Not So Spicy: Five College Football Rivalries That Have Lost Their Zest

The Tennessee-Florida rivalry used to be one of the most hotly contested rivalries in the SEC, and maybe even the country. Full of close games and hatred, this rivalry has now wilted ever since Urban Meyer took up the spot at Florida in 2005 and led the Gators on a 4 game win streak over the Vols with the last two games not even being close.

Quick History:
Overall series record:
19-19 tie

First Game Played:
10-28-1916
24-0 Tennessee win

Overall points scored:
758 for Florida, 791 for Tennessee

Last 5 meetings:
4-1 In favor of Florida, only loss was in 2004 with a 30-28 loss in Knoxville
2004: 30-28 Vols (in Knoxville)
2005: 16-7 Gators (in Gainesville)
2006: 21-20 Gators (in Knoxville)
2007: 59-20 Gators (in Gainesville)
2008: 30-6 Gators (in Knoxville)

Reasons for the Gap:
Simply put, Urban Meyer is the best in the business. That's my opinion at least.

It also doesn't hurt the Gators that they have been full of studs for the last couple years, including one Tim Tebow.

Tennessee's players just don't stack up, and neither does the coaching. Then again, who does stack up to Florida?

My Outlook:

With Bryce Brown coming into Tennessee and Tebow leaving Florida along with a plethora of other players, look for this rivalry to get a little closer. But still, Kiffin is no Meyer, and coaching is still the biggest key in winning.

Once again, you have the scenario of Urban Meyer owning Florida's rivals since his arrival and this once rivalry, at one point dominated by FSU (even though the Gators hold a series lead) is now the one-sided Gator affair that their other rivalries are.

Quick History:

Overall Series Record:
32-19-2 in favor of Florida

First Meeting:
11-22-1958
21-7 win for the Gators

Overall points Scored:
Florida-1273 Florida State-1013

Last 5 Meetings:
5-0 in favor of the Gators
2004: 20-13 Gator win (in Tallahassee)
2005: 34-7 Gator win (in Gainesville)
2006: 21-14 Gator win (in Tallahassee)
2007: 45-12 Gator win (in Gainesville)
2008: 45-15 Gator win (in Tallahassee)

Reasons for the Gap:

The Gators are the best in football and there really is no derailing them. Now, I know I'm going to take a lot of heat for this, but Bowden isn't what he used to be, and Meyer is just the best there currently is.

My Outlook:

This isn't easy to project, as I don't know what FSU's coaching situation will look like in the near future but the talent is definitely there. Look for the Gators to win the next game this year in Gainesville, and the Noles to pull off a victory in Tallahassee the following year when Tebow and the defense are gone.

This rivalry was never close, I'll admit that. But this was a fairly close contest from the mid 1990s up until 2005, so that's why it's on here; I'd think we would expect a bit more out of something called "The Bedlam Rivalry"

Quick History:
Overall Series Record:
79-17-7 in favor of Oklahoma

First Meeting:
11-06-1904
75-0 Oklahoma win

Overall Points Scored:
Oklahoma-2880 Oklahoma State-1067

Last 5 meetings:
5-0 in favor of Oklahoma (Currently on a 6 game winning streak)
2004: 38-35 Oklahoma win (in Stillwater)
2005: 42-14 Oklahoma win (in Norman)
2006: 27-21 Oklahoma win (in Stillwater)
2007: 49-17 Oklahoma win (in Norman)
2008: 61-41 Oklahoma win (in Stillwater)

Reasons for the Gap:

I'm going to say this once: Oklahoma is Oklahoma and Oklahoma State is Oklahoma State.

Now, I know some people are going to complain in the comments about that, but it's true and you know exactly what I mean by it too. In case you don't, well OSU is the streaky little brother of OU, and OU is a college football powerhouse every year.

My Outlook:

This isn't ever going to change. OU has already solidified itself as a traditional power in college football while OSU will always be OSU. Look for this thing to just become even more one sided for OU in the future.

Since about 1990, this rivalry has been the most streaky that I could find. From 1991-1998, UCLA owned this game, winning all the meetings. But since 1999, this game has been dominated by USC, winning all but one (2006).

Quick History:
Overall Series Record:
43-28-7 in favor of USC

First Meeting:
09-28-1929
76-0 USC win

Overall points scored:
USC-1694 UCLA-1306

Last 5 meetings:
4-1 in favor of USC (lone loss in 2006)
2004: 29-24 USC win (in Pasadena)
2005: 66-19 USC win (in Los Angeles)
2006: 13-9 UCLA win (in Pasadena)
2007: 24-7 USC win (in Los Angeles)
2008: 28-7 USC win (in Pasadena)

Reasons for the Gap:

You see, USC has this guy named Pete Carroll as its coach. Oh, and they also have the bench full of five star players. Oh, and UCLA has decided to suck eggs lately. All these things culminate in the rivalry being so one-sided lately.

My Outlook:

Well, as long as Pete Carroll is at USC this will never change...unless Neuheisel can turn things around at UCLA enough to actually be competitive.

This is called "The Rivalry" in college football, but I don't really buy that. In my opinion, the best rivalry game is the Iron Bowl between Auburn and Alabama. And even then I think there are still more that are better than this one but whatever...

Quick History:
Overall Series Record:
57-42-6 in favor of Michigan

First Meeting:
10-16-1897 in Ann Arbor, Michigan
34-0 Michigan win

Overall Points Scored:
Michigan-1763 Ohio State-1372

Last 5 meetings:
5-0 in favor of the Buckeyes
2004: 37-21 Buckeye win (in Columbus)
2005: 25-21 Buckeye win (in Ann Arbor)
2006: 42-39 Buckeye win (in Columbus)
2007: 14-3 Buckeye win (in Ann Arbor)
2008: 42-7 Buckeye win (in Columbus)

Reasons for the Gap:

While Michigan has been pretty good (except for last year) the Buckeyes have been the cream of the crop in the Big Ten. A lot of the games have been close, but Michigan needs to put a couple of wins in there.

My outlook:

Michigan has the talent, and if Rich Rodriguez gets time then Michigan will be the Ohio State of the Big Ten, and we could see their fortune in this rivalry reverse.