When it comes to college football, there are simply things that are just sacred. Waking up to ESPN College GameDay every Saturday, tailgating, rivalries, and The Game being played on the final Saturday of the season at Noon. There are just some things that should never change, but clearly someone out there thinks it should.
College football has gone through many changes over the years, especially when it comes to the College Football Playoff. It started off with four teams, then moved to 12, and now the committee is already talking about expanding again to 24 teams. The Big Ten and the Big 12 are unanimously for this, but other conferences like the SEC are a roadblock to moving forward.
Many have their quarrels with expanding the CFP, and even a writer from The Athletic believes other changes will come with an expansion. Michigan college football writer for The Athletic, Austin Meek, believes that if the CFP expands, the rivalry game against Ohio State, the one that has always been played on the final Saturday of the regular season, should change as well.
What is the proposal from Meek? Move the game to October, and before you ask, yes, he is being serious.
I have a take that I’m sure everyone will agree with: If the CFP expands to 24 teams, Michigan and Ohio State should play in October. https://t.co/3Zops8gliw
— Austin Meek (@byAustinMeek) May 29, 2026
Moving The Game to October would completely ruin the rivalry
There are some traditions you don't touch, and The Game is one of them. Meek believes that moving The Game to October and expanding the CFP to 24 teams will make it that much more important. Meek believes that in October, the stakes for a playoff spot will be at their highest than they will be at the end of the season in November.
Here is the thing that Meek is forgetting. It doesn't matter how either team is doing, whether or not there are playoff implications on the line, or whatever, The Game is always a fierce matchup that both Michigan and Ohio State bring everything to.
Do postseason stakes add a little more to it? Sure, but changing tradition like this one isn't worth a little extra juice for a game that is already extremely heated. The excitement and buildup of the rivalry game at the end of the season is what makes it so enjoyable for both teams leading up to it.
Sure, one team walks away furious, as does their fanbase, but it heightens the rivalry even more for the next matchup. Trying to say that the incentive to make one team win the game over the other is ludicrous because both teams have a heavy hatred for the other, and that fuels this rivalry enough.
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