College Football's Top
Rivalries
No. 4 to No. 7
College Football's Top Rivalries
- No. 1
to 3 |
No. 7
to 10
4. Alabama vs. Auburn (Alabama leads 39-33-1
according to Alabama, 39-34-1 according to Auburn)
As far as the pure definition of an angry college football
rivalry game, this is number one as the fire and
passion between the two schools is unlike any other
in any sport. 365 days a year radio talk shows
discuss this game, and people who grew up and live
in Alabama are defined by their allegiances. There’s
no debate about it; this one is the nastiest of the
bunch as the only thing the two sides can agree on
is that they hate each other and that they think
their rivalry is the biggest and best in college
football. Why isn't it higher? There's little
interest on a national scale, but that could quickly
change over the next few years if Auburn can get
back to an elite status.
The rivalry began with a fight. As legend has it, the battle between the two halted between 1908
through 1947 because of a fight after a 6-6 tie
following the 1907 game, but in reality, the two didn’t
play because they couldn’t decide which referees to
use and how much each of their players could get for
expenses. After 41 years of bickering, the
presidents of the two schools decided enough was
enough and demanded the two schools to play again.
With a few notable exceptions, the games were
relatively average until the 1980s when the rivalry
started to really hum with several heart-stopping
finishes and close battles. The rivalry took another
major turn in 1989 when, after years of playing in
Birmingham, Alabama went to Auburn for the first
time and saw its national title hopes dashed as the
Tigers won 30-20.
Signature Game: Auburn 17 … Alabama 16 December 2,
1972
Just before going on a nine-year Iron Bowl
winning streak, the Tide lost to their hated rivals
after Bear Bryant made the pregame statement that
he’d “prefer to beat that cow college once than beat
Texas ten times.” The No. 2 ranked and unbeaten Tide
were up 16-3 with 5:30 to play and the game
seemingly in hand,
but Auburn pulled off a miracle by blocking two Bama
punts for touchdowns for a 17-16 win. Had Alabama
beaten Auburn, it would’ve been playing for the
national title. Oddly enough, the Bear didn’t only
lose to the Cow College, but he also later lost to
Texas 17-13 in the Cotton Bowl.
5. Miami vs. Florida State (Miami leads all-time
31-24)
Don’t confuse quantity with quality. It took
a bit of a dip over the last few years, and the two
haven't been battling each other in the ACC title
games like many thought they would, but no
matchup has been more important to the entire
landscape of college football for a 25-year span
more than this one. The rivalry took off into
the stratosphere in 1987 (more on that in a moment),
but it was strong once Bobby Bowden made Florida
State a power. A 23-17 loss to the Canes in 1977
was the first time an elite Seminole team lost to
Miami, and it’s been an interesting ride ever since.
In 1980, Miami handed FSU a 10-9 defeat for Bowden’s
only regular season loss before playing Oklahoma in
the Orange Bowl. In 1983, the Canes won a narrow
17-16 dogfight that ended up being the gateway to a
national championship, with an epic win over
Nebraska coming next in the 1984 Orange Bowl. And
then came the 1987 classic, and from then on, this
rivalry has been played at a higher level and with
more at stake than any in college football history.
Since the 1987 26-25 loss, Florida
State has lost out on playing for the national
championship five times because of losses to Miami,
and a defeat in 2000 almost cost Bowden a chance at
to play for the national title (which the Noles lost
to Oklahoma). The two teams
have met 13 times in the last 18 years when both
were ranked in the top ten, while at least one of the
two has been ranked in the top six in 20 of the
meetings.
Signature Game: Miami 26 ... Florida State 25
October 3, 1987
In a rivalry marked by missed kicks,
it was a decision not to kick that cost Florida
State in the biggest matchup between the two. There
were more heralded games between Miami and Florida
State, but the 1987 classic was when this became
MIAMI vs. FLORIDA STATE. Tied at 19 with 2:32 to
play, Miami had it third and seven on its own 27
when Steve Walsh audibled out of a short pass and
floated a throw up the right sideline hitting
Michael Irvin in perfect stride for a 73-yard score.
The Noles came back with a gut-check drive
converting one clutch fourth down pass and finished
with Ronald Lewis making a diving catch in the back
of the end zone. Bobby Bowden had said before the
game that if it came down to a late decision, he’d
kick the extra point and take the tie instead of
going for two. But when the pressure was on, QB
Danny McManus and the other FSU players lobbied
furiously with Bowden to go for two and the win.
Bowden relented. McManus had Lewis wide open in the
middle of the end zone, but he didn’t see him
choosing to try a pass in the right corner of the
end zone, but it was underthrown and broken up.
Miami recovered the onside kick with :42 to play and
went on to win the national championship. Florida
State rolled through the rest of its schedule
without a problem and finished number two.
6. Army vs. Navy
(Navy 53-49-7)
What other rivalry
stops the most powerful men and women in the world
in their tracks for one day a year? This isn't just
the battle for a state or for a national title; this
is for national supremacy.
It begins with the Army Corps of Cadets and Navy
Brigade of Midshipmen marching onto the field before
the game in most unique pageantry in all of sports,
and it always ends with the two sides showing mutual
respect no matter how the outcome turns out.
It all started in 1890 when several midshipmen
challenged some cadets to play. Almost no one at
Army had ever seen the game of football before, but
that wasn’t about to get in the way. An order went
out to all cadets weighing more than 180 pounds to
join practices to try to learn how to play. Two
months later, Navy, who had been playing football
for a few years, had won 24-0 and the rivalry was
on. Army won the following year 32-16.
Signature Game: Navy 21 … Army 16
December 7, 1963
It takes a classic to be considered the best
Army-Navy game off all-time. This might have been it
due not only to the spectacular play, but also the
circumstances surrounding the times as it was
postponed a week due to the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy. Navy was 8-1 going
against a 7-2 Army team that was a decided underdog.
Tied 7-7, Navy’s Pat Donnelly tore off a 20-yard
touchdown run and would later score third touchdown
of the day to give the Midshipmen an apparently
insurmountable lead. But Army would come back. Army
quarterback Rollie Stichweh marched the Cadets down
the field for a touchdown and tacked on a two-point
conversion to get within five points with six
minutes to play. Following the score, Stichweh
recovered the onside kick and Army was in business
again. With just over a minute and a half to play
and the crowd going crazy, Stichweh completed a
fourth down pass to get down to the Navy seven. A
few plays later, Army was on the two with twenty
seconds to play with the noise so deafening that
Stichweh asked the referee to quiet the crowd before
each play. Army came to the line but since no one
could hear. Again, the referee stopped the clock to
get the crowd to quiet down. Army went back into the
huddle, but the referee had started the clock again.
One more time, Stichweh asked to stop the clock due
to noise. It was stopped but when it restarted, to
the amazement of the Army offense, the clock ran
out. Game over. Navy would finish the season ranked
No. 2 in both polls. While this might not have been
the most significant Army-Navy game, it was the most
exciting. This was also the last real gasp for these
two service academies as neither would ever regain
such a lofty status on a national scale.
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