The guys who run the Athlon Sports Cover 2 podcast (would highly recommend if folks are looking for more CFB podcast content) recently released a podcast with a clever conceptual game - picking your ultimate 2019 CFB road trip.

The rules are pretty simple:

• 14 CFB weeks in the season and you must see 28 separate teams play over the course of the season - you cannot see a team play twice.
• Everyone "gets" Army-Navy in Week 15, and Week 0 games are folded into/counted as Week 1.
• You can make your picks on whatever criteria you'd like (e.g., desire to see a game at a particular stadium you've never been to), but the 28 separate team rule must be reflected in your final picks.
• There is no budget and travel limitations/burdens are not applicable.

Below are select games for each week of the 2019 CFB schedule that I found appealing (a low bar, intended to generate feedback/perspectives) as options, with my picks in bold. Games are simply ordered as they currently appear on ESPN's CFB Schedule page.

In the interest of killing time now that we are in the dog days of summer, what are others' picks for each week and why?  The strategy element is particularly interesting - are there certain games that you are more interested in seeing and therefore willing to sacrifice the opportunity to see those two teams in other scenarios? This issue will dictate your results. To me, there is one particular game this season that substantially swings outcomes for this whole exercise.  Interested to see if others pinpoint that particular game as well. 

Week 0/Week 1 (weekend of August 24; weekend of August 31, 2019)

1. Miami vs. Florida (in Orlando)
2. Arizona at Hawai'i
3. UCLA at Cincinnati
4. Georgia Tech at Clemson
5. Ole Miss at Memphis
6. South Carolina vs. North Carolina (in Charlotte)
7. Northwestern at Stanford
8. Oregon vs. Auburn (JerryWorld)
9. Virginia at Pittsburgh
10. Utah at BYU

Week 2 (weekend of September 7th, 2019)

1. Nebraska at Colorado
2. San Diego State at UCLA
3. WVU at Missouri
4. Cincinnati at Ohio State
5. Texas A&M at Clemson
6. LSU at Texas
7. Miami at North Carolina
8. Minnesota at Fresno State
9. Cal at Washington
10. Stanford at USC

Week 3 (weekend of September 14, 2019)

1. Wash St at Houston
2. Pitt at Penn State
3. NC State at West Virginia
4. Stanford at UCF
5. USC at BYU
6. Alabama at S. Carolina
7. Iowa at Iowa State
8. Arizona State at Mich State
9. Florida at Kentucky
10. TCU at Purdue
11. Florida State at Virginia
12. Clemson at Syracuse
13. Oklahoma at UCLA
14. TX Tech at Arizona

Week 4 (weekend of September 21, 2019)

1. Utah at USC
2. Washington at BYU
3. UCF at Pittsburgh
4. Colorado at Arizona State
5. Oregon at Stanford
6. UCLA at Wash State
7. Tenn at Florida
8. Notre Dame at Georgia 
9. Cal at Ole Miss
10. Kentucky at Miss State
11. Auburn at Texas A&M
12. Oklahoma State at Texas
13. Michigan State at Northwestern
14. Michigan at Wisconsin

Week 5 (weekend of September 28, 2019)

1. Arizona State at Cal
2. USC at Washington
3. Wash State at Utah
4. Minnesota at Purdue
5. Ohio State at Nebraska
6. Northwestern at Wisconsin
7. Clemson at North Carolina
8. NC State at Florida State
9. Ole Miss at Alabama
10. Texas A&M at Arkansas
11. Miss State at Auburn
12. Kentucky at S. Carolina
13. Texas Tech at Oklahoma
14. Virginia at Notre Dame

Week 6 (weekend of October 5, 2019)

1. Northwestern at Nebraska
2. Auburn at Florida
3. Georgia at Tennessee
4. TCU at Iowa State
5. Oklahoma State at Texas Tech
6. Texas at West Virginia
7. Virginia Tech at Miami
8. Cal at Oregon
9. Washington at Stanford
10. Iowa at Michigan
11. Purdue at Penn State
12. Michigan State at Ohio State

Week 7 (weekend of October 12, 2019)

1. Virginia at Miami
2. Michigan STate at Wisconsin
3. Nebraska at Minnesota
4. Penn State at Iowa
5. Florida State at Clemson
6. South Carolina at Georgia
7. Florida at LSU
8. Miss State at Tennessee
9. Alabama at Texas A&M
10. Iowa State at West Virginia
11. Oklahoma - Texas (in Dallas)
12. USC at Notre Dame

Week 8 (weekend of October 19, 2019)

