One of the greatest side benefits of the College Football Playoff has been major conference teams’ decreased reluctance to schedule other power opponents. And the 2019 non-conference schedule has some pretty enticing matchups.

Here are 12 of our favorite non-conference games heading into the season. We omitted traditional rivalry games from this list like Florida-Florida State and Clemson-South Carolina because otherwise this list could exclusively be filled with rivalry matchups. Instead, we chose 12 games between teams that we don’t see play each other on a regular basis.

12. BYU at Tennessee (Sep. 7)

This game may not be the sexiest matchup of 2019, but it’s important for both teams. BYU is the biggest non-conference opponent to come to Neyland Stadium in years and the Volunteers probably need the win for a 7-5 or better regular season. The Cougars, meanwhile, return 17 starters after a bowl appearance in 2018 and the trip to Neyland could reasonably be considered the easiest of the first four games. BYU opens with Pac-12 South favorite Utah and plays USC and Washington after the Volunteers.

11. Cincinnati at Ohio State (Sep. 7)

Ohio State will be a heavy favorite, especially because this game is in Columbus. But Cincinnati has a claim to being the best Group of Five team and this should be more competitive than the 50-28 win the Buckeyes had over the Bearcats in 2014. Cincinnati returns 14 starters and open with a home game against an improved UCLA team on Aug. 29. That should be a win for Cincy and the Bearcats could be 4-1 heading into an Oct. 4 matchup against UCF at home.

View photos Colorado beat Nebraska in 2018. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File) More

10. Nebraska at Colorado (Sep. 7)

This classic Big 8 rivalry returned last fall for the first time since 2010 with Colorado delivering Nebraska a 33-28 defeat in Lincoln. This time in Boulder, the Huskers hope to return the favor. Nebraska is entering its second season under Scott Frost and expectations are already sky-high. This Week 2 matchup against the Buffs will be the first test of the year for Nebraska and the home debut for new CU coach Mel Tucker.

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9. Washington State vs. Houston (Sep. 13)

Houston has two big challenges to kick off Dana Holgorsen’s first season with the Cougars. UH opens the season with a trip to Norman to face the four-time defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners. And after an FCS opponent in Week 2, Washington State will travel to Houston for a fun matchup at NRG Stadium, home of the Texans. Seeing two Air Raid coaches — Holgorsen and WSU’s Mike Leach — go head-to-head in an NFL stadium should be a lot of fun.

8. Boise State vs. Florida State (Aug. 31)

The Broncos head out on the road to visit a Power Five opponent for the fourth straight season in 2019. And Florida State should be much better than it was a season ago. The Broncos bring back six starters on offense including the entire offensive line. Simple math means, however, that there’s a lot of skill-position production to replace with QB Brett Rypien, RB Alexander Mattison and WRs Sean Modster and A.J. Richardson gone. FSU has eight starters back on each side of the ball as it attempts to flip a -11 turnover margin from 2018.

7. Stanford at Central Florida (Sep. 14)

This is the type of game that UCF needs to win if it wants to keep claiming it’s one of the stronger teams in college football. The Knights were physically dominated in the Fiesta Bowl against LSU and now they get Stanford off a cross-country road trip. While the Cardinal return just nine starters overall, QB KJ Costello is back for his junior season. A Stanford win wouldn’t be a surprise. And it would be a statement that the Cardinal will contend with Oregon and Washington in the Pac-12 North yet again.

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