Best Neutral Site Games for 2015 College Football Season

In college football, little beats a crazed home-field environment welcoming a hated visiting team, with plenty on the line. Those games are common within league play but have become less and less common in intersectional play. Neutral-site games, like the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta and the Cowboys Classic at AT&T Stadium in Texas, have become lucrative lures for teams who prefer a single game over a home-and-home series.

As CBSSports.com's Jon Solomon notes, neutral-site games both help and hurt college football.

Neutral-site “classics” are nothing new: The Kickoff Classic matched marquee teams in the old Giants Stadium from 1983 until 2002. But, they've had a recent resurgence and appear here to stay.

Mixed with traditional neutral-site games, they've become a strong part of the college football schedule. Here's a look at the best neutral-site games scheduled for 2015.

One of the more underrated rivalries in college football is Colorado-Colorado State. The Buffaloes and Rams share the state of Colorado, and they don't really like each other. Fortunately, they get a chance to work out their differences every season in Denver in the Rocky Mountain Showdown.

The teams' series goes back to 189. However, in modern times, they've only met annually since 1995.

Colorado leads the series 62-22-2 overall and leads the most recent renewal 13-7. Although, Colorado State has won two of the last three games (including a 31-17 win last season).

The Sept. 19 game is housed on neutral ground in Denver at the Sports Authority Field at Mile High, which makes for an excellent atmosphere for the series evenly divided between Colorado and Colorado State fans. Colorado is coming off an ugly 2-10 season, while Colorado State should be favored following a 10-win season.

However, it'll be interesting to see how the Rams adjust to new coach Mike Bobo, hired away from Georgia following Jim McElwain's departure to Florida.

The Boston College Eagles and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish both have strong football histories and a shared Catholic heritage, but their football series is only 22 games long and only dates back to 1975.

Notre Dame leads the series 13-9 after winning the last four games, but that streak came on the heels of a six-game Boston College win streak in the series.

The teams haven't played since 2012, but Notre Dame's new scheduling agreement with the ACC (which brings five ACC teams per year on its schedule) allowed for a renewal in a unique environment. The teams will meet Nov. 21 in Fenway Park as part of Notre Dame's neutral-site “Shamrock Series.” It will be the first football game played at Fenway in 47 years, and the tickets will likely be scarce.

Notre Dame is coming off an 8-5 season and returns 19 starters, while Boston College has made back-to-back bowl games under Steve Addazio's watch. Regardless of the teams' records in late November, it's a fascinating environment.

If you're a college football fan, go ahead and plan on being in front of a television set around 3 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 12. The College Football Playoff field will have been determined, but that's not what this is about.

Army-Navy means much more than that.

It doesn't matter what the teams' records are when they face off in one of college football's best rivalries. The pageantry surrounding Army-Navy make it a must-watch for every college fan. With the exception of four years, the teams have played annually since 1899, creating a rich history.

Both programs are made up of our future military leaders, with players from both sides bound to mandatory military service after their collegiate careers end.

Navy has dominated the series in recent years. The Midshipmen will carry a 13-game win streak into 2015 and have won 16 of the last 18 games in the series.

The Black Knights are coming off a 4-8 record, while the Midshipmen finished 8-5. Expect Navy's offense to again be led by senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who rushed for 1,191 yards and 23 touchdowns. Also, expect Navy to be favored to turn its 13-game win streak into 14 games.

Charlotte, North Carolina, is very much ACC country: The ACC has made Bank of America Stadium the home for its annual title game, and news of the state's ACC programs dominates local sports sections. But on Sept. 3, the city will be neutral ground.

Border rivals the North Carolina Tar Heels and the South Carolina Gamecocks will meet in Bank of America Stadium to kick off the season and play for only the third time since 1991. The Tar Heels and Gamecocks last met two years ago, with South Carolina taking a 27-10 win in Columbia.

Both teams will look to open 2015 with a splash, following disappointing 2014 seasons. North Carolina failed to build on a strong finish to 2013, finishing 6-7 with a loss to Rutgers in Detroit’s Quick Lane Bowl. South Carolina followed three consecutive 11-win seasons with a 7-6 record and an Independence Bowl win over Miami.

The Gamecocks hope a revamped defense can contain North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams, a dual-threat who accounted for 34 total touchdowns last season.

The SEC East has one of college football's best-known neutral-site rivalries in Georgia-Florida, but the SEC West is trying to catch up. The West is countering with a rivalry that has plenty of history but little in its current neutral locale.

The Arkansas Razorbacks and the Texas A&M Aggies are old Southwest Conference foes, but the teams' rivalry paused when Arkansas left for the SEC in 1992. The teams renewed the rivalry as a neutral-site game in Arlington, Texas, in 2009, and the game became an SEC West rivalry when A&M joined the league in 2012. The teams played on campus sites in 2012 and 2013 and returned to AT&T Stadium in Arlington in 2014.

A&M entered the game in the top 10 nationally, but Arkansas pushed the Aggies into overtime before falling 35-28. The teams will play at AT&T at least until 2020, and this season's renewal on Sept. 26 should be exciting.

Arkansas is coming off a resurgent 7-6 season and is led by a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams, while A&M hopes John Chavis can help a talented but struggling defense catch up with a dynamic offense led by quarterback Kyle Allen and a group of standout receivers.

This series has all the makings of a great neutral-site rivalry.

While some games on this list are one-offs or have thin history, that certainly isn't the case with Oklahoma-Texas. The Red River Showdown matches a pair of teams and fanbases that just don't like each other. The game, on Oct. 10 in the Cotton Bowl, typically has a big impact on the Big 12 and national title races.

