Ohio State vs Michigan. Auburn vs Alabama. Texas vs Oklahoma. These games and others like them represent the best of college football, past and present. Bitter rivalries, empassioned debate, and an unwavering disdain for "the other school" are foundational elements that separate this sport from all others.
However, the college football landscape is shifting beneath our feet. Along with it, rivalries that are deeply engrained within the sport may also be shifting.
Join me as I break down three of the biggest threats to college football rivalries as we know them today.
1. Conference Realignment
Geography is important. It is the foundational element behind the vast majority of college football rivalries. Whether in-state foes or a battle across borders, proximity more than any other factor is how these rivalries came to be.
However geography no longer seems to matter in the age of conference realignment. We have Pacific Northwest programs in the BIG10, California schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Northern Illinois soon to join the Mountain West. Last time I checked, Dekalb, Illinois is not known for its skiing.
More to the point, the realignment of conferences threatens the very existence of rivalry games. Look no further than Texas vs Texas A&M. These schools met every year for nearly a century between 1915-2011, before A&M left the BIG12 for the SEC. It wasn't until Texas joined the SEC themselves this past season that this historic rivalry was renewed.
Could this example be a sign of things to come? Only time will tell.
2. The Transfer Portal
This one is simple. A player recruited by Ole Miss who sticks around through their senior season will have been fully immersed in the Egg Bowl for the better part of five years. They will have an understanding of the history, passion and emotions associated with this game that a grad transfer from Washington does not.
3. The Extended Playoff
The argument can be made that no team has ever experienced the range of emotions of the 2024-25 Ohio State Buckeyes. In the span of just 51 days, Ohio State went from the crushing defeat at the hands of their bitter rival to hoisting the ultimate prize in Atlanta.
It's often forgotten, but in 2017 Alabama went through the same situation. The top-ranked Tide lost to archrival Auburn in the Iron Bowl, before sneaking into the CFP and winning it all.
Prior to the formation of the College Football Playoff in 2014, it would have been unthinkable for Ohio State or Alabama to lose during rivalry week and still go on to win a National Title.
Do the decreased stakes of these rivalry games in the context of winning a national championship diminish the rivalry itself? That is a question worth debating.
The Good News of Why Rivalries Will Never Fade:
The answer is simple: the fans. While a 19-year old who grew up in California and transferred to UGA may not fully grasp the hatred between the Dawgs and Gators, Donald from Ocala does. Henry who grew up in Macon and bleeds red and black certainly does.
The tradition and history associated with these rivalries are sustained through the collective minds of their fans and because of this, will never die.