Traditional College Football Rivalries Upended by Conference Realignments

Eighteen teams in the Big “Ten.” Sixteen in the Big “12.” Stanford and Cal-Berkeley in the “Atlantic” Coast Conference. Texas in the “Southeast” Conference. Two teams in the Pac-“12.”

College football sure loves its misnomers.

Faulty logic aside, conference realignment is wreaking havoc on history and tradition, laying waste to some long-standing rivalries as teams forgo fan favorites in search of ever-higher media payouts.

At the same time, all this deck reshuffling promises to birth new rivalries while rekindling others.

Here’s a look at the state of top college football rivalries come 2024, when the new realignment landscape emerges.

The battle of Los Angeles has been waged for almost a century. But the Big Ten is a much larger conference, and the East/West divisions will disappear starting next year, meaning head-to-head competition will be less consistent. Will the USC-UCLA rivalry survive? Yes, thanks to an agreement that the game will be a guaranteed annual protected matchup.

The Duel in the Desert rivalry dates back to the 19th century, with the winner claiming the Territorial Cup, the oldest such trophy in college football. Will this dusty grudge match continue once both schools land in the Big 12? Will the league institute divisions to guarantee some schools meet each year? It’s too early to tell.

The Red River Showdown ranks among the best in college football (last year’s 49-0 pasting by Texas notwithstanding). Both schools are making the leap to the SEC, which is doing away with its East and West divisions beginning next year, meaning teams will play a wider variety of opponents. We know Texas and Oklahoma will face each other in 2024. But beyond that, it remains unclear.

The Bear Bowl waged between the two UC system juggernauts faces extinction. With UCLA departing for the Big Ten and Cal headed for the ACC, what are the chances these teams continue to battle as they have each year since 1933 (in some cases, twice in the same year)? For 2024 and 2025, the answer is zero now that we know UCLA’s schedule. It seems this California clash is a realignment casualty.

This tradition predates the USC-UCLA rivalry by 24 years. But it, too, appears doomed given their divergent paths once they jettison the Pac-12. They won’t face one another in 2024 or 2025. Perhaps they can schedule nonconference matchups down the road to rekindle their in-state feud.

It’s known as Bedlam, which aptly describes the state of college football in general. Given the head-to-head record, this rivalry resembles that between a hammer and a nail. But realignment is putting Bedlam to bed, at least for now, as Oklahoma departs for the SEC. Perhaps Oklahoma State shouldn’t be sad to see them go.

These two traditional rivals haven’t met since 2011, when the Aggies decided to skedaddle to the SEC. But now that Texas is joining them, the Lone Star Showdown is renewed, one of the positives to come out of realignment.

The Longhorns’ departure for the SEC, while reigniting a blood feud with the Aggies, pulls the plug on the annual matchup with Baylor. Considering the lopsided history, though, the Bears are no doubt happy to say SEC-ya.

Once known as the Civil War, this Pacific Northwest rivalry may witness its last battle when these two teams meet in November, although school officials have pledged to keep the tradition alive.

A similar scenario will play out in Washington, where the Apple Cup might survive the Huskies’ move to the Big Ten. Washington State gets left behind in what remains of the Pac-12, but both teams have skin in this game.

Did you say, “Utes”? The Holy War is heating up thanks to Utah’s decision to abandon the sinking Pac-12 ship and join BYU in the Big 12. These two fan bases don’t seem to get along, which makes the Battle of the Beehive State that much more intriguing.

Longtime rivals in the former Southwest Conference, these teams have met only five times since Arkansas left for the SEC in 1992. But that changes next year when Texas joins the SEC and the rivalry is reborn.

Stanford-Duke hardly constitutes a rivalry, but realignment could create one when Stanford joins Duke in the ACC next year. These two academic powerhouses might launch the Brainiac Bowl, the conference’s answer to Harvard-Yale and Amherst-Williams, among other annual egghead matchups.