Copyright outkick
There is a lot to love about college football, at least in theory. I could sit here and name a number of different factors that go into college football being my favorite sport: recruiting, weird traditions, the fact that the games are played on Saturdays. But the most cherished aspect of the sport, at least to me, is the rivalries. Whether it's Ohio State vs. Michigan, USC vs. Notre Dame, or the Iron Bowl between Auburn and Alabama, college football has some of the best rivalries in the world. The Big Ten is no stranger to a number of these rivalries, but the powers that be within the conference decided to start a "rivalry series" and there are a couple swings and misses on this list that make my heart hurt. Ah, yes! Who could forget such classic rivalry games as Oregon-Penn State or Maryland-Rutgers? If there was anything to get the blood flowing for die-hard college football fans, it's this list. I could probably count on one hand how many times Oregon has played Penn State, and yet the Big Ten wants us to think these are two schools with deep-seated hatred for one another. "Oh, man! Throw out the record books when these two bitter rivals do battle." For Christ's sake, the two campuses are 2,692 miles away from each other. I know I mentioned USC and Notre Dame, but at least they've been playing each other for the better part of a century and even have a cool trophy linked to their rivalry (the Jeweled Shillelagh). As many are quick to point out, the conference missed some pretty heavy hitters when they put this list together. Absolute foolishness of the highest order. The cherry on top is the "presented by Venmo" tacked on at the end, just to remind everyone that, in the end, this is some giant cash grab and the sport you grew up loving more than some of your own extended family members will never be the same again. I keep thinking they can't butcher college football anymore than they already have, but then something else comes along to prove me wrong and has me resetting my already lowered expectations. I'm looking forward to college football in 2039, when we have a 58-team playoff and the SEC and Big Ten each get 20 autobids. Don't show this to anyone in charge, either. I don't want them getting any ideas.
