Let’s begin our analysis of Pac-12 non-conference games with a few words about Pac-12 non-conference non-games — the future matchups that were once under contract but no longer exist.
The cancellations.
Scroll down and you’ll find approximately 180 games listed: Three non-conferences dates per year, for five years, for 12 teams.
(It’s more like 170 because of some openings.)
Cancellations helped shape the schedules in two notable instances:
* UCLA was left with openings in ’20 and ’21 after Rutgers abruptly backed out of a home-and-home series a few months ago.
The Bruins are scrambling to fill the slots with FBS opponents; they have never played an FCS team and don’t plan to. But 2021 is coming quick, and most teams are booked.
* Oregon has a delicious opener in 2019, against Auburn at AT&T Stadium. That duel came about only because Texas A&M backed out of a series after switching to the SEC.
The cancellation left the Ducks with openings in ’18 and ’19. They couldn’t find a Power Five opponent to visit Eugene this fall and turned the ’19 vacancy over to neutral-site game organizers.
Eventually, a deal fell into place:
Oregon vs. Auburn to open the ’19 season at AT&T Stadium.
“We were fortunate, because of our relationship with the folks in Dallas,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said.
(The Ducks played LSU at AT&T to open the 2011 season.)
The date with Auburn enabled Mullens and the Ducks to secure a non-conference lineup that closely follows their preferred A-B-C model (Mullens doesn’t use that terminology):
A-level: Power Five opponent (in Eugene in even years, on the road/neutral site in odd years)
B-level: Group of Five opponent, usually at home (and from the western third of the country when possible)
C-level: high-quality FCS opponent in Autzen Stadium
The goal is to have one marquee non-conference date every year and seven home games each season.
“That philosophy started around here before the BCS era,” Mullens, the chairman of the playoff selection committee, added during a wide-ranging discussion about scheduling.
In odds years, when the Civil War is in Eugene, the Ducks leave town for their A-level game.
In even years, when the Civil War is in Corvallis, they host the A-level game … except when that A-level opponent cancels four years out and a mad scramble leaves them with San Jose State.
(Four years isn’t much time in the world of Power Five scheduling.)
Now, about the Pac-12’s other 170+ non-conference games over the next five season that haven’t been canceled …
In the breakdown below, you’ll notice the conference has a bevy of marquee intersectional home-and-home matchups under contract with the likes of LSU, Michigan, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma.
You’ll notice Stanford and USC are playing Notre Dame, as always.
You’ll notice some regional rivalries (Utah vs. BYU and Colorado vs. Colorado State).
And you’ll notice a wide range of schedules.
In each case, I’ve included a comment and grade, which attempts to judge the schedule based on a reasonable standard for that particular program.
The matchups themselves were taken from news reports, press releases, school websites and fbschedules.com. I then confirmed the schedules with a representative from each school.
That said, use ink for this season and next but pencil for any game in 2020 and beyond. Circumstances change, as Rutgers recently reminded us.
(Note: Teams not necessarily listed in the order they appear on the schedule in that season.)
ARIZONA
2018: vs. BYU, at Houston, vs. Southern Utah
2019: at Hawaii, vs. Northern Arizona, vs. Texas Tech
2020: vs. Hawaii, vs. Portland State, at Texas Tech
2021: vs. BYU (in Las Vegas), vs. Northern Arizona, vs. San Diego State
2022: at San Diego State, vs. Mississippi State, vs. North Dakota State
Comment: Nice to see the Wildcats finally adding some Power Five opponents. The date with Texas Tech in ’19 will mark their first non-conference P5 game since the Oklahoma State series in 2011-12. (No Pac-12 team should ever go that long without a P5 home-and-home.) Hawaii and Texas: Smart for recruiting.
Grade: A-
ARIZONA STATE
2018: vs. UTSA, vs. Michigan State, at San Diego State
2019: vs. Kent State, vs. Sacramento State, at Michigan State
2020: vs. Northern Arizona, at UNLV, vs. BYU
2021: vs. Louisiana Lafayette, vs. UNLV, at BYU
2022: vs. Northern Arizona, at Oklahoma State, vs. Eastern Michigan
Comment: The series with BYU and UNLV make plenty of sense, unless they’re in the same year. Like the Oklahoma State series — the Cowboys visit Tempe in ’23 — but ASU needs to get into Texas as often as possible.
Grade: B-
CAL
2018: vs. North Carolina, at BYU, vs. Idaho State
2019: vs. UC Davis, vs. North Texas, at Mississippi
2020: at UNLV, vs. TCU, vs. Cal Poly
2021: vs. Nevada, at TCU, vs. Sacramento State
2022: vs. UC Davis, at North Texas, vs. UNLV
Comment: Never thought the North Carolina or Ole Miss series made much sense, while the TCU series is a remnant of the Sonny Dykes era: It doesn’t support the west coast-centric recruiting plans under Justin Wilcox. And that ’22 lineup? Yuck. Beyond the five-year timeframe but worth noting: The Bears have a home-and-home with Auburn in 2023-24.
Grade: C-
COLORADO
2018: vs Colorado State (Denver), at Nebraska, vs. New Hampshire
2019: vs Colorado State (Denver), vs. Air Force, vs. Nebraska
2020: at Colorado State, vs. Fresno State, at Texas A&M
2021: vs. UMass, vs. Texas A&M, vs. Minnesota
2022: vs. TCU, at Air Force, at Minnesota
Comment: Love the Nebraska series for numerous reasons (this year marks the first meeting of the post-Big 12 era). Also smart of the Buffs to load up on home-and-homes with Texas teams given their reliance on the state for recruiting. If Minnesota is good, the ’21 and ’22 schedules will be daunting.
