The 2025 Ultimate College Football Road Trip

There are 136 FBS football teams and this year, there are almost as many incredible games.

College football is nothing if not pageantry. With tailgating scenes that go on for hours before — and sometimes after — games, there may be no scene like it in sports This year, SportsTravel has built the ultimate weekend road trip that can last a full season.

One rule: You can’t go to a site more than once. But you will see a blend of historic stadiums, atmospheres, rivalries and high-stakes matchups if you follow our list.

Week Zero

Saturday, August 23: Kansas State vs. Iowa State (in Dublin, Ireland)
This Big 12 rivalry has one of the best names in sports — Farmageddon. The game has occurred every year since 1917, making it one of the longest continuous series in college football history. However, this year’s edition will be far from the farms of Iowa or Kansas, as these two ranked teams take their conflict to Dublin and Aviva Stadium that will have the full attention of the college football world. —Justin Shaw

Week 1

Saturday, August 30: No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State
Texas and Ohio State is not only a rematch of the 2025 Cotton Bowl, which was a College Football Playoff Semifinal, but it features two of the most storied teams in the sport battling in the Horseshoe. This clash of top 3 teams will be Arch Manning’s debut as the full–time starter for the Longhorns, with the excited Texas fanbase traveling to Columbus to mix with Buckeye red–clad Ohio State fans still reveling in the team’s national title. —Justin Shaw

Sunday, August 31: No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami
In 1988, No. 1 Miami traveled to No. 4 Notre Dame for what became one of the best college football games of all time. The “Catholics vs. Convicts” narrative and a pre–game fight in the tunnel catapulted this rivalry to new levels, as it remains hostile today. This year, Notre Dame and its large fanbase will invade South Beach as the Fighting Irish scuffle with the Hurricanes in a top 10 clash to open the season. —Justin Shaw

Week 2

Saturday, September 6: No. 14 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma
Still getting used to the notion of Oklahoma (and Texas for that matter) in the SEC? Well, get over it. The fans at OU are certainly trying to, after finishing (gulp) 13th in the conference last year. In this one in Norman, they get the chance to get on the right track against a resurgent Michigan team that has had to battle off-field drama this offseason, resulting in recent penalties for their years-old sign-stealing scandal. Regardless of their recent histories, these are two storied programs facing off with two fan bases that will settle for nothing less than a national title. —Jason Gewirtz

Week 3

Saturday, September 13: No. 5 Georgia at No. 24 Tennessee
SEC stadiums tend to only do things big. And they don’t get as big as Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee. Of course, when the Volunteers are doing well, the stadium looms even larger. With Georgia — a perennial favorite to win it all — headed to town, expect heightened urgency and intensity for a battle that may well determine playoff positioning way down the road when the calendar hits December. —Jason Gewirtz

Week 4

Saturday, September 20: No. 14 Michigan at Nebraska
No matter the record (and don’t ask about some of the recent records), the stands in Lincoln Memorial Stadium are filled with red for every Cornhusker home game. Nebraska football is steeped in tradition and devotion and the fans live and die with every snap. On this day, the maize and blue of traveling Michigan fans may make the panorama look a bit different. And being unranked at the moment, this is a perfect chance for Nebraska to make an early statement in the Big Ten. —Matt Traub

Week 5

Saturday, September 27: No. 8 Alabama at No. 5 Georgia
The air will be thick with humidity no matter the time of kickoff and the air will also be full of anticipation as two of FBS’ most dynastic programs of this century face off. The past few years may have featured the greatest combined group of potential NFL talent in any college football game and whoever wins this game typically has its sights even closer on a national championship run. There are games that matter and stadiums that have tradition; few matter more than this one to the two fan bases and few stadiums are as revered as the one where the Dawgs play between the hedges. —Matt Traub

Saturday, September 27: No. 7 Oregon at No. 2 Penn State
That this is a conference game speaks to the depth of the top four leagues in college football and also its absurdity given it would take 41 hours to drive from Eugene to State College. There’s also the attraction of whatever outfit the Ducks will wear going against the decades-long tradition of plain blue jersey and white helmet (with some slight changes over the years) for the Nittany Lions. On gamedays in State College it becomes one of the biggest cities in the commonwealth and on this day, certainly the loudest. —Matt Traub

Week 6

Saturday, October 4: No. 4 Clemson at North Carolina
The Carolina Blue always feels and seems a bit calming, don’t you think? For basketball, the Tar Heels have fought the label of being the “wine and cheese” crowd and in football, even with some spurts of success, it hasn’t certainly had the reputation of being a feared place to play. But this isn’t Chapel Hill anymore, it’s Chapel Bill as in Belichick and the legendary NFL coach’s arrival on campus should juice up any matchup, particularly one with the highly ranked Tigers coming to town and a fan base that enjoys setting up shop in a rival’s stadium on Saturdays. —Matt Traub

