It’s a topic that pops up every season, especially when future non-conference opponents are announced – why not [team x]? Why do we keep playing this team, but can’t schedule that team? Scheduling can be a nightmarish task, and one that I’m glad I am not responsible for. But, like many others, I’m getting a little burned out on facing Clemson seemingly every year. I feel as though the whole point of a non-conference schedule (outside of cupcakes and testing the strength of the teams) is to face programs you otherwise wouldn’t normally. And because of that, I want to see Auburn start facing teams they have never seen on the gridiron before.

Please note that these are teams that Auburn has never played before. This doesn’t concern teams that Auburn hasn’t faced in many years, or has bad records against, or anything else.

There are currently 128 teams in FBS football. Of those, Auburn has yet to face 43 of them. That’s nearly 34%!! Even if we were to rely on bowl games to set up some of these first time matchups, we would still only knock a few of them out due to bowl/conference alignments.

If college football were to stick to a 12-game schedule, and the SEC stuck to an 8-game conference schedule, that leaves four games for crossing teams off this list. Even if Auburn used all four slots to schedule these never-before-seen teams, it would take over ten years to get around to each and every one of them.

Here’s a breakdown of Power 5 conference teams that we haven’t seen face Auburn.

Yea, some of these teams are recent additions to the top level of collegiate football. But that doesn’t distract from the number of other teams that the Tigers have never faced. Here’s a list of the programs that I want to see Auburn pitted against most (in no particular order after #1).

Notre Dame I’ve been wanting to see the Fighting Irish and the Auburn Tigers on the same playing surface for years now. Just a few years ago, when Auburn was ultimately selected for the Outback Bowl against Wisconsin, I was incredibly vocal hoping to see Auburn in any other bowl game against any other opponent. The Tigers have faced off against the Badgers three times overall, all of which have come since 2003. Notre Dame isn’t at the powerhouse level they once were, but I would love to see these two teams meet in the very near future. BYU Mississippi State traveled out to Provo, Utah, this last year, and BYU will travel to Starkville, Mississippi, this upcoming season. BYU is willing to face almost any team due to their independent status. Provo is considered one of the most beautiful cities in collegiate sports, and I would love to make the trip to Utah. Colorado State Not a great on-field matchup as of now, but this would be such a fun home-and-home series for me personally. I have family located in the Ft. Collins area, my father raves about his time skiing when he made the trip decades ago. He has been talking about taking a family trip to the mountains for years now, and this would be perfect. Minnesota Another personal choice for me, as my grandfather was a Golden Gopher before moving to Auburn. Thankfully Minnesota has been an up-and-coming program as of late. This would be a good bowl game matchup for the Tigers. Oklahoma State I was surprised Auburn had never faced Oklahoma State before. I can see a nice promotion featuring Bo Jackson vs Barry Sanders. Two storied programs meeting for the first time. Think we have a better chance of seeing this as a College Football Playoff game rather than a regular season meeting with the current state of both teams. Arizona State This is another destination choice rather than the program itself. Tempe, Arizona, would be another joy of a trip to make. Seeing Auburn’s all white uniforms inside Sun Devil Stadium set against the mountains in the Arizona sun would be such an awesome sight. Stanford We’ve got some West Coast teams to cross off the list. Stanford, the esteemed academic school with a great football program over the last few years vs Auburn, a great academic program with (an admittedly) up-and-down football program. This would make for a great bowl game – CFB Playoff game even – when both teams are on the uptick. Utah They beat Bama. And it would be another fantastic travel destination. Who wouldn’t want to go to Salt Lake City for a weekend? Troy and South Alabama Is it cheating to combine two teams for one slot? Oh well. I would love to see Auburn schedule more in-state for so many reason. Mississippi State has been very willing to schedule home-and-home with smaller programs, even traveling to Mobile to face South Alabama a few years back (even losing to the Jaguars at home last year), but I don’t see Auburn being as willing. And with Troy battling for SunBelt (FUNBELT!) championships now, this wouldn’t be as much of the cupcake game as many would presume. Navy and Air Force It’s not cheating if I do it twice, right? Auburn faced Army in the 1996 Independence Bowl and twice in the 1920s, but that’s the only Tigers have played a service academy.

It’s not very realistic to hope to see all these teams crossed off any time soon. But I would like to see Auburn attempt to schedule one or two of these teams a year before we see old foes travel to town again.

Updated to include missing teams from graphic and story

Featured image via Getty Images, found via Google Images