With just three months to go before the 2016 college football season kicks off the anticipation continues to build as we look forward to the actual games. With little to talk about before the fall, we opted to take the time to break down the college football schedule and predict which will be the most significant matchups to look forward to watching. Here is a look at the five most important games on the college football schedule.
Ohio State Buckeyes @ Oklahoma Sooners
September 17th
The Sooners are widely regarded as a legitimate contender to repeat as Big 12 champions and contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff. However, they will face one of their toughest matchups out of the game with the visiting Buckeyes in town for their third game of the season. Oklahoma could face a stiff challenge than many are predicting versus Houston in their season opener and it will get even tougher when Ohio State arrives two weeks later. Both teams are considered legitimate College Football Playoff contenders but an early showdown means one team’s stock will get a significant boost while the others stock is hurt. This is a game that many have circled on the college football schedule – especially as it falls so early in the season.
Michigan State Spartans @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish
September 17th
Michigan State will be in tough to defend its Big Ten championship after significant turnover in the offseason and a matchup with the Fighting Irish will be an early obstacle in their quest to get back to the playoff. Notre Dame has to feel confident about its chances to contend in 2016 after making a playoff push a year ago despite being devastated by injuries and this home game against the Spartans will be a significant test. Michigan State is set to return just 10 starters so the fact that this matchup highlighted on the college football schedule for early in the year, so it certainly won’t help their chances.
Clemson Tigers @ Florida State Seminoles
October 29th
The Tigers will be in tough to defend their title in the ACC with Florida State, Miami and Louisville all looking to knock Clemson off at the top. A matchup with the Seminoles the weekend before Halloween could very well determine which of those teams makes it to the ACC championship game. Florida State is getting a lot of hype as a potential national title contender but if they are going to live up to that billing they will have to get through Clemson. Deshaun Watson and the Tigers aren’t about to roll over and both of these teams could be undefeated heading in to one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the season.
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. LSU Tigers
November 5th
While the first two matchups on this list are important because of the national implications they might have, the remainder of the list is built around the conference showdowns that could ultimately determine which teams come out on top in three of the power five conferences. Alabama has won the last five meetings versus LSU and the odds are they will need to extend that win streak to six in order to repeat as SEC champions. The Tigers have the talent to compete with the Crimson Tide but they need better quarterback play and a superstar performance from running back Leonard Fournette in order to come out on top in this game. LSU will have the benefit of home field advantage but it will be a very tough matchup nonetheless versus Alabama.
Michigan Wolverines @ Ohio State Buckeyes
November 26th
The Buckeyes narrowly edged out Michigan in the first meeting of the Jim Harbaugh era a year ago but the Wolverines have reloaded with even more talent on both sides of the football and Michigan is better positioned to challenge for Big Ten supremacy this season. Ohio State has won 13 of the last 15 matchups between these teams but this year’s game will have a different feeling heading in to it with both teams projected to contend for a Big Ten championship. The wolverines haven’t won in Columbus since 2000 but they might have to do exactly that in order to contend both in the conference and on the national stage.
