College Football 2012: Top 10 New Rivalries in College Football

Perhaps the biggest knock-on effect of the historic conference reshuffle in college football is the redefinition of the term “rivalry.”

Classic, heated affairs such as Nebraska vs. Oklahoma, Texas vs. Texas A&M and Missouri vs. Kansas are gone which leads to the obvious question of who will hate whom in the years to come?

BCS conferences such as the ACC and SEC have already begun to identify and deem certain matchups as “rivalries,” but really this is a bit like an arranged marriage.

Yes, festering dislike and full on hate take time and history to properly create, which means that the true rivalries of the future will take some time to marinate, age, mature and then flourish.

Beyond the obvious angle of regional proximity creating collegiate angst, what really can ramp up long-term dislike between certain programs is continued competition for the top spot in a division or conference.

Basically, when the game means something in terms of a title, year in and year out, hate is quicker and more intense.

The following slideshow uses this approach to identify the top 10 new rivalries in college football.

These are the teams who are most likely to, in the aftermath of conference realignment, find an enduring loathing for one another that will one day define the history of each of the programs involved.

10. Boise State vs. Louisville

Even though Boise State is finally scheduled to ascend to a BCS conference in 2013, it's a move that is somewhat dumbed down due to the fact that they are going to a Big East conference whose very survival is questionable.

Yet still, the Broncos are going and this raises the question: Who will be their rival and who will stand in the way of them blitzing through the conference and on to an automatic bid (at least until the BCS retools for the 2014 season)?

In a statement that’s almost too good to be true, Boise State should land in the Big East West (or the Western division of the new Big East) and that means they’ll have to win that before they purchase any BCS thank-you notes.

And, if Cincinnati and Louisville also pitch a tent in the same Big East West (yes, I like saying that…a lot) then you’re likely to find at least a short-term rivalry between one of these schools and the Blue Turfers.

We’ll go with Louisville in this scenario due to the fact that Charlie Strong has the Cardinals on the verge of being a very special program in an ever changing college football world.

Realistically, these two may be the two best teams in the new conference in 2013, but if they’re slotted in the same division (hmm…the Big East West), then only one of them will make it to the first ever title tilt.

It’s important to remember that, at least through 2013, the winner of the Big East will be a shoe-in for the BCS festivities.

But, all bets are off if Louisville joins the Big 12 or Boise State does a double reverse for the Pac-17…

Boise State and Louisville have met twice in history; first in the 1999 Humanitarian Bowl (the Broncos won 34-31) and then in the 2004 Liberty Bowl (the Cardinals won 44-40).

9. Pittsburgh vs. Virginia Tech

After sticking around for what looks to be their final season in the Big East, Pitt should be on its merry way to the ACC for the 2013 football season.

And their final destination there is the ACC Coastal division, which makes Virginia, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina and Duke all potential partners for a rivalry.

Though you could make an argument that teams like Miami and Georgia Tech might present suitable bed fellows for the Panthers, really the most logical approach is Virginia Tech.

Yes, if Pitt has any fantasies of capturing a divisional or league title, history tells us that they are most likely (in an overwhelming way) to be challenged by the Hokies.

Since the ACC split into divisions in 2005, Virginia Tech has won five of the seven possible Coastal crowns and then went on to win the conference championship game three times.

The only other team to win the Coastal division in its short history is Georgia Tech who won in 2006 and 2009.  The other four teams (a number which includes Miami) have won zero.

If Pitt is successful in the ACC, it’s the game with Virginia Tech upon which their aspirations will hinge.

What may help this potential rivalry is the fact that in a world gone geographically mad, Pitt and Virgina Tech are a mere 322 miles apart.

The other tidbit that binds the two is the fact that they spent 1991-2003 as members of the Big East.

Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech have met 11 times in history, all as conference foes, and the Hokies currently hold a 7-4-0 all-time advantage.

8. UNLV vs. Nevada

Though UNLV vs. Nevada is admittedly not in the same league, from a national perspective, as Nebraska vs. Michigan and Oklahoma vs. West Virginia, the clash has all the elements to make hate flourish among football enthusiasts.

Nevada’s shift from the WAC to the MWC for the 2012 season will reunite them with in-state foe UNLV, whom they shared a Big Sky conference home with for several years in the early '90s.

Beyond the alluring fact that the two schools are the only FBS programs in the state, in the new scheme of the MWC they may be two of the squads who are in contention to win the conference on a regular basis.

Yes, with BYU, Utah, TCU and Boise State all gone from the MWC, suddenly Colorado State is the only team remaining who has ever claimed a title in the 13-year history of the league (they did so in 1999, 2000 and 2002).

