The 25 best nonconference games to watch in 2019

These two rivals of sorts face off in a "Week Zero" game in Orlando. The Gators are looking to supplant Georgia as the biggest dogs in the SEC East, while the Hurricanes are trying to do the same in the ACC's Coastal Division. While this game doesn't impact those races, it is a big jumping off point. This is Manny Diaz's first game as the head coach of the 'Canes, and he'll bring his patented aggressive defense to face Dan Mullen's Florida team that is tough and physical in its own right. 

The Ducks and Tigers will meet in Arlington, Texas, for their season openers. Oregon's Justin Herbert is a Heisman candidate and would love to get off to a big start against an SEC school. Both schools have designs at making a run at a conference crown, and the AdvoCare Classic is a great way to start that journey. This is the first time these programs will have met since the 2011 BCS national championship game. 

Boise State travels across the country to Jacksonville to take on a Florida State team that is coming off its first non-bowl season since 1981. The 'Noles are still in flux as Willie Taggart attempts to pick up the pieces of the most disappointing season in decades. Boise State is breaking in a new quarterback after the Brett Rypien era ended ... yet it still has eyes on making it to a New Year's Six bowl. This game is a big moment for both programs to prove they matter in 2019.

Smart guys playing football. The Wildcats shocked many by reaching the Big Ten title game a year ago and feel they can make the trip again. Bryce Love is gone from Stanford, so the Cardinal will be in a bit of a transition. Either way this will be a fun game to watch as two of college football's more underappreciated coaches in Pat Fitzgerald and David Shaw showcase their own battle of wits. Kudos to Stanford for playing one of the toughest, unconventional non-conference slates. (You'll read more about that). 

James Madison is one of the top-ranked FCS schools in the nation and has played in the national championship game in two of the last three seasons...winning it in 2016. It will head to West Virginia, which is completely retooling after losing QB Will Grier and breaking in new head coach Neal Brown. The two schools are in close proximity, so there will be a buzz in the area leading up to the game. 

The two Carolina schools meet in Charlotte at the Belk College Kickoff. The Gamecocks embark on arguably the most brutal schedule in college football with a much-needed win against a Tar Heels team that is coming off a down season. This will be the first game of the second iteration of the Mack Brown era. Brown has furiously tried to revamp the roster, but is it enough to seriously contend in the ACC? As for South Carolina, Will Muschamp has a lot of pressure to get his program relevant in the always competitive SEC. 

Another fun FBS vs. FCS matchup. Eastern Washington lost to North Dakota State for the 2018 FCS national championship, while the Washington Huskies are defending Pac 12 champions. The Huskies are, however, in a state of flux, as they lose Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin but bring in former Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason. Eastern Washington had the fourth-highest scoring offense in FCS last year, and the Eagles are confident Eric Barriere will live up to his preseason hype. 

Three years ago, Oklahoma went into Houston and was stunned by the Cougars, 33-23. Houston has become a buzzworthy program, while Oklahoma has reached consecutive College Football Playoffs and produced consecutive Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks. That's where this game will be so much fun. Houston's D'Eriq King will be finishing off his brilliant career and going punch-for-punch with Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts...who has gone 26-2 as a starter and who has played in three straight national championship games. It should be a shootout in the Sooner State.

Texas came on strong late last season, feeding into expectations for a possible playoff run in 2019. Sam Ehlinger has locked in the Horns quarterback job, and Tom Herman feels this team has the goods to win the Big 12 title. LSU's Ed Orgeron led the Tigers to their first 10-win season since 2013. If QB Joe Burrow can get the offense to perform at a high level to complement the already tough defense, LSU could finally break through and get a playoff berth. This very well could be the biggest non-conference game of the regular season.

Last season these two faced off in College Station where Clemson eked out a 28-26 victory and would go on to a 15-0 season and a national championship. Dabo Swinney and Jimbo Fisher meet yet again in Death Valley with the same stakes on the line: a possible title run. Fisher's Aggies are much better than last year's bunch, but they will face a Clemson team that has Trevor Lawrence as the starter from Day 1. Should be a fun, hot afternoon. 

This is one of those games that looked better for Michigan when it was agreed to than it does now. Michigan is back with national title hopes, but Army is anything but a pushover. The Black Knights have gone 21-5 over the last two seasons, punctuated by a 70-14 win over Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl. Last season Army went toe-to-toe with Oklahoma in Norman before succumbing in overtime, 28-21. Michigan feels it finally has the offense to go with its usual physical defense to contend for a championship.

If you are a college football fan of a certain age, you will remember how big this old Big Eight rivalry used to be. Sure, the Cornhuskers have pretty much owned the series, but it was a beautiful battle during the late 1980s and early 1990s, culminated by a 19-19 tie in 1991. Last year was the first time they met since both schools left the Big 12 and moved on to other leagues, as the Buffaloes won in Lincoln, 33-28. Both programs have struggled of late, but they have hopes to turn around their fortunes. Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez is one of the more exciting players in the nation, while Colorado has hired former Georgia and Alabama defensive coordinator Mel Tucker for its head coaching job. 

