The 2024 College Football season will have multiple marquee non-conference games at the beginning of the season. 2024 will be the first season of the 12-team playoff format. It will also be the first season with the newly aligned mega conferences in the Big 10 and SEC. This will create more games with playoff implications throughout the season and serve as a massive tone-setter for contending teams.
Week 1: USC vs. LSU
Spread: LSU -6
![Way Too Early Look at 5 Massive Non-Conference Games in 2024 1 USC, College Football, Miller Moss](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/USATSI_22181749_168400545_lowres-1024x671.webp)
One of the biggest games of the 2024 college football season will be a stand-alone game on Sunday, September 1, when the LSU Tigers play the USC Trojans in a neutral site game in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this Big 10-SEC matchup LSU is a six-point favorite, at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Both teams are in a similar situation after seasons below their standards in 2023. Both coaches, Brian Kelly, and Lincoln Riley, will be hungry for an early season win to help boost their stock back into being some of the best coaches in the sport. Both teams will also be starting first-year quarterbacks Garrett Nussmeier (LSU) and Miller Moss (USC), after last year’s starters Jayden Daniels (LSU) and Caleb Williams (USC) were selected back-to-back at the top of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Week 1: Notre Dame @ Texas A&M
Spread: Texas A&M -1
![Way Too Early Look at 5 Massive Non-Conference Games in 2024 2 Notre Dame lands QB Riley Leonard and Mitch Jeter](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USATSI_21651034-1024x683.jpg)
On Saturday, August 31, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will travel to Kyle Field in College Station, Texas to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. This game will be in primetime at 7:00 pm EST on ABC and will be the site of the season’s first ESPN College Gameday show. Texas A&M is currently a one-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook.
There will be no shortage of storylines in this matchup. This will be new Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko’s first game on the sideline for the Aggies, and he will be facing his former quarterback Riley Leonard who transferred to Notre Dame after three seasons at Duke.
Both teams will look to build some early-season momentum with a big win under the lights in front of a sellout crowd, much like Florida State did in 2023.
Week 1: Clemson @ Georgia
Spread: Georgia -13.5
![Way Too Early Look at 5 Massive Non-Conference Games in 2024 3 Dabo Swinney nick saban alabama](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USATSI_21973444-1024x683.jpg)
To kick off the first Saturday of the college football season we will see the Clemson Tigers travel to Athens, Georgia to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. This game will be played at Noon EST on ABC. Georgia is a healthy favorite giving 13.5 points.
We have seen these teams open up the season against each other in the past when they met at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2021. That game ended 10-3 in a defensive slugfest, and since then we have seen Georgia climb the ranks into becoming a powerhouse, and Clemson rapidly decline.
This is a massive game for Dabo Swinney and the Tigers to prove they can still compete with the best of the best, while Georgia will look to bounce back from last season’s playoff absence.
Week 2: Texas @ Michigan
Spread: Texas -3.5
![Way Too Early Look at 5 Massive Non-Conference Games in 2024 4 Texas Longhorns](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/USATSI_22015454_168400517_lowres-1024x719.jpg)
In what might be the biggest game of the college football season the Texas Longhorns will travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan to play the Michigan Wolverines. This will be a Big Noon Kickoff game on Fox at Noon EST on September 7. The Longhorns are a 3.5 road favorite in this matchup.
Both teams in this matchup are expected playoff contenders as the Texas Longhorns are -250 and the Michigan Wolverines are -120 to make the playoffs at DraftKings Sportsbook. This will also serve as an early season test for new Michigan head coach Sherron Moore.
Due to this matchup including two of the best teams in the Big 10 and SEC, this game will serve as a measuring stick to evaluate the quality of each conference, which could be a big factor in playoff seeding.
Week 3: Alabama @ Wisconsin
Spread: Alabama -8
![Way Too Early Look at 5 Massive Non-Conference Games in 2024 5 Wisconsin Badgers land LB Tackett Curtis](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/USATSI_21876177-1-1024x683.jpg)
In another Big Noon Kickoff matchup, the Alabama Crimson Tide travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. This will be the second straight Big 10 versus SEC battle on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff slot. The Crimson Tide are a big favorite giving eight points on the road in this matchup.
This will be a matchup of extreme importance for both head coaches. Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer will get his first big test in a tough environment in Wisconsin, as he tries to fill the massive shoes of Nick Saban. On the other hand, Luke Fickell will look to pick up his first big win for the Badgers which could be a massive building block for his Wisconsin tenure.
All odds via the DraftKings Sportsbook.
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