With Bob Stoops in control, the rivalry has favored the team to the north. The Oklahoma Sooners have won 10 of the teams' last 15 matchups, including a 31-26 win last fall. The Sooners went 8-5 last fall and cleaned house offensively, hiring East Carolina offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley to implement an Air Raid passing-friendly system.

The Texas Longhorns went 6-7 in head coach Charlie Strong's first season, but it'll be interesting to see how Strong's culture change has taken hold in his second year. Texas could have a new quarterback under center, as Tyrone Swoopes is facing a spring challenge from Jerrod Heard. Same goes for Oklahoma, where Trevor Knight is facing a challenge from Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield.

That said, the most interesting player on the field could be Oklahoma tailback Samaje Perine. Perine rushed for 1,713 yards and 21 touchdowns as a freshman and set the NCAA single-game rushing record with 427 yards in a romp over Kansas.

The Georgia-Florida game is no longer officially known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, but it remains a date that residents of both states mark on the calendar in late October or early November without fail. This year, it falls on Oct. 31.

With the exception of a two-year span in the mid-1990s for stadium renovations, the game has been played in Jacksonville since 1933.

The Georgia Bulldogs and the Florida Gators are bitter rivals, but the Gators have had the Bulldogs by the tail in recent seasons. In the teams' last 25 meetings, Florida owns a 19-6 lead. Last fall was particularly disappointing for Georgia, as a Florida team that would fire coach Will Muschamp just two weeks later dominated the Bulldogs 38-20.

This will be a huge game for new Florida coach Jim McElwain, who inherited some talent from Muschamp but must decide on a quarterback between Treon Harris and talented redshirt Will Grier. Last season's loss helped keep Georgia out of the SEC title game despite a 10-3 record, and the Bulldogs will be out for revenge after returning 13 starters led by sophomore tailback Nick Chubb, who rushed for 1,547 yards a year ago.

The Chick-fil-A Kickoff has become one of the biggest events of college football's opening weekend. While Atlanta will host only one game this season (down from two in recent years), Auburn-Louisville will fill the Georgia Dome with intrigue on Sept. 5, if only for the presence of Bobby Petrino.

Petrino is beginning the second season of his second stint at the Louisville Cardinals helm, and he's plenty familiar to Auburn Tigers fans. He spent one season as Auburn's offensive coordinator in 2002 before becoming Louisville's head coach, but he secretly interviewed with Auburn officials before they'd decided to fire former boss Tommy Tuberville just a year later.

He also spent less than a season as the Atlanta Falcons' head coach in 2007 before heading to Arkansas. This game will be a big litmus test for Auburn and Louisville—both teams hope to make a national impact this season. Auburn took a step back from a national title game appearance in 2014 with an 8-5 record but think that new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will have an impact on a struggling defense.

Louisville finished its first ACC season 9-4 but has uncertainty at quarterback. The Cardinals don't want to get in a shootout with the Tigers and likely new quarterback Jeremy Johnson, but it'll be interesting to see if Muschamp's defense will even give them the opportunity.

Much like Dallas, Houston has gotten into the neutral-site game recently, with last season's rousing LSU-Wisconsin tilt an excellent example. Arizona State-Texas A&M has the potential to be a lot of fun, with two teams who can put up plenty of points but have struggled to stop foes recently.

Under Todd Graham, the Arizona State Sun Devils have authored back-to-back 10-win seasons and returns plenty of offensive talent, including one of the nation's most versatile backs in senior D.J. Foster. However, the Sun Devils must improve a defense which yielded 27.9 points per game last fall, No. 76 nationally.

Texas A&M's defense was even worse, averaging 28.1 points per game and ranking No. 77 nationally in scoring defense. Kevin Sumlin lured John Chavis, one of the nation's top defensive coordinators, away from LSU to improve that defense. Chavis inherits talent, including defensive end Myles Garrett, but how quick will he see improvement? With a wide receiver corps that includes Speedy Noil and Ricky Seals-Jones, the Aggies will score points. They'll need plenty to keep up on Sept. 5 in Houston.

Under Nick Saban, the Alabama Crimson Tide have shown a real willingness to open the season in a neutral-site game against a high-profile opponent. Sept. 5's AT&T Stadium showdown against the Wisconsin Badgers will mark the fourth consecutive season where the Crimson Tide will start with a neutral-site game. Alabama is 5-1 all-time in regular-season neutral-site games under Saban, and Wisconsin will provide a significant challenge.

As Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News notes, Alabama's neutral-site games aren't going away, either.

"The way I look at it, the neutral-site games have been a real boon to Alabama,” Alabama athletic director Bill Battle told Hurt. “First, they have been good because Nick (Saban) isn't afraid to play somebody really good, really early.”

This will mark the debut of Wisconsin's head coach Paul Chryst, a Madison native and former Badger player and assistant who was hired away from Pitt following Gary Andersen's surprising departure to Oregon State. Chryst inherits 12 starters but won't have the services of Melvin Gordon, the Heisman Trophy runner-up who left for the NFL after rushing for 2,587 yards. Corey Clement should be a capable replacement, but Chryst needs to decide if Joel Stave is really his top choice under center.

Alabama will enter the season feeling its way with a core of young players. The Crimson Tide will return only nine starters and has questions after losing quarterback Blake Sims to graduation and a pair of All-Americans in receiver Amari Cooper and safety Landon Collins (as well as top tailback T.J. Yeldon) to the NFL.

We'll learn plenty about both teams here, which should make for a fun evening in Jerry's World.