Home-and-Home College Football Series That Need to Happen

It's not as pressing a national issue as border security, health care or the minimum wage, but the progress being made by power-conference schools to beef up their schedules with home-and-home series is a positive sign.

The 2015 season includes either the front or back end of some great home-and-homes, including Michigan State-Oregon, Notre Dame-Texas and Oklahoma-Tennessee, and even more come on the books in 2016 such as Auburn-Clemson, Nebraska-Oregon, Ohio State-Oklahoma and Texas A&M-UCLA. Other good ones are on the books over the next decade, mostly due to the top leagues either mandating or strongly encouraging their members play another power opponent.

But it can always get better, especially if certain schools would get around to setting a series up with each other.

Whether it be the renewal of an old rivalry put on hiatus by realignment, a pairing of schools with similar (or vastly divergent) styles or just a great potential matchup, we've come up with some home-and-home series that need to be scheduled as soon as possible. And to help with the process, we've even come up with when these teams can fit each other onto the schedule without too much inconvenience.

Alabama vs. Oregon

Last played: Never

Why we want to see them play

"We want 'Bama" has been one of the unofficial rallying cries of every college football team that's pushing for its spot near the top of the game, both an homage to how good Alabama has been under Nick Saban as well as a declaration that a certain team is ready to take on the best.

This mantra originated with some Oregon students in 2013, before the Ducks faded in the second half of the season and fell out of the national title picture. Since then, it's something that's been uttered by several other fanbases during or after big wins.

We want 'Bama too. Specifically, to play an Oregon program that is essentially the western version of it in terms of performance but is completely different on the field. It also would be the ultimate matchup of the uptempo approach that has taken over college football and one of the biggest opponents of that style of play, despite having tons and tons of so-called "SEC speed."

An Alabama-Oregon series would also continue the push to have FBS' top two leagues play more often. There are several Pac-12/SEC matchups on the books, though many (including Auburn-Oregon in 2019) are neutral-site affairs. And that's all Alabama has set up for the future in terms of power opponents, and it hasn't played a true home or road game against a power foe since winning at Penn State in 2011.

When they could meet

Oregon's nonconference slate is full through 2017, but in 2018 it only has a home opener against Bowling Green on the books. Alabama has yet to announce any opponents for that season, so the Ducks and Tide could easily begin their series that season. The return game probably wouldn't happen until 2022, but much like the Olympics or World Cup, great events often only happen once every four years.

Arizona vs. Michigan

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Last played: 1978 (Michigan won, 21-17)

Why we want to see them play

Though he's yet to coach a real game, Jim Harbaugh has already been elevated to savior status in Michigan circles. That's a complete reversal from how Rich Rodriguez was welcomed in Ann Arbor when he was hired to succeed Lloyd Carr in 2008 but pretty close to how he's been viewed since coming to Arizona.

Rodriguez's records with the Wildcats the past three years as good or better than what Michigan had in Brady Hoke's final three seasons, with last year seeing Arizona reach the Fiesta Bowl and double the Wolverines' win total while Hoke was sent off. It was a set of circumstances that had to make Rodriguez smile, though he didn't say much publicly about the subject beyond generalities.

"You couldn't help but turn on the TV and see it," Rodriguez told ESPN's Ted Miller last fall.

Arizona's success under Rodriguez has prompted many to wonder if the school would ever let him exact revenge on his former employer with a home-and-home series. It hasn't happened yet, but then again the Wildcats haven't done much of any power-opponent scheduling, only recently adding series with Texas Tech (beginning in 2019) and Mississippi State (starting in 2022).

Michigan is overloaded with future home-and-home pairings, but there's always room for another that has this kind of back story to it.

When they could meet

Michigan has at least one power opponent on the schedule through the 2027 season, but this year it hosts Oregon State and visits Utah and is also set to face two power opponents in 2020 and 2021, so there's precedent for the Wolverines' willingness to load up on quality foes.

