Smack Apparel’s Top 10 Out of Conference College Football Games in 2024

Every year, the schedule makers bless us with out-of-conference games that will leave some fans fired up and others scratching their heads, wondering why in the hell they’d schedule something so absurd. We've decided to rank those games for you.

Here are the Smack Apparel Top 10 Out of Conference Games that we are the most excited about:

(Click on the team name to check out the best gear on the planet  for respective fan bases!)

10) Alabama @ Wisconsin - September 14

A new-look Alabama team will be tested early in the season when they pack their bags and head north, leaving the familiar confines of the SEC. Wisconsin is still in the process of finding their new identity under second-year coach Luke Fickell, but the atmosphere at Camp Randall Stadium will be electric. Expect the stadium to be "Jumping Around" and giving Alabama all they can handle in this early-season matchup between two conference heavyweights.

                      

9) Tennessee vs. N.C. State - September 7 (Charlotte, NC)

Tennessee fans believe in the hype surrounding their football team heading into year three of the Josh Heupel era. Young stud Niko Lamaleava will be under center for the Volunteers, and with Heupel’s explosive offensive game plans, the sky's the limit in Knoxville. N.C. State has quietly put together an impressive offseason themselves and will prove to be a difficult test for the Volunteers early in the season. Don’t be surprised if the Wolf Pack keeps this game close and pulls off an upset that would shock the college football world in Week 2.

8) Notre Dame @ Texas A&M - August 31

Notre Dame welcomes in Duke transfer Riley Leonard at quarterback in 2024. Leonard looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the country before suffering an injury against Florida State. Texas A&M welcomes first-year head coach Mike Elko from that same Duke team, bringing a new attitude and breath of fresh air from the previous Jimbo Fisher regime. A quarterback facing his former coach, two teams with fan bases expecting a national championship every year, and a night game with the 12th Man on full display in College Station are more than enough storylines to have every college football fan excited about this Week 1 matchup.

7) Penn State @ West Virginia - August 31

A backyard rivalry with a history and fans who would love to have the bragging rights for the foreseeable future. Penn State is a team with playoff aspirations every season but could easily see that derailed in Morgantown in Week 1. West Virginia won’t be in the national picture, but anything could happen early in the season, especially in front of a fired-up Mountaineer crowd.

6) Miami @ Florida - August 31

An in-state rivalry between two teams looking to turn things around and two fan bases eager to talk some smack is enough to have this Week 1 matchup at number six on our list. Florida notably has one of the hardest schedules in the country in 2024, and anything besides a win in Week 1 could spell another bowl-less season for a Gators team trying to return to national relevance. On the flip side, Miami welcomes stud quarterback Cam Ward in 2024, and Cane fans believe he is the right man to return the Hurricanes to relevance in the college football landscape. A win in this one would do wonders for both coaches and fan bases.

5) Colorado @ Nebraska - September 7

As college football continues to change, some things remain the same: rivalries. Colorado vs. Nebraska is an old-school rivalry that has found new life, and we are here for it. New-look Colorado under second-year head coach Deion Sanders has just about every fan base outside of Boulder tired of the “look at me” schtick, while Nebraska fans are chomping at the bit for their second season under head coach Matt Rhule. There’s nothing Cornhusker fans would love more than drowning the Buffaloes in the “Red Sea” and canceling Prime Day in Lincoln, Nebraska.

4) LSU vs. USC - August 31 (Vegas)

Two new quarterbacks, two teams with national championship hopes, and two teams with something to prove in 2024 square off in this Big 10/SEC Week 1 clash. Rumors have been swirling that USC has been desperately trying to get out of this game for a few years but had no luck and will have to prove early in the college football season that they are more than just Caleb Williams. Lincoln Riley’s seat at USC could very well be heating up if they don’t show up to play in Week 1, while Brian Kelly has his Tiger team thinking about the College Football Playoff in his third year at the helm. We will learn a lot about both these teams on August 31 when they square up in Sin City.

3) Clemson vs. Georgia - August 31 (Atlanta)

Coming off a down year, Clemson and Dabo Swinney are eager to get back into the national championship conversation, and a win against a Georgia team on a revenge tour in 2024 would shock the college football world to its core. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are more than ready to get back on the football field (and out from behind the steering wheel of a car) to prove to the college football world that they were robbed of a spot in the College Football Playoff last season. This game could get away from Clemson, but if Dabo has his team ready to play in 2024, it could end up being one of the best games on the college football schedule.

2) Florida State @ Notre Dame - November 9

If both of these teams handle their business, we could be looking at two undefeated powerhouses meeting with everything on the line in South Bend this November. Rarely do we see a matchup of this magnitude late in the college football season, but when Notre Dame is involved, every now and then we get a special treat. Looking ahead at both teams’ schedules, this game has all the makings of a College Football Playoff elimination game, and we fully expect all eyes in the college football world to be glued to this one.

1) Texas @ Michigan - September 7

It doesn’t get any bigger than this: Texas vs. Michigan in the Big House. Given we don’t know what to fully expect from last year’s national champion, any time two teams with this much history meet in an out-of-conference clash, it will always be the biggest game on the schedule. Texas is looking to prove that last year was not a fluke and that they belong in the conversation of national championship contenders, while Michigan will be looking to make an early season statement to the rest of college football. The Big House will be rocking, and the Horns will be down on September 7.