Fansided

10 annual games that would make college football season exponentially better

By Jonathan Bass

Sep 7, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Duke Johnson (8) stiff arms Florida Gators defensive back Jaylen Watkins (14) during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 7, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Duke Johnson (8) stiff arms Florida Gators defensive back Jaylen Watkins (14) during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 7, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Duke Johnson (8) stiff arms Florida Gators defensive back Jaylen Watkins (14) during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 7, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Duke Johnson (8) stiff arms Florida Gators defensive back Jaylen Watkins (14) during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

College football is great, but it could be even better if these 10 games were annual staples.

Save maybe figure-8 bus racing, College football is the greatest sport in all the land. From the pageantry to the traditions to the personalities to the media coverage, there’s nothing quite as exciting as Saturdays in the fall. And yet, there’s still something being left on the table.

Part of fandom is being greedy. It’s okay to want even more from your team, city, sport, whatever. Why win by 21 when you could win by 35. Throwing for seven TDs is great, but eight would be even better. There’s no such thing as too much. As a fan, greed is good.

College football is plenty of staples: Chick-fil-A kickoff, cross-conference rivalries and bowl games galore. However, what if we had more? What if there was a collection of games that we could circle on our calendar every year that are guaranteed excitement.

The following slides contain 10 games that, if played every year, would make college football that much better. Some are defunct rivalries, others are completely manufactured, all have a logical tie. As fans, if we got to bear witness to these 10 games, every single year, we might just reach football nirvana.

Next: Alabama-USC

Sep 28, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; USC Trojans cheerleaders and trojan mascot during the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; USC Trojans cheerleaders and trojan mascot during the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /

Alabama-USC (Home and Home)

This whole concept came to me after watching a documentary titled Against the Tide. It’s about the 1970-71 home-and-home between Alabama and USC, and really centers on an integrated Trojans team dismantling an all-white Crimson Tide squad.

"“This game, and the integration of college football at Alabama under Coach ‘Bear’ Bryant, has been a fascinating and intriguing story for many years,” executive producer Ross Greenburg says in the “Against the Tide” press notes. “It is our intention to focus on the truth, and let the viewer separate fact from fiction and myth from reality.”"

Beyond the historic nature, there’s also the sharp culture difference between the two – laid back Southern California taking on the Deep South. City against country. Traveler versus Big Al. There’s a lot of counterbalance.

Tie in the Lane Kiffin potential – at least for the near future – and we have ourselves a goldmine. Just watching Kiffin’s response to traveling to both Knoxville and Los Angeles in the same season is worth the scheduling alone.

Next: Texas-Texas A&M

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