The SEC is generally considered the best football conference. But their teams aren’t always known to have the toughest non-conference schedules.

Sure there are some cupcakes year in and year out, but there are also some great match-ups. And some of those are in-state rivalries.

Here is my pick for the Top 10 SEC non-conference games for the 2012 season:

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will host the UMass Minutemen in 2015, Gazette.net has reported.

The contest could reunite Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and UMass head coach Charley Molnar. Molnar was Kelly’s offensive coordinator at Notre Dame in 2010 and 2011.

The Ole Miss Rebels officially announced dates for seven future football games this afternoon, including games against Idaho, New Mexico State, Troy, and UL Lafayette.

Ole Miss opens the 2013 season at home against Idaho on Aug. 31, followed by a visit from Southeast Missouri State on Sept. 17. The Rebels then travel to face the Texas Longhorns on Sept. 14 before hosting Troy on Nov. 16.

The Georgia State Panthers have accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference on July 1, 2013, the school announced this afternoon.

GSU will begin competition in the Sun Belt in the 2013-14 academic year. The Panthers were a founding member of the Sun Belt back in 1976 but left the conference in 1981.

The 2012 Kentucky at Louisville game has been moved to Sunday, Sept. 2 and will be televised by ESPN at 3:30 p.m. ET, both schools announced today.

The game will be played at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and is the season-opener for both schools. This will be the seventh time that the Kentucky-Louisville game has been played on a Sunday.

Boise State and Utah State have scheduled a home-and-home football series for 2014 and 2015, the schools announced today.

Boise State will travel to face Utah State at Romney Stadium in Logan on Sept. 27, 2014. The Broncos will then host the Aggies at Bronco Stadium in Boise on Sept, 26, 2015.

Bowl Championship Series officials have narrowed their discussions for a college football playoff to four options, USA TODAY has reported.

Among the scenarios is a controversial “four teams plus” format. Under that proposal, the field would contain six teams and would preserve the traditional Big Ten vs. Pac-12 match-up in the Rose Bowl.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers announced a few changes to their future football schedules this morning.

On Sept. 6, 2014, Minnesota will host the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at TCF Bank Stadium.

The Golden Gophers were previously scheduled to travel to Miami (OH) on Sept. 6, 2014, but will now make the trip to face the RedHawks on Sept. 17, 2016.

2012 College Football Schedule “Gear Up” T-shirts are now available in our fan shop. Each t-shirt features the 2012 football schedule on the back of a helmet, the school’s logo and conference, and other graphics.

The 2012 football schedule t-shirts are $18.95 and currently available for 12 NCAA FBS teams (see example Alabama shirt below). Direct links to the available teams are…

Speaking to 790 The Zone today, Clemson athletics director Terry Don Phillips said he “absolutely” expects the Tigers to play their future home-and-home football series against Georgia.

Last week, it was reported that Clemson was on the verge of canceling the series which is scheduled for 2013 at Clemson and 2014 at Georgia. With the ACC moving to a nine-game conference schedule (likely in 2013), the Tigers need to cancel one non-conference game in both 2013 and 2014.

The 2012 Mid-American Conference (MAC) football schedules were released today. The season begins on Thursday, August 30 with Akron, Central Michigan and UMass each hosting non-conference opponents.

Temple is no longer a part of the MAC as they have joined the Big East for the 2012 season. As a result, Bowling Green was moved back to the MAC East Division.

Georgia Tech is planning to cancel future football games against BYU in 2014 and 2017, the AJC reported earlier this week.

The Yellow Jackets are currently slated to host the Cougars on Oct. 11, 2014 and travel to Provo on Oct. 14, 2017. The two games are part of a four-game, home-and-home series that was scheduled in October 2010.

The Georgia State Panthers are a candidate to receive an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference, CBSSports.com has reported.

GSU could be invited and added to the Sun Belt as early as the 2013 season. The Panthers are set to join the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) for football this Fall.

The Cincinnati Bearcats have completed their non-conference schedule for 2013 and 2014 and have two games scheduled for 2015, the school announced on Tuesday.

Cincinnati is currently scheduled to open the 2013 season at home against Purdue (Aug. 31) and later host Northwestern State on a date to be announced.

The Big East officially announced their 2012 football schedules today. Conference play begins on Thursday, Sept. 6 when Cincinnati hosts Pittsburgh.

For the 2012 season, the Big East welcomes Temple as a new member. The Owls, who have competed in the MAC since 2007, were members of the Big East from 1991 through 2004.

The USF Bulls have announced their 2012 football schedule, which features games against Florida State, Miami (FL), Nevada, Cincinnati, Louisville and Pittsburgh.

South Florida opens the 2012 season at home on Sept. 1 against the Chattanooga Mocs. The following week, USF travels to face the Nevada Wolf Pack of the MWC.

The Temple Owls have announced their 2012 football schedule, which features games against Maryland, Penn State, Cincinnati, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Rutgers.

The 2012 season will be the first in the Big East for Temple since 2004. The Owls were previously a member of the Big East, but were dismissed from the conference and joined the MAC after two seasons as an Independent.

The Syracuse Orange have announced their 2012 football schedule, which features games against Minnesota, Northwestern, USC, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and UConn.

Syracuse opens the 2012 season at home on Sept. 1 against the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten. The following week, Syracuse takes on the USC Trojans at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights have announced their 2012 football schedule, which features games against Army, Cincinnati, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and UConn.

Rutgers opens the 2012 season on Sept. 1 at Tulane followed by their home opener on Sept. 8 against Howard. Other non-conference games include home contests against Kent State (Sept. 15) and Army (Nov. 10) and at Arkansas (Sept. 22).

The Pittsburgh Panthers have announced their 2012 football schedule, which features games against Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, Louisville, Rutgers and Syracuse.

Pittsburgh opens the 2012 season at home on Sept. 1 against the Youngstown State Penguins. Other non-conference games include vs. Virginia Tech (Sept. 15), vs. Gardner-Webb (Sept. 22), at Buffalo (Oct. 20) and at Notre Dame (Nov. 3).