Super League will Fall: CFB regions and rivalries make the sport great
Much has been written over the last decade about the demise of regional rivalries as conferences and schools play musical chairs. And, sadly, CFB has survived without traditional rivalries such as Oklahoma/Nebraska, WVU/Pitt, and many others.
The next domino to fall in the creation of a Super League is the loss of regional identity. Intersectional games used to happen only in Bowl Games or a very rare OOC agreement. I remember a PSU vs. Nebraska OOC game played maybe 30 years ago that was "must see", since intersectional games were almost never played on campus. (Now it's a B1G conference game and nobody cares.)
In the next few years, the B1G and SEC will enjoy big ratings for new intersectional conference games between legacy programs. Games like these:
* Ohio State / USC
* Michigan / USC
* Ohio State / Oregon
* Georgia / Texas
* Alabama / Texas
* LSU / Oklahoma
These games move the needle because they rarely play each other. But once the novelty wears off in a few years, will games like these be any different from a traditional middle-of-the-road B1G or SEC game? With everyone playing each other, many of these traditional powers will lose more games, and some will drop off (see Nebraska over the last decade).
And then... the shiny new intersectional objects might have to be intersectional games with ACC and Big XII teams. Don't dismiss the interest generated by an intersectional matchup. Notre Dame does very well when they schedule an intersectional game with a school they rarely play. Heck, the first time Notre Dame played VT at Lane Stadium was nationally hyped (despite VT underperforming prior to the game).
I expect the B1G and SEC are going to kill the golden goose with their restrictive Super League approach. But once the novelty of it wears off, there will be a lot of eyeballs interested in the schools left behind.
Posted: 05/30/2025 at 02:53 PM ET
Thread Replies (7)
Super League will Fall: CFB regions and rivalries make the sport great
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-- gman86
May 30, 2025 at 02:53 PM ET
gman86
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05/30/25 02:53 PM ET
A 40 team ‘Super League’ can easily divide into eight 5-team divisions.
-- hokieZ71
May 31, 2025 at 08:09 AM ET
hokieZ71
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05/31/25 08:09 AM ET
VT in P2 or left out. Not going to worry about it
-- OrlandoHokie
May 31, 2025 at 03:47 PM ET
OrlandoHokie
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05/31/25 03:47 PM ET
The logistics are solid. My point was more about acceptance...
-- gman86
May 31, 2025 at 03:15 PM ET
gman86
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05/31/25 03:15 PM ET
lol! the leftovers would represent the WGAS league and if VT is there,
-- ancient alien 2018
May 31, 2025 at 10:31 PM ET
ancient alien 2018
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05/31/25 10:31 PM ET
Leave KU out of the P2 and I'm in. **
-- Big12 guy
May 31, 2025 at 03:57 PM ET
Big12 guy
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05/31/25 03:57 PM ET
I don't think so. I think the goal of the
-- Big12 guy
May 31, 2025 at 08:59 AM ET
Big12 guy
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05/31/25 08:59 AM ET
If too small, I agree. The Power EGO 2 like many Fortune 500 companies fall
-- Stech
May 30, 2025 at 03:34 PM ET
Stech
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05/30/25 03:34 PM ET