College Football's Top
Rivalries
No. 7 to No. 10
College Football's Top Rivalries
- No. 1
to 3 |
No. 4
to 6 |
No. 7
to 10
7. Florida vs. Georgia (Georgia leads 47-39-2.
According to Florida, Georgia leads 46-39-2)
The
World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party that's no
longer called the World's Largest Outdoor
Cocktail Party has been the Florida Invitational in
recent seasons, and it swung back that way after
the Gators have taken over in the last few years. As far as rivalries go,
this one is mega-heated as the two sides hate each
other for 364 days and three hours. But all is
congenial just before and just after the game as
fans tailgate for days in college football’s
greatest party.
Signature Game: Georgia 26 … Florida 21 December 2,
1980
It was a spectacular game with superstar
freshman running back Herschel Walker riddling the
Gators for 238 yards and a touchdown on 37 carries.
However, nobody seems to remember his outstanding
performance. With only one minute and 35 seconds to
play and Georgia was down 21-20 on its own
seven-yard line. The Bulldogs ran two plays to no
avail forcing third and ten and with only 1:04 to
play with the ball on the Georgia seven yard-line.
Quarterback Buck Belue completed his throw in
between several Gators to wide receiver Lindsay
Scott. Scott turned up field by a Gator defender and
ripped up the sideline going 93 yards for the
improbable Bulldog win propelling the team to the
national title. Florida all but fell apart after
this game losing two of its final four games.
Georgia had survived a scare the week earlier
against South Carolina, but it was relatively smooth
sailing after this game beating Auburn, Georgia Tech
and Notre Dame to win the national title. Because of
the implications (as opposed to Doug Flutie’s Hail
Mary against Miami), this was the pass of the 1980s.
8. UCLA vs. USC (USC leads the series 42-28-7)
The
battle for The Victory Bell is a wee bit different
than most rivalries because it involves a major
metropolitan city; there are other sports in L.A.
other than college football to get excited about.
But that doesn’t mean the two sides aren’t fierce
about this battle and aren’t above being creative
with various pranks. Throughout the years, USC’s
Tommy Trojan statue in the middle of the USC campus
has been mutilated, painted, and buried before the
big game by UCLA fans. USC fans have had their
moments highlighted in 1958 by getting a phony story
in the UCLA student newspaper quoting UCLA head
coach George Dickerson saying, “I can’t see any hope
for our team.” The game ended in a 15-15 tie.
Signature Game: Southern Cal 21…UCLA 20 November 18,
1967
It wasn’t just for the honor of winning a crosstown rivalry. It wasn’t just for the Rose Bowl.
This was, possibly, for the national title as No. 1
UCLA and star quarterback Gary Beban squared off
against No. 2 USC and its young tailback O.J.
Simpson. Beban was magnificent as he threw for 301
yards even though he was playing with bad ribs. Tied
14-14 early in the fourth quarter, Beban hit Dave
Nuttall with a 20-yard TD pass to take the lead, but
the Trojans blocked the extra point.
And then it was showtime.
In the history of Trojan football and all the
spectacular tailbacks, there has been no greater run
than the dash that was to come from Simpson. It was
third and eight on USCs own 36. The Trojans had
replaced Steve Sogge at quarterback with Toby Page
to get the better passer in the game. With a pass
play called, Page changed the call at the line of
scrimmage to Red 23-Blast when he saw the Bruin
linebackers drop back into pass coverage. The play
call would go to an exhausted Simpson, who cut
through the line before bouncing left. He then cut
back right appearing to be shot out of a cannon as
he tore up the field for a 64-yard touchdown and the
win. The victory gave the Trojans the Pac 8 title
and a birth in the Rose Bowl where they beat Indiana
and won the national title. UCLA would finish tenth,
but Beban would win the Heisman Trophy. Simpson
would win it the following season while this play,
and this game, made him a superstar
9. Texas vs. Texas A&M (Texas leads series 75-36-5)
More fans care about Texas vs. Oklahoma on a
national scale, and it's certainly the battle that
makes or breaks each program's season, but the Texas
- Texas A&M showdown has a special place in the
college football world.
