College Football Rivalries

America loves great college football rivalries, several of which will be played tomorrow.  These are our ten favorites.

Army – Navy.  Dubbed America’s Game, this, the most enduring and traditional rivalry in college football is about pride, honor and the United States of America.

Alabama – Auburn.  The Iron Bowl  is one of the most heated rivalries in the land, with two charter members of the SEC knocking heads each Thanksgiving Weekend for state bragging rights – and often much more.

Michigan – Ohio State.  Ranked by ESPN in 2000 as the greatest North American sports rivalry, this game always has Big Ten title implications.

Oklahoma – Texas.  The Red River Shootout  is an early season rivalry game played annually at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.  Held during the second weekend of the Texas State Fair, this one started in 1900.  Winner gets the Golden Hat Trophy.

Harvard – Yale.  First played in 1875, The Game  helped establish college football in America.  The third oldest football rivalry [after Princeton – Yale and Lafayette – Lehigh] gave us two endearing traditions:  cheerleading and the college fight song.

Notre Dame – USC.  Not conference or regional foes, this intersectional rivalry involves two traditional powers that have won a collective 11 national championships and produced seven Heisman Trophy winners.  The victor takes home the jeweled Shillelagh Trophy.

Florida State – Miami.  This match-up has produced three of the five most-watched regular season games in television history.  The kicking game has determined the winner on several occasions, including four by FSU that were “Wide Right.”  Miami leads the series 32-30.

Cal – Stanford.  The Big Game  pits two Bay-Area Pac-12 rivals against each other and is the oldest rivalry in the West.  The inaugural contest was organized by Herbert Hoover, a Stanford undergrad who would go on to become the 31st President of the United States.

Clemson – South Carolina.  The Palmetto Bowl  is the longest uninterrupted series in the South.  First played in 1896, this bitter rivalry between ACC and SEC schools dictates bragging rights in South Carolina.

Oregon – Oregon State.  The Civil War  has been played 120 times, with Oregon leading the series, 63-47-6.  These two Pac-12 North Division rivals play for the Platypus Trophy, as the platypus has features of both a duck and a beaver, the schools’ respective mascots.