By Dan Zealley
Texas Longhorn AD Chris Del Conte is bucking the trend of scheduling “cupcake” games, he tells On3 Sports.
NEW: Texas AD Chris Del Conte says the Longhorns will continue to schedule marquee non-conference opponents🤘
"Our brand should play the greatest brands in college football because we are the best."
(via @InsideTexas) https://t.co/y8IIgUs7yQ pic.twitter.com/y5iDhiv9mY
— On3 (@On3sports) February 27, 2025
It has been a hot topic of discussion since the CFP committee picked the first 12-team playoffs. Does strength of schedule matter? Many believe wins are what the committee values. So, why risk a possible loss to play in a marquee non-conference game?
Nebraska recently canceled a home-and-home series with Tennessee. Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule commented on that type of game, “Why in the world would a Big Ten team who’s already playing nine conference games, why would you ever play one of those games?”
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Del Conte wants these big games. Last year Texas traveled to Michigan. This year the Longhorns open the 2025 season on the road at defending national champion Ohio State.
He argued it’s not just good for the game, but also for the fans to watch high-quality teams taking on high-quality opponents. “Our brand – and I firmly believe this – our brand should play the greatest brands in college football because we’re the best,” Del Conte said Wednesday during a town hall. “We’re going to play Ohio State, we’re going to play Michigan, we just signed a home-and-home with Notre Dame. Those games matter.”
Fans want to see the best vs the best. People don’t want to pay to see their team win by 60 points vs Crapville State.
Hopefully, when there is expansion to the playoffs and conferences receive automatic bids, we will see more of these high-quality non-conference games.
