Tag: rivalry game

Wisconsin plays in two of CBS Sports’ top 10 Big Ten football rivalry games

Wisconsin plays in two of CBS Sports’ top 10 Big Ten football rivalries

Two of the Wisconsin Badgers’ biggest rivalry games made CBS Sports’ ranking of the top 10 Big Ten football rivalries on Friday.

Those inclusions: Wisconsin vs. Minnesota (No. 2) and Wisconsin vs. Iowa (No. 7).

Related: Big Ten Football Power Index Rankings for 2024: Which teams are underrated, overrated?

The list was unsurprisingly led by Ohio State vs. Michigan — arguably the greatest rivalry in sports. Iowa vs. Minnesota then came in at No. 3, followed by UCLA vs. USC at No. 4, Michigan vs. Michigan State at No. 5, Oregon vs. Washington at No. 6, Indiana vs. Purdue at No. 8, Iowa vs. Nebraska at No. 9 and Illinois vs Purdue at No. 10.

Wisconsin leads each of its two ranked rivalries all-time (48-46-2 vs. Iowa and 63-60-8 vs. Minnesota), though the records are nearly even. Critically, each matchup perfectly represents what a great college football rivalry should include: a close geographical distance, great history, evenly-matched programs and a good rivalry trophy.

Wisconsin’s battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe and the Heartland Trophy both fit every criteria.

The Badgers’ lopsided ‘rivalry’ against the Nebraska Cornhuskers also made the list at No. 18. That’s more of a one-sided rivalry than anything, especially given the rivalry’s youth and the fact the Badgers haven’t lost to the Cornhuskers in nearly 12 years.

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Auburn-Georgia Tech highlights revived rivalries wish list from 247Sports

The rivals that are separated by just 112 miles have played 92 times in history.

The height in popularity of conference realignment in college sports has caused many great rivalry games to go by the wayside as a result.

Several of the important rivalries of the past that have been affected include Colorado–Nebraska, Michigan–Notre Dame, and, although set to revive, the Texas–Texas A&M rivalry.

Will Backus of 247Sports recently shared his picks for the top classic rivalry games that he wants to see revived. Among those were LSU-Tulane, Penn State-Pittsburgh, and Ohio State– Cincinnati. For Auburn, he would like to see the rivalry between the Tigers and Georgia Tech start again.

These two used to be fierce rivals — first when they both occupied the SEC, and then for another 20 years annually when Georgia Tech left. The rivalry became defunct in 1987, with a brief revival in 2003 and 2005, but the two teams have not played since. That is a shame for a game that has featured such prominent names as John Heisman — of Heisman Trophy fame — who coached on both sides of the aisle in this series. Georgia Tech still plays one SEC team annually in Georgia, so this may be a hard sell for the Yellow Jackets. But it would be nice to see it come back for at least a couple years.

According to AuburnTigers.com, Auburn leads the overall series, 47-41-4, and has not played since the 2005 season when Reggie Ball and Calvin Johnson led the Jackets to a 23-14 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Sept. 3, 2005. Prior to the games played in 2003 and 2005, Auburn held a nine-game winning streak that spanned from 1979-1987.

The rivalry began in 1892, and the teams played each other on an annual basis from 1944-1987. A key memory of the rivalry game with Georgia Tech includes the “Wreck Tech” game in which Auburn students greased the railroad tracks which caused the Yellow Jackets to glide through Auburn and walk five miles to campus.

The 1987 game was also a classic. The game is known in Auburn lore as the “Tillman, Tillman, Tillman game” where receiver [autotag]Lawyer Tillman[/autotag] caught a touchdown pass from [autotag]Jeff Burger[/autotag] to cap a come-from-behind effort to give Auburn the 20-10 win.

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Notre Dame football: A first glance at USC

Who is 2022 USC? Some quick notes about what awaits the Irish in Notre Dame’s regular-season finale.

The sleeping giant of the rivalry that is Notre Dame-USC is starting to wake up.  That noise you hear isn’t a loud truck passing by.  It’s actually the giant’s alarm clock going off.  Giant might still be wiping the sleep off its eyes as it gets ready to roll out of bed but the covers are coming off and we’re all about to enter an era that this rivalry hasn’t seen in a sustained matter since the seventies.

Yes, there is a lot of hate and a lot of winning between Michigan and Ohio State as well as Alabama and Auburn.  Army and Navy is a classic you can set your watch to, but all things considered, Notre Dame-USC is the best rivalry in college football when both are ticking.

Related:  Notre Dame-USC: Fast Facts About Epic Rivalry

We’ll get into that more later this week as we have collaborated with Trojans Wire for loads of content that we’ll both be rolling out.  However, with the regular season set to conclude Saturday in southern California, let’s get a very quick first glance at what the Irish have in store for them in the form of USC this weekend.

