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Last Wednesday's announcements that Connecticut had agreed to a home-and-home series with Boise State and that Cincinnati would be heading to the Big House in 2017 were the latest in a trend that has seen BCS-conference schools boost their nonconference schedule strength.

While the soon-to-be-former Big East is entering its last season as a BCS school, before the four-team college football playoff takes into effect in the 2014-15 season, aggressive scheduling is one way to keep the league on the national radar.

The slates will provide several opportunities for big national upsets in the coming years, so here's a look at some of the notable future opponents for each current conference school.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats host Purdue this season and will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., in 2016. They go to Illinois this year as well, a return trip from the schools' 2009 game at Nippert Stadium. In addition to going to Michigan in 2017, Cincinnati goes to Ohio State in 2014 and 2016 and has a home-and-home with BYU set for 2015 and 2016 (at BYU, at Cincinnati).

Connecticut: The Huskies host Michigan and Maryland this year, the second parts of home-and-homes from 2010 and 2012, respectively. In addition to the Boise State home-and-home set for 2014 and 2018 (at UConn, at Boise), UConn has a home-and-home with BYU in 2014 and 2015 (at UConn, at BYU), a home-and-home with Tennessee set for 2015 and 2016 (at UConn, at Tennessee) and a home-and-home with Virginia scheduled for 2016 and 2017 (at UConn, at Virginia).

Houston: The Cougars host BYU this year and head to Provo, Utah next year.

Louisville: The Kentucky series is the only one the Cardinals currently have scheduled with a BCS-conference opponent through 2016, going to Lexington this season and in 2015, with the Wildcats visiting in 2014 and 2016. Perhaps that will change when the Cardinals begin ACC play in the 2014 campaign.

Memphis: The Tigers host Duke this season after visiting the Blue Devils in 2012. They have a home-and-home with UCLA for 2014 and 2017 (at UCLA, at Memphis), a home-and-home with Kansas for 2015 and 2016 (at Kansas, at Memphis), a home-and-home with Missouri for 2015 and 2016 (at Memphis, at Missouri) and a four-game home-and-home with Ole Miss from 2014-17, beginning in Oxford, Miss.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights host Arkansas this season after traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., in 2012. They will host future Big East member Tulane in 2014, each's first season in its new conference, after playing the Green Wave in Piscataway, N.J., in 2010 and in New Orleans last season. Miami (FL) visits Rutgers in 2018 and hosts it in 2019, and the Scarlet Knights have future home-and-homes with UCLA (2016 at Rutgers, 2017 in L.A.) and Kansas (2015 at Rutgers, 2018 in Lawrence, Kan.) To Rutgers' credit, it had also originally scheduled home-and-homes with Maryland and Penn State before it had announced that it was moving to the Big Ten.

SMU: The Mustangs have quite the in-state home-and-home lineup. They canceled this season's home game with Baylor, and while it is unknown if the 2013 game will be made up or bought-out completely, the schools still have a home-and-home scheduled through 2019. The Battlle for the Iron Skillet with TCU will continue through 2017, with the Horned Frogs playing host this season. SMU will go to Texas A&M this year and host the Aggies in 2014, closing out a four-year home-and-home. They begin this season with a Friday night home contest against Texas Tech.

Temple: The Owls begin the Matt Rhule era at Notre Dame this season, a place they will re-visit in 2017. The Irish will visit Philadelphia in 2014. The two-for-one Penn State series continues from 2014-16, with the Nittany Lions visiting Philly in 2015. Temple will host Maryland in 2014 and travel to College Park at a future date to be determined, after a home-and-home in 2011 and 2012 that saw the visiting team win each time (Temple, then Maryland).

UCF: The Knights aren't backing down as they move up a level of play. They go to Penn State this season and will host the Lions in either 2014 or 2015. They host South Carolina this season and visit the Gamecocks in 2015. They go to Missouri in 2014 after hosting the Tigers this past season. They host BYU in 2014 after visiting the Cougars in 2011. And they go to Maryland in 2016 before hosting the Terps the following season. UCF has a 2017 date at Texas, too, as part of an agreement that saw the Longhorns visit the Knights in 2007 for UCF's first game in its new stadium before hosting them in 2009.

USF: The Bulls host Michigan State this season as part of a two-game home-and-home that will be returned in 2017. They will play the final game of a five-game series with the Miami (FL) this fall at home as well. USF will host North Carolina State in 2014, have a two-game home-and-home with Indiana in 2015 and 2016 (at USF, at Indiana) and play at Florida sometime in the future.

My Jerome picks failed me yet again, and with Selection Sunday in the rearview mirror, my March Madness ones are bound to go to waste in no time as well.

As colleague Brett McMurphy noted Sunday night, it's tough to imagine the commotion that will follow college football playoff selectors in two years when choosing four teams, given the hoopla surrounding the 68-team hoops field.

Until then, the closest parallel we have is USA Today's "What if …" game, as David Cassilo slots each hoops team in a bowl game according to its conference.