1. UCLA at Stanford
2. Ohio State at Northwestern
3. North Carolina at Virginia Tech
4. Georgia Tech at Miami
5. Arizona State at Utah
6. Oregon at Washington
7. Tennessee at Alabama
8. Auburn at Arkansas
9. Kentucky at Georgia
10. Texas A&M at Ole Miss
11. LSU at Miss State
12. Florida at South Carolina
13. West Virginia at Oklahoma
14. Michigan at Penn State
15. Boise State at BYU

Week 9 (weekend of October 26, 2019)

1. Wash State at Oregon
2. Mizzou at Kentucky
3. Auburn at LSU
4. S. Carolina at Tenn
5. Miss State at Texas A&M
6. Oklahoma State at Iowa State
7. Texas at TCU
8. Penn State at Michigan State
9. Notre Dame at Michigan
10. Wisconsin at Ohio State
11. BC at Clemson
12. Syracuse at Florida State
13. Miami at Pittsburgh
14. Iowa at Northwestern

Week 10 (weekend of November 2, 2019)

1. Houston at UCF
2. Oregon at USC
3. Utah at Washington
4. TCU - Oklahoma State
5. Nebraska - Purdue
6. Miami at Florida State
7. Virginia at North Carolina
8. Virginia Tech at Notre Dame
9. Georgia - Florida (in Jacksonville)

Week 11 (weekend of November 9, 2019)

1. LSU at Alabama
2. Tennessee at Kentucky
3. Iowa State at Oklahoma
4. Iowa at Wisconsin
5. Penn State at Minnesota
6. Purdue at Northwestern
7. Clemson at NC State
8. Florida State at BC
9. Washington State at Cal
10. Stanford at Colorado

Week 12 (weekend of November 16, 2019)

1. Fresno State at San Diego State
2. Memphis at Houston
3. Wake Forest at Clemson
4. Arizona at Oregon
5. USC at Cal
6. UCLA at Utah
7. Stanford at Washington State
8. Georgia at Auburn
9. LSU at Ole Miss
10. Alabama at Miss State
11. Florida at Mizzou
12. S. Carolina at Texas A&M
13. Texas at Iowa State
14. Minnesota at Iowa
15. Michigan State at Michigan
16. Wisconsin at Nebraska

Week 13 (weekend of November 23, 2019)

1. Pitt at Virginia Tech
2. Oregon at Arizona State
3. Utah at Arizona
4. Cal at Stanford
5. UCLA at USC
6. Texas A&M at Georgia
7. Tennessee at Mizzou
8. TCU at Oklahoma
9. Oklahoma State at West Virginia
10. Minnesota at Northwestern
11. Purdue at Wisconsin
12. BC at Notre Dame
13. Boise State at Utah State

Week 14 (weekend of November 30, 2019)

1. Ole Miss at Miss State
2. Virginia Tech at Virginia
3. Iowa at Nebraska
4. West Virginia at TCU
5. Wash State at Washington
6. Wisconsin at Minnesota
7. Alabama at Auburn
8. Florida State at Florida
9. Texas A&M at LSU
10. Clemson at S. Carolina
11. Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
12. Cal at UCLA
13. Notre Dame at Stanford
14. Ohio State at Michigan

Thoughts / Observations. 

• I would really want to see as many rivalry games as possible, and there are some awesome non-conference games lined up this year (Notre Dame at Michigan; LSU at Texas; Notre Dame at Georgia; Texas A&M at Georgia; Oregon vs. Auburn). 
• The OSU - Michigan game is obviously my first choice/highest priority game. However, if you're willing to pass on attending the home game where Harbaugh might break the current OSU streak, that really opens up your schedule for flexibility.
• In any formulation of this exercise, you will need to settle and pick "filler games" for a handful of weeks. Weeks 1, 3, 5 and 13 are the filler weeks for me, but at least you could travel to Palo Alto (Week 1) and LA (week 13) while also seeing Rondale Moore and Purdue play what could be a surprising TCU team (week 3) and then watch what should be a very good Utah team host Washington State (week 5).
• Texas A&M and Georgia have ridiculously hard schedules. 
• Weeks 3 and 11 are probably the weakest slate of games
• Personally, I am very intrigued by the Big Ten West this year and believe that race will go down to the wire - some really competitive, meaningful football games will be played in November, and Wisconsin's days of running the table in the West are likely over. 
• On the whole, the ACC, the Big 12 and the Pac 10 probably have the weakest slate of offerings, although the Pac 12 slate, in my view, is definitely the strongest of those three.
• I have no idea what to expect from the ACC this year - the #2 spot in that conference is there for the taking by pretty much any team (except you, Wake Forest). 
• Seeing Clemson (i.e., Trevor Lawrence) play in-person in Death Valley was a priority. He is good.

What say you?