Usually played on the Friday after Thanksgiving and
always the last regular season game of the year for
each program, the third longest running rivalry
divides the state with a battle of classes,
attitudes, and two very distinct fan bases. Each
side has its own view of the other. A&M is
considered the rural school who, according to Texas
fans, aren't exactly refined. To Aggie fans,
Longhorn fans are more snooty city types. The
traditions surrounding the game are among the best
in all of college football highlighted by the Aggie
Bonfire and the lighting of the UT Tower when the
Longhorns beat the Aggies.
Signature Game: Texas 7 ... Texas A&M 0 November 28,
1940
Texas A&M was the defending national champion
coming on a 19-game winning streak with a trip to
the Rose Bowl all lined up if it could just come up
with a win. Having not allowed more than a touchdown
in any game, and outscoring their opponents 170 to
27, the Aggies were supposed to come into Austin and
walk out with a win over a good, but not great,
Longhorn squad that was 6-2 coming off a
way-too-hard 21-14 win over a bad TCU team. Texas
got was was later called the "impossible catch" from
Noble Doss to set on a one-yard Pete Layden
touchdown run on the first drive of the game, and
the defense hung on the rest of the way for a 7-0
win. A&M went on to the Cotton Bowl beating Fordham
13-12, while Texas finished off the season with a
26-0 win over Florida. The win kicked off a great
run for the Longhorns in the the series going 11-0-1
over the Aggies.
10. Florida vs. Florida State (Florida leads
30-19-2)
There’s not a real history here and each
team has bigger rivals, but this is growing into a
bitter feud thanks to proximity and recent histories
of the two schools. At least one of the two were
involved in the national title mix throughout the
1990s, and now it has become one of the year’s most
exciting and anticipated showdowns even though
Florida has stayed among the elite and Florida State
has become mediocre. Former Gator
head coach Steve Spurrier took it to another level
when he called Florida State “Free Shoes University,”
adding some fire to the showdown raising this from a
good annual game to a solid rivalry. Now the two
programs compete for area recruits and in-state
status, even though the Seminoles have been
struggling.
Signature Game: Florida 32 … Florida State 29 November 22, 1997
The No. 1 Seminoles had been rolling through their schedule
going into the showdown in the Swamp. The Gators were ranked tenth after a couple
of early season losses, and while they were
talented, they weren't quite as strong as FSU. The Noles had the nation's
top ranked run defense (Florida’s was No. 2), but
the Gators would test them early as head coach Steve Spurrier was determined to run the ball, and thanks
to Fred Taylor, they did. Rotating quarterbacks Doug
Johnson and Noah Brindise on every play, the Gators
combined an interesting mix of run and pass plays
that gave the Seminole defense fits. But Florida
State would be heard from.
FSU running back Travis Minor had a huge day running
for 129 yards and a touchdown, but the game would
belong to his counterpart, Taylor. In a seesaw game,
Taylor tore off a 61-yard touchdown run putting the
Gator crowd into a frenzy as they now believed the
Gators might actually be able to pull off the upset.
But when PK Sebastian Janikowski nailed a 20-yard
field goal with less than three minutes to play to
go up 29-25, it looked like the Seminoles would get
the win and be off to the national championship. And
then came what might go down as the biggest pass in
the storied rivalry.
Trying desperately to get a final drive going,
Johnson hit Jacquez Green, who would finish with
seven catches for 145 yards, up the sideline for a
63-yard gain down to the FSU 17. Taylor followed it
up with a run to the one before plunging in for the
game-winning touchdown. He would finish with 162
yards and four scores.
The Seminoles, in the new era of the Bowl
Championship Series, were passed over for Tennessee
to play Nebraska in the mythical national title
game. Michigan and Nebraska ended up splitting the
national championship while the Noles throttled Ohio
State in the Sugar Bowl. Florida beat Penn State in
the Citrus Bowl.
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