We’ve made it to April and every time we can tear away a page on the calendar we’re getting closer to football season. Now that we’re only a few months away, it seems like an appropriate time to start visualizing the actual games. So let’s take a look at the 10 most intriguing nonconference games of the 2025 season:
1. LSU at Clemson, Aug. 30
Want to hear a weird stat? LSU has lost its last five season-openers. Granted, they were all big-time nonconference matchups against good opponents, but you’d never think a program as consistently good as LSU could lose five of those in a row. Will it be six? Clemson is going to be really, really good this year. LSU coach Brian Kelly is coming into the season in a critical position. It feels like the LSU Tigers, who invested quite a bit in the portal this offseason, have to make the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, Clemson is the consensus favorite to win the ACC this year, but Dabo Swinney is dying to get back to relevancy on the national stage. In terms of pure entertainment factor and storylines, this is the best nonconference game of the season and we get it right away.
2. Texas at Ohio State, Aug. 30
Ohio State is the defending national champion and Texas should enter the 2025 season as the favorite to win it all. This game isn’t only a rematch of a thrilling game in the College Football Playoff semifinals, it is also the starting debut for Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Add in that Ohio State will have a much different roster than a year ago and the Buckeyes will also be breaking in a new quarterback. Will it be Julian Sayin or someone else? Regardless, this game will give us a good idea of whether Texas is as good as the hype and will also reveal if the Buckeyes reloaded or are in for a rebuilding year.
3. Florida at Miami, Sept. 20
Last season, Miami went to Gainesville for the season-opener and beat up on Florida. After the game, Miami coach Mario Cristobal pounded the podium as he urged recruits to acknowledge the trajectory of both programs. In the state of Florida, rivalry games mean everything. But that’s not where the entertainment stops in this game. There is no question the entire world is going to have their eyes on quarterback D.J. Lagway and head coach Billy Napier. By this point in the season, Napier could be a hero or a dead man walking. Miami, meanwhile, lost a ton of offensive firepower after last year and Cristobal has to turn in another successful season for last year’s trajectory statement to remain true.
4. Michigan at Oklahoma, Sept. 6
You could make the case that no coach in college football is facing more pressure heading into the season than Oklahoma’s Brent Venables. He has to win, especially now that quarterback transfer John Mateer is in the picture. Meanwhile, Michigan is heading onto year two of the Sherrone Moore era and the Wolverines — who may have a flashy starting quarterback in Bryce Underwood — are out to prove last year’s national title run wasn’t a temporary trip to the top. Two coaches with something to prove, two exciting new quarterbacks and two blue bloods? Sign me up.
5. Alabama at Florida State, Aug. 30
At any other program in America, winning nine games and being on the cusp of making the CFP would have been an awesome first year. For Kalen DeBoer at Alabama, it was taken like a complete failure. Speaking of failure, Florida State was horrible last season a year removed from going undefeated and winning the ACC. Mike Norvell, all of a sudden, is under a tremendous amount of pressure to get Florida State back on track. We’re going to find out a lot about two very interesting teams right out of the gate.
6. Clemson at South Carolina, Nov. 29
As things stand right now, you’d think this would be a top-five game on this list. It was hard to put it there because it happens at the end of the season and it may not be all that important if things don’t go well for one or both of these teams. If history and current roster are any indication, Clemson will likely be going into that game firmly alive for the CFP. But what will South Carolina be? They have one of the best young quarterbacks in the country in LaNorris Sellers, but the Gamecocks have a nasty schedule. If South Carolina somehow improves on the special season it had a year ago, this one will be a banger.
7. TCU at North Carolina, Sept. 1
What is it with Sonny Dykes having to be the first opponent for high-profile coaches? Two years ago, TCU had to open with Colorado and new head coach Deion Sanders (and lost). And now, the Horned Frogs have to fly across the country and play North Carolina in Bill Belichick‘s first game? And it’s on a Monday night? It may not be ideal for Dykes and TCU, but it’s pretty awesome for the fans. This matchup may not jump off the page as it pertains to the national title race, but there should be a tremendous amount of interest surrounding Belichick’s first game in Chapel Hill.
8. Notre Dame at Miami, Aug. 30
How loaded is Aug. 30? There are so many good games on that day and this one gets a little overshadowed. It’s still going to be very interesting. Why? Because Notre Dame, a year removed from a run to the national title game, has a new quarterback but a very talented team. The same goes for Miami, though it didn’t reach the level of success Notre Dame achieved. Still, this is Carson Beck‘s first game as a Hurricane. There is a lot to see here.
9. Illinois at Duke, Sept. 6
Usually when you read lists like this, you’ll find a ton of games that would make for great mid-week promos on ESPN. That may not be the case with this one, but real college football fans know this game could be revelatory as we’re on the lookout for next year’s Cinderella. Illinois won nine games a year ago and returns virtually everyone. Duke also had a nine-win season and brought in quarterback transfer Darian Mensah from Tulane. This is going to be a great game and something any real college football fan would get excited about.
10. Auburn at Baylor, Aug. 30
You’ll be met with an eye-roll at even the mention of Auburn football potentially being much better next year. But are people paying attention? Auburn was the best bad football team in the country a year ago and it was torpedoed by incompetent quarterback play. Hugh Freeze rectified that this offseason by brining in three players — Jackson Arnold, Ashton Daniels and Deuce Knight — along with Georgia Tech receiver transfer Eric Singleton. Oh, and if you weren’t paying attention, Baylor rattled off six-consecutive regular-season wins at the end of last season. Does Dave Aranda have something cooking in Waco? This will be a fun game.
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