One of the benefits of the upcoming College Football Playoff in the coming years is supposed to be a focus on teams' strength of schedule. While it might not be directly related to that, a recent report says the Miami Hurricanes could be set to beef up their non-conference slate significantly in the future.
Per the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson, Miami has been approached to play either Alabama in 2017 or LSU in 2018. The game with the Crimson Tide would most likely be in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic, which the team is participating in this season against West Virginia. The latter matchup likely points to a high-profile edition of the Cowboys Classic at AT&T Stadium.
Given the amount of talent all three programs send to the NFL, you can sign scouts and fans up for one of the games.
It does appear talks are in the early stages, and Jackson notes that the Hurricanes will only play one of the two proposed matchups. Miami plays at Rutgers in 2018 as the only notable non-conference game against a power team either year, so a second road trip to Dallas the same season is probably somewhat of a long shot.
That could point to a Hurricanes-Crimson Tide game as being a bit more likely if you are reading the tea leaves. While it would be a bit more fun to see a home-and-home between the two programs, we probably shouldn't be too greedy considering the stature of the two powerhouses.
The new Atlanta Stadium that will be the home of the Falcons is scheduled to open prior to the 2017 season and a college game featuring Alabama and Miami would certainly be a nice kickoff event, as well.
On the flip side, both LSU and Alabama feature a number of players from the Miami area, so a chance to take on their hometown team should be appealing for both squads.
Also of note from the report is that the Hurricanes are no longer exploring a possible move to David Beckham's future MLS stadium. The trek to the Dolphins' Sun Life Stadium for home games is often a tough one for some fans, and it's no secret that the school could benefit from a smaller venue that would provide a more intimate home atmosphere.
Logistics and capacity seemed to be too much to overcome, according to Jackson, so it looks like no changes will be made to the lease the school has at Sun Life.
Either way, the Hurricanes could be in for a blockbuster non-conference game or two at top-notch venues in Atlanta and/or Dallas in the years to come.
*Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter **@BryanDFischer.*
