Bragging Rights and Bloodsport
The sporting world has its share of rivalries. The NFL has its Cowboys-Redskins. The NHL has their Avalanche-Red Wings. Major League Baseball has its Red Sox-Yankees. Even tennis has its Williams-Hingis and Sampras-Agassi. In fact, the sporting world may be the only place where shouting something like "Texas sucks!" will win you more applause and handshakes than dirty looks and offers for help. But nowhere in sports is the rivalry greater than in college, and particularly in college football.
Nothing gets someone more fired up than praising their college's archrival. Nothing has the ability to bond complete strangers wearing full body paint and carrying a can of cheap beer through a stadium parking lot like the "big game" against the enemy. Mention the word "Yellowjacket" in Athens, Georgia and you're likely to be met with sneers, physical threats, and worse. One thing's for sure: There is no love lost between rival schools.
This week, with "rivalry weekend" rapidly approaching, we'll take a look at the ten best college football rivalries. I have ranked them from one to ten based on one thing and one thing only: Intensity. I don't care that Nebraska-Oklahoma may decide national champs every single year. I don't care that Kent State fans don't mind going 1-10 so long as the 1 is against Akron. No. I'm looking for pure hatred here. The only limitation I put on myself was that I would not use a team more than once. That ruled out certain big rivalries: Michigan-Michigan State, Purdue-Notre Dame, Army-Air Force, Nebraska-Oklahoma. But I'm willing to run that risk.
So here they are: College football's ten greatest rivalries, ranked in order.
10. Indiana vs. Purdue. Admittedly, this is a bit of a controversial pick, and I'm willing to allow for geographical bias. But when the Hoosiers and the Boilermakers meet up (which is every single year), everything gets left on the field and there is absolutely no love lost. This rivalry loses quite a few style points due simply to the fact that neither one of the teams has won a national championship and it's been a long, long time since they both fielded good teams at the same time. This year's showdown looks like it may prove vital to the recruiting war. The loser may end up darn near the dregs of the Big Ten.
9. Mississippi vs. Mississippi State. When Tommy Tupperville decided to leave one school for the other, it just added fuel to an already raging fire between two hardcore SEC West schools. Like any true rivalry, records are tossed aside and pure emotion drives this game. The Runnin' Rebels and the Bulldogs fight it out once a year for bragging rights and recruiting. Don't laugh at these schools' past records, either. Watching this annual competition just once will prove to anyone that it is one of America's greatest sports rivalries.
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