Week 7

Saturday, October 11: No. 18 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Texas (in Dallas)
It’s always a party when these two teams come together — at least at the tailgate, which coincides with the Texas State Fair. After the fans consume plenty of fried food and beverages outside the stadium, the atmosphere inside the Cotton Bowl becomes electric. The venue is split right down the middle, with half painted crimson and the other half burnt orange. The Red River Rivalry is a must attend for any college football fan. —Justin Shaw

Week 8

Saturday, October 18: USC at No. 6 Notre Dame
Aside from a three–year period during World War II and during 2020, these two fierce rivals have played every year since 1926. The Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh is scheduled to be played through 2026, but after that, one of the best cross–sectional rivalries in college football may cease to exist as USC has been hesitant to schedule future contests. Notre Dame Stadium celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2025, as it welcomes the Trojans to South Bend for perhaps the final time. —Justin Shaw

Week 9

Saturday, October 25: No. 19 Texas A&M at No. 9 LSU
There’s been more than a few earthquakes caused in Baton Rouge by the explosion of fans screaming and jumping late into the night as the hometown Tigers try to maintain their status as a national powerhouse. The tailgating scene is famous and can be something to enjoy for a day … or two .. or maybe three or four? There’s also the chance that you could see a live Tiger prowling the sidelines, which is also something that only happens in college football and is also the potential stuff of nightmares. —Matt Traub

Week 10

Saturday, November 1: Army at Air Force
There is something special about football games involving the military academies. And with Air Force having one of the most stunning settings for football in the country at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, games in Colorado Springs feature not only the rivalry on the field but the beauty of the mountain setting to make it all feel just right. This year, the new Hotel Polaris is open at the entrance to the Air Force Academy for those lucky enough to get a room in the closest hotel to campus. And a new Air Force visitor center will also be open this fall, adding yet another reason to make the road trip to see if the Falcons can fly high. —Jason Gewirtz

Week 11

Saturday, November 8: Eastern Washington at Montana
Don’t think that this is some “normal” FBS program where you can show up and expect to find a ticket on gameday; the Grizzlies drew an average crowd of 26,978 in 2023 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, where the home team has a .890 winning percentage. Instead, get your tickets in advance and enjoy one of the traditional powerhouses in college football, one that won more games in the 2000s than any other program and can hang with the big boys of FCS, having beating nationally ranked Washington in 2021. —Matt Traub

Week 12

Saturday, November 15: Ithaca at Cortland
The annual game between Ithaca College and SUNY Cortland in Upstate New York was famously nicknamed “the Biggest Little Game in the Nation” by Sports Illustrated. As the colors turn on the leaves throughout the mountains in the region, there is no way you can step on the Ithaca campus without first checking to make sure you’re not wearing red — and the same with blue on the Cortland campus. In 2019, the game was moved to MetLife Stadium and drew 45,161, the type of crowd a Jets or Giants late-season game would wish it could get nowadays. The next year at Yankee Stadium, more than 40,000 attended. —Matt Traub

Week 13

Saturday, November 22: No. 24 Tennessee at No. 15 Florida
Volunteers and Gators in The Swamp. This one may yet play a factor in the hard-fought SEC with two heavyweights preparing to face off. Tennessee may bring its fair share of orange-clad fans to Florida, but will it be the orange and blue that win the day? With a planned renovation to The Swamp nearing final approval — a move that might reduce seating — this is the time to get into one of the rowdiest experiences in college football while you can. —Jason Gewirtz

Week 14

Friday, November 28: No. 19 Texas A&M at No. 1 Texas
Last year was Year 1 for these longtime rivals to find themselves in the SEC together and Texas marched into Kyle Field for the victory. Can the Aggies play spoiler this time around at Texas? Make no mistake about the rivalry in this one. The Aggies faithful take pride in some of their most beloved cheers that are aimed at the Longhorns – something they shout at every game regardless of opponent, regardless of the fact they went years without playing. With Texas entering the season as an early favorite to win it all, this one will be full of drama as A&M tries to spoil the fun. —Jason Gewirtz

Saturday, November 29: No. 3 Ohio St. at No. 14 Michigan
A rivalry that burned hot especially in the 1970s has continued to burn at mercury’s temperature. With both teams claiming national titles the past two years and knowing the path to another goes right through each other, the fandom is rabid. Winning this game could even mean as much as a national title (especially if you beat your rival on the way to their title run). Watch out for planted flags, too, especially at the end of the game. They’ve been known to incite some additional action. —Matt Traub

Week 15

Saturday, December 13: Army vs. Navy (in Baltimore)
M&T Bank Stadium will be the site for a matchup that provides more prestige and pageantry than any other college football contest. The President of the United States has been known to attend the Army–Navy game, which includes flyovers and tens of thousands of cadets and midshipmen in the crowd. The Commander-in-Chief Trophy is sometimes on the line in this spectacle, which features those who will be fighting for their country after their football careers have ended. —Justin Shaw