A good article here by Colin Deaver of NBC affiliate KTSM Channel 9 in El Paso, Texas on the Battle of I-10 rivalry between UTEP and NMSU.

https://www.ktsm.com/sports/local-sports...-survived/

There are many great rivalries among the so-called Group of 5 schools. We have five established rivalry games in the MAC with a sixth that is building:

CMU vs. EMU (first played in 1902, oldest rivalry in the MAC)
CMU vs. WMU
BGSU vs. Toledo
Ohio vs. Miami
Akron vs. Kent State
Ball State vs. NIU

Two other longstanding rivalries involving current and former MAC schools are Miami vs. Cincinnati and Ohio vs. Marshall.

What are some of the other great rivalries among G5 schools, including Army/Navy, CSU/Wyoming and MTSU/WKU?

It's great to see UTEP/NMSU in the same conference, just 45 minutes apart.

C-USA has some classic rivalries like 100 Miles of Hate and the Battle of I-10, and a new age rivalry with JSU/KSU separated by only 85 miles.

(10-17-2023 07:41 AM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  A good article here by Colin Deaver of NBC affiliate KTSM Channel 9 in El Paso, Texas on the Battle of I-10 rivalry between UTEP and NMSU.

https://www.ktsm.com/sports/local-sports...-survived/

There are many great rivalries among the so-called Group of 5 schools. We have five established rivalry games in the MAC with a sixth that is building:

CMU vs. EMU (first played in 1902, oldest rivalry in the MAC)
CMU vs. WMU
BGSU vs. Toledo
Ohio vs. Miami
Akron vs. Kent State
Ball State vs. NIU

Two other longstanding rivalries involving current and former MAC schools are Miami vs. Cincinnati and Ohio vs. Marshall.

What are some of the other great rivalries among G5 schools, including Army/Navy, CSU/Wyoming and MTSU/WKU?

I thought WMU-Toledo was a really big rivalry?

The FAU/USF rivalry kicked off with a bang in the AAC last weekend. Looking forward to FAU continuing their domination.

I would say "hurt feelings" more than Realignment hurt rivalries.
1) Kansas vs Missouri, why won't Kansas play Missouri, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

2) Texas vs A&M, why won't Texas play A&M, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

3) BYU vs Utah, why won't BYU play Utah, I though they were so powerful that they didn't need the PAC or any conference to promote their brand?

4) WVU vs Pitt, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

5) Nebraska vs Colorado, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

6) Oklahoma vs Nebraska, why hadn't Oklahoma play Nebraska, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

(10-17-2023 09:42 AM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  I would say "hurt feelings" more than Realignment hurt rivalries.
1) Kansas vs Missouri, why won't Kansas play Missouri, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

2) Texas vs A&M, why won't Texas play A&M, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

3) BYU vs Utah, why won't BYU play Utah, I though they were so powerful that they didn't need the PAC or any conference to promote their brand?

4) WVU vs Pitt, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

5) Nebraska vs Colorado, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

6) Oklahoma vs Nebraska, why hadn't Oklahoma play Nebraska, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

In many of these cases it isn't that these schools want to specifically avoid each other. It's just that they have limited OOC games and don't want to get locked into a long-term home and home featuring a game you might actually lose a decent chunk of the time.

Schools don't want what fans want. They want easy wins to make sure they get bowl eligible, and they want home games they don't have to return so they can play at home seven to eight games a season.

We as fans love to say we hate that mentality, but most of us don't hate it enough to stop patronizing the product...so why would they listen to us?

Future realignment has reunited Utah-BYU and Texas-A&M. Hopefully those rivalries are played annually.

(10-17-2023 11:22 AM)eku05 Wrote:  

(10-17-2023 09:42 AM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  I would say "hurt feelings" more than Realignment hurt rivalries.
1) Kansas vs Missouri, why won't Kansas play Missouri, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

2) Texas vs A&M, why won't Texas play A&M, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

3) BYU vs Utah, why won't BYU play Utah, I though they were so powerful that they didn't need the PAC or any conference to promote their brand?

