There are Only Four Rivalry Games in All of College Football

Any backyard Nerf football game is the fifth biggest rivalry.

I was out to lunch today with my daughter and my folks and the topic of college football came up between my father and I, as it almost always does this time of year. We were talking about the Purdue-Michigan game this Saturday and then moved on to some other matchups that intrigued us. I said to my dad that a big rivalry game was on tomorrow night. He asked me which game, and I told him that Notre Dame and Michigan State were playing. He kind of shook his head and asked me why I thought that was a rivalry game. I told him that ESPN, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, pretty much every sports media site and publication always says this is a rivalry game. What he said next was pretty profound, and really speaks to the current state of college football.

My dad said that when he was a kid, and even in his early adult life, Notre Dame and MSU was not a rivalry game. He said that the 2 teams barely played each other until fairly recently. He seemed to think that the media has this hyped as a rivalry game, but in actuality, it is just another game.

We spoke more about what we each consider to be relevant rivalry games in college football. We are both big time Michigan fans, obviously. So, he asked me who I considered was Michigan's biggest rival. Without hesitation I said the University of Ohio State. They always have been and always will be Michigan's chief rival. He was happy with my answer, but asked me about teams like Notre Dame, Minnesota, MSU, and I kind of shrugged them off. Don't get me wrong, those are big games, but not as big as the University of Ohio State. They don't play Notre Dame or Minnesota every year anymore and, while the MSU game can be big, it doesn't hold the same magnitude for me as a Michigan fan. We started to look at other games that are considered "rivalry" games by some places. We both agreed that Auburn-Alabama and Army-Navy are legit, big time games. Those games are almost always as important as the University of Ohio State-Michigan game. I was even quick to say the Egg Cup, Washington and Washington State, is a big time rivalry game too.

Outside of some in state stuff, we couldn't come up with many other true rivalry games, what with all the realignment, and the state of some teams currently in college football. Take a game like Iowa-Iowa State for example. Who, outside of alumni and people that live in Iowa, really care about this "rivalry"? I know I wasn't watching, or paying that much attention to this game when it was played a few weeks ago. Sure, they have some trophy, but who really cares besides the players and coaches. My dad informed me that some people consider Minnesota-Wisconsin a rivalry game. I thought they just played each other to get some big ass axe. I didn't realize until today that this was a rivalry trophy. Some people still consider UCLA-USC a rivalry game. Not me. For my generation, Notre Dame is a much bigger rival to USC than UCLA is. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State fans might take me to task because I don't really think Bedlam is a legit rivalry game. It's a battle for Oklahoma, but it usually doesn't have the big time stakes of true rivalry games. I remember asking RD's wife, who went to Purdue, who their biggest rival was and she told me Indiana. I would not have known that in a million years. I guess it makes sense because they are both in Indiana, but a rivalry game, I don't think so.

Then I thought about some old time rivalry games that are now gone due to conference realignment. We don't get to see Texas-Texas A&M every year anymore. That's a drag. That was always a fun game to watch on Thanksgiving weekend, no matter how good or bad the teams were. Colorado-Colorado State has fallen into that Iowa-Iowa State role for me now that Colorado is in the Pac-12. Who cares about that game, including people that live in Colorado. Missouri and Kansas not only stopped playing football against each other, but they don't even play basketball against each other anymore. That is a damn shame as someone from Missouri that roots for Kansas. The used to have some great matchups back when the Big 12 had 12 teams. Penn State and Pitt only recently renewed their rivalry, but both those schools aren't what they used to be when that game would have truly mattered.

I guess when I look at the new landscape of college football, it is hard for me to see a true rivalry outside of some in state nonsense, or some made up stuff by people that just want others to pay attention to their schools. Outside of University of Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn, Army-Navy and Notre Dame-USC, what are the big "rivalry" games? Who is Florida's rival? Is it Florida State or Miami? Same for Miami. Is it Florida State or Florida? Who is Georgia's rival? Is it Georgia Tech, or some random SEC school? Who's Texas main rival now? Oklahoma? Aren't they supposed to be Oklahoma State's biggest rival? What about KU or Missouri? Who are their chief rivals? How about Stanford? Do they consider Notre Dame or USC their biggest rival? Who is LSU's most hated team? Is it Alabama? Maybe Auburn? What about Clemson? Has Louisville jumped older teams, or is it still another team from the Carolina's? It is all very muddy now in college football.

I love to watch all these games, but I want people to temper what they consider a "rivalry game". I will still tune into Notre Dame-Michigan State, but only because Michigan's game should be over by then, and the only other intriguing night game matchup to me is TCU-Oklahoma State. No other reason. I don't know, I just feel like people are making up new rivalry games just to make them up. Tell me why I'm wrong. Let me know how much the Georgia-Georgia Tech game means, or why Miami is a bigger rival to Florida than Florida State. Because where I sit now, there are only 4 true rivalry games. All that other stuff is pure nonsense.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is on the wrong side of our world's greatest rivalry, yellow or red Gatorade. We all know the true answer.

