10 Spring Football Exhibition Games We Wish We Could See in 2015
Let’s be honest: Spring football games are less than inspiring.
For college football coaches across the nation, their first job for next season is evaluating their returning players and any spring enrollees and seeing how the pieces fit together before true freshmen arrive for summer workouts.
Entertainment and real football? That’s secondary.
So while fans are excited—and understandably so—about spring football, remember that spring football games are too often defined by uneven play, unusual pre-set rules and divided rosters that often create action which is hard to watch.
This is largely because players are playing in combinations that haven’t been used all spring.
Oh, and did we mention that most of these games are televised, which only feeds into coaches’ paranoia over Week 1 opponents?
Changing this is simple: Let teams play spring exhibitions against fellow FBS programs. Teams could play home-and-home series against opponents they don’t normally face, sharing revenues down the middle. Everybody wins.
How could we make the most of it? Provide attractive matchups that fans really want to see. Here are 10 matchups we’d like to see this spring.
Alabama vs. Florida State
1 of 10
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Jimbo Fisher vs. Nick Saban. Student vs. mentor. Two of the best programs in the nation. Two programs which were on a potential collision course in the 2014 College Football Playoff until Ohio State and Oregon got in the way.
Who wouldn’t want to see the Crimson Tide and Seminoles face off? It’d be the hottest ticket of the spring—and maybe the fall, too.
The teams have met only three times, and only once since 1974, with Florida State taking a 21-14 victory over ‘Bama in 2007, a neutral-site game played in Jacksonville. Saban was in his first month as the Tide’s coach while Fisher was across the sideline as FSU’s offensive coordinator.
With Jameis Winston and Blake Sims gone, both teams will be breaking in new quarterbacks, but Alabama’s Jake Coker facing off against his former FSU teammates would be a delicious subplot.
Both teams will be looking for new No. 1 receivers as well. But both remain extremely talented. This would be must-see spring TV.
Arkansas vs. Oklahoma
2 of 10
Arkansas and Oklahoma share a border, but meetings between the powerful programs are exceedingly rare. The Razorbacks and Sooners have met only three times since 1926, all in bowl games.
Their last meeting came in the 2002 Cotton Bowl, a 10-3 Oklahoma victory.
They enter 2015 trending in opposite directions. Last fall, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema broke a 17-game SEC losing streak, got the Hogs in a bowl and thrashed Texas to end the season on a high.
Oklahoma entered 2014 as a College Football Playoff contender but badly underperformed, ending with an ugly 40-6 Russell Athletic Bowl loss to Clemson.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops revamped his offensive staff, hiring East Carolina offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley to employ the Air Raid system.
Incumbent starting quarterback Trevor Knight could face a potential spring challenge from Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield. Bielema’s power-run offense vs. Riley’s wide-open system would create a fun contrast, and it’d be an easy trip for both fanbases.
Boise State vs. Oregon
3 of 10
When you think of the top teams in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon comes to mind. But who else? Washington? Oregon State?
How about Boise State?
Over the past decade, the Broncos have established themselves as perhaps the best team outside of a Power Five conference, winning a trio of BCS/College Football Playoff games, including last fall’s Fiesta Bowl win over Arizona.
And did you know that Boise State actually owns a 2-0 record against the Ducks? That’s right. Boise State swept a home-and-home against Oregon in 2008-09, a series best remembered for Oregon tailback LeGarrette Blount’s postgame sucker punch of a Boise State player following the Broncos' 19-8 win in 2009.
Why not renew the series this spring? Oregon is coming off a national title game appearance but must replace Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota.
Eastern Washington star Vernon Adams will transfer in but won’t arrive until summer, leaving junior Jeff Lockie, redshirt freshman Morgan Mahalak and Georgia Tech transfer Ty Griffin to battle it out.
Boise State returns 17 starters but must replace quarterback Grant Hedrick and star tailback Jay Ajayi. It’s the perfect time for the Pacific Northwest powers to tangle and work out the kinks in a fun matchup.
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LSU vs. Texas
4 of 10
LSU and Texas should be natural rivals. The programs are traditional college football powers, share a border and consistently compete for some of the best recruits in both Louisiana and Texas. They’ve faced off only once since 1961, but they should play regularly.
The powers that be noticed: Last fall, LSU and Texas announced a home-and-home series for 2019 and 2020.
But why wait? We’re impatient. We want the matchup now. Both teams will face interesting quarterback situations this spring.
At LSU, neither Brandon Harris nor Anthony Jennings were impressive running the Tigers offense last fall. They’ll battle again this spring for quarterback supremacy.
At Texas, Tyrone Swoopes will face spring competition from Jerrod Heard and others. Charlie Strong needs better quarterback play to improve on a 6-7 record in his second season.
As Wescott Eberts of Burnt Orange Nation notes, changes to Texas' offense—including an uptempo style—could be coming this fall. That would also affect the quarterback scenario.
Both programs will boast impressive defenses which would test those quarterbacks. Throw in passionate fans on both sides, and you’d have a spring game you’d remember rather than forget an hour after the final whistle blew.
Kansas vs. Missouri
5 of 10
On paper, this doesn’t look like a particularly impressive matchup. I mean, are we really excited about seeing new Kansas coach Clint Bowen match wits with Missouri’s Gary Pinkel in spring? Not really.
