Florida State-Georgia series cancellation is ominous sign for future of college football
What makes college football special and, for some fans, superior to the NFL is that big games mean something.
The shorter regular season, smaller playoff field relative to the size of the sport, historic rivalries, and the organization of teams into (formerly) regional conferences have created a unique dynamic. Nonconference games between historic schedules are must-see TV not only because of the stakes, but because fan bases and conferences rely on those results.
The unfortunate truth about how sports are organized in the modern era is that major non-conference games will become less and less common. This is the exact opposite of what most college football fans want.
The 12-team College Football Playoff has already created incentives for easier schedules. Notre Dame is perhaps the best example. Despite being an independent program, the Irish have historically never shied away from tough games. But a new arrangement with the College Football Playoff committee guaranteed them a spot in the tournament if they finished in the top 12.
Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman tunes into his sideline radio during a game against Boise State on Oct. 4, 2025, at Notre Dame Stadium. (Michael Caterina/Imagn Images)
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Their 2026 schedules reflect that reality: Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, Rice at Michigan State, Purdue, North Carolina, Stanford, BYU, Navy, Miami, Boston College, SMU, Syracuse. This is a program set to win 10-11 games in December and finish in the top 12.
Compare to Texas. The Longhorns have Texas State, Ohio State, UTSA, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M. So, if they finish this brutal and grueling schedule with a quality season, a berth in the SEC Championship Game against a team like Georgia or Alabama. Head coach Steve Sarkisian was so angry about missing the 2025-26 playoff field by going 9-3 that he threatened to stop scheduling top non-conference teams like Ohio State advancing.
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart stands on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Tennessee Volunteers at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Nov. 16, 2024. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
Then, just this month, the American Football Coaches Association came out in favor of expanding the field to 24, further limiting the incentive to schedule tight games. Why risk losing game four when a 3-0 non-conference run and a 6-3 in-conference record in the Big Ten or SEC is enough to make the field?
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Which brings us to a new sign that college football is heading in the wrong direction: the cancellation of the scheduled home-and-home series between Georgia and the Florida State Seminoles.
The teams recently announced that they “mutually agreed” to remove the 2027 and 2028 games from the calendar. Hoping to move to a shared site.
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“As we considered the impacts of evolving scheduling mandates under both the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference, we mutually determined that it would be in the best interest of both schools to cancel our home-and-home series scheduled for 2027 and 2028,” said FSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford. “We are currently discussing playing a neutral-site competition in the future and are optimistic that we will achieve this. Importantly, this change will not reduce the total number of home games on our schedule going forward.”
There you are. Instead of playing big games on campus against big-name teams from other conferences in front of the student section and raucous home crowds, new “schedule guidelines” are influencing teams to move games to neutral venues. If the series is rescheduled, another match will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium instead of “The Doak” or “Between the hedges”.
The Florida State Seminoles take the field with fireworks before their game against the Boston College Eagles at Doak Campbell Stadium at Bobby Bowden Field on September 24, 2022 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
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These new scheduling mandates, along with playing nine conference games as teams in the Big Ten or former Pac-12 have done for years, as well as expanded playoffs, mean schools are now looking for ways to minimize their disadvantage. Instead of prioritizing benefits and providing fans with a better and more meaningful experience.
Unfortunately, it has been like this for a while. But this new era of superconferences and larger postseason tournaments makes the situation worse. Most fans would almost certainly prefer to play these big matches in a home-and-home format, even if it means an extra loss. Most schools don’t seem to care anymore.