I figure Big East fans will enjoy these selections much more than the actual football bowl picks, though Louisville fans will likely be upset seeing a Duke-Indiana BCS title game. (To be fair, Cassilo's seeding was determined before conference tournament season, when the Cardinals cemented themselves as the No. 1 overall seed.)

Here's where Big East teams would be playing this spring:

Fiesta Bowl: Kansas vs. Louisville

Independence Bowl: Cincinnati vs. UNLV

Little Caesar's Bowl: St. John's vs. Temple

Belk Bowl: Florida State vs. Pitt

Pinstripe Bowl: Syracuse vs. Arizona State

As for other, non-football Big East members …

Orange Bowl: Miami vs. Georgetown

Russell Athletic Bowl: Virginia vs. Marquette

Music City Bowl: Maryland vs. Providence

Compass Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Butler

Beef O'Brady's Bowl: Villanova vs. Southern Miss

Let us, for a moment, pretend the future is now.

What would the ACC power rankings look like with Pitt, Syracuse and Louisville in, and Maryland out? One of you intrepid readers asked Heather something along these lines last week, and I figured I would take a crack at answering this question, considering I have followed both leagues this year.

Here is how I would rank 'em at the end of the 2012 regular season.

• 1. Florida State
• 2. Clemson
• 3. Louisville
• 4. North Carolina
• 5. Syracuse
• 6. Miami
• 7. NC State
• 8. Pitt
• 9. Virginia Tech
• 10. Georgia Tech
• 11. Duke
• 12. Wake Forest
• 13. Virginia
• 14. Boston College

You can see my rankings of current ACC programs differ from the final regular-season rankings Heather did last week. My measure of power rankings takes into account best wins, worst losses, head-to-head AND how a team is playing week in and week out. I tend to forgive a bad loss if a team gets really hot at the end of the season.

Now let's move on to how the current Big East/future ACC teams fit into this year. I don't think there's much dispute that 10-2 Louisville belongs in the No. 3 spot. The Cardinals are ranked and going to the BCS, and are a notch below Florida State and Clemson. They also beat North Carolina earlier in the season.

Pitt is an average team, and ranks ahead of Virginia Tech thanks to its head-to-head win.

The hardest selection was ranking Syracuse. The Orange, Miami and NC State are all 7-5. Miami does not have a win as impressive as Syracuse (over then-No. 9 Louisville) or NC State (over then-No. 3 Florida State). The Hurricanes do own the head-to-head over NC State, so that gives them the advantage over the Wolfpack.

That leaves Syracuse and Miami fighting for the No. 5 spot. Heather said last week she would have the Hurricanes above Syracuse. I disagree.

First, let's look at the schedule.

Worst loss: Syracuse's five losses all came to bowl teams. Miami had one bad loss, to Virginia (4-8). Advantage: Syracuse.

Best win: Syracuse over No. 9 Louisville, 45-26. Miami over NC State 44-37. Advantage: Syracuse.

Record vs. ranked teams: Syracuse 1-2; Miami 0-3. Advantage: Syracuse.

Average margin of defeat: Syracuse, 8 points; Miami, 19 points. Advantage: Syracuse.

Average margin of victory: Syracuse, 12 points; Miami, 15 points. Advantage: Miami.

Common opponent: Syracuse beat USF in Tampa 37-36; Miami beat USF at home 40-9. Advantage: Miami

Now let's look at the actual personnel.

Quarterback: Each team has a 3,000-yard passer in Ryan Nassib and Stephen Morris. But Nassib was more consistent, and he's also got way more experience. Advantage: Syracuse.

Running back: Syracuse started to run the ball much better in the second half of the season, but Miami has the clear advantage with Duke Johnson. Advantage: Miami.

Receiver/tight end: Alec Lemon and Marcus Sales were one of the top receiving duos in the Big East, combining for 1,926 yards and 15 touchdowns. Miami has been really banged up at receiver all season. Advantage: Syracuse.

Offensive line: Syracuse had one of the better offensive lines in the league, and went on its winning streak to close the year after first-team All-Big East tackle Justin Pugh returned. Advantage: Syracuse.

Defensive line: Syracuse had 24 total sacks on the year; Miami 13. The Hurricanes were inexperienced at just about every single defensive position this year, and line is no exception. Advantage: Syracuse.

Linebacker: The Orange got solid linebacker play, while Miami shuffled its players in and out thanks to injury. Denzel Perryman just couldn't stay healthy. Advantage: Syracuse.

Defensive back: Shamarko Thomas made All-Big East for Syracuse, while Deon Bush made a big name for himself as a top ACC rookie. Syracuse was still better in passing D. Advantage: Syracuse.

Special teams: Johnson is the best special teams player either team has. Advantage: Miami.

We can further look at NCAA stats.

Total offense: Syracuse No. 21; Miami No. 38.

Total defense: Syracuse No. 50; Miami No. 117.

So, this is all a very long-winded way of saying I think Syracuse is a better team this year and would win a head-to-head matchup. Therefore, the Orange get the No. 5 spot.

Next year, however, is a different story.