4) WVU vs Pitt, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

5) Nebraska vs Colorado, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

6) Oklahoma vs Nebraska, why hadn't Oklahoma play Nebraska, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

In many of these cases it isn't that these schools want to specifically avoid each other. It's just that they have limited OOC games and don't want to get locked into a long-term home and home featuring a game you might actually lose a decent chunk of the time.

Schools don't want what fans want. They want easy wins to make sure they get bowl eligible, and they want home games they don't have to return so they can play at home seven to eight games a season.

We as fans love to say we hate that mentality, but most of us don't hate it enough to stop patronizing the product...so why would they listen to us?

I agree, and I also think there is another factor at work. Fans say they want their team to just play tough OOC games vs attractive opponents, they claim to abhor "body bag" games etc., but what they really mean is they want to play and beat attractive tough OOC teams. But the bottom line is, if you play tough OOC games all the time, you will likely lose a lot of them.

In the end, I think deep down most fans would rather see their team beat a soft opponent than lose to a tough one. And the schools realize this, even if the fans claim otherwise.

(10-17-2023 07:41 AM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  A good article here by Colin Deaver of NBC affiliate KTSM Channel 9 in El Paso, Texas on the Battle of I-10 rivalry between UTEP and NMSU.

https://www.ktsm.com/sports/local-sports...-survived/

There are many great rivalries among the so-called Group of 5 schools. We have five established rivalry games in the MAC with a sixth that is building:

CMU vs. EMU (first played in 1902, oldest rivalry in the MAC)
CMU vs. WMU
BGSU vs. Toledo
Ohio vs. Miami
Akron vs. Kent State
Ball State vs. NIU

Two other longstanding rivalries involving current and former MAC schools are Miami vs. Cincinnati and Ohio vs. Marshall.

What are some of the other great rivalries among G5 schools, including Army/Navy, CSU/Wyoming and MTSU/WKU?

Marshall v App State rivalry has been renewed.

(10-17-2023 11:52 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(10-17-2023 11:22 AM)eku05 Wrote:  

(10-17-2023 09:42 AM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  I would say "hurt feelings" more than Realignment hurt rivalries.
1) Kansas vs Missouri, why won't Kansas play Missouri, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

2) Texas vs A&M, why won't Texas play A&M, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

3) BYU vs Utah, why won't BYU play Utah, I though they were so powerful that they didn't need the PAC or any conference to promote their brand?

4) WVU vs Pitt, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

5) Nebraska vs Colorado, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

6) Oklahoma vs Nebraska, why hadn't Oklahoma play Nebraska, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

In many of these cases it isn't that these schools want to specifically avoid each other. It's just that they have limited OOC games and don't want to get locked into a long-term home and home featuring a game you might actually lose a decent chunk of the time.

Schools don't want what fans want. They want easy wins to make sure they get bowl eligible, and they want home games they don't have to return so they can play at home seven to eight games a season.

We as fans love to say we hate that mentality, but most of us don't hate it enough to stop patronizing the product...so why would they listen to us?

I agree, and I also think there is another factor at work. Fans say they want their team to just play tough OOC games vs attractive opponents, they claim to abhor "body bag" games etc., but what they really mean is they want to play and beat attractive tough OOC teams. But the bottom line is, if you play tough OOC games all the time, you will likely lose a lot of them.

In the end, I think deep down most fans would rather see their team beat a soft opponent than lose to a tough one. And the schools realize this, even if the fans claim otherwise.

You are right. But that's why a heavier conference schedule without any penalty for losing OOC games is the better route. Teams play the OOC games for the fans but won't need to worry about it affecting the playoff except for seeding services.

NMSU and UTEP are on a D1 island possibly more than any other 2 D1 schools. So I think that creates a little extra reasons to keep it going.

The number of options for us to bus any team anywhere ever is very limited. It gives players a break from the rigors and time of flying/travel. In regard to a fan being able to see your favored team play in person, it’s almost a home game. And neither have many fan friendly road games.

FBS Schools that are close enough to I-10 that I consider them on I-10.