OPINION: Gators could be embarrassed if they don’t take UCF seriously

Florida can’t afford to underestimate UCF on Thursday and beyond.

The Florida-UCF rivalry has always been a bit like a younger brother pestering an older brother for approval. Maybe that will get me some flack from my fellow UCF alumni, but let’s be honest, we knew claiming a national championship would be annoying and we wanted it to be.

That’s the UCF marketing strategy. Be loud, be proud and don’t lose when it matters most (see the 2018 Peach Bowl). Well, it’s time for another big game and this one is against the top dog in the state. A win over Florida would be massive for the Knights, especially after accepting a 2-and-1 series that favors the Gators earlier in the year. Game 1 of that agreement is in 2024, so whoever takes this one will go into it with some bragging rights.

So, how does Florida stop UCF from getting a huge momentum boost of a win?

The Gators need to take the Knights seriously. Not just now, but moving forward. There was a certain energy present against FSU that wasn’t there for any other Florida game this season. UCF will have that energy on Thursday, and it needs to be matched for this game to stay close.

The outcome could also affect recruiting. With UCF joining the Big 12 and soon to be out of the Group of Five, Guz Malzahn is looking at some of the same recruits Florida will.

To go back to the sibling analogy, maybe little brother UCF isn’t so little anymore. To make things worse, Florida’s not exactly Florida this year, which makes it a bit like playing 1-on-1 with your brother while having a bum ankle.

UF moved on from Dan Mullen, and Billy Napier is beginning to make changes to the program. But Interim coach Greg Knox will be at the helm for this one and at least two starters have entered the transfer portal. Quarterback Anthony Richardson is recovering from injury, so Emory Jones will make the start before entering the transfer portal as well.

The odds are certainly stacked against Florida in this one, and motivation has been in question all season. South Carolina put up 40 on this team without some of the losses and LSU set a school record for rushing yards earlier in the year against them.

Auburn was stunned when UCF kept up with them in the 2018 Peach Bowl and eventually won. Florida can’t afford to let that happen. On paper, the Gators have more talent, but the execution just hasn’t been there to rely on a second-half comeback against a good team. Underestimating teams is what Florida’s done best this year, and UCF loves to be the underdog against an SEC team.

It may have been easy to ignore little brother for a while, but now Florida can’t deny UCF the attention it deserves. It should be a close game if both teams are at their best on Thursday, and a narrow margin of victory makes for a healthy rivalry down the road.

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Notre Dame-USC: fun facts about epic rivalry

For the first time in two fulls years we can say it: Beat SC.

Notre Dame and USC have made up the greatest intersectional rivalries in all of college football for nearly a century and get set to meet for the 92nd time this Saturday in South Bend.

Last year didn’t see the Irish and Trojans meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Pac-12 not playing out of conference games, the first time the schools didn’t meet since World War II.

Order is restored and things return to normal this Saturday as Notre Dame welcomes USC to South Bend as the rivalry gets renewed once again.

Ever wondered how these two programs came to be great rivals?  Here are 10 things to know about the history of Notre Dame and USC:

Former annual rival offers prized Notre Dame commitment

With Notre Dame’s “friends with benefits” deal with the ACC the meetings between the Irish and Spartans have become a lot more rare as the two haven’t met since 2017 and won’t again until 2026 and 2027.

Notre Dame and Michigan State used to play annually in football in a series that featured one of the most famous games in the history of college football, the 10-10 tie in the 1966 battle.

With Notre Dame’s “friends with benefits” deal with the ACC the meetings between the Irish and Spartans have become a lot more rare as the two haven’t met since 2017 and won’t again until 2026 and 2027.

Just because the teams haven’t met on the field for a while doesn’t mean the battles in recruiting have gone away as new Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker recently offered prized 2021 cornerback and Notre Dame commitment Philip Riley, Jr. a scholarship.

Riley committed to Notre Dame on May 5 in what was a huge win for new cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens and the Fighting Irish.

Riley had some big time offers before choosing Notre Dame as the likes of Clemson, Oregon, Penn State and Texas were just a few of the several.

It seems like it’d still be a major upset to see Riley not ultimately wearing blue and gold but it’s worth noting and worth following a bit how hard Tucker and Michigan State go here as that will tell us what we need to know about how open, or not open Riley may be to potentially even looking elsewhere.

Longhorns Wire Roundtable: Best rivalry in College Football

In the latest roundtable discussion, the team at Longhorns Wire make their case for the best rivalry in college football.

When it comes to college athletics, there is no greater matchup than when you put two bitter rivals on the same field. Throw out their rankings, records and history when it comes to these particular meetings. Hype, hatred and passion play a critical role in the outcome.

There is just something special about these games that causes players to lay it all out on the line in hopes of claiming bragging rights for the next year. Each member of Longhorns Wire made their selections of the best rivalry in college football.

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