Penn State at WVU, Aug. 31
Penn State's taken a back seat to both Michigan and Ohio State inside the Big Ten in recent years. Still, finishing 10-3 last season gave the Nittany Lions a Top-25 finish. As PSU looks to compete inside an expanded Big Ten in 2024, it gets a tough road test in Week 1, traveling to West Virginia.
Coming off of two consecutive seasons below .500, the Mountaineers went 9-4 last season, including a 5-1 record at home. WVU gets 70 percent of its returning production back from last season, per SP+, and it looks poised to build in 2024. The Mountaineers pulling off an upset here wouldn't be too surprising.
Alabama at Wisconsin, Sept. 14
During a normal college football season, this matchup wouldn't move the needle much. But 2024 will be far from normal without Nick Saban roaming the Alabama sidelines. As Kalen DeBoer replaces a legend in 2024, the Tide will also take an uncommon out-of-conference road trip to Wisconsin in Week 3.
Alabama has gone on the road to play a non-conference opponent just four times in the past 15 years. Most recently, the Tide barely edged out Texas and USF in 2022 and 2023, respectively. DeBoer inherits a Tide team that returns just 44 percent of its production from last season. Wisconsin should improve offensively with transfer quarterback Tyler Van Dyke incoming. Second-year head coach Luke Fickell would love to make some noise by pulling off an upset here.
UCF at Florida, Oct. 5
Back in 2018, then-Group of Five UCF had a very public back-and-forth scheduling attempt with the Florida Gators. At the time, Florida didn't see the benefit of scheduling a home-and-home series against a non-Power Five opponent.
Three years later, cooler heads prevailed, (and Knights athletic director Danny White left for Tennessee) and the schools will play twice in Gainesville and once at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Florida is still in rebuilding mode entering Billy Napier's third year. Losing at home to a less-decorated in-state opponent early in the season just might set Napier's hot seat on fire.
Mid-Major vs. Power Conference games with upset potential
Clemson vs. App State, Sept. 7
Look, I'm not ready to say this will definitely happen, but 2024 is a very important year for Dabo Swinney and Clemson. The Tigers are looking to return to the playoff for the first time in three seasons and be a contender again in the ACC.
App State is no stranger to giving some schools scares. The Mountaineers have narrowly lost to UNC in each of the past two years, losing 63-61 in 2022 and falling 40-34 in double-overtime last season. Coming off a 9-4 campaign and ranking 33rd in returning production, I can see App State keeping this one close against the Tigers.
JMU at North Carolina, Sept. 21
We've seen the Tar Heels struggle against a Sun Belt opponent early in the year (see App State above). Although the Dukes, which finished 11-2 last season, will have a new head coach in Bob Chesney, I like James Madison to play well on the road early in the season. It sure feels like the Tar Heels are due for a September upset here soon.
