T1B

This is related to the ongoing thread in the NFL forum re: your preference for either D-1 ball or the NFL.

Based only on my lifetime of watching college football I have the opinion that year in and year out the major college rivalry games are very good games. Of course, there are some time that the games underwhelm fans, however, I think on the level, these games are usually very good than otherwise.

So, my question is, what are the quality major rivalry games year in and year out?

For me:
Michigan/ND - despite ND stinking it up the last few years, this game, in the least, is always dangerous for Michigan and a win is always considered huge. Of course, part of that is that a loss here almost certainly dooms a NC run. This year was no exception, the anticipation was there, ND pulled it out and jumped into the national rankings.

Michigan/MSU - largely a local rivalry, again, Michigan has had letdowns in the past getting beat by MSU and dogging their NC hopes. Last year saw a double OT game, this year saw a soaring Spartan squad blow it at home.

Michigan/OSU - OSU pulled off the upset last season and this game always has conference and BCS implications...though this year that might change.

Florida State/Miami - every year this game seems to be great. It's amazing seeing two temas so fast with so many skilled players. This year's game was no exception.

USC/ND - admittedly, the last few years this game was rather dull, however, this rivalry game ranks right up there with the very best.

What others out there?

And, how do they compare to the nfl's games on Sunday?

For me, any one of these games typically will overshadow nearly any NFL game on any Sunday.

my only response to this is that i laughed my ass off listening to some Denver asshat radio shil talking about the "storied" Denver-Kansas City rivalry that ran "all the way back" to the early '60's. "one of the true great ones", he said.

two days later Oklahoma played Texas for the 100th time with the series starting in 1900.

The most glaring omissions, imho . . .

Oklahoma/Texas -- The Red River Shootout gets a lot of love on this board, and it usually plays a major role in deciding the Big 12.

Texas/Texas A&M -- Played on Thanksgiving weekend every year, this one is loaded with tradition, although there's been more of a disparity in favor of Texas of late.

USC/UCLA -- Imho, not as big a rivalry for USC as is ND, also a bit lopsided of late, and the "little brother" image of UCLA is inescapable, but still the only crosstown rivalry in Division 1-A.

Florida/Georgia -- I lived in Jacksonville for 3 1/2 years, and The World's Largest Cocktail Party was absolutely huge down there.

Florida/Tennessee -- This one got ignited when Spurrier was at Florida, and both teams still carry a bit of a chip on their shoulder about this game.

Colorado/Nebraska -- These two teams just plain hate each other, and both are usually at or near the top of the Big 12 North.

Florida/Florida State -- Although a non-conference game, this one is always played at the end of the year, and often there's a BCS bid at stake for either or both teams.

Auburn/Alabama -- The Iron Bowl; a berth in the SEC Championship game is often at stake in this rivalry.

Intense rivalries, but little or no impact on the national landscape:

Oregon/Oregon State: They don't call it the Civil War for nothing.

Kansas/Missouri: This one has its roots in the Civil War (the real one, this time).

Additionally, a few of the better rivalries from a bygone era which are now no longer rivalries:

Nebraska/Oklahoma: A victim of the Big 8's decision to expand, followed by subsequent down time for both programs (Oklahoma in the 90's, Nebraska in the 00's).

Notre Dame/Miami: ND ended this rivalry because the hatred between the two programs was too intense. Probably the right decision, although the '88 matchup was epic (still the best game I've ever seen imho), and Miami was the team I loved to hate.

Penn State/Pitt: This was once a monster matchup for bragging rights not only statewide, but throughout the northeast. A victim of the move toward superconferences.

Notre Dame/Penn State: Was a great rivalry in the making, but a victim again of the move toward superconferences.

Texas/Arkansas: Usually decided the old SWC title in the 1970's, but this hasn't been much of a rivalry for quite some time.

Terry, hope I didn't leave the impression that I ignorantly ommitted some of those. While I am aware of them all, I simply don't know the year-to-year quality of those games, hence the bleg. Thanks.

RACK the old ND/Miami mini-rivalry...I wanted so badly to include that one because the games always had big national implications each year.

No problem, Doc.

Btw, I omitted Cal-Stanford from my list of intense rivalries that usually do not have much impact on the national landscape. Of course, that one has been a bit lopsided of late, but this is all cyclical, and many of these rivalries have been a bit lopsided at one time or another.

Alabama-Tennessee is a great old school rivalry that has been tempered a bit with the division split, because the games between Tennessee-Florida-Georgia have turned into must-wins for the Vols regarding the SEC title game while the 'Bama contest doesn't factor in as much.

Phillip Fulmer probably thinks it hasn't been watered down, tho. ('Sup process server?)

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin...

It's the oldest rivalry in NCAA Division I-A football.



m2

i've followed the Big 8 in all sports my entire life...and then the Big XII....but it wasn't until i got on-line in the late 90's that i realized a what bare-knuckled fuck you and your sister and mother hate fest that Missouri-Kansas is.

jesus. those people hate each other. and yeah it goes back to the Civil War and Confederate Bill Quantrill burning Lawrence to the ground. it's serious. 24/7/365.

the Jayhawk name alone dates back to the Civil War, I think.

