If you’re looking to get the best out of a Group of Five’s college football game day, hosting a large state school might just be the key. Although rare, regional rivalries and home-and-home agreements send some of the nation’s larger football teams on the road to smaller schools, sometimes producing unforgettable upsets (see: Old Dominion over Virginia Tech in 2022). In 2024, 14 Power Four teams hit the road to visit Group of Five schools.
Conference realignment reclassified schools like SMU, Oregon State and Washington State. The latter two were excluded from this list, as they struck a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West Conference. Let’s take a look at the 14 instances where a Power Four program visits a Group of Five team this year.
Power Four Teams Visiting the Group of Five
Week 1: UCLA at Hawaii
The Rainbow Warriors are no stranger to hosting larger programs on the island. Week 1 marks the fourth time in six seasons where Hawaii brought in a Power Four program, the others being Stanford (2023), Vanderbilt (2022), and Arizona (2019) – they also hosted Pac-12 opponents in five of six years between 2010-16. UCLA will be the first Big Ten opponent to visit Hawaii since 2009 (Wisconsin).
Week 2: Kansas State at Tulane
Tulane is also no stranger to bringing in big ticket opponents and they don’t shy away from competition. In 2021, the Green Wave were supposed to host Oklahoma before Hurricane Ida moved the contest to Norman. In 2023, Tulane hosted No. 9 Ole Miss – a game Tulane hung in without starting QB Michael Pratt. This year, they look to host probable top-25 Kansas State as the follow-up to a home-and-home started in 2022. Tulane won the first match in Manhattan.
Week 3: Arizona State at Texas State
Perhaps even more rare than Power Four teams visiting the Group of Five is one of those games played on a weeknight. Arizona State visits Texas State on Thursday, Sept. 12, in the first of a home-and-home to be followed up in 2025. The Bobcats are coming off their first bowl berth as a member of the FBS while the Sun Devils play their first season in the Big 12.
Week 3: BYU at Wyoming
A defunct WAC-turned-Mountain West conference rivalry plays just its third installment since 2010 this season in Laramie. BYU and Wyoming played nearly nonstop from 1947-2010 until the Cougars departed the Mountain West. The Cougars took both previous matchups, most recently a 2022 home victory. Wyoming plays its first season under Jay Sawvel, following Craig Bohl’s retirement.
Week 4: Virginia at Coastal Carolina
Virginia and Coastal Carolina have yet to meet on the gridiron despite both sitting near the mid-Atlantic seaboard. The Chants visit the Hoos next season in the follow-up to this home-and-home. The two schools were slated to play in 2022, but the tragic deaths of three UVA football student athletes nixed the game. Notably, the two teams vie for regional baseball supremacy, with both fielding nationally-outstanding clubs.
Week 4: Miami (FL) at USF
Last season, USF enticed Alabama into its first road game against a Group of Five opponent since 2003. This year, the Bulls invite in-state power Miami to Raymond James Stadium for the first time since 2013; it’s also the last time the Bulls and Hurricanes faced on the football field. Despite back-to-back years hosting Power Four opponents, USF won’t see another until 2027 when it hosts former Big East rival Louisville.
Week 4: Duke at Middle Tennessee
This game marks the first time MTSU hosts a non-conference FBS team since 2020 (Troy). The last time a Power Four opponent (f.k.a. Power Five), Duke took a trip to Murfreesboro in 2018. in 2017, Vanderbilt visited Middle Tennessee under head coach Derek Mason, who now heads the Blue Raiders.
Week 6: Syracuse at UNLV
With its new home at Allegiant Stadium, UNLV hosts Power Four teams each year between 2023-2028. Last season, the Rebels welcomed Vanderbilt to Sin City and picked up a thrilling win., 40-37. Barring cancellations, the run until 2028 will see UNLV hosting Power Four opponents in seven of eight season (the exception being 2022).
Week 7: Missouri at UMass
Perhaps the strangest matchup of the year, Missouri makes good on the home-and-home series inked in 2019. UMass returns the favor in 2025. The Tigers might be the biggest opponent to ever play at McGurik Alumni Stadium (opened: 1965). The Minutemen last “hosted” an SEC opponent in 2016, when they played Mississippi State at Gillette Stadium; the last non-regional Power Four foe to play in Amherst was Colorado 2014. McGurik Alumni Stadium has never hosted an SEC rival until this year.
Week 3 Recurring Regional Rivalries
- Cincinnati at Miami (OH)
- Colorado at Colorado State
- Oklahoma State at Tulsa
- Virginia Tech at Old Dominion
- Utah at Utah State
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