Dream non-conference matchups

This is a good question, let’s talk about it:

Got asked this #big12mailbag question: what would be the dream annual non-conference matchup to add to your school's schedule? Thoughts?

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) May 2, 2014

The first three teams that come to mind are:

Clemson
LSU
Wisconsin

All three of those would be absolutely spectacular. I have no interest in getting involved in the Alabama vortex — no matter how good Bryant Denny may be. Auburn is another option I think would be fun but if I’m picking a SEC team, I’m going LSU 100 times out of 100.[1. Or Georgia. Ohhhh how I love Athens.]

The storylines both ways would be bountiful and plus you want to give your students a reason to travel — I’m pretty sure Baton Rouge does that. If OSU can keep cranking out 9-10 wins a year, this could be a real rivalry.

Plus, this:

Same goes for Clemson. That’s a really, really fun home-and-home series. I’m not sure the rivalry is there initially but that’s what the next decade worth of games is for, right?

Wisconsin is the only Big 10 team I’m interested in dueling with. Camp Randall is a monster and I’ve heard nothing but legendary stories about Madison. Michigan and Ohio State are too behemoth-y and the rest are more boring than a Travis Ford halfcourt set for the first 33 seconds of the shot clock.

The biggest thing to me here is the year over year nature of an annual non-conference game. Sure, you could pick Boston College or Mississippi State or whatever but that’s not a dream.[1. I think Gundy’s dream is 12 straight games against UTSA.] That’s a win.

I want games I can get excited about — especially as the postseason national championship picture opens to more than two teams over the next few years. You want to face schools annually that have good crowds, great atmospheres, and fun tradition.

Gun to my head I’ll go LSU. Would love to see your vote below, and comment on what other schools you’d like to face.

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