It might be more a matter of whether Arizona would want to play more than one in the same year, but if that's doable then the second week of 2019 is open for each school to get this series started.

Florida vs. Ohio State

Handout/Getty Images

Last played: 2012 (Florida won, 24-17, in Sugar Bowl)

Why we want to see them play

After Urban Meyer won two titles in three seasons at Florida, it seemed like he had done all he could in the college game. Not surprisingly, two years later he stepped down from that job and looked like he was done with football...only to reemerge at Ohio State and once again establish himself as one of the best coaches ever.

Florida isn't where Meyer got his start—he also won at Bowling Green and Utah before moving into the power-conference ranks—but it's where he elevated himself to elite status. And it's where we'd love to see him coach at least once more, though from the visiting sideline at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.

Since Meyer left, the Gators haven't been able to come close to replicating his success. Will Muschamp never got it together in his four seasons, and who knows if Jim McElwain can right the ship, but even if he does he'll always be compared to Meyer and what he accomplished in The Swamp.

A home-and-home series between these programs would also bring Meyer full circle to the 2007 BCS title game that put him on his upward trajectory. That win for Florida came against Ohio State.

When they could meet

Florida is set to open the 2017 season against Michigan in Arlington, Texas, a game that McElwain said he's in favor of having more of on his schedule. "It helps your team prepare in the offseason knowing that right off the bat, here we go," he said Monday at SEC media days (h/t Morgan Moriarty of Uproxx.com).

That's the only such power opponent on Florida's future schedules other than the season-ending clash with in-state rival FSU, which is on the books through 2020. Ohio State has at least one such power foe on every schedule through 2024, with two set for 2020 and 2022 and three in 2023.

With OSU showing an interest in having multiple big-name nonconference opponents and Florida's willingness to do so in 2017, that provides a lot of opportunities. Each has an open week in late-September 2016, but more likely the first game wouldn't be able to happen until 2019.

Kansas vs. Missouri

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Last played: 2011 (Missouri won, 24-10)

Why we want to see them play

Missouri's surprising jump from the Big 12 to the SEC put an end to one of the most heated (and historically even) rivalries in college football. The Border War has been played 120 times since 1891, with Missouri holding a 56-55-9 edge in the series thanks to a three-game win streak, but after the Tigers made their conference move it's disappeared from each team's schedule.

Both sides have expressed interest in wanting to renew the rivalry, with new Mizzou athletic director Mack Rhoades telling Sean Keeler of Fox Sports Kansas City that he hopes "we can find a way to come together and play" some time in the near future. However, no official talks have happened between the schools.

Missouri is required to play a power nonconference opponent each year, starting in 2016 per SEC rules, and the Tigers have responded by adding West Virginia (2016, 2019) and Purdue (2017-2018). The Big 12 has no such mandate, but Kansas has a home-and-home with Rutgers starting this year and is set to play Illinois in 2023-24.

None of those matchups are particularly appealing, certainly not as much as one that would rekindle a longstanding hatred between factions that extends beyond football.

When they could meet

Kansas is booked up through 2017, but both teams have an open date in September 2018 that they could get a new series started on. Beyond that, there are opportunities to meet every season after that point, though it will ultimately come down to the schools' athletic directors finding a way to make it worthwhile (read: financially viable) for each program.

Kentucky vs. Oklahoma

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Last played: 1982 (Oklahoma won, 29-8)

Why we want to see them play

There are two sets of brothers who are head coaches at the FBS level. No offense to Bobby and Paul Petrino, but there aren't many people that would like to see Louisville and Idaho face off against each other.

That's not the case with the Stoops brothers, Bob and Mark. Not only would it be intriguing to watch siblings match wits, but imagine the kind of bragging rights the winner would have on the other?

The trouble is, who knows how long either is going to be at their current school. Bob Stoops, heading into his 17th season at Oklahoma, is tied with Iowa's Kirk Ferentz for the second-longest active tenure at one FBS school (behind only Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer), but a frequent narrative the last few years is that he might be nearing the end in Norman and should look for a change of scenery.

