There are Only Four Rivalry Games in All of College Football
/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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