FanPost

My Ideal College Football Rivalry Week, November 2024

Hello, college football fans!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As you know, Thanksgiving means this Saturday means some of the biggest rivalries and some of the biggest games of the college football seasons. They would be big no matter what the records are but when the stakes are higher they take on a whole new meaning such as this weekend's Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn where the winner advances to the SEC Championship Game next week in Atlanta and remains in the driver's seat for a probable CFP berth.

Now some rivalries wind up being non conference games such as Florida and Florida State because they aren't in the same conference (something I wish to fix either in my dream scenario by just a radical start by scratch realignment or by a "trade" by the ACC and SEC).

I also have mentioned in my College Gameday Prediction series (BTW, my final prediction is they will go to the ACC Championship Game on December 2) that USC-UCLA and Stanford-Cal should play Rivalry weekend but they are blocked because Notre Dame insists on playing Stanford and USC in alternating years in California that weekend. Well Notre Dame and USC are booked in even numbered years until 2022. So the first chance to establish a permanent USC-UCLA rivalry? 2023 (assuming Stanford doesn't have a contract with Notre Dame that can't be broken as well). The contract with Notre Dame officially ends in 2023 so I am choosing 2024 as the start. I am also using an even numbered year since I cheer for UCLA and California in their rivalries with USC and Stanford and they host the games in even numbered years. Also, I prefer Ohio State over Michigan as well as Alabama over Auburn.

Finally, there are a few rivalries that aren't played that often or not at all. They are in state rivalries or others from when I was a kid but lost to college realignment. The biggest was my local one Penn State and Pittsburgh. Penn State truly needs a rival and there is none in the Big Ten. So why not renew our biggest rival from when I was a kid? Yes I'm old but ironically I'm around Penn State coach James Franklin's age even though he compared Pitt to Akron. In my start from scratch realignment, of course I put Pittsburgh in the Big Ten although the ACC's Grant of Rights now prevents that from happening until 2036. So the Big Ten should just not schedule PSU the last week and the ACC should not schedule Pitt (not a problem since they already don't schedule FSU, GaT, Clem, or Lville) and we can make it happen.

The next one to me that obviously should continue? Texas-Texas A&M. It's a total shame they won't play anymore after A&M left the SEC. Another pair who haven't played but should? Nebraska-Oklahoma. They really didn't play too often in the Big 12 and I'm not sure they played at all once Nebraska left for the Big Ten. Iowa? Not a rival. Iowa-Iowa State on the other hand? Now that's a rivalry. I'm not sure whether Kansas's bigger rival is Kansas State or Missouri. Finally, one that probably isn't that big a rivalry but good for one big reason. Boston College and Miami for one reason only. Doug Flutie and the Hail Mary Pass during Thanksgiving Weekend. Hey, why not?

So here's a list of possible games for November 30, 2024 (Thanksgiving is scheduled for the 28th that year). I hope I whet your appetite.

Michigan Wolverines at Ohio State Buckeyes

Penn State Nittany Lions at Pittsburgh Panthers

Purdue Boilermakers at Indiana Hoosiers

Minnesota Golden Gophers at Wisconsin Badgers

Michigan State Spartans at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Got to match Notre Dame with somebody)

Illinois Fighting Illini at Northwestern Wildcats

Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Maryland Terrapins

Cincinnati Bearcats at Temple Owls

Florida Gators at Florida State Seminoles

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Georgia Bulldogs

N.C. State Wolfpack at North Carolina Tar Heels

Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Duke Blue Devils (Maybe UNC-Duke and NCSt-WF instead?)

Virginia Cavaliers at Virginia Tech Hokies

Boston College Eagles at Miami-Florida Hurricanes

UConn Huskies at Syracuse Orange (They should play basketball instead of football)

UCF Knights at South Florida Bulls

Auburn Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide

South Carolina Gamecocks at Clemson Tigers

LSU Tigers at Arkansas Razorbacks

Mississippi St. Bulldogs at Ole Miss Rebels

Texas A&M Aggies at Texas Longhorns

Nebraska Cornhuskers at Oklahoma Sooners

Iowa St. Cyclones at Iowa Hawkeyes

Kansas Jayhawks at Missouri Tigers

Oklahoma State Cowboys at Kansas State Wildcats (Give Oklahoma State a conference rival)

TCU Horned Frogs at SMU Mustangs (Dallas-Ft. Worth)

Rice Owls at Houston Cougars (Houston)

Baylor Bears at Texas Tech Red Raiders (Political Teams That Were Forced Into the Big 12)

USC Trojans at UCLA Bruins

Stanford Cardinal at California Golden Bears

Arizona State Sun Devils at Arizona Wildcats

Oregon Ducks at Oregon State Beavers

Washington Huskies at Washington State Cougars

Colorado Buffaloes at Colorado State Rams

BYU Cougars at Utah Utes

FanPosts are user-submitted, and thus NOT representative of EDSBS editorial or any of our opinions unless posted by us ourselves. Please refrain from posting blatant spam or self-promotion, because this makes us hate you. Thanks!

Trending Discussions