Marquee Non-Conference Games: Who Will Win?

Today I will take a break from the best case/worst case scenarios. I released the non-conference polls the other day and hundreds of you have already voted on who you think will win each game.

Here is a look at how the early voting has gone for all of the marquee non-conference games.

September 3rd

1. Georgia (34%) vs Boise St (66%) Georgia Dome. Like last year’s Virginia Tech game, national title hopes are on the line for the Broncos and this could be the only game all season that UGA is an underdog. Right now 66% of you have the Broncos picking up the huge win on opening weekend.

2. LSU (47%) vs Oregon (53%) Cowboys Stadium. This game will feature two Preseason AP Top 5 teams and just may be the biggest non-conference game this season. As of now the voting is tight and 53% of you have the Ducks coming out on top but keep in mind LSU has won 17 straight September games.3. USF (15%) at Notre Dame (85%). This one could be called the “Lou Holtz Bowl” and it will be interesting to see which team he picks to win. Naturally he was the last coach to lead ND to a national title but his son Skip who graduated from ND and was the Offensive Coordinator under him here in the early 90s will be leading the Bulls into South Bend for the first time.

4. UCLA (65%) at Houston (35%). Last year the Bruins won 31-13 as Houston QB Case Keenum was injured. I think Houston has a great shot of a double digit win season this year and this is one of the biggest games on their schedule. However 65% of you have the Bruins winning this one on the road.

September 9th

5. Missouri (34%) at Arizona St (66%). These two have not met since 1990 and it is an intriguing non-conf game because I have the Sun Devils ranked #22 in my preseason Top 40 and Missouri has won 8 or more games for 5 straight years.

September 10th

6. Alabama (87%) at Penn St (13%). Alabama is my preseason #1 team and this is clearly their toughest non-conference test but 87% still think they win on the road. Last year Alabama won 24-3 and had a 409-283 yd edge.

7. Notre Dame (82%) at Michigan (18%). Michigan has won the last two meetings with touchdowns in the final :30 and this will be the first night home game ever at Michigan with both teams wearing retro uniforms. However, 82% of you think the Irish come out on top.

September 17th

8. Auburn (36%) at Clemson (64%). Last year Clemson nearly derailed Auburn’s national title hopes before they got started as they blew a 17-3 HT lead and lost in OT. As of right now 64% say they get revenge this year.

9. Michigan St (32%) at Notre Dame (68%). Last year’s “Little Giants” play (fake FG in OT) was one of the more memorable plays of the entire season. This year 68% think ND gets revenge.

10. Ohio St (20%) at Miami, Fl (80%). This will be a huge test for the inexperienced Buckeye QB and HC Fickell. It is a night game and will probably be a rare sellout for the Canes. Right now 80% of you have Miami getting a key win for new coach Golden.

11. Washington (13%) at Nebraska (87%). These two met twice last year with Nebraska winning the first 56-21 and naturally played uninspired ball in the bowl rematch as UW won 19-7. This year 87% of you have the Huskers winning the Rubber match.

12. Oklahoma (63%) at Florida St (37%). Last year the Sooners dominated the Seminoles leading 47-10 before the Noles got a TD on the last play. OU is a different team on the road and this will be their biggest non-conference test as they figure to enter Tallahassee ranked #1 off a bye.

13. Texas (84%) at UCLA (16%). The Horns have actually dropped 3 straight in this series including two embarrassing losses at home. Last year UCLA won 34-12 in Austin but 84% of you have the Horns getting revenge this year.

14. Utah (58%) at BYU (42%). Holy War. This will mark only the 2nd time in the last 21 years that this game is not played as the final regular season game (2001). BYU nearly pulled the road upset last year as their 42 yd FG was blocked as time expired. This year 58% of you have the Utes making it two straight over their arch-rival.

September 24th

15. LSU (86%) at West Virginia (14%). This is the Tigers first trip to Morgantown  and last year LSU led 17-0 2Q before hanging on for a 20-14 win. Right now 86% of you have the Tigers grabbing a key non-conference win.

