In the very end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century many of the rivalries that we know today began to pop up. Kansas and Missouri squared off in 1891, California and Stanford in 1892, the Iron Bowl featuriong Alabama and Auburn in 1893 and Michigan and Ohio State in 1897. These games became the big event for many of these schools and were widely attended by students and the general public alike. In 1879 the University of Michigan was the first team west of Pennsyvnia but was soon followed by other teams like University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Minnesota. Fielding yost was the coach at the University of Michigan and became a great driving force behind the growth in popularity of the Unviersity of Michigan football team and the team became a national powerhouse. The formation of these wetern teams would eventually lead to the creation of the conference that we know today as the Big Ten conference.
In spite of the addition of rules and regulations to the game the sport was still extremely violent with 19 reported fatalities nationwide in 1905. The addition of the forward pass would help with this. The colleges met in 1905 to try to resolve some of the safety issues with rule changes. In the early part of the 20th century the game became more like the game as we know it today. The rules and strategies were being changed constantly and new coaches were bringing innovations to the sport that would make it safer and more interesting for the spectators and increase the appeal of the game for the American public. Pop Warner brought modernization to the game that was quickly becoming a widely accepted game in American sport. When Knute Rockne began coaching at Notre Dame he literally put the unknown school on the map with his innovation in football and the strategies he employed. New rules were adopted in 1914 including roughing the passer rules to protect the quarterback. In 1909 the field goal became the three point version that we know today and the touchdown was raised to six points in 1912. In the 1920s and 1930s the true greats of the game began to emerge and make the sport wildly popular around the country. Players like Jim Thorpe, Red Grange "The Galloping Ghost" and the greatness of Bronko Nagurski became the icons of the sport. Notre Dames Four Horsemen came into being. Pop Warner brought many of the innovative strategies south with him to the University of Georgia when he coached there. In the college ranks many new rivalries were born including the University of Tennessee against the University of Alabama which became a tradition every year on the third Saturday in October. In 1925 the southern schools grew in prominence and respect as the University of Alabama won the national title. In 1932 the South Eastern Conference was founded and would go on to become one of the most prolific conferences in the sport. The tradition of the Heisman trophy was begun in 1935.
