Most teams have their 2014 non-conference football schedules set, but there are still a few that need one game.
There are four teams from the Mountain West that can play a 13-game schedule (5 non-conference games) based on the Hawaii Exemption. Under that rule, teams that play at Hawaii have the option of adding a 13th game to offset travel costs.
Of the four MWC teams playing at Hawaii in 2014 (Nevada, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming), only Utah State has scheduled a fifth non-conference game.
Hawaii can also play a 13th game every season, and they currently only have 12 scheduled for 2014 (Update: Hawaii added a 13th game at Rice).
Pac-12 teams Oregon State and Washington also play at Hawaii in 2014, and only the UW has scheduled an additional non-conference game.
So that leaves Hawaii, Oregon State, Nevada, UNLV, and Wyoming with the option of scheduling an additional game. At this point, it would be unusual for any of these teams to add another game to their schedule, but still possible.
There could also be another team that will need a non-conference game in 2014. New Mexico State currently has five non-conference games scheduled and needs to postpone/cancel one since they are joining the Sun Belt. The five games scheduled are New Mexico, at UTEP, Cal Poly, at Rice, and at LSU (Update: NMSU has canceled their 2014 game at Rice).
LSU has already announced their 2014 schedule with NMSU on it. Of course, they could still make a change if necessary.
Below are the teams that currently need one 2014 non-conference game. Theoretically, these schools could look to schedule each other, but it’s hard to decipher if they could play without knowing conference game dates
TEAMS THAT NEED A 2014 NON-CONFERENCE GAME
UTSA, at BYU, Grambling State
Houston already has one FCS game scheduled (Grambling). The Cougars likely don’t want to schedule a 2nd FCS team because only one win counts towards bowl eligibility.
Penn State (at Dublin, Ireland), at Missouri, BYU
Like FIU, UCF’s 2014 non-conference schedule was complete until the postponement of their game. The Knights will likely schedule an FCS team.
TEAMS THAT NO LONGER NEED A 2014 NON-CONFERENCE GAME
at Tennessee, at Miami (FL), Utah State, Montana State
Arkansas State has non-conference games slated at an SEC and an ACC team, and home against a good MWC team. It’s likely they will look to the FCS ranks to complete their schedule.
**Update: Arkansas State has completed their 2014 non-conference schedule with the addition of Montana State.
at Army, Baylor, Norfolk State, Duquesne
Buffalo already has one FCS game scheduled (Norfolk State) and likely wouldn’t want to schedule another because only one FCS win counts toward bowl eligibility. UB may already have their fourth non-conference game scheduled because their athletic director tweeted in late December that they will have seven home games in 2014 (4 MAC + 3 non-conference).
**Update: UBBullRun.com reports that Buffalo will host Duquesne on Aug. 30.
Pittsburgh, Louisville, Bethune Cookman, Wagner
FIU’s 2014 non-conference schedule was complete, but they had to postpone their game at UCF due to a scheduling conflict. The Golden Panthers already have an FCS game on the schedule.
**Update: FIU has completed their 2014 non-conference schedule with Wagner on Sept. 6.