October 1st

16. Arkansas (36%) vs Texas A&M (64%) Cowboys Stadium. Despite the Razorbacks winning the last two years in Cowboys stadium, surprisingly 64% of you have the Aggies winning this year.

17. Nevada (6%) at Boise St (94%). These former conference rivals are non-conference opponents this year and will again be conference opponents next year. Last year’s game between these two teams was one of the more entertaining of the entire year as the Wolf Pack rallied from a 24-7 deficit to tie it and benefited from two Boise missed FG’s to hand the Broncos their only loss of the year. 94% of you say the Broncos get revenge!

18. Air Force (49%) at Navy (51%). This game is important because 89% of you have Air Force beating Army and 89% of you also have Navy continuing their domination of Army. So this one is essentially for the Commander-In-Chief trophy and it is very tight. As of right now Navy gets the nod but just a few votes either way could make a big difference.

October 15th

19. Utah (64%) at Pittsburgh (36%). Last year in the season opener Pitt dropped a heartbreaker on the road to the Utes 27-24 in OT. This year surprisingly 64% have Utah going on the road and making it two straight over the Panthers.

20. BYU (71%) at Oregon St (29%). I included this game because I find it surprising that a majority of you think the Cougars go in to Corvallis and get the win.

October 22nd

21. USC (34%) at Notre Dame (66%). Naturally this rivalry is one of the best non-conference games each year and this year it will be ND’s first night home game in 21 years. Last year ND snapped a 8-gm losing streak to the Trojans and 66% of you think they make it 2 straight over their arch-rivals this year.

November 19th

22. Miami, Fl (79%) at USF (21%). The Bulls were able to defeat the Canes on the road last year 23-20 in OT. This year they get the Canes at home (UM off road game vs FSU) but 79% think Miami gets revenge.

November 26th

23. Florida St (86%) at Florida (14%). Last year’s 31-7 loss to the Seminoles broke a 6-gm series winning streak for the Gators. The Noles have lost their L/3 trips to Gainesville by 29 ppg but 86% of you say they make it 2 straight over their in-state rivals.

24. Clemson (26%) at South Carolina (74%). These two have played every year since 1909. The Gamecocks have won two straight and according to 74% of you, SC gets their 3rd straight series win for the first time since 1968-1970.

25. Notre Dame (33%) at Stanford (67%). This could possibly be the only game all year that ND is an underdog in and as of right now it is the only game you have them losing in as BCS hopes could be on the line for both teams and the Heisman for Stanford QB Luck in the final regular season game.

If you have not already signed up to vote all you have to do is fill out your name and email with a password and you will be all set to take part in the voting. Remember throughout the season, weekly prizes will be awarded that include great PhilSteele.com merchandise!

If you want to see where you rank against other voters, as soon as your vote is entered in, you will see the % stacked with or against you.

The Non-Conference Poll will run throughout the summer and look for the conference poll to be up on PhilSteele.com very soon!

Click Here to Vote for Non-Conference Games!

Only 76 DAYS LEFT UNTIL THE FIRST COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME!!!

The Week One Poll is available right now!

You can vote on who will win this week’s games by clicking the above link. This poll is separate from the conference and non-conference poll contest that you have been voting on all summer long. The tie breaker will be whoever correctly picks the biggest upset to occur. For example if two players are tied at the top, the person who correctly predicted a 17 pt underdog to win will get the nod over someone who did not pick any upsets.

Every week I will announce the winners of the weekly poll along with the prizes. This first week the prizes are as follows:

1st Place. Complete Set of Phil Steele magazines and Polo Shirt
2nd Place. Your choice of two magazines and Polo or T shirt
3rd Place. Phil Steele.com T Shirt
4th Place. Phil Steele.com T Shirt
5th Place. Phil Steele.com T Shirt

Make sure you get in on the week one vote I will keep a running talley of the leaders during the year in two categories A) Total Wins B) Winning Percentage. I will update this weekly as well. Best of all the contest is FREE!!!

Also check out our daily poll on the homepage which you can predict which ranked team is most likely to lose to an unranked team this week. Last year you guys were able to predict several upsets and I will be keeping track on how you perform this year.

