One thing that can define a college football season for a team is how
they fair against their rival. Rivalry games are a big part of the
college game. Sometimes winning the game is just about bragging rights,
where in some cases the stakes may involve winning a conference crown.
Legends have been born in some of these contests to go along with
players putting the finishing touches on a Heisman Trophy campaign.
Losing the rivalry game could mean the firing of a coach where winning
it could lead to the head coach having a street named after him. It
doesn’t matter if your rival is cross-town, in-state, or cross-country,
the bright lights are on and you better not falter in this contest.
These are the five best rivalries going in college football.
Alabama vs. Auburn
125 miles separate Tuscaloosa from
Auburn, but The Tide and Tigers are much closer with the accomplishments
that each has garnered recently. ‘Bama won The BCS Championship in 2009
only to see Auburn take the crown in 2010. Alabama running back Mark
Ingram won The Heisman Trophy in 2009 and Auburn quarterback Cam Newton
won the award last season. The game is called “The Iron Bowl” and the
game has seen some of the best running backs in college football history
from Auburn’s Bo Jackson to Alabama’s Shaun Alexander. When you think
of this rivalry the name Paul “Bear” Bryant comes to mind. Bryant was
the legendary coach for The Crimson Tide and in 25 years he went 19-6
against Auburn. In the 19 SEC Championship games to date, The Tide and
The Tigers have represented The Western Division 11 times. Alabama leads
the series 40-34-1 but Auburn is 8-3 since 2000.
Oklahoma vs. Texas
The Cotton Bowl in Dallas is the
location to this annual October clash for Big 12 supremacy. One side of
the stadium is wearing burnt orange for The Longhorns while the other
side is decked out in crimson for Oklahoma. The Texas State Fair is the
backdrop as “Bevo” The Longhorn mascot is always ready for action and
The Sooner Schooner is flying around the field. The winner usually has
the inside track at winning The Big 12 as these two schools combined for
13 appearances during the fifteen year run of The Big 12 Championship
Game. This game has seen great players on both sides from Oklahoma’s Lee
Roy Selmon who helped The Sooners go undefeated in versus The Longhorns
in his four years and Texas running back Ricky Williams who totaled
over 600 all-purpose in the series. The game has seen great plays from
players such as Oklahoma safety Roy Williams’ leaping deflection of a
Chris Simms pass that led to an interception by linebacker Teddy Lehman
that sealed a 14-3 Sooner victory in 2001. The Longhorns lead the all
time series 59-41
Florida vs. Florida State
This contest really took
flight in the 1990’s as both teams were in the national title hunt every
season. The names of Steve Spurrier and Bobby Bowden come to mind when
you think of this great rivalry. Spurrier was apart of three Gator wins
in his four seasons at Gainesville as quarterback for Florida which
included a Heisman Trophy season in 1966. Spurrier returned to his alma
mater in 1990 as head coach and led The Gators to a national
championship in 1996. The triumph for The Gators was at the expense of
The Seminoles. These two met in the regular season finale in which The
Gators were ranked #1 and The Seminols #2. The Seminoles won 24-21 in
Tallahassee and these two would meet in The Superdome in New Orleans for
all the marbles that January. It was the second time in three years
that these two rivals played in The Sugar Bowl and unlike ’95, Florida
dominated The ‘Noles 52-20. Seminole head coach Bobby Bowden went
17-16-1 and road wins over The Gators in 1993 and 1999 to led to
national championships in each season. In the last 25 years these teams a
sent an enormous amount of talent to The National Football League. Pro
Football Hall of Famers such as Deion Sanders (Florida State) and Emmitt
Smith (Florida) have looked across the sidelines at one another and
then went on to win a Super Bowl in the pro ranks with The Dallas
Cowboys. Quarterback Tim Tebow and Danny Wuerffel joined Spurrier has
Heisman Trophy quarterbacks while Charlie Ward won The Heisman in 1993
as a Seminole. Recently Tebow has meant more to the rivalry than any
player. The Gators went undefeated in Tebow’s four seasons including two
wins at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. The Gators lead this
highly contested rivalry 33-20-2.
