Which rivalries should be back on the schedule?

ByADAM RITTENBERG
April 29, 2016, 12:24 PM

— -- Nothing preys upon the passion and loyalty of college football fans more than scheduling. It's as if athletic directors are the Omegas from "Animal House" and the fans are all Chip Diller, assuming the position and asking, after each scheduling whack, "Thank you, sir. May I have another?"

Every week before the Iron Bowl, Alabama fans are commanded to watch the Tide destroy some hyphenated weakling from the FCS, while still selling out Bryant-Denny Stadium. Roll Damn Tide!

The ACC could use as many attractive games as possible -- even with Notre Dame sort of in the conference. Yet ACC fans are commanded to watch eight league games rather than the nine mandated by the Big 12, Pac-12 and, beginning this season, Big Ten.

Baylor fans had better appreciate those nine conference games. The other three could be played against an outdated male name (Lamar), a dinner accompaniment (Rice) and a religious reference (Incarnate Word).

Whether it's good greed, a potential competitive edge or both, schools and leagues repeatedly take advantage of football-starved fans and serve them scheduling slop, knowing they'll lap it up.

That's why Tuesday's announcement that Florida and Miami will open the 2019 season against one another in Orlando, Florida, is refreshing. It's a matchup that excites both fan bases in a state that used to dominate college football. The Gators and Hurricanes met in 2013 but had played just once in the previous decade.

Miami and Florida played every season from 1944 to 1987 because it made sense. What didn't was a 14-year hiatus that followed before the teams reunited in the 2001 Sugar Bowl, a 37-20 Miami win.

"There have been so many memorable games between our two institutions," Miami athletic director Blake James said in a news release, "and I am confident that all of our alumni and fans will enjoy seeing the two teams square off."

Matchups like this should be the goal, not avoided to puff up a team's record or, more often, an athletic department's budget and a coach's salary. The playoff system seems to be positively impacting scheduling, as more attractive matchups are on the books, particularly at neutral sites, which aren't ideal but better than nothing. Opening weekend is filled with captivating games, and the Penn State-Pittsburgh rivalry resumes Sept. 10 at Heinz Field. Even Baylor is adding royalty to its schedule, beginning a series with Duke in 2017.

But college football can do better. You, the fans, deserve better.

Here are six matchups that should resume or take place more often. Desirable matchups with multiple games already on the books, like Nebraska-Oklahoma and Pitt-West Virginia, were not included.