Per
OWH
Fans, coaches and media rarely agree on things, but news of three future games against Fresno State should draw unanimous praise. (After winning the College World Series, Fresno State must see Nebraska as heavenly ground).
NU has a dreadful nonconference slate from 2008-2010, stained by three games each year against lower-tier opponents seeking a paycheck. Starting in 2011, the schedule should get more interesting:
2011: Fresno State, Washington
2012: at UCLA, Southern Mississippi
2013: UCLA, at Southern Mississippi
2014: at Fresno State
2015: Southern Mississippi
2016: Tennessee, Fresno State
2017: at Tennessee
You’d have to assume Bo Pelini and Jeff Jamrog won’t be adding a marquee opponent to those seasons in which NU already has two capable foes. But the 2014 and 2015 seasons are crying out for a home-and-home with a big name. Keep an eye on those years.
In the Big 12 North, the most aggressive set of schedules belongs to Kansas State. The Wildcats have home-and-homes with UCLA in 2009-10, Oregon and Miami (Fla.) in 2011-12, and Virginia Tech in 2014, 2016. K-State’s neighbor, KU, has taken a more meek approach, scheduling home-and-homes with Duke, Rice and Southern Mississippi.
Oklahoma will go head-to-head with Florida State, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Ohio State by the end of 2017. And Texas A&M will meet Arkansas in Dallas every year for the next decade.
Here’s a rundown of intriguing future nonconference series around the country:
• Ohio State-Miami (Fla.) 2010-11
• Penn State-Alabama 2010-11
• LSU-Washington 2009, 2012
• Tennessee-Oregon 2010, 2013
• Florida State-West Virginia 2012-13 (surely Bobby Bowden won’t still be coaching, will he?)
• Georgia-Oregon 2015-16
Notre Dame will meet Washington State in San Antonio in 2009, Baylor in New Orleans in 2012, and Arizona State in Arlington, Texas, in 2013.
In case you were wondering, Florida isn’t scheduled to leave its home state for a nonconference game through at least 2015. That’s 24 straight seasons if you’re scoring at home.