All the good ones have been mentioned...

I'll throw in ND/Purdue - Intrastate rivals who have been playing each other since 1896, and started playing each other every since 1946.

ND/MSU as well. They also have been playing each other since the early 1900s, and MSU has turned this one back into a legitimate rivalry with their success against them in the past decade.

ND/MSU is a good one, too, though that one has been played much longer than UM/ND...

Minnesota/Michigan is also a very old rivalry, though usually a snoozer.

Terry in Crapchester wrote:No problem, Doc.

Btw, I omitted Cal-Stanford from my list of intense rivalries that usually do not have much impact on the national landscape. Of course, that one has been a bit lopsided of late, but this is all cyclical, and many of these rivalries have been a bit lopsided at one time or another.

Stanford-Cal has been going on since 1892 (maybe it was 1897), when Herbert Hoover was the Stanford team manager. Not much meaning on the national stage for a long time, but a very heated rivalry for over 100 years. There have been a lot of intrigue and escapades involving "The Axe" over that time.

Sounds like every game on ND's schedule is a "rivalry"....at least for the other team.

It probably won't make too many lists but Kentucky-Louisville is an interesting matchup to me, though obviously much bigger in basketball. They started playing each other regularly since the mid 90s. You have a team that has been building itself up from the mid-major status vs a team that has been in a perenially dominant conference, and the series is in Louisville's favor by only one game.

wasn't auburn-alabama not played for many years due to violence and such?

like a state court order or something.

in my humble opinion that may be biased: i see michigan-osu and oklahoma-texas as equals (even though there are quotes from Bo Schembechler and Eddie George to say outright that the RRS is more intense**)...

but i think Bama-Auburn is so fucked up.....it's number 1.


**these may or may not be true. but i've seen them.

King Crimson wrote:i've followed the Big 8 in all sports my entire life...and then the Big XII....but it wasn't until i got on-line in the late 90's that i realized a what bare-knuckled fuck you and your sister and mother hate fest that Missouri-Kansas is.

jesus. those people hate each other. and yeah it goes back to the Civil War and Confederate Bill Quantrill burning Lawrence to the ground. it's serious. 24/7/365.

the Jayhawk name alone dates back to the Civil War, I think.

Fuck those cunts from KU


Bill Quantrill will always be a hero in my book!

DrDetroit wrote:This is related to the ongoing thread in the NFL forum re: your preference for either D-1 ball or the NFL.

Based only on my lifetime of watching college football I have the opinion that year in and year out the major college rivalry games are very good games. Of course, there are some time that the games underwhelm fans, however, I think on the level, these games are usually very good than otherwise.

So, my question is, what are the quality major rivalry games year in and year out?

For me:
Michigan/ND - despite ND stinking it up the last few years, this game, in the least, is always dangerous for Michigan and a win is always considered huge. Of course, part of that is that a loss here almost certainly dooms a NC run. This year was no exception, the anticipation was there, ND pulled it out and jumped into the national rankings.

Michigan/MSU - largely a local rivalry, again, Michigan has had letdowns in the past getting beat by MSU and dogging their NC hopes. Last year saw a double OT game, this year saw a soaring Spartan squad blow it at home.

Michigan/OSU - OSU pulled off the upset last season and this game always has conference and BCS implications...though this year that might change.

Florida State/Miami - every year this game seems to be great. It's amazing seeing two temas so fast with so many skilled players. This year's game was no exception.

USC/ND - admittedly, the last few years this game was rather dull, however, this rivalry game ranks right up there with the very best.

What others out there?

And, how do they compare to the nfl's games on Sunday?

For me, any one of these games typically will overshadow nearly any NFL game on any Sunday.

No Ucla/Usc?

You've strayed too far from Main St.

It finally got mentioned but for pure rivalry and nothing else it's impossible to beat Army-Navy.

That game is literally the only one that matters, especially for Army. The head coach there could literally go 1-10 each season and keep his job as long as that "1" comes againt Navy.

Tommy Tubberville couldn't survive going 1-10, with the win coming against 'Bama, and neither could Mike Shula.

Army-Navy is practically a one game season, with the entire rest of the season being the pre season.

It's also the coolest spectacle in all of American sport.

The Seer wrote:No Ucla/Usc?

You've strayed too far from Main St.

I left off plenty of rivalries...simply because I was asking for or talking about those that are great games every year with national implications...

Minnesota Wisconsin for this big ass ax is a pretty good rivalry.

One of the most underrated rivalries is Clemson vs South Carolina. These guys are like Texas/OU except its completely instate. And this one really does split families.

Tennessee Alabama is a nasty little rivalry that has gotten really bad lately since Fat Fil screwed bama to save his own ass.

One cannot call themselves a college football fan until they attend an Army/Navy game in person. Those who have attended one understand.

Further, I would love to start a BIG TIME POWER COLLEGE FOOTBALL annual road trip. Each season we travel to one of the "great rivalry" games somewhere around the country. I would be happy to get group rates for us at a hotel, coordinate the schedule, get the tickets, etc. And to get the wife/gf to buy in we make it a family thing with activities for them and the kids. With the help of a "local board host" this could come off pretty easily.