Most people around the country don't really know much about Washington State or Houston. They should. This Friday night special is a great opportunity to see two electric offenses run all over NRG Stadium. Both teams were in the top 15 in scoring last year. D'Eriq King is back in Houston, while Washington State will be breaking in a new passer after Gardner Minshew ran out of eligibility. Still, the Cougars plan on throwing the football as much as anyone, which should make for a fun shootout.

The "Troy Aikman Bowl." Oklahoma will bring its latest quarterback, Jalen Hurts, to the Rose Bowl to face Chip Kelly's rebuilt offense. Hurts' first road start for the Sooners needs to be on the mark, as he'll be challenged to match UCLA's high-octane offense. Kelly lives on the hot seat, and this would be a great opportunity to make a major statement. Oklahoma blew out UCLA, 49-21, in Norman last year.

Last year, Herm Edwards' Sun Devils stunned Michigan State and proved to people who laughed about Edwards' hiring that the school knew what it was doing. Arizona State scored 13 fourth-quarter points to pull out the 16-13 win on a field goal as time expired. The Spartans get a crack at revenge on Sept. 14 when Arizona State heads up to East Lansing. 

The Keystone Classic was reborn in 2016 after a 16-year absence. It was Pitt...not Penn State...that played for a conference championship last season, but it was the Nittany Lions who blew out the Panthers, 51-6, in Pittsburgh in September. Penn State is looking to rebuild after a couple of years of losing some of the best players to ever suit up for the Nittany Lions, while Pitt is trying to build off the momentum of its trip to the ACC championship game. While this game won't make or break either's season, it will be a nice early-season gauge to figure out what kind of promise the year holds.

Kudos to the Cardinal for traveling all the way across the country to face a Group of Six program that hasn't lost a regular-season game in two years. This is a great opportunity for the Knights to showcase that this program should still be feared despite McKenzie Milton's absence as he recovers from a horrible injury. Stanford embarks on the post-Bryce Love era with a steady stable of quarterbacks who can lead their pro-style offense. It is one of the more interesting non-conference games of the season.

The Cy-Hawk Trophy will be on the line as Iowa and Iowa State tangle in Ames. The Hawkeyes are a dangerous bunch with quarterback Nate Stanley leading a talented group on offense and dominant pass-rusher A.J. Epenesa looming on defense. The Cyclones rode freshman Brock Purdy to seven wins in their last nine games last season and feel he'll have an even bigger year with a stranglehold on the job. Iowa has won four in a row in this series and eight of the last 11.

The Horned Frogs and Boilermakers will play the first of a home-and-home series in West Lafayette this year. TCU has been on a roller coaster of up-and-down seasons over the past four years, which should be good news this year after its 7-6 campaign. Gary Patterson's teams are usually prepared and ready for anything, and this season TCU boasts one of the nation's top hidden treasures in receiver Jalen Reagor. Jeff Brohm has led Purdue to consecutive bowl games after taking over the disastrous Darrell Hazell era. Points should be at a premium here, but it is a nice intersectional matchup to take in.

The Fighting Irish will go between the hedges to face a Bulldogs team with designs to get back to the College Football Playoff. Two years ago, these two faced off in South Bend with a back-and-forth affair that the Dawgs squeaked out with a late field goal. That 20-19 win helped launch Georgia to an SEC championship and a trip to the national championship game and was the beginning of the Jake Fromm era in Athens. The Irish are coming off a playoff berth themselves, where they were blown out by Clemson in the Cotton Bowl. This game certainly is huge for Notre Dame's title hopes.

This is a huge game for the Irish that comes during a crucial stretch of games. Just three weeks after playing at Georgia, they get the Trojans in South Bend. From there they get a bye week before heading up to Michigan and then hosting Virginia Tech. USC ends a tough stretch with this game. Clay Helton is on the hot seat, so a USC upset would go a long way to satisfying the fan base. Notre Dame has won three of its last four in the series and five of seven.

This rivalry returns to Ann Arbor for the first time since 2013. Notre Dame has won three of the past four meetings, though the Wolverines have won the last four at Michigan Stadium. This will be the latest date the two will have met since World War II and sets up the stretch run for both teams. Michigan would've come off a game at Penn State the week prior and has Michigan State and Ohio State coming to Ann Arbor in the next month. The Irish will be coming off a bye week. Huge rivalry game.

It isn't the big game that it used to be on a national level, but it is a major rivalry in the Sunshine State. The regular season finale for both teams will be a big deal for recruiting and the usual bragging rights. The Gators will likely be playing for a spot in a major bowl, while the 'Noles want to make sure they land in any bowl. 

The Irish's annual November game in California will again be key to their bowl hopes. The Irish are coming off a trip to the College Football Playoff and hope to reach that level again in 2019. Stanford has actually dominated this series, winning seven of the last 10 meetings...including the last five in Palo Alto. (Notre Dame did blow out the Cardinal last season.) 

One of the greatest rivalries in sports ends the college football season. Army and Navy will renew their battle in Philadelphia in a game that rarely disappoints. The Black Knights have won three straight in the series to end the Midshipmen's 14-game winning streak. The games are great — seven of the last eight have been decided by a touchdown or less. The pageantry and the spectacle of the game is chilling as well, but the football is pretty damn good too.