for this one.
The big question mark will be Ohio State’s defense. However, Jim Knowles, who turned around Oklahoma State’s defense last season, has been brought in to be OSU’s defensive coordinator.
The Cowboy defense ranked third in the country last season, so Day is hoping that Knowles can turn the Buckeye defense around as well.
We’ll see how the Irish look in Freeman’s debut. Freeman was their defensive coordinator last season, so not much should change on that side of the ball. Notre Dame lost some key offensive players from last year’s squad, so we’ll be anxious to see how they look on that side of the ball in this huge matchup.