By Brett Daniels
There is nothing that says “College Football” quite like the neutral site game. What began in the early days of the sport as a way for teams to reduce travel costs by meeting in the middle or playing at a stadium that was bigger than both teams on campus facilities has evolved into an important part of each college football season. The 2024 season is no different with a staggering 26 games to be played at neutral sites. Below we have ranked the Top 5 games using the following criteria: Competitiveness of the game, history between the opponents, location, and other compelling storylines.
1. Red River Rivalry (Shootout)
Dallas, Texas. October 12, 3:30 pm, ABC
The Red River Rivalry showcases the SEC’s two newest teams in a bitter rivalry that dates to 1900. This game scores high in all categories as it’s always a competitive game regardless of records and is played at the Texas State Fairgrounds in the Cotton Bowl. Texas will begin the season ranked in the Top 5 with returning talent all over the field. QB Quinn Ewers, OT Kelvin Banks, Jr., Alabama transfer WR Isaiah Bond, and DE’s Trey Moore (UTSA Transfer) and Ethan Burke will give the Longhorns an opportunity to reach the College Football Playoff for the second season in a row.
Oklahoma meanwhile will have a new face at QB with Jackson Arnold taking over for Dillon Gabriel, who transferred to Oregon. The Sooners are loaded at WR returning Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq, Andrel Anthony, and adding Purdue transfer Deion Burks. Brent Venables’ defense will be anchored by the talented pair of Danny Stutsman and Jaren Kanak at LB as well as DE Ethan Downs and S Billy Bowman, Jr.
2. The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party
Jacksonville, Florida. November 2, 3:30, ABC
The WLOCP has been playing in Jacksonville every year since 1933 except for 1995 and 1996 when the game was played on campus due to stadium renovations. This game doesn’t score as highly as others on competitiveness as the Dawgs have won 6 out of the last 7 meetings by double digits and will be favored again this year. Where this game does rank highly is other compelling storylines.
Former Gator RB Trevor Etienne is now a Bulldog while one-time Florida QB commit Jaden Rashada has filed a lawsuit against Gator coach Billy Napier alleging NIL promises not being fulfilled. With a brutal schedule leading up to this game and Napier already on the hot seat with a large portion of the Florida fanbase, an embarrassing loss here could spell the end of his tenure in Gainesville.
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3. The Army-Navy Game
FedEx Field, Landover, MD. December 14, 3:30, CBS
The Army-Navy game is one of the iconic matchups of the college football season. The pageantry of the Corps of Cadets and Midshipmen marching onto the field pregame, the flyovers of Army helicopters and Navy jets, the singing of both school’s respective alma maters after the game represent everything that is good in college athletics.
Army-Navy is always a competitive game with Army currently enjoying a 2-game winning streak while Navy still leads the 124-year-old series overall 62-55-7. This year’s edition will be played in Landover, MD at FedEx field which scores low on location and drops this neutral site rivalry to third on our list.
4. Aer Lingus College Football Classic
Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland. August 24, Noon, ESPN
Florida State and Georgia Tech will square off in Ireland to open the 2024 college football season. Both teams are coming off their best seasons in recent years and this should be a very competitive game featuring two of the ACC’s best quarterbacks in Georgia Tech’s Haynes King (2,842 yds/27 TD/16 INT, 737 yds/10 TD rushing) and Florida State’s DJ Uiagalelei (2,638 yds/21TD/7 INT, 219 yds/6 TD rushing with Oregon State).
While these teams did not meet in 2023 the history of this rivalry has produced some exciting finishes. Both teams enter the 2024 season with high expectations along with several questions. Can Florida State replace all the transfer players that went on to the NFL and how quickly will the new team gel? In year two under Brent Key is Georgia Tech ready to take the next step back to relevancy after the end of the Paul Johnson and Geoff Collins eras? This game will be more competitive than most are expecting.
5. Vegas Kickoff Classic
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV. September 1, 7:30, ABC
LSU versus USC in Vegas. As a college football fan, the opportunity to see these two storied programs square off for only the third time ever and the first time since 1984 is a treat. The series is tied at 1-1 with LSU winning the last game by a score of 23-3. This game should be a shoot out with both offenses having the ability to go up and down the field in short order. The defenses are another story with both teams ranking at or near the bottom in most major statistical categories.
LSU hired a new defensive coordinator Blake Baker from Missouri and has two time All SEC LB Harold Perkins. USC has also hired a new defensive coordinator, D’Anton Lynn who replaces the much-maligned Alex Grinch. Lynn, whose most recent position was as defensive coordinator at UCLA where he elevated the defense from 87th nationally in 2022 to 11th nationally in 2023 will hope for the same level of improvement with the Trojans.
This game also has some off-the-field intrigue as it has been reported that Lincoln Riley tried for two years to get out of this game, even going as far as emailing LSU’s head coach Brian Kelly asking him to push for cancellation on the LSU side. His actions only add to the excitement surrounding this one.
Honorable Mentions: UGA vs Clemson (Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta GA), Notre Dame vs Army (Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, NY), Notre Dame vs Georgia Tech (Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA)