On the other side is Mark Stoops, who heads into a critical third year at Kentucky with a freshly remodeled stadium and some good recruiting classes but only seven wins in his first two seasons. Last year the Wildcats started 5-1 but then dropped six in a row to miss out on a bowl game.

If one or both isn't at the school much longer, that takes away nearly any desire to see these programs square off on the gridiron.

When they could meet

Kentucky is set to face Louisville each of the next five seasons, so it's not actively looking for any other power-conference opponents right now. Oklahoma has one on every schedule between this fall and 2022 except for 2020, and its slates are filled up through 2018.

That puts 2020 as the best bet for the first chance to see the Sooners and Wildcats start a home-and-home series. If both Stoops are still at their respective schools in five years, this would be a huge game since it would mean Bob has shrugged off all his critics while Mark has survived in the SEC.

Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia

Jeff Gentner/Associated Press

Last played: 2011 (West Virginia won, 21-20)

Why we want to see them play

Who doesn't love a good Backyard Brawl? This underrated rivalry regularly produced great games during its 107-game, 117-year run, including in 2007 when a 4-7 Pittsburgh team upset second-ranked West Virginia and kept it from playing for a national title.

Both teams were part of the Big East from 1991-2012, but after that season Pitt went to the ACC and West Virginia bolted for the Big 12 despite being hundreds of miles away from every team in that conference. The uptick in competition faced in these new leagues made it less desirable to face each other in a non-league game, and similar to some other long rivalries this game was lost in the realignment mix.

There are new athletic directors at each school, and new West Virginia AD Shane Lyons has called renewing this series "one of my top priorities in scheduling," per Craig Myers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Discussions have begun between him and Pitt's Scott Barnes to get the game back on each school's slate, but nothing has been decided on yet.

When they could meet

Each school has plenty of power opponents dotting its future schedules, with West Virginia set to play some in neutral sites as well as in home-and-home series, so neither team has a pressing need to add another quality foe in most years. And based on their respective open dates in the upcoming years, unless one or both reschedules an existing home game against a non-power team we aren't apt to see the Backyard Brawl resume until 2022 or later.

Texas vs. Texas A&M

Darren Carroll/Getty Images

Last played: 2011 (Texas won, 27-25)

Why we want to see them play

For the same reason we want to see Alabama play Auburn, Arizona play Arizona State, Oklahoma play Oklahoma State, UCLA play USC, etc. The two biggest programs in a state not only should play each other every year, it should be written into state law.

Texas is the kind of state where you'd be most likely to see legislators push aside economic, environmental or infrastructure issues to debate on the statehouse floor about the merits of having Texas and Texas A&M play football against each other. Sure enough, in 2013 a bill was introduced by a state representative that would have mandated the return of a game that was played 118 times from 1894-2011 but when away when A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC.

"This game is as much a Texas tradition as cowboy boots and barbeque," Ryan Guillen, a Texas A&M graduate who represented the Rio Grande Valley told Reeve Hamilton of the Texas Tribune. The bill never made it past the state's House Committee on Higher Education, however.

Coaches and administrators from both schools have spoken publicly about the rivalry, mostly dancing around the subject or taking veiled shots at each other. Neither side seems particularly motivated to bring the game back, though A&M's rise in prominence on the recruiting front and in terms of in-state fandom could eventually prompt Texas to show interest in the future.

At this point, the best bet would be having the teams get paired in a bowl game, of which there are several potential opportunities. Teams from the Big 12 and SEC face off in Liberty, Texas and Sugar bowls and could also meet in the playoffs.

When they could meet

If the stars were to align and the schools decided to make another series happen, it might take until at least 2022 to get started unless one or both teams were willing to face multiple power-conference opponents on top of their conference slates.

Texas is already doing this from 2016-18, while A&M has just one power foe slated each year from 2015-21.

Scheduling information courtesy of FBSchedules.com.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.