UCLA
USC
ASU
Arizona
NMSU
UTEP
UTSA
Rice
Houston
ULL
LSU
Tulane
FSU

(10-17-2023 11:22 AM)eku05 Wrote:  

(10-17-2023 09:42 AM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  I would say "hurt feelings" more than Realignment hurt rivalries.
1) Kansas vs Missouri, why won't Kansas play Missouri, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

2) Texas vs A&M, why won't Texas play A&M, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

3) BYU vs Utah, why won't BYU play Utah, I though they were so powerful that they didn't need the PAC or any conference to promote their brand?

4) WVU vs Pitt, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

5) Nebraska vs Colorado, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

6) Oklahoma vs Nebraska, why hadn't Oklahoma play Nebraska, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

In many of these cases it isn't that these schools want to specifically avoid each other. It's just that they have limited OOC games and don't want to get locked into a long-term home and home featuring a game you might actually lose a decent chunk of the time.

Schools don't want what fans want. They want easy wins to make sure they get bowl eligible, and they want home games they don't have to return so they can play at home seven to eight games a season.

We as fans love to say we hate that mentality, but most of us don't hate it enough to stop patronizing the product...so why would they listen to us?

KU and Missouri have played basketball the last two years are continuing to play. They are set to play in football in 2025. I think they signed a contract to play 4 games between 2025 and 2032.

They had a chance to play in the Liberty Bowl last year, but Missouri declined the invitation.

Utah and BYU actually played 8 times since 2011, 1st year out of the MW. Thats not bad.

(10-17-2023 09:42 AM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  I would say "hurt feelings" more than Realignment hurt rivalries.
1) Kansas vs Missouri, why won't Kansas play Missouri, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

2) Texas vs A&M, why won't Texas play A&M, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

3) BYU vs Utah, why won't BYU play Utah, I though they were so powerful that they didn't need the PAC or any conference to promote their brand?

4) WVU vs Pitt, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

5) Nebraska vs Colorado, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

6) Oklahoma vs Nebraska, why hadn't Oklahoma play Nebraska, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

You have so many of these wrong. It’s Mizzou that hasn’t wanted to play kansas. Even declined an opportunity to play them in Liberty bowl recently.

Texas was originally butthurt, then tried scheduling Aggies later and A&M didn’t want anything to do with it. Comes back next year anyway.

BYU has never not wanted to play Utah. That was all Utah any year they don’t play.

WVU Pitt was a result of both changing conferences Pitt first and OOC being filled. WVU would love to play that yearly.

CU NU ended with changing conferences and OOC filled. Both teams seemed to want a break from old B12 foes.

NU definitely did not want to play OU during that time frame. Years of being down and upset with OU for choosing Texas over them

(10-17-2023 09:51 PM)Bobcats2011 Wrote:  

(10-17-2023 09:42 AM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  I would say "hurt feelings" more than Realignment hurt rivalries.
1) Kansas vs Missouri, why won't Kansas play Missouri, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

2) Texas vs A&M, why won't Texas play A&M, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

3) BYU vs Utah, why won't BYU play Utah, I though they were so powerful that they didn't need the PAC or any conference to promote their brand?

4) WVU vs Pitt, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

5) Nebraska vs Colorado, not sure who stopped this but after a few years, they were both in stellar conferences so why not play OOC?

6) Oklahoma vs Nebraska, why hadn't Oklahoma play Nebraska, I thought the Big 12 is an equal if not better regarded conference?

You have so many of these wrong. It’s Mizzou that hasn’t wanted to play kansas. Even declined an opportunity to play them in Liberty bowl recently.

Texas was originally butthurt, then tried scheduling Aggies later and A&M didn’t want anything to do with it. Comes back next year anyway.

BYU has never not wanted to play Utah. That was all Utah any year they don’t play.

WVU Pitt was a result of both changing conferences Pitt first and OOC being filled. WVU would love to play that yearly.

CU NU ended with changing conferences and OOC filled. Both teams seemed to want a break from old B12 foes.

NU definitely did not want to play OU during that time frame. Years of being down and upset with OU for choosing Texas over them

I agree with this post. I don’t know every scenario, but you’re right on the ones I’m familiar with.