Grade: A+
OREGON
2018: vs. Bowling Green, vs. Portland State, vs. San Jose State
2019: vs. Auburn (Arlington), vs. Nevada, vs. Montana
2020: vs North Dakota State, vs. Ohio State, vs. Hawaii
2021: vs. Fresno State, at Ohio State, vs. Stony Brook
2022: vs. BYU, vs. Eastern Washington, open
Comment: Not much to dislike here and worth noting that Oregon has contracts with Texas Tech and Baylor for home-and-home series beyond this five-year window. In addition, Mullens is hunting an A-level opponent for 2025-26.
Grade: B+ (with the potential for better depending on how the Ducks fill the ’22 opening)
OREGON STATE
2018: at Ohio State, vs. Southern Utah, at Nevada
2019: vs. Oklahoma State, at Hawaii, vs. Cal Poly
2020: vs. Colorado State, vs. Portland State, at Oklahoma State
2021: at Purdue, vs. Hawaii, vs. Idaho
2022: vs. Boise State, at Fresno State, vs. Montana State
Comment: Lineups make perfect sense and carry plenty of tangible benefits for the Beavers (unless they lose the C-level games): They should get to Hawaii and the Central Valley as often as possible. Oh, and Ohio State is not a home-and-home — no trip to Corvallis for the Buckeyes. Instead, the Beavers will play a one-off game in Columbus and collect $170,000 for their troubles … Sorry, make that $1.7 million.
Grade: A
STANFORD
2018: vs. San Diego State, vs. UC Davis, at Notre Dame
2019: vs. Northwestern, at UCF, vs Notre Dame
2020: vs. William & Mary, at Notre Dame, vs. BYU
2021: at Kansas State, at Vanderbilt, vs. Notre Dame
2022: open, vs. BYU, at Notre Dame
Comment: How about that 2021 schedule? One-two-three Power Five opponents, and two of them on the road. It’s not like the ’19 lineup is easy, either: UCF just won 13 games. Kudos to the Cardinal for taking an A-A-B … or A-A-A … approach in two of the five years. (I asked Mullens if BYU counted as A-level or B-level, and he said: “They’re in the A-B range,” then noted the Cougars’ ability to sell tickets wherever they go.)
Grade: A
UCLA
2018: vs. Cincinnati, at Oklahoma, vs. Fresno State
2019: at Cincinnati, vs. Oklahoma, vs. San Diego State
2020: at San Diego State, open, open
2021: vs. LSU, vs. Fresno State, open
2022: vs. Bowling Green, vs. Michigan, vs. South Alabama
Comment: If you’re wondering: The last time LSU came west to face one of the four California schools was 1984, when the Tigers put a beating on USC (Dalton Hilliard: two touchdowns). They have never played UCLA, anywhere; nor have they set foot inside the Rose Bowl, ever. I’d pay to see that one. The Bruins head to Death valley in ’24, then welcome Georgia onto the schedule.
Grade: A (with the potential for A+ depending on how the openings are filled)
USC
2018: vs. UNLV, at Texas, vs. Notre Dame
2019: vs. Fresno State, at BYU, at Notre Dame
2020: open, vs. New Mexico, vs. Notre Dame
2021: open, vs. BYU, at Notre Dame
2022: vs. Rice, vs. Fresno State, vs. Notre Dame
Comment: How will the Trojans fill the open dates: With low-level home games or more neutral-site showcases? Published reports last month indicated an Alabama rematch was set for ’20, but the schools haven’t uttered a peep. The ’22 lineup is a bit underwhelming, and ’21 could be as well, depending on the third opponent. As with Stanford, the Trojans must weigh the benefits of marquee intersectional series with the risk that comes with playing two A-level games.
Grade: A- (assuming Alabama for ’20 and with the potential for better based on the third team in ’21)
UTAH
2018: vs. Weber State, at Northern Illinois, vs. BYU
2019: at BYU, vs. Northern Illinois, vs. Idaho State
2020: vs. BYU, vs. Montana State, at Wyoming
2021: vs. Weber State, at BYU, at San Diego State
2022: vs. Southern Utah, vs. BYU, vs. San Diego State
Comment: Perhaps the most disappointing lineup of non-conference schedules in the Pac-12. The Utes are plenty capable of facing Power Five opponents but instead are loaded with former Mountain West rivals in 2020-22. (SDSU makes sense for recruiting.) Baylor comes on the schedule in ’23, but what state the Bears will be in at the time is anyone’s guess. Sure would like to have seen an A-level opponent.
Grade: D
WASHINGTON
2018: vs. Auburn (Atlanta), vs. North Dakota, vs. BYU
2019: vs. Eastern Washington, vs. Hawaii, at BYU
2020: vs. Michigan, vs. Sacramento State, vs. Utah State
2021: vs. Montana, at Michigan, open
2022: Portland State, open, open
Comment: After five years of ho-hum schedules caused, in part, by canceled games, the situation improves markedly. In addition to Auburn in ’18 and the home-and-home against Michigan, the Huskies play a certain other Big Ten power — it wears scarlet and gray — in the middle of the next decade. Let’s hope one of the ’22 opening is filled with an A-level opponent.
Grade: B+ (with the potential for better based on the final lineups in ’21 and ’22)
WASHINGTON STATE
2018: at Wyoming, vs. San Jose State, vs. Eastern Washington
2019: vs. New Mexico State, vs. Northern Colorado, at Houston
2020: at Utah State, vs. Houston, vs. Idaho
2021: vs. Utah State, vs. Portland State, vs. BYU
2022: at Wisconsin, vs Colorado State, open
Comment: Would love to have seen one A-Level opponent prior to the Wisconsin series in 2022-23, but the Cougars are limited in their ability to attract Power Five opponents (to a greater extent than even Oregon State) because the Palouse provides no recruiting benefit to teams from other quadrants.
Grade: B
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