The final game for Nebraska’s 2012 schedule has been announced: Idaho State will come to Lincoln Sept. 22, with time and TV information to follow at a later date.

NU also announced a whole slew of other games Thursday:

>> Florida Atlantic (Aug. 30, 2014)
>> BYU (Sept. 5, 2015)
>> South Alabama (Sept. 12, 2015, Aug. 31, 2019)

The Bengals, an FCS/Division 1-AA team that plays in the Big Sky Conference, finished 2-9 last year, losing 64-21 to Washington State and 56-3 to BYU.

In 2009 and 2010, ISU finished 1-10. In 2008, 1-11.

Idaho State also participated in one of the most hideously lopsided games in recent Division I FBS history with a 64-0 loss to Oklahoma in 2009, played in a rainstorm, in which the Sooners outgained the Bengals 564-44.

Which other FCS team had an open date Sept. 22 for a potential game with Nebraska? National champ North Dakota State.

The BYU rumors have been out there for a long time. The Cougars are independent in football, armed with an ESPN contract and looking for any and all comers. BYU finished 10-3 last year, won the national title in 1984 and have long been home to some of the nation’s most polished pro-style quarterbacks.

Florida Atlantic just hired Carl Pelini as its head coach. You know the story there. Lots of potential, not a lot of money, needs direction after the retirement of Howard Schnellenberger.

South Alabama is like FAU once was — a football startup headed straight for FBS. The Jaguars finished 17-0 in their first two years, playing whoever had a slot — prep schools, military academies — before switching over in 2011 and finishing 6-4. They’ll play in the Sun Belt.  Here’s a good story on South Alabama’s coach Joey Jones.

Here’s the completed 2012 non-conference schedule:
Sept. 1 Southern Mississippi
Sept. 8 at UCLA
Sept. 15 Arkansas State
Sept. 22 Idaho State

And the completed 2015 non-conference schedule:
Sept. 5 BYU
Sept. 12 South Alabama
Sept. 19 at Miami
Sept. 26 Southern Mississippi

Dates still remain for: 2014 (one game), 2016 (one game), 2017 (three games), 2018 (four games) and 2019 (three games).

Discuss.