Left Seater wrote:One cannot call themselves a college football fan until they attend an Army/Navy game in person. Those who have attended one understand.

Further, I would love to start a BIG TIME POWER COLLEGE FOOTBALL annual road trip. Each season we travel to one of the "great rivalry" games somewhere around the country. I would be happy to get group rates for us at a hotel, coordinate the schedule, get the tickets, etc. And to get the wife/gf to buy in we make it a family thing with activities for them and the kids. With the help of a "local board host" this could come off pretty easily.

That sounds like a damn fine idea, Lefty. As long as we decided early enough to get resonable plane fares, I'd be down for a massive CFB troll stop...

In order to have everything go off without a hitch I say we let Bradhusker do all the smooth talking and palm greasing along the way...

Mikey wrote:Sounds like every game on ND's schedule is a "rivalry"....at least for the other team.

Van wrote:It finally got mentioned but for pure rivalry and nothing else it's impossible to beat Army-Navy.

That game is literally the only one that matters, especially for Army. The head coach there could literally go 1-10 each season and keep his job as long as that "1" comes againt Navy.

Tommy Tubberville couldn't survive going 1-10, with the win coming against 'Bama, and neither could Mike Shula.

Army-Navy is practically a one game season, with the entire rest of the season being the pre season.

While we're on that topic, I suppose we could throw in BC-ND, at least as one-way rivalries go.

Without a doubt, this is BC's rivalry game. Most ND fans, however, don't consider BC worthy of rivalry status. And unless BC starts to contend for the national championship on a somewhat regular basis, I doubt that will ever change.

Much like Army's coach, Tom O'Brien could survive 1-10 seasons until the end of time as long as the 1 came against Notre Dame every year. Not saying that's a likely scenario, but he would survive if it came to pass.

As for every ND game being a rivalry game for ND's opponents, Mikey pretty much hit the nail on the head. Of our 8 regular or semi-regular opponents, here's where I would rank us in terms of being their rival:

BC: #1, without a doubt.
Michigan: #2, second to Ohio State and ahead of Michigan State.
Michigan State: #2, behind only Michigan.
Navy: #2 or, at worst, #3, behind Army and possibly Air Force.
Pittsburgh: #2, behind West Virginia, based on current schedule. If they resume with Penn State, we'll drop to #3.
Purdue: #1, although we'd probably drop to #2 if Indiana ever put together a consistently decent program.
Stanford: Not quite sure about this one. Cal is definitely #1, we could be as high as #2, or as low as #4, behind UCLA and USC.
USC: #1 (sorry, UCLA)

Adelpiero wrote:
Fuck those cunts from KU


Bill Quantrill will always be a hero in my book!

Tigger fan? Book?

I call bullshit.

RACK Terry...good look at the ND schedule and it goes to show that ND has one of the most difficult schedules every year as the teams they are playing against are gearing up for that as one of their most important each season.

It's great talking to Michigan State fan about their rivalry with Michigan and always letting them know that they rate a third in rank of importance on the schedule...fourth if you count the year-end bowl game...LOL!!

BTW - Terry, who is ND's #1 rival? I'd think Michigan, but that's 'cuz I'm a homer. I'd think USC because of the length of the series...

DrDetroit wrote:BTW - Terry, who is ND's #1 rival? I'd think Michigan, but that's 'cuz I'm a homer. I'd think USC because of the length of the series...

USC. Could have been Michigan, had Yost and others not gotten involved.

Killian wrote:

DrDetroit wrote:BTW - Terry, who is ND's #1 rival? I'd think Michigan, but that's 'cuz I'm a homer. I'd think USC because of the length of the series...

USC. Could have been Michigan, had Yost and others not gotten involved.

How so? I don't know the story...

DrDetroit wrote:BTW - Terry, who is ND's #1 rival? I'd think Michigan, but that's 'cuz I'm a homer. I'd think USC because of the length of the series...

USC on tradition. Michigan is #2. That rivalry actually predates USC, or any other rivalry we have, for that matter, but there have been some lengthy gaps in the past where no games were played.

Of the eight I listed, Navy (since 1930), Purdue (since 1946) and USC (since 1946) have all been continuous for an extended period of time. I believe that each of the other five has been skipped at least once since 1996, although I could be wrong about that.

During the 1980's you could make a case that Miami had supplanted both USC and Michigan as our #1 rival, but that one always had a different feel to it than either USC or Michigan.

OU skull vs. Crown

DrDetroit wrote: How so? I don't know the story...

Yost and an AD (forget his name) fought to keep Rockne and Notre Dame out of the Big 10. They refused to play ND, except for a short series in the late 40's. This is the short version. There's actually a great book written on this rivalry called "Natural Enemies" that gives the whole detailed account.

Yep, and SC-UCLA was way better back when both teams played in the Coliseum and they both wore their home unis for the game.

Only game in the nation like that.

I'm good with that Terry.

Van,

Is it December 3rd yet?

sin,

your sig bitch five years running