We need more P5 vs. P5.

Looking at this season’s nonconference slate, there are maybe a dozen games that stand out. A few hit us early, and some others come late, but for the most part the Power 5 conference members don’t play each other all that often.

Still, the season will open with some mouth-watering matchups and those games will have an impact on the College Football Playoff rankings down the road.

Here are 20 nonconference games that will shape the race.

The stars align

These are matchups between two heavyweights, with a ton riding on the line for both teams. Frankly, it’s sad that we don’t have more of these.

Michigan at Notre Dame, Sept. 1: This on-again, off-again rivalry matches two of the sport’s true blue bloods with ESPN’s College GameDay on hand in South Bend. Must-see TV.

Washington vs. Auburn, Sept. 1 (Atlanta): This is the first meeting between these teams, and both could make a solid early case for their College Football Playoff candidacy here.

Miami vs. LSU, Sept. 2 (Arlington, Texas): Miami will hope to keep this one closer than the last meeting between these teams, when the Tigers squashed the Hurricanes 40-3 in the 2005 Peach Bowl.

Clemson at Texas A&M, Sept. 8: The Aggies have a well-known recent history of tailing off in November. Good thing for them that this game arrives early. The Tigers likely have the nation’s best D-line.

USC at Texas, Sept. 15: No Vince Young or Reggie Bush this time, but it’s still two legendary programs. But before this, Texas has to avoid losing to Maryland again.

You can throw out the record books

These are rivalry games in which, theoretically, only one team will have CFP hopes. But you know what they say about rivalry games ….

Penn State at Pittsburgh, Sept. 8: The Nittany Lions and Panthers meet for the third year in a row. They split the first two. The old rivals play again in 2019 but, sadly, they are not in each other’s immediate plans after that. Pitt upset No. 2 Miami last season, No. 2 Clemson in 2016, the year they also beat Penn State.

South Carolina at Clemson, Nov. 24: The Gamecocks have been fighting an uphill battle against the Tigers for several years. Can Will Muschamp make a dent in Dabo Swinney’s momentum and end a 4-game losing streak?

Georgia Tech at Georgia, Nov. 24: Don’t scoff. The Yellow Jackets have won two of the past four in this series. Plus, how can you not love, at least a little, a rivalry known as “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate?”

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame at USC, Nov. 24: Among schools that have faced USC more than five times, only Alabama (6-2, .750) owns a better winning percentage against the Trojans than Notre Dame (47-37-5, .556).

Florida at Florida State, Nov. 24: OK, this is a stretch. We’re all just so used to this game having national title implications. This year it’s the “How Are We Still Both Behind Miami” Bowl.

Banana peel potential

These games have one clear favorite but, as we know, every season has plenty of chaos. That’s why we love college football, right?

Alabama vs. Louisville, Sept. 1 (Orlando): Yeah, we know, this would have been a better game if Lamar Jackson were still at Louisville. And Nick Saban always crushes opening foes. But the Cardinals will treat this like their title game.

UCLA at Oklahoma, Sept. 8: How ready will new UCLA coach Chip Kelly be in his return to college football? We’ll find out pretty quickly when his Bruins visit Norman. Oklahoma, remember, is starting over at quarterback.

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

TCU vs. Ohio State, Sept. 15 (Arlington, Texas): Wonder how well Horned Frogs fans remember the Buckeyes leap-Frog-ging (sorry, that was too easy) TCU to make the initial CFP in 2014? Here is the purple gang’s chance for revenge, just 18 miles from their home stadium.

Stanford at Notre Dame, Sept. 29: The Fighting Irish had remote CFP dreams last year. What Miami dented earlier in November was demolished by at loss at Stanford. Notre Dame gets another crack here.

Florida State at Notre Dame, Nov. 10: How far have the Seminoles bounced back since being perhaps the most disappointing team of 2017? New coach Willie Taggart will have a chance to show the world in South Bend.

On the fringe but still interesting

Stanford, Michigan State, West Virginia, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech are not on anybody’s list of top national title contenders, but they have solid talent and could make a run under the right circumstances. Stranger things have happened.

Four times in the past 20 years -- 2013 Florida State, 2010 Auburn, 2002 Ohio State and 2000 Oklahoma -- the eventual national champion was ranked outside the top 10 in that year's preseason AP poll.

San Diego State at Stanford, Aug. 31: The Cardinal lost this one last year but rebounded to make the Pac-12 title game. Coach David Shaw rarely lets a team beat him twice in a row.

Michigan State at Arizona State, Sept. 8: The Spartans made the CFP in 2015 but have been inconsistent since. Herm Edwards could make a quick splash at ASU, where he was considered a puzzling hire.

Mississippi State at Kansas State, Sept. 8: MSU’s odds of rising to the top of the polls, as it did in 2014, rest with pulling off an SEC upset later. Also, we’d like to point out that Kansas State is finally playing a good nonconference foe.

West Virginia at N.C. State, Sept. 15: Will Grier is one of the nation’s top quarterbacks for the Mountaineers. Remember him, Gator fans? N.C. State fans certainly should know Grier. He set state high school passing records in Charlotte.

Notre Dame at Virginia Tech, Oct. 6: The Hokies enter Year 3 under Justin Fuente still seeking a signature win (that was a pretty bad Fighting Irish squad that they beat in 2016).