The non-conference polls are shaping up and if you have not voted already you have until Wednesday September 1st to vote on who you think will win each non-conference game played this year! First Let’s Look at some of the Key Non-Conference Matchups So Far

72% of the voters feel Florida will beat Florida St on the road.
62% of the voters feel Georgia will beat Georgia Tech at home.
59% of the voters feel South Carolina will beat Clemson on the road.
82% of the voters feel Oregon will beat Tennessee on the road.
84% of the voters feel Alabama will beat Penn St at home.
85% of the voters feel Auburn will beat Clemson at home.
69% of the voters feel Arkansas will beat Texas A&M in Arlington.
62% of the voters feel LSU will beat North Carolina in Atlanta.
79% of the voters feel Ohio St will beat Miami, Fl at home.
66% of the voters feel Iowa will beat Arizona on the road.
72% of the voters feel Notre Dame will beat Michigan at home.
72% of the voters feel Nebraska will beat Washington on the road.
78% of the voters feel Oklahoma will beat Florida St at home.
53% of the voters feel Boise St will beat Virginia Tech in Landover.
62% of the voters feel Miami, Fl will beat Pittsburgh on the road.
68% of the voters feel USC will beat Notre Dame at home.
69% of the voters feel TCU will beat Oregon St in Arlington.

So far if the voters turn out to be right in all of the games to no surprise the SEC is number one in all 3 of the categories with a 89.58% overall mark and an impressive 75% win % against BCS conference teams. The Big 10 was a clear second in the overall record and record vs FBS teams but the Pac-10 is ahead of them with a 66.67% mark against BCS conference teams. I also thought that it was interesting that the Pac-10 played 48% of the non-conference games against BCS schools and were the only BCS conference to be above 40% in this area. The Big East had solid marks in their overall record and win % against FBS teams, but the conference is projected to be just 4-11 vs BCS schools. The MWC also according to the voters is proving agian why they are the best non-BCS conference being the only one to be above 50% in overall record.

Overall Non-Conference Record

Non-Conference Record vs FBS teams

Non-Conference Record vs BCS teams

Now here is the complete list of how you the fan voted on all of the non conference games this year. (Thanks for voting!)

Only 3 More Days Until the First College Football Game!!

The non-conference polls are shaping up and if you have not voted already you have until Monday August 30th to vote on who you think will win each non-conference game played this year! First Let’s Look at Some of the Key Non-Conference Matchups So Far

71% of the voters feel Florida will beat Florida St on the road.
60% of the voters feel Georgia will beat Georgia Tech at home.
54% of the voters feel South Carolina will beat Clemson on the road.
80% of the voters feel Oregon will beat Tennessee on the road.
83% of the voters feel Alabama will beat Penn St at home.
85% of the voters feel Auburn will beat Clemson at home.
64% of the voters feel Arkansas will beat Texas A&M in Arlington.
56% of the voters feel LSU will beat North Carolina in Atlanta.
76% of the voters feel Ohio St will beat Miami, Fl at home.
64% of the voters feel Iowa will beat Arizona on the road.
75% of the voters feel Notre Dame will beat Michigan at home.
69% of the voters feel Nebraska will beat Washington on the road.
78% of the voters feel Oklahoma will beat Florida St at home.
51% of the voters feel Boise St will beat Virginia Tech in Landover.
56% of the voters feel Miami, Fl will beat Pittsburgh on the road.
64% of the voters feel USC will beat Notre Dame at home.
62% of the voters feel TCU will beat Oregon St in Arlington.

Overall Non-Conference Record

Non-Conference Record vs FBS teams

Non-Conference Record vs BCS teams

Only 8 More Days Until the First College Football Game!!

With non-conference games winding down, it’s no surprise to see that the SEC continued it’s domination of non-conference foes taking the top spot every week of the poll. The ACC became just the second team to project a winning record vs non-conference BCS teams. The Big Ten continued to hold the second place spot in the overall projected record and the record vs non-conference FBS teams. The MAC continues to sit in the basement in 2 of 3 categories.

Looking for Conference Projections? CLICK HERE