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Ty's Midseason College Football Redo

As I did yesterday with the NFL, today I'm going to look at college football at the mid way point. Also, much like the NFL, I got some things right, but more things wrong. That's how it goes when you are in the business of making predictions. No one is perfect, and I'm far from it myself. Anyway, let's get into what I got right and wrong, update my predictions and make some more changes.

First, let's look at the SEC, my least favorite conference. Alabama is the clear cut favorite. I think that everyone expected this. Alabama is clearly the best team in the SEC, and the nation. They have a historically great defense. They have scored 12 non offensive touchdowns, and they have only given up 12 touchdowns all year. They are elite. Their offense is just fine as well. They have a read option style QB, who is not a great passer, but an exceptional runner. He runs the read option to perfection, and, when he has an open man, he usually hits them in stride. Their offense, while not great, is just fine. Alabama is a cut above the rest in the SEC. As far as some teams that may present a "challenge", you have Auburn, Florida and Texas A&M. Some may say, you left out Tennessee, but Alabama recently beat them by 39 points. They also, just last week, beat A&M by 19 points, so they may not be much of a threat. Florida has a very good defense, but they were exposed against Tennessee in the second half of that game. Alabama is much, much better than Tennessee. Auburn may be the only team that can truly threaten Alabama, but their strength is running the ball, and Alabama's strength is stopping the run. Auburn has looked very good since Rhett Lashley took over the offense, but they will run into a buzz saw when they face Alabama's front seven. LSU could possibly pose a threat, the game is at night and in Baton Rouge, but they, much like Auburn, love to run the ball and Alabama is nearly impossible to run against. I will say, I was right about Tennessee. They are paper tigers. They should have been beaten a few times already, pulled some games out of nowhere, but have been brought back down to Earth the last two weeks. Anyway, at the midway point, Alabama is still the team to beat in the SEC.

Let's move to the Pac 12, which has been an absolute disaster thus far, minus one team. I was way, way off about Stanford. I thought that Christian McCaffrey would be dominant and lead this team to the playoff. I thought their defense would be great. I thought the lack of a decent QB would not matter. I was wrong on all three aspects. McCaffrey, while still putting up decent numbers, is literally the only threat they have, and he has missed parts of, or full games. He will not be making a return trip to New York for the Heisman ceremony. Their defense has been fine, but they have been on the field way, way too much. The lack of a good QB has crushed this team. Their passing game is no threat, so teams just load the box to stop the run, and it has worked thus far. UCLA has been incredibly underwhelming and Josh Rosen isn't even playing right now. USC, after getting crushed in their first 2 games, has looked better, but they are still 4-3. Utah is good, they have a great running game and an okay defense. They have a huge matchup this weekend, but I'll get to their opponent in a few. Oregon is atrocious, especially on defense. They cannot stop anyone and they can't settle on a QB. Oregon State is no good, Washington State is fine, but terrible at defense, Arizona State is average, Arizona is mediocre, which leaves us with one good team. That team is Washington. I was wrong about this team. I thought it was all talk, but they have lived up to the hype and then some. They are clearly the best team in the Pac 12. They have an elite offense and a very good defense. Jake Browning is putting up monster numbers, and if they get past Utah this weekend, they should have a clear path to the playoff. They are the Pac 12's only hope.

The Big 12, on the other hand, may not send a single team to the playoff. I was convinced that Oklahoma was going to have a breakthrough this year, but Bob Stoops reared his ugly head during week one. Houston trounced them, then 2 weeks later, in Norman, Ohio State throttled them. They have rebounded a bit, but they are no threat to be in the playoff. Texas started strong, but are limping to the finish line. Charlie Strong is all but done with his tenure there. TCU has been very up and down. Kansas State is in rebuild mode. Baylor is undefeated, but it is all for naught because none of this will matter because of the atrocities that they did off the field. They are going to get the death knell from the NCAA, hopefully. West Virginia, very surprisingly, has been the class of the Big 12. They have a very good offense, and in a league that thinks defense is optional, WVU actually plays really good defense. They have shut down both Texas Tech and TCU in consecutive weeks, and both those teams have great offenses. WVU is the team to beat in the Big 12, at this moment.

