NCAA Football: Non-conference scheduling do’s and don’ts

DO: Try to Take Advantage of Early Season Neutral Site Opportunities

One of the biggest new trends in college sports is the neutral site opener. While some form of this game has always existed (dating back to the Kickoff Classic), now you’re starting to see them pop up all over the place. There are two every year now in Atlanta. The Cowboy Classic is in Arlington. Houston now has a game. There will be more added every year.

This represents a great opportunity to get national exposure against a quality opponent. But it’s also not without it’s drawbacks. While it’s nice to get credit for a road game which isn’t really a road game (the other team’s traveling too), if your fanbase make’s a weak showing it can quickly start to feel like a true road game. It also doesn’t look great for your university and it sure isn’t likely to get you invited back.

That being said, if you lose to a good team at a neutral site early in the season, you’ll have a chance to salvage things. The committee wants teams to play challenging schedules, and even with a loss if you win out and finish strong the fact you were even in that game could end up turning into a positive when push comes to shove and they’re trying to pick the last team to get in the playoff. You could play a cupcake and have your opener be a noon game on ESPNU or you could be on national television testing your mettle and getting credit for the challenge. In this new era, not many schools will be able to afford passing the latter opportunity up.