Best New College Football Rivalries Made From Conference Realignment
Overwhelmingly, conference realignment is doing more harm to college football than good. Cash grabs have torn down the regional identity of conferences, split up historic rivalries, and prioritized revenue over tradition. But it’s not all bad. With historic programs like Oklahoma, Texas, and USC on the move, new blockbuster rivalries bubble up. Since there’s no going back, we may as well enjoy some of the good.
I looked at historic wins and winning percentage to pull the seven biggest new conference showdowns playing out in 2024. Not all of these are annual rivalries, meaning there’ll be another crop to go over in 2025.
Find all 2024 and 2025 college football conference realignment moves here!
Best New College Football Rivalries From Conference Realignment
Note: FLEX times mean TBD from the network, but played between 3:30-8:00 p.m. ET.
7. Florida Gators at Texas Longhorns
While perhaps not a Playoff-defining game this season, Florida has plenty of history. The Gators sit 15th in all-time winning percentage (.626) and 20th in all-time wins (758). Texas stands sixth in win percentage (.702) and fourth in wins (948). The two teams haven’t played since 1939-40, where the Longhorns won back-to-back games. The only other meeting played out in 1924, where the teams played to a 7-7 draw.
Texas returns the favor and heads to Gainesville next season. Florida could be under new management by that time, barring a season of exceeding expectations. The 2025 showdown could also feature Arch Manning and DJ Lagway, one of the more exciting QB matchups nationally.
Florida at Texas, Nov. 9, 12:00 p.m. ET (Week 11)
6. Michigan Wolverines at Washington Huskies
A rematch of the 2024 National Championship game plays out in Seattle in Week 6. Michigan is the all-time leader in both wins (1004) and winning percentage (.734). Washington sits 25th and 18th, respectively; the Huskies have 775 all-time wins and a .620 program winning percentage. The two teams were supposed to play a home-and-home in 2020-21, announced in 2014. Washington made the trip to Ann Arbor, but Michigan’s trip was canceled in 2020 and subsequently folded into conference play this year.
The Wolverines have a 9-5 edge over the Huskies, who last won at home in 2001. Unfortunately, both teams turn over coaching staffs. New head coach Sheronne Moore served as the offensive coordinator for Michigan’s title while new Washington head coach Brent Brennan was in Arizona last season.
Michigan at Washington, Oct. 5, TBA (Week 6)
5. Tennessee Volunteers at Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma and Tennessee played a home-and-home series in 2014-15, where the Sooners notched two wins over the Volunteers. Tennessee was amid a seven-year stretch of winning between 5-7 games, although Butch Jones nudged out nine wins in 2015. The only previous meeting came in the 1939 Orange Bowl, where Tennessee won, 17-0.
The Vols sit 11th in all-time wins (865) and 10th in win percentage (.669) while the Sooners sit sixth (.726) and fifth (944), respectively. This game could have serious College Football Playoff implications. Though Oklahoma plays one of the more difficult schedules in the country, they could be flirting with a top-12 ranking come years end with three or fewer losses.
Tennessee at Oklahoma, Sept. 21, FLEX (Week 4)
4. Georgia Bulldogs at Texas Longhorns
The likely Game of the Year also is one of the biggest newly-made conference rivalries. Georgia stands ninth in all-time wins (881) and 11th in winning percentage (.666) and also carries two National Championships in the last three years. Texas found itself in its first College Football Playoff a season ago, falling to Washington. This year, these two teams are among the four favorites to win the national title, according to betting odds. Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers are also first round NFL Draft hopefuls.
Georgia and Texas met for the first time since 1984 in the 2019 Sugar Bowl. The Longhorns nudged out a 28-21 victory, pushing their all-time lead over the Bulldogs to 4-1. This year marks just the third regular season matchup between the two. Texas won the 1949 Orange Bowl and meetings in 1957-58 while Georgia won the 1984 Cotton Bowl.
Georgia at Texas, Oct. 19, FLEX (Week 8)
3. Nebraska Cornhuskers at USC Trojans
Despite both being historic programs, USC and Nebraska’s national relevance never really overlapped. The Huskers won no fewer than nine games between 1969-2001 while the Trojans ripped off seven 11+ win seasons from 2002-08. It’s almost like USC took the baton from Nebraska. As a result, the two teams only have five ever meetings – two home-and-homes and the 2014 Holiday Bowl. USC owns a 4-0-1 lead over Nebraska in the all-time series, the first games of which played out in 1969-70.
Hard times befell Nebraska in the last decade, but the Huskers still own the eight-most wins (917) and the ninth-best winning percentage (.678). USC stands 10th in wins (875) and seventh in all-time winning percentage (.695).
Nebraska at USC, Nov. 16, FLEX (Week 12)
2. USC Trojans at Michigan Wolverines
Perhaps the most decorated matchup on this list, USC and Michigan have met almost exclusively in Rose Bowls until now. The Trojans own a 6-4 series lead, of which all but two games came in the Granddaddy of Them All. Michigan won both games of a 1957-58 home-and-home series to get off to a 3-0 series lead. Since then, USC won six-of-seven meetings, only interrupted by the 1989 Rose Bowl. Pete Carroll upended the Wolverines in the 2004 and 2007 Rose Bowls, the two most recent meetings.
This series first played in 1948, where Michigan decimated USC, 49-0, to capture the National Championship. USC returned the favor twice – claiming the 2004 National Championship after their Rose Bowl victory over Michigan and winning the ’07 title, though that goes unclaimed.
USC at Michigan, Sept. 21, 3:30 p.m. (Week 4)
1. Alabama Crimson Tide at Oklahoma Sooners
Alabama has the second-most wins in college football history (965) and the third-best winning percentage (.733). They take on Oklahoma, top-six in both categories, for the biggest historic matchup. These two teams last met in the 2018 College Football Playoff, where the eventual-champion Crimson Tide upended the Heisman winner Kyler Murray and the Sooners, 45-34. That victory avenged a 45-31 Oklahoma win in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. OU holds a 3-2-1 all-time edge over Alabama dating back to the 1963 Orange Bowl.
The two other meetings saw Oklahoma win both games in a home-and-home in 2002-03. The two programs have a combined 25 claimed national titles between them, most on this list.
Alabama at Oklahoma, Nov. 23, FLEX (Week 13)
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