The ACC is still Clemson's to lose. Louisville has come out of nowhere, at least to me, but Clemson did beat them already. But, Louisville has been impressive thus far. Lamar Jackson is the front runner for the Heisman. He is putting up video game numbers, and no one, not even Clemson, truly stopped him. Florida State is average, Their QB is too young and inconsistent. Their defense is very mediocre. Dalvin Cook is very good, but he is their only threat. They have a big game against Clemson this weekend, and that game should show their true colors. Miami started out great, but they have fallen back to Earth the last three weeks. As far as some other challengers, there isn't any. NC State is average, and should have beaten Clemson, UNC has a great offense, but a terrible defense, Virginia Tech is fine, but not world beaters. This conference is Clemson's to lose. They are still undefeated, they play excellent defense and they still have Deshaun Watson, who is incredible. Until this team gets beat, I will stick with them. This weekend poses their last real threat, and if they get past FSU, they should roll to the playoff.

Now, for my conference, the Big 10. This is still a 2 team race. Ohio State, coming off their inexplicable loss to Penn State, is still a real playoff possibility. They have looked vulnerable the last 2 weeks, especially on offense, but they can go off at any time. JT Barrett is a very good QB, but he has gotten very little help from the rest of his teammates. The O line is shaky, the running game, outside of him, has been up and down, and they have no go to receiver. Their defense is awesome though. They can shut teams down. Ohio State has no room for error after last week, but if things break their way, they could sneak into the playoff. Michigan is playing incredible defense right now. They have shut down everyone that they have faced. It's hard to run on this team, and even harder to pass on them. Jim Harbaugh, Don Brown and Greg Mattison have a very, very good defense. The offense has been serviceable, but they are going to need to get better when they play better teams. Wilton Speight is still inconsistent with the long ball. Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh have not had their breakout games yet. Jake Butt has been fine, but not All American level yet. The running game has feasted on lesser opponents, but not so much on the better teams they've faced. I love their defense, but their offense needs to step it up. And, I do not care what their record is, they better be prepared for a very, very tough test this weekend at Michigan State. That team will bring their A game this weekend. As far as the rest of the Big 10, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and more recently, Penn State have looked good. Wisconsin has an incredible defense, but, much like Michigan, their offense leaves a lot to be desired. They also faced Michigan and Ohio State already, and both teams beat them. Nebraska may be the shakiest team in all of the top 10 rankings. They should have lost to Indiana and Oregon, but escaped with wins. They will probably get beat this weekend, when they face Wisconsin, but who knows, they could pull out another amazing win. Penn State has looked a lot better, but their offense is still a work in progress, and I do not trust them to be a real threat. Iowa has been underwhelming. Northwestern has looked good at times, but bad at times. Michigan State cannot seem to put it together. They can't pick a QB, and their defense is not as great as it usually is. Minnesota has 5 wins, but they have not looked impressive, and they tried everything to lose to Rutgers last week. The rest of the conference is below average. This conference is Michigan's to lose now. They have very high expectations for the first time in 10 years, so lets see how they react. This team has not been in this position for a long time, so let's see how these kids respond.

As far as other teams like Notre Dame, Houston, Western Michigan and Navy, only 2 of them have a say in being in a New Years 6 bowl. Notre Dame has been abysmal, and it all starts with their head coach. He has blamed everyone but himself, but he is the reason this team could miss out on a bowl game. They are 2-5 at the moment, so that means they need to finish the year 4-1, just to be considered for a bowl game. That will tough for this team. Houston was riding high with their opening season win at Oklahoma, but they have lost 2 of their last 3, and are out of the rankings. Western Michigan has looked great, owns 2 wins over Big 10 teams, and should rip through the MAC. They could find their way into an important bowl game by seasons end. And then there is Navy. They have played hard and played well pretty much all season long. They run that option to perfection, and they have looked really good all season. They were the first team to beat Houston I might add. I'm a Michigan fan through and through, but I have always liked Navy for some unexplained reason. It's good to see them play well.

As far as playoff teams go, right now for me, I have, from 4-1, Washington, Clemson, Michigan and Alabama. That is the exact order of the AP poll right now. I do not see that changing, unless one of these teams get upset, which could happen as soon as this weekend. So, that would pit Alabama-Washington and Michigan-Clemson in the semifinal games. Alabama will steam roll Washington and, as much as I would love to pick Michigan, Clemson has been there before and Michigan's offense is not nearly as good as Clemson's offense, so I'm going with the rematch. And, just like last season, I think Alabama will repeat. Clemson couldn't beat them last year, and Alabama's defense is way better than last year. I do not want Alabama to win, but they are leaps and bounds above everyone in college football. They are the Patriots of college football. I'm going to stick with Deshaun Watson has my Heisman winner though. He has already beaten Lamar Jackson head to head, and I think he will explode this weekend against FSU, which will solidify his place in New York.

There you have it, my mid season college football redux, redo, whatever you want to call it. College football has been so much better than the pros, so this piece was much easier and more fun to write than yesterday. Go watch some college games, they are way more fun, and quite frankly, better than the NFL, by a wide margin.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Test Ty's predictions by listening to the Mini X Millennial Man all about the upcoming NBA season. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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