5 exceptional matchups for the hypothetical SEC-Big Ten Challenge

Speaking at the annual conference meetings in Florida on Tuesday, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema brought up the idea of copying college basketball's idea and creating a SEC-Big Ten Challenge.

It's certainly much more difficult for football teams to schedule a cross-conference series, as most non-conference games are planned up to 10 years in advance, so the idea is unlikely to come to fruition anytime soon.

That being said, here's five matchups between the two conferences that would be exceptional for the 2016 season.

Alabama-Michigan

While most people would prefer Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh just engage in a steel cage match, we'll settle for an Alabama-Michigan gridiron showdown. Thanks to the issue of satellite camps, these two schools have somehow become rivals, and the coaches added fuel to the fire by exchanging barbs Tuesday. Saban voiced his displeasure for the camps during the meetings before Harbaugh took to Twitter to roast the Crimson Tide coach and program. The game would be a great contest of smashmouth football, but the postgame coaches handshake would be the main event.

Arkansas-Wisconsin

Bielema's suggestion could lead to a homecoming, as the former Wisconsin coach could take Arkansas into battle against the Badgers. There's no love lost between Badgers athletic director Barry Alvarez and his former coach, with Bielema admitting last year their relationship was fractured as a result of his departure. The gregarious coach has built Arkansas around the same principles he did with Wisconsin - by recruiting a massive, overpowering offensive line. The game would be great, but a Razorbacks win would almost certainly lead to a classic Bielema press conference.

Ole Miss-Ohio State

What do Ole Miss and Ohio State have in common? They both don't seem to have any problems beating Alabama. The Rebels have beaten the Crimson Tide each of the last two seasons, and Urban Meyer's Buckeyes wiped out Saban's program on their way to the 2014 national title. Both teams are loaded on offense, ranking in the top-30 in scoring, so a highly entertaining shootout would be likely.

LSU-Penn State

If there was such a thing as "Running Back Tinder," there would be a lot of swipes to the right for this matchup. On one sideline, you have LSU's Leonard Fournette ...

And on the other sideline you have Penn State's ultra-talented Saquon Barkley entering his second year, who did things like this in his freshman campaign.

Nittany Lions coach James Franklin speaks very highly of Les Miles from his time in the conference with Vanderbilt, and the two traditional powers have some of the most passionate fan bases in the country. Whether the game becomes a "White Out" at Beaver Stadium or a night game in Death Valley, it would be an amazing atmosphere.

Vanderbilt-Northwestern

Two things jump off the page when discussing Vanderbilt and Northwestern. First of all, these are two of the finest educational institutions in the United States. Second, despite housing some of the world's brightest minds, neither school can seem to find an effective way to score. The Commodores ranked fifth-last in the nation in scoring just 15.2 points per game last season. The Wildcats didn't fare much better, coming in just seven spots better at 19.5 points per contest. A defensive slugfest can prove to be very entertaining, and this one would almost assuredly turn into such an event.