Summer Kickoff Central
Here’s a look at some of the more interesting storylines in nonconference games from the American Athletic Conference schedule.
Temple at Notre Dame - Aug. 31
Temple’s Matt Rhule makes his head coaching debut against last year’s national runner-up. The Owls are 9-4 in nonconference games in the last three years, but face an Irish squad that went undefeated in the 2012 regular season.
Cincinnati vs. Purdue - Aug. 31
Both teams will go into the season-opener with new head coaches. Tommy Tuberville and Cincinnati play the first of back-to-back opponents from the Big Ten. Purdue’s new coach is Darrell Hazell, who led Kent State to an 11-win season last year.
Ohio at Louisville - Sept. 1
Many pundits are calling for Louisville to run the table in the regular season, but the Cardinals can’t look past a solid Ohio team in the season-opener. The Bobcats opened last season by winning at Penn State and have played for the MAC title three times in the last four years.
Memphis vs. Duke - Sept. 7
A basketball game between these schools is appointment viewing, but the clash on the gridiron figures to be intriguing as well. The Tigers bring a three-game winning streak - the longest active streak in the American Athletic Conference - into the 2013 season and begin the year by hosting a Duke squad that turned a competitive corner last season.
USF at Michigan State - Sept. 7
The Bulls have scored road wins against Auburn, NC State, Florida State, Miami (Fla.) and Notre Dame in recent years and would love nothing more than to add Michigan State to that list in Week 2. Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio won two of three matchups against USF when he was coach at Cincinnati.
UConn vs. Maryland - Sept. 14
UConn vs. Michigan - Sept. 21
Huskies fans have had these two dates circled for some time. UConn welcomes former coach Randy Edsall and Maryland to Rentschler Field one week before the Huskies host Michigan. UConn and Michigan last met in 2010, when more than 113,090 were on hand at the Big House.
Rutgers vs. Arkansas - Sept. 21
Rutgers erased an early deficit to handle the Razorbacks in Fayetteville last season. Arkansas’ four games following this year’s matchup with the Scarlet Knights are against Texas A&M, Florida, South Carolina and Alabama, so Rutgers should expect a hungry group to visit Piscataway for the rematch.
SMU at Texas A&M - Sept. 28
SMU and its Run N' Shoot offense heads to College Station to face Heisman Trophy-winner Johnny Manziel and the Aggies. Manziel threw four touchdown passes and ran for two scores in last year’s win by the Aggies.
UCF vs. South Carolina - Sept. 28
The Knights have a home date against a team that is considered a legitimate national championship contender. UCF QB Blake Bortles will have to keep one eye constantly on Gamecock DE Jadaveon Clowney.
Houston vs. Brigham Young - Oct. 19
It will be Cougars vs. Cougars at Reliant Stadium. Houston has gained more offensive yards than any FBS team since 2006 and will face a BYU defense that held six opponents to season-low scoring totals last year.