Ohio State vs. Michigan
These two Midwestern rivals
slug it out every November generally with The Big Ten Championship at
stake. This rivalry has taken place for over 100 years but it took
flight during “The Ten-Year War” from 1969-1978. In 1969 Bo Schembechler
took over as head coach of Michigan. Schembechler played for and was an
assistant under Buckeye head coach Woody Hayes at Miami (Ohio). In his
first season, Schembechler led The Wolverines to an upset of the heavily
favored Buckeyes who were trying to defend their national championship
from the previous season. Hayes told Schembechler that he would never
win a bigger game and Hayes was right. In those ten years The Wolverines
went 5-4-1 versus Ohio State and bringing this rivalry back to the
national spotlight. These two have combined for 18 national
championships, (7) Ohio State, (11) Michigan, 77 Big Ten Championships
(35) Ohio State, (42) Michigan and these two college football behemoths
have produced a combined 256 All-Americans, (130) Ohio State, (126)
Michigan. The 1990’s saw The Wolverines dominate the series going 7-2-1
during the decade. The Wolverines also made it their business to derail
The Buckeyes January aspirations during that time. The Buckeyes entered
the contest undefeated in ’93, ’95, and ’96 only to suffer defeat to
Michigan and a chance for a national championship. Michigan took care of
business once again in 1997 as Michigan versus Ohio State and The
Wolverines went on to win The National Championship.
This ultimately cost Buckeye head coach John Cooper his job in 2000 as
The Buckeyes were 2-10-1 versus Michigan during his tenure. Jim Tressel
took over in 2001 and led The Buckeyes to domination that they have
never seen over The Wolverines. Tressel went 9-1 versus Michigan which
has The Buckeyes on a seven-game winning streak which is The Buckeyes
longest streak in the series. For The Buckeyes, the 2002 win capped off
an undefeated regular season for Ohio State which saw The Buckeyes win
The Fiesta Bowl en route to a BCS Championship. This game has produced
some off the all-time greats in football. Ohio State running back Archie
Griffin is the only player to win multiple Heisman Trophies as he won
the award in ’74 and ’75. Speaking of The Heisman Trophy, Michigan
cornerback Charles Woodson put the finishing touches on a Heisman season
in 1997 versus Ohio State. In the game Woodson returned a punt for a
touchdown, intercepted a pass and lined up at wide receiver and made a
37-yard reception. In 1991, Wolverine flanker Desmond Howard showed off
his exploits against The Buckeyes which included him posing for The
Heisman after a punt return which led ABC broadcaster Keith Jackson to
say “Hello Heisman” and Howard went on to win the award. The Wolverines
lead the all-time mark in this duel with a record of 57-44-6.
Army vs. Navy
The Army-Navy game is etched into
American culture. The contest can see both teams enter winless and it
will still be a hard fought battle. This match-up has mainly taken place
in Philadelphia but we haven’t seen that much “Brotherly Love” between
these two academies. Philadelphia is roughly halfway between West Point
and Annapolis and it is always a frenzy during the second Saturday of
December. This is one of the last games of the regular season in college
football and The Black Knights and Midshipmen never disappoint. Years
ago this game had higher implications as both squads were ranked as the
top two teams in the country. Army won both contest in 1944 and 1945 and
became national champions. Army grabbed another national title in 1946
while Navy finished #1 in 1926. These schools have produced a combined
five Heisman Trophy winners including Pro Football Hall of Famer Roger
Staubach who won the award as quarterback of The Midshipmen in 1963.
Navy leads the all-time series 55-49-7, but each school has mutual
respect for one another. The nation tunes in because just like in
battle, these teams never give up and they leave it out there on the
field.
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