Those pooh-poohing this game, however, don’t understand the bitter history behind it. Kansans and Missourians just don’t like each other, a mutual feeling that dates back to the Civil War.
Kansas wasn’t pleased that Missouri bolted from the Big 12 to the SEC, ending one of the nation’s oldest rivalries.
The teams have yet to agree on scheduling which would renew the rivalry, but it’s too perfect to sit dormant for long. Rent out Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, bring in the Jayhawks and Tigers, and watch the animosity—and fan dollars—flow.
Marshall vs. West Virginia
6 of 10
Marshall and West Virginia share a state, but West Virginia’s two FBS programs don’t have much of a shared history. The teams have faced off only 12 times, with seven of those meetings coming from 2006 to 2012.
The programs don’t have any regular-season meetings currently scheduled, and Marshall hasn’t made a huge impression on the Mountaineers. Since gaining FBS status, the Thundering Herd have come within 10 points of West Virginia just once, a 24-21 loss in 2010.
This spring would be the perfect time for a matchup.
Both teams are coming off stellar seasons, but both are replacing standout quarterbacks this spring. They could work through their issues, test each other and give their respective fanbases a real treat.
Michigan vs. Stanford
7 of 10
This winter, Michigan fans have been in a permanent state of glee. Who can blame them? Following the firing of Brady Hoke, the Wolverines’ athletic department shot for the moon and got it.
Michigan welcomed most favored son Jim Harbaugh back to Ann Arbor as the program’s savior in khakis.
While Harbaugh might not have immediate success with a roster that finished 5-7 last season and lost its top quarterback and receiver in Devin Gardner and Devin Funchess, respectively, he’ll still have a honeymoon. Not that it matters to Harbaugh, who wants to win and win now.
A perfect way to test his new team would be with a matchup against his old team. Harbaugh’s Stanford successor, David Shaw, has taken what his old boss built and improved on it, winning Pac-12 titles in 2012 and 2013.
The Cardinal slipped to 8-5 last fall but finished on a high with blowout wins over UCLA and Maryland in the Foster Farms Bowl. They should be even better in 2015.
Facing off against Stanford would be a great way for the Wolverines to see where they are and how far they have to go to reach Harbaugh’s exacting standards.
Michigan State-Southern California
8 of 10
Michigan State-Southern California is a classic Big 10-Pac-12 matchup that occurs all too rarely. The teams’ all-time series is tied at four wins apiece, with the last meeting being a 17-16 Michigan State win in the 1990 Sun Bowl.
This spring would be the perfect time to refresh the rivalry.
Both teams should be fixtures in the 2015 preseason Top 10, with Michigan State coming off 13- and 11-win seasons and Southern California emerging from the weight of NCAA sanctions under second-year coach Steve Sarkisian.
Both programs have major holes to fill due to graduation and NFL draft departures but feature two of the nation’s top returning quarterbacks in Michigan State’s Connor Cook and USC’s Cody Kessler.
Michigan State has a huge nonconference matchup looming with Oregon in the season’s second week, and a contest against Southern California could give Mark Dantonio a better idea as to just how much his team must improve before September.
Ohio State vs. Notre Dame
9 of 10
A decade ago, Urban Meyer was the hottest head coaching prospect in football. While leading Utah to an undefeated season, Meyer was linked to both Florida and Notre Dame’s openings.
The former Fighting Irish assistant chose the Gators, and he chose wisely. He won a pair of national titles at Florida, adding a third with Ohio State last month.
The Buckeyes and Fighting Irish have faced off only five times in their history, with the last meeting being a 34-20 Buckeyes win in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. The programs have inked a deal to play a home-and-home series in 2022-23, and as Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly noted in a release, it'll be a special event.
"Any time you talk about Notre Dame and Ohio State meeting in a football game, that event automatically is going to have huge national significance," he said. "For fans and alumni of the two schools, not to mention college football fans in general, these games will be great attractions."
A meeting this spring would have extra spice. Last month, Meyer poached Notre Dame running backs coach Tony Alford from Kelly’s staff.
While Cardale Jones is expected to be the Buckeyes’ only healthy quarterback this spring with Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett recovering from fall injuries, he could use the experience against what will be a salty Notre Dame defense with nine returning starters.
North Carolina vs. Tennessee
10 of 10
Despite sharing a border, North Carolina and Tennessee don’t play very often anymore. The teams have faced off 31 times in their history but only once since 1961.
That matchup came in the 2010 Music City Bowl, a wild 30-27 North Carolina victory. It was also Derek Dooley’s first and only bowl game in a miserable tenure as Tennessee coach.
Five years later, Tennessee is on the rise toward prominence under coach Butch Jones. A very young Volunteer team improved over the course of 2014 and bashed Iowa in a 45-28 TaxSlayer Bowl rout that wasn’t as close as it seemed.
Jones added an excellent recruiting class to the roster and expectations are high.
Across the border, Larry Fedora is feeling the heat after going 13-13 over the past two seasons. Fedora returns talented quarterback Marquise Williams but must rebuild a defense which allowed 39 points per game last fall, No. 119 nationally.
That task falls to new defensive coordinator and former Auburn coach Gene Chizik. What better way to test his new charges’ mettle than a spring game on Rocky Top?
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