A dream road trip to see every AP Top 25 team with conference realignment adding some spice

Say what you will about the drawbacks of conference realignment — such as the unwieldy travel and the loss of some traditional rivalries — but the consolidation of top teams means the 2024 schedule will be quite a novelty.

Michigan vs. Southern California? That’s now a Big Ten regular-season game. Same with Georgia-Texas in the Southeastern Conference.

These clashes between big-name powers provide plenty of new options for AP’s annual attempt to map out college football’s hypothetical dream road trip. Reviewing the rules:

1. We must see every team in the AP’s preseason Top 25 at least once.

2. Travel between games must be reasonable in the time available. Long drives and even flights are OK, but if you’re at a night game in California, you’re not getting to Florida for an early afternoon kickoff the next day.

The 18-game road trip looks like this:

No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M (Aug. 31)

No better place to start than Kyle Field, where the Aggies begin a new chapter under coach Mike Elko. Notre Dame starts with high expectations in its third full season with Marcus Freeman at the helm.

No. 13 LSU vs. No. 23 Southern California (Sept. 1)

A late afternoon start in Las Vegas is doable the day after Notre Dame-Texas A&M. USC and LSU both have to replace Heisman Trophy winners — not to mention the top two picks in this year’s NFL draft — at quarterback.

Iowa State at No. 25 Iowa (Sept. 7)

It’s no secret what the big question is for Iowa: Will the Hawkeyes have a functional offense? The Cy-Hawk rivalry game is the first big test.

No. 21 Arizona at No. 18 Kansas State (Sept. 13)

An intriguing Wildcats vs. Wildcats matchup in the new-look Big 12. This is the first meeting between these schools since 1978.

No. 15 Tennessee at No. 16 Oklahoma (Sept. 21)

The Sooners’ SEC opener comes against Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, who won a national title for Oklahoma as a quarterback.

Virginia Tech at No. 19 Miami (Sept. 27)

It’s a bit of a put-up-or-shut-up season for Mario Cristobal at Miami. This Friday night home game could be a big one, and it also gives us a chance to catch an even bigger game a day later ...

No. 1 Georgia at No. 5 Alabama (Sept. 28)

Finally, this hugely consequential rivalry is played in a great on-campus environment again. Of the last six Georgia-Alabama games, five were at neutral sites in the postseason and the other was in October 2020 at Alabama — with a smaller crowd because of the pandemic. We will see both these teams later on the trip, but this clash is too good to pass up.

No. 14 Clemson at No. 10 Florida State (Oct. 5)

Loser has to stay in the ACC?

HALFWAY POINT: No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon (Oct. 12)

Nothing like a cross-country flight to see what the players in the ACC and Big Ten are dealing with. This game is part of a huge week for the expanded Big Ten that also includes a Penn State-USC matchup.

No. 1 Georgia at No. 4 Texas (Oct. 19)

Georgia beat an unbeaten Texas team in the Cotton Bowl to end the 1983 season. Their only meeting since was in the Sugar Bowl six seasons ago. The Longhorns haven’t hosted the Bulldogs since 1958.

No. 11 Missouri at No. 5 Alabama (Oct. 26)

Missouri enters the season with real playoff hopes thanks to the expanded format. The Tigers’ schedule isn’t all that tough until they face Alabama and Oklahoma in back-to-back games.

No. 2 Ohio State at No. 8 Penn State (Nov. 2)

The Nittany Lions avoid Oregon and Michigan on the schedule this year, and the Ohio State game is at home. No pressure, James Franklin.

BYU at No. 12 Utah (Nov. 9)

The Utes and Cougars have made their way back into the same conference, and they’ll face each other for the first time since 2021, when BYU snapped a nine-game skid in the series.

No. 22 Kansas at BYU (Nov. 16)

Yes, that’s two straight games in the state of Utah and you can kill some time catching two home games of the newly arrived NHL team if early skiing isn’t quite there yet. Kansas is in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 2009.

No. 24 North Carolina State at Georgia Tech (Nov. 21)

We’ve got two weeks left in the regular season and still four teams to check off. Luckily, N.C. State has a midweek game.

No. 6 Mississippi at Florida (Nov. 23)

The Gators’ November schedule: Georgia, Texas, LSU, Mississippi and Florida State in succession.

No. 17 Oklahoma State at Colorado (Nov. 29)

Deion Sanders was the talk of college football at the start of last season before the Buffaloes fizzled. This game could determine bowl eligibility for Colorado.

FINISH LINE: No. 9 Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State (Nov. 30)

Oklahoma State-Colorado starts at 10 a.m. local time, so it’s realistic to fly to the Midwest for the latest showdown between the Buckeyes and Wolverines. Defending champion Michigan will have plenty of tests earlier in the schedule, but this is still the big one for both these teams — and a great way to cap a dream college football journey.

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