Though Nevada has definitely been more successful in recent years, both teams have the potential to rise up and grab a title from a conference in the throes of change.

And though a potential merger with C-USA seems to be on the cards, this move wouldn’t detract from the fact the UNLV vs. Nevada represents the best kind of rivalry in college football.

It’s a natural regional rivalry enhanced by the competition for championship hardware, and regardless of whether or not it’s played out with the backdrop of a BCS conference, it’s still as meaningful as hell for the fans and athletes involved.

Money doesn’t equate to passion, and the BCS can’t rule the hearts of the true fan.

UNLV and Nevada have met 37 times 1969 and the Wolf Pack hold a 22-15-0 advantage in the all-time series.

7. Missouri vs. Georgia

It’s funny how more pomp and circumstance has been attached to Texas A&M’s move from the Big 12 to the SEC than that of Missouri, who is following precisely the same path.

What’s ironic is that the Aggies, who have one a singular divisional crown since 2000, are moving to the stacked SEC West while the Tigers, who are bound for the more wide-open (a decidedly relative term) SEC East have won three divisional titles since 2007.

Yes, Mizzou certainly hasn’t racked up championship hardware to the tune of say, Florida, but this is a squad that has earned three 10-plus win seasons in the last five and have done so in the Big 12 (not the Big East and not the Mountain West).

Missouri may well be a more realistic factor, sooner, in the SEC East race than A&M is in the wild, wild, West.

And, if Missouri does make a foray into divisional title-dom, it’s likely that either Georgia or Florida (who have won the East eight times since 2000) will challenge them.

We select Georgia over Florida as Missouri’s best potential rivalry for two reasons. Firstly, in the current scheme of things the Bulldogs represent the program in a better position to make a title run, and secondly they are geographically positioned nearer.

Yes, Athens, Ga., is a mere 736 miles from Columbia, Mo., while Gainesville is 1,009 miles away.

Missouri and Georgia have met only once previously in football, in the 1960 Orange Bowl, a game the Bulldogs won 14-0.

6. LSU vs. Texas A&M

Even though Texas A&M hasn’t beaten an SEC team since they bested LSU in 1995, the Aggies vs. Tigers series still has all the stuff to make a great rivalry.

Yes, Texas A&M hasn’t won a conference title since 1998 while LSU has won four SEC crowns and two national titles in the same time period, but this matchup is still rivalry worthy on several different levels.

Firstly, if A&M can finally pull themselves back together and continue to recruit well, the perceived competitive gap between LSU and the Aggies will begin to disappear, and if it does, it’s not far-fetched to say that these two could compete for the West.

Secondly, these two have a long 50-game history with each other and two of the most over the top, zealous fanbases in the nation.  And this is made even better by the fact that the two groups of enthusiasts are almost the antithesis of one another.

On one hand you’ve got the conservative, straight-laced, Corps-driven Aggies and on the other you’ve got a cocktail-infused pack of crazed cross dressers from Southern Louisiana.

That fact alone is worthy of making this list, and boy, it’s beautiful.

Lastly, these two have one of the best regional connections among the new potential rivalries and it’s all about an I-10 corridor that connects Aggie-fied Houston, Texas with Tiger Country of Southern Louisiana.

And the two are a mere 271 mile straight shot apart.

Texas A&M and LSU have met 50 times in a series that dates back to 1899.  The last meeting was in the 2011 Cotton Bowl and LSU leads the all-time series 20-27-3.

5. TCU vs. Texas

One of the most intriguing storylines over the 2012-13 college football seasons will involve TCU’s migration from the Mountain West to the Big 12.

Since being left out of the Big 12 conference picture after the demise of the old guard Southwest conference, the Horned Frogs have won two WAC titles (1999 and 2000), one C-USA crown (2002) and four MWC championships (2005 and 2009-11).

What’s interesting is how this success will stack up against Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and now West Virginia as opposed to Hawaii, Tulane and Air Force.

TCU vs. Texas is likely to become a huge game even if the Horned Frogs take a couple of years to ramp up to the level of play in the Big 12, and there at least two good reasons for this bold statement.

Firstly, these two teams aren’t strangers and have met 82 times over their long history.

Secondly, with Texas A&M gone, Texas’ rivalry with Texas Tech is sure to experience a boost but even more delicious is the clash with TCU who has experienced greater levels of success across time.

Though you could easily say that TCU and Oklahoma or even Oklahoma State might spawn great rivalries, the fact that the Horns and Frogs are Texas schools with a solid history is hard to beat.

And if TCU continues to pump out 10-plus win seasons and gives Texas a run for their money, this could be a clash of epic proportions.