I think sometimes a team may have an open week and want to play a certain team, like an old rival. That doesn’t mean the game fits into the rivals plans, even if they technically could play. It may be a home/road issue, who they play/ed the before or after, a matter of how many home games they have, when they have their home opener, and many other factors.

Scheduling is hard. It’s complex. And coaches have many, many things to consider when building one. It takes 2 to maintain a rivalry. And one school isn’t going to scrap all of their other priorities to maintain one, especially when they aren’t the one that left a conference where the rivalry was maintained.

(10-17-2023 07:41 AM)BeatWestern! Wrote:  A good article here by Colin Deaver of NBC affiliate KTSM Channel 9 in El Paso, Texas on the Battle of I-10 rivalry between UTEP and NMSU.

https://www.ktsm.com/sports/local-sports...-survived/

There are many great rivalries among the so-called Group of 5 schools. We have five established rivalry games in the MAC with a sixth that is building:

CMU vs. EMU (first played in 1902, oldest rivalry in the MAC)
CMU vs. WMU
BGSU vs. Toledo
Ohio vs. Miami
Akron vs. Kent State
Ball State vs. NIU

Two other longstanding rivalries involving current and former MAC schools are Miami vs. Cincinnati and Ohio vs. Marshall.

What are some of the other great rivalries among G5 schools, including Army/Navy, CSU/Wyoming and MTSU/WKU?

There are a lot of rivalries in the 'Belt that don't get the attention they deserve IMO. To me, Modern Day Hate (GSU vs GaSo) is one of those. Eagles and Panther fans have very little to do with each other, IMO. App State vs GaSo is legendary!! Southern Miss vs South Alabama is another one that often slips under the radar, IMO. Two more that are more under the radar: Troy vs South Alabama (Battle for the Belt) is really becoming a huge rivalry in the dtate, and Troy vs Army. Troy and Army have a lot more in common than what most folks think, and I hope Army is able to continue the series with Troy even if Army does take the AAC plunge.

(10-17-2023 09:38 AM)ArmoredUpKnight Wrote:  The FAU/USF rivalry kicked off with a bang in the AAC last weekend. Looking forward to FAU continuing their domination.

Did you also enjoy the new UCF/Kansas rivalry!?!?

(10-17-2023 09:25 AM)bullet Wrote:  I thought WMU-Toledo was a really big rivalry?

On Knowrivalry, Toledo supporters have BGSU (72.6%), Northern Illinois (16.2%), and WMU (5.9%). WMU supporters have CMU (80.4%), Toledo (8%), and EMU (5.5%).

So it's kind of there, and fairly balanced (unlike WMU/EMU, Bowling Green / Kent State or Bowling Green / Miami), but nowhere near the intensity of the main rivalry of either.

Looking at the Knowrivalry chart of rivalry for Penn State, which adds up intensity of school's supporters rivalry and intensity of rivalry from the supporters of the other school, kind of shows how Penn State ended up "unrivaled" in Flex Protect: except for Pitt, all of its rivalries are very unbalanced, with either Penn State Supporters caring and the other team's supporters not so much, or else the other team's supporters caring, and Penn State not so much.

(10-18-2023 07:23 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(10-17-2023 09:25 AM)bullet Wrote:  I thought WMU-Toledo was a really big rivalry?

On Knowrivalry, Toledo supporters have BGSU (72.6%), Northern Illinois (16.2%), and WMU (5.9%). WMU supporters have CMU (80.4%), Toledo (8%), and EMU (5.5%).

So it's kind of there, and fairly balanced (unlike WMU/EMU, Bowling Green / Kent State or Bowling Green / Miami), but nowhere near the intensity of the main rivalry of either.

Looking at the Knowrivalry chart of rivalry for Penn State, which adds up intensity of school's supporters rivalry and intensity of rivalry from the supporters of the other school, kind of shows how Penn State ended up "unrivaled" in Flex Protect: except for Pitt, all of its rivalries are very unbalanced, with either Penn State Supporters caring and the other team's supporters not so much, or else the other team's supporters caring, and Penn State not so much.

Looking at the record books, I have to think there was quite a bit of hate between Marshall and Toledo back in the day.