Ain’t Played Nobody: 9 college football teams avoid Power Five non-conference games
By John Buhler
College football teams avoiding a Power Five team in the non-conference
UCF falls into the same bucket at Houston
As with Houston, it is an extreme rarity for UCF to not feature a Power Five team on its non-conference schedule. The Knights have a strong reputation for playing up, which has contributed to their growing brand of late, as well as their recent inclusion into the Big 12. However, they are only drawing Kent State, Boise State and Villanova in their relatively weak non-conference slate.
Admittedly, Boise State is a quality Group of Five opponent. As with Houston, moving up from The American and into the Big 12 not only means higher quality conference games, but one more as well. The Big 12 will feature a nine-game conference slate as it briefly expands to a 14-team league before contracting into a 12-teamer once Oklahoma and Texas depart for the SEC in 2024.
Despite not playing a non-conference Power Five opponent, UCF is still going on the road to Boise.
A Charmin soft non-conference schedule for UCLA, surprised?
For a team with a bear as a mascot, UCLA is better known for being Charmin soft as opposed to being ferocious. Coach O may have lost to them in their sissy blue shirts back in the day, but UCLA is not playing a difficult non-conference slate in its final year of Pac-12 play. They host Coastal Carolina, will travel south to Pac-12 replacement San Diego State and then will host NC Central.
Even with Dorian Thompson-Robinson having exhausted all of his eligibility, UCLA should still field a competitive football team in a deep Pac-12 conference. Unfortunately, they are not going to get any lift from their non-conference foes. As it is with Oregon State, the Bruins have little to no margin for error in their non-conference slate. Going undefeated is how they will make the playoff.
This will so be a sticking point if the Bruins are in playoff contention heading into mid-November.
Next. 5 programs who can become new Big 12 superpower. dark
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