TCU and Texas have met 82 times since 1897, the two last played in 2007 in Austin (a game the Longhorns won 34-13) and the Horns lead the all-time series 61-20-1.

4. Ohio State vs. Wisconsin

While there’s hardly anything “new” about the rivalry pitting Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, the new divisional format in the Big Ten will considerably amp up this long enjoyed grudge match and bring it to an entirely new level.

Since 2005 the name Wisconsin or Ohio State has appeared on the Big Ten champion’s trophy each and every season, making the annual game between the two meaningful even if the conference hadn’t split into divisions.

But, with the new format these two teams won’t be able to wear the Big Ten’s wedding ring if they don’t first win the Leaders Division, which means they have to beat one another.

Gone are the days of a shared conference title or a three-way tie, magically vaulting the Buckeyes to the BCS. Yes, now they have to first win the division and then the conference championship game to get there (or hope like hell for an at-large bid).

All these factors make the annual game between Ohio State vs. Wisconsin (and you could certainly include Penn State in the mix) one of the biggest “deciding factor” games of each and every year.

The new set of rules that are in place due to the divisional split and title game format in the Big Ten are precisely what will make Urban Meyer’s job more difficult in terms of exceeding or even meeting the success levels of his predecessor Jim Tressel.

Wisconsin and Ohio State have met 77 times since they first danced in 1913, and the Buckeyes have a commanding 54-18-5 lead in the all-time series.

3. Texas vs. West Virginia

Beyond the delicious angle of both being the flagship universities of their respective states, Texas and West Virginia both have the kind of football programs that are likely to be in the mix for a conference title year in and year out.

Historically, the two programs have 49 combined football titles (division, conference and national championships), but what’s more indicative of what might develop in the future is more recent data.

Since 2000 West Virginia has had a piece or full share of a Big East title six times while Texas has three divisional titles, two Big 12 crowns and one national championship in this same time period.

What currently separates the two on paper is recruiting; where the Longhorns regularly bring in classes ranked in the top five, the Mountaineers enjoy numbers that average in the 30s.

Texas and West Virginia both have rabid fanbases, and if the Mountaineers can catch up from a talent pool standpoint this matchup has all the potential of being a tremendous rivalry.

Texas and West Virginia have only met once in history, in 1956 in Austin, a game the Mountaineers won 7-6.

2. Oklahoma vs. West Virginia

For exactly the same set of reasons that Texas vs. West Virginia is destined to be a grudge match of an enduring nature, Oklahoma vs. West Virginia is oozing with potential.

And, perhaps the argument is even stronger for the Sooners and Mountaineers.

Yes, you’ve got the angle of two flagship universities and two fervent fan bases, but in the case of Oklahoma vs. West Virginia you’ve got even more recent success.

We already know that the Mountaineers have won six Big East crowns since 2000, but on the other side of the coin you’ve got a Sooner program that has completely out-achieved the Longhorns over the same span of time.

Texas’ three South division titles, two Big 12 championships and one national crown since 2000 look really impressive until you stack them against Oklahoma’s eight South division crowns, seven Big 12 titles and one national title in the same time period.

Even though you’ve got to wonder how long it will take West Virginia to ramp things up to the Big 12 level, history tells us that the Mountaineers and Sooners are likely to be in the running for a piece of the conference hardware in the years to come.

And this is what makes the game between the two have budding potential on a number of exciting levels.

Oklahoma and West Virginia have met four times in history.  The first clash was in 1958 and the most recent in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl.  The series is all tied up at 2-2 and the Nov. 17, 2012 game between the two will be the first meeting ever in Morgantown.

1. Nebraska vs. Michigan

When you look at the Legends Division of the Big Ten, there is a lot to like and appreciate from a level of competition standpoint.

But if you really wanted to narrow things down in terms of who is most likely to compete for the right to represent the division in the new Big Ten title game, the answer is pretty obvious.

Combined Michigan and Nebraska have 93 titles over their long histories, and perhaps most impressively the two schools have won 16 national recognized national championships (11 for the Wolverines, five for the Huskers).

Even though Nebraska hasn’t earned a conference title since 1999 and Michigan hasn’t done so since 2004 these are both teams that recruit better than any other Legends squad and therefore are logically in the best spot to vie for the title.

The Huskers vs. Wolverines annual meeting seriously has one of the best chances of blowing up into a huge hate fest with enormous implications.

Nebraska and Michigan have met seven times in history dating back to 1905.  Two meetings were in bowl games (the 1986 Fiesta Bowl and the 2005 Alamo Bowl) and Michigan leads the all-time series 4-2-1.