Florida vs. Tennessee: Sorry Fans, but Alabama-Arkansas Is the Better CBS Game

College football and great rivalries go hand in hand.

One of the great rivalries that take place every season in the SEC is of course the Florida Gators taking on the Tennessee Volunteers. These teams first played in 1916 and have played every year since 1990, with the matchups being pretty close—Florida leads the all-time series 22-19.

The game has been shown on CBS every year since 1996, but it looks like, with the recent addition of Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC, there are more important matchups to show. The streak will likely come to an end this season as both schools try to climb back in the national spotlight. CBS has until July to make a decision on which two teams they'd like to televise instead of Tennessee and Florida.

The game that will likely take this rivalry's place during Week 3 of the college football season is the Alabama Crimson Tide against the Arkansas Razorbacks. This of course won't make Gator or Volunteer fans very happy, but it is the better matchup and will draw much more interest.

National Championship Implications

We can be honest and say that neither Tennessee nor Florida are national championship contenders heading into next year—regardless of how much young talent each team may have. Alabama and Arkansas, on the other hand, are, and playing this game will mean so much more to each teams' season as well as helping shape up the rankings.

We saw last season where one loss in the SEC West really makes an impact in the way things end up playing out. This could be that game that will either make or break the season for each team. Which of course makes for much better television.

Who knows what we're going to get?

Alabama has won the last five games against the Razorbacks, and they'll likely be the favorite heading into the early matchup. But there are many reasons to pick the Razorbacks in this matchup as they have an extremely solid team.

Sure, they lost to the Crimson Tide by a score of 38-14 last year, but Arkansas didn't have a running game last year. Knile Davis will be back for the Razorbacks and will add another dimension to the explosive Arkansas offensive, as he rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2010. Not to mention Alabama lost a lot of key players on the defensive side of the ball.

We know what we're getting with Florida and Tennessee. You're getting two teams that are talented, but are still trying to piece things together. With Alabama and Arkansas, both teams are already there, but there are so many questions heading into the matchup. Makes things a lot more interesting.

Change is a good thing

Arkansas hasn't had much success over the years against Alabama, just like Tennessee hasn't knocked off Florida in the last seven meetings. But when there's a better matchup, that will have a bigger impact on college football as a whole, you have to pick that one.

Tennessee and Florida is a big rivalry game in the SEC, but it's not as relevant as it used to be with both teams struggling the last couple of seasons. Arkansas and Alabama is the better matchup, and I think even Gator and Volunteer fans can agree.

Randy Chambers is a B/R featured columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail].