Greatest College Football Rivalries

The South's oldest rivalry = Auburn/Georgia
The most heated rivalry = Auburn/Alabama
Recently developed rivalries =
Florida/Florida St.(used to not be a big rivalry)
Alabama/TN
Auburn/LSU(annual battle for SEC West)
TN/Florida
Florida/Georgia (World's largest cocktail party)
and of course Kentucky/Vandy (for worst team in SEC.
(I admit I am a bit of a Southern boy)

 

The book "Good Old-Fashioned Hate" illustrates the love between UGA and Georgia Tech. From the GT fight song (edited)...

"Oh if I had a daughter sir
I'd dress her in white and gold
And put her on the campus
To cheer the brave and bold.
But if I had a son sir,
I'd tell you what he'd do
He would yell to **** with Georgia
Like his daddy used to do."

 

Yes, lately UGA has done quite well against the Yellow Jackets in football. However, methinks the academic requirements are a tad different between the engineering institute and the liberal arts school (can you spell basketweaving??).

Despite this, TECH has managed to own that team from the farm in both baseball and basketball over the past few years.

 

I have been lucky enough to make it to a few of the games mentioned in this thread. So far, nothing rivals OU-Texas. Of course, I am an OU season ticket holder, so I am biased. But, the half orange half CRIMSON crowd in a neutral stadium is great. Seeing the Texas fans wearing shirts that read "COME EARLY, CHEER LOUD, STAY LATE" heading for the exits early in the second half... can't be beat.

After that, I would have to say Army-Navy is huge. Thousands of people, around the globe, are waiting on the outcome of that game.The bragging between the embers of the two armed services is fun. Watching enlisted Marines pulling for Army... just to get at thier CO that went to Navy... it doesn't get much better.

Then there is "The Game" I see someone else already spoke about it, so I will just say WOW. When you consider how old the schools are, it is something. Talk about long term rivalries.

 

OU-Texas the biggest? Nawww its Michigan/Ohio State. There is no doubt about that.

http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2004/Features/Rivalry_1_3.htm

GO BLUE!!!

 

Alabama-Auburn is the biggest by far and away. I am a UT fan but this rivalry is the most serious in a region that takes its college football more serious than any other.

I think it was an article in Phil Steele's magazine... The author had grown up in Big 10 country and thought its competition was the most intense... but then moved to the southeast and experienced a whole different reality.

The also rans- Clemson/SC, USC/ND (hate 'em both), OU/Tex, Tex/A&M, USC/UCLA, Mich/OSU, OSU/OU, UW/WSU, Cal/Stanford, UGa/UF,...

 

I've been to Alabama-Auburn twice in recent years. It seems that since the football fortunes of the Crimson Tide have kind of fallen on hard times in recent years, that rivalry is not quite as intense as it could be. With OU finally back on track under Bob Stoops, and Texas once again a perennial national power, that game is about as intense as you can get, and the crowd in the Cotton Bowl, at least at the games I've attended, is a lot louder and more animated than the one at Legion Field.

The only other major rivalry games I've ever been to have been out in the Pac 10, and I'd have to say they are both nearly as intense as either of the ones I mentioned here. Arizona and Arizona State have played for the Territorial Cup for over 100 years. That's a hot one, and so is the Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State, especially in recent years.

 

I have never been to a college football game. I would love to go to a game at Notre Dame or Michigan.

That Georgia fight song was pretty funny.

 

There is nothing like the college football experience. The Big House is a great place- the sea of maize and blue, the 100,000+ fans screeming their heads off.

The game I went to last year was so loud that when I was yelling at the top of my lungs I could not here myself.

I hope to go to the Ohio St. (turns to spit on the ground) game this year.

 

LOL hope you can get there brother.

I went by the Big House before and it looked so small...then I saw inside through one of the gates and realized that it was mostly below ground.

 

The biggest stadium in the US.

 

Actually, I think the distinction for having the largest stadium in the US is Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, at the University of Tennessee. The big house holds about 104,000. I think Neyland is around 112,000 now, and I've seen it full.

By far, the most impressive crowd I've ever seen was at LSU. Their stadium is pretty big, and the noise level is incredible.

 

Neyland is big but not the biggest, it holds 104,079. It is number 3.

Michigan is 107,501, making it the largest.

Beaver Stadium in PA is number 2 at 106,000.

Michigan stadium from what I have read was designed to expand to around 150,000 seats.

 

Do they really play sports there.

Alabama- Auburn(cow college)

Alabama- Tenn (actually more heated than the Auburn rivalry with many Tide fans)

 

Without a doubt, the Alabama/Auburn rivalry comes in #1 in my book. A person would have to live in Alabama to understand the love/hate relationship between the fans of these schools. It doesn't matter where one attended college or if they attended at all, everyone has to state his loyalty to one of the two schools.

Believe it or not, this rivalry divides families and churches! A pastor in the state of Alabama is wise not to be too vocal about his favorite team.

It is not true that the lackluster performance of Alabama in the past few years has diminished the rivalry in "The Iron Bowl." It is just asintense. Fans of the losing team are often depressed for weeks following The Game. You would think there has been a death in the family.

It is true that this same kind of love/hate relationship has developed between Alabama and Tennessee.

The big difference is that the Alabama and Auburn fans are fierce rivals during the season, but when the season is over they remain civil to each other. But 365 days a year, there is a hostility between the Tide and Volunteer fans.

I say to folks all the time, "What difference will it matter to us a hundred years from now?"

 

Dude I am a diehard Bama fan. Bryant #1 game every year was Tenn. The cigar smoking etc. The casual Bama fan might rank The cow college first but a real diehard tenn will always be the game.

Auburn would love to be Alabama's biggest game but that just aint the case. I am from Alabama, I know

 

I beg to differ with you, Patrick. The Iron Bowl far exceeds the AL/TN game. But like I said, what difference will it matter a hundred years from now?