Top 15 Non-Conference College Football Games to Watch This Year

Sep 6, 2014; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks and Michigan State Spartans gather following the game at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

3. Oregon Ducks at Michigan State Spartans; Saturday, Sept. 12

Last year, the Michigan State Spartans suffered two losses against the two teams who run the spread offense and played each other in the national championship game. The first was on the road against the Oregon Ducks in which the Spartans led 27-18 before getting blown out by 19.

Still, Michigan State was rebuilding at linebacker last year. That should be more set this year, and this game is at home. That means the Spartans are set to give the Ducks a much more exciting game than they did last year.

As the second game of the season, this game will tell us a lot about both teams.

Michigan State has Connor Cook back at quarterback but needs to replace talent elsewhere on both sides of the ball, and Oregon needs to replace Marcus Mariota.

The game could tell us which team can remain in the national championship hunt with those issues. It could be just one. It could be both. It could be neither, but that’s not something we can gather from that game alone.

Still, this is a game between two teams looking to prove they still belong in the national title hunt, and it’s a revenge game for Michigan State, who will be at home. With both of these teams Top 10 caliber, we have a very interesting match-up.

Next: #2: Georgia at Georgia Tech