20 Great Non-Conference games of 2008

The 2008 college football season features some great non-conference games that you won't want to miss. Looks like all the talk a few years ago about needing to schedule tougher non- conference games resonated with many teams because we have a lot of interesting and intriguing match-ups this year.

Here are 20 must-see non-conference games that should be good ones.

20. Boise State at Oregon
Boise State isn't the defending WAC Champions this year, but Ian Johnson and the Broncos travel to Eugene in what should be a high scoring fun game to watch.

19. Miami at Texas A&M
The Hurricanes embarrassed the Aggies in Miami last year so A&M should be looking for some payback this time around.

18. Notre Dame at USC
USC owns this series right now winning six straight games, and it doesn't look like it will change this time around. Charlie Weis maybe looking to 2009 to break the streak.

17. Cincinnati at Oklahoma
This is an intriguing match-up. Cincinnati is a quality team and should give Oklahoma a game, but the Sooners should take care of business here.

16. Utah at Michigan
Utah almost beat Michigan few years ago the first time they met in Ann Arbor. With Michigan in transition right now, don't be surprised if Utah goes in and starts Michigan's season off with a loss once again.

15. South Carolina at Clemson
The annual Palmetto State clash is always a fun one. Clemson will be in the running for an ACC championship, but South Carolina will be looking to get a big rivalry win.

14. Michigan at Notre Dame
This game will have some added intrigue with Charlie Weis' latest comments in which he said, "We'll let Michigan make the excuses...to hell with Michigan." This could be a fun one.

13. Virginia Tech at Nebraska
This is another great match-up that you don't see often. The Hokies will make a rare trip to Lincoln in what should be a really good game. 

12. UCLA at BYU
Rick Neuheisel brings his Bruin team into BYU looking for an early signature win. This could be a big game for BYU to get a big win and stay alive for a BCS at large berth if they can go undefeated.

11. Arkansas at Texas
Bobby Petrino brings his Hogs team into Austin for a border war. Last time Arkansas visited Texas, Matt Jones and Cedric Cobbs ran wild on the Longhorns. I wouldn't expect the same this time around.

10. Kansas at South Florida
A few years ago, nobody would have cared about seeing Kansas and South Florida, but this should be a good game. South Florida getting a rare visit from another BCS conference team, both will be looking to solidify their programs even further with a win over the other.

9. Florida at Florida State
Always one of my favorite games every year, the Sunshine state rivalry should be another great one this year. Tebow and the Gators could be playing for a BCS title game berth, but they will have to go through Tallahassee to do it. The Gators and Seminoles could also be looking for the state championship, since both play Miami as well.

8. Georgia Tech at Georgia
Paul Johnson gets his first taste of this rivalry this year in Athens. The Bulldogs could also be playing for a BCS title game berth, and the Yellow Jackets new offense under Johnson should provide a good test.

7. Tennessee at UCLA
Tennessee has a habit of playing the west coast teams, playing Cal the last two years, and now matching up with UCLA. The Bruins will be under new coach Rick Neuheisel and will have their hands full with the Vols.

6. Miami at Florida
These two teams renew a great rivalry in Gainesville. This game might be a great one next year, but Miami just doesn't have enough firepower to hang with the Gators this time around.

5. Alabama vs. Clemson (played in Georgia Dome in Atlanta)
Nick Saban and the Tide look to make 2008 their year of resurgence, but an opening day game against the Tigers will be a tough test. Clemson will be looking to start the season off with a big win to catapult themselves into what they think could be a big year.

4. Illinois vs. Missouri (played in St. Louis)
This rivalry game turned into something bigger last year with the success of both Missouri and Illinois. Now with both teams looking for more success, this should be a really fun game to watch with Chase Daniel and Juice Williams going head to head.

3. Georgia at Arizona State
The Bulldogs travel to Tempe to face the Sun Devils in what should be a great one. Georgia will be looking to start their BCS championship run off with a big non-conference win, while the Sun Devils will be looking to prove that last year was no fluke and upset the Dawgs.

2. Auburn at West Virginia
This will be a battle of the spread offenses.  The Mountaineers run the spread to perfection with Pat White leading the way, while Auburn is implementing a more pass happy version of the spread as their new offense. New West Virginia coach Bill Stewart has a chance to make a statement with another big win, but the Tigers want to make a BCS run and a big non-conference win on a Thursday night would help them do that.

1. Ohio State at USC
This was an easy choice. This is the best non-conference match-up in the regular season in a long time. Both teams will no doubt be in national title contention all season and this could end up being a tie breaker of sorts. The winner of this game will have taken a huge step towards getting to Miami for the BCS title game.