SEC Football: Power Ranking the Best Cross-Division Games

One of the great things about college football is tradition, but with conference realignment taking place in the SEC, some of that tradition is going right out the window.

With Texas A&M joining the SEC, they have now become cross-division rivals with the South Carolina Gamecocks, which removes the rivalry South Carolina had with Arkansas for the last 20 seasons. The Razorbacks are now cross-division rivals with the newly added Missouri Tigers.

Arkansas and Missouri have only played a total of five times, while the Aggies and Gamecocks have never met on the gridiron.

While some of these teams may not have much history playing each other, getting rid of the traditional cross-division rivalries, all together, would not be a wise move from the SEC.

Here are some of the best cross-division rivalries the SEC has to offer.

5. Missouri vs. Texas A&M

This rivalry may not have nearly the amount of games that other matchups on this list have, and it's new to the SEC, but this is a rivalry that is beginning to pick up steam and will be a great addition for the SEC.

These schools are less than six hours apart from one another, which really makes this matchup huge recruiting wise. The Aggies lead the series 7-5, and although many of the outcomes have been one-sided, this is a contest that could really take off in their new home.

4. Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt

These two team's may not exactly be the best in the conference, but they have met a total of 82 times—that has to count for something. Both of these schools are founding members of the SEC and they both have the smallest student bodies of any other schools in the conference.

You have to give the smaller programs some love.

It's also great to know that six out of the last 10 meetings have been decided by less than 10 points. With the Vanderbilt program on the rise under head coach James Franklin, this rivalry may gain more attention over the years.

3. Florida vs. LSU

These teams have met a total of 58 times and the Gators lead the series by a slim margin of 30-25-3. The majority of the time both of these programs come into the game highly ranked, and from 2006-2008 the winner of this contest ended up winning the BCS National Championship.

In the last eight meetings, five of the games have been decided by 10 points or less. These are two of the more talented teams in the conference and should provide us with many great memories for years to come.

2. Alabama vs. Tennessee

Tennessee has been down the last several years, but this is still one of the biggest games on the SEC schedule when talking about cross-division rivalries. These two schools have the most SEC titles of any other schools in the conference.

Sure, Alabama has dominated the series lately; winning six of the last seven meetings, but the overall results are much closer as the Crimson Tide lead 49-37-7.

This game has been played every year since 1928, and with the Volunteers returning an extremely young and talented team, this rivalry may once again gain some of that momentum it had back in the day.

1. Georgia vs. Auburn

The Deep South's oldest rivalry has to be number one. These two teams first met in 1892 and it's been on nearly every year since. These two teams have played a total of 115 times, making it one of the most played rivalry games in all of college football.

It's also one of the most competitive rivalries as Auburn holds a one win edge over the Bulldogs with a 54-53-8 overall record. It's hard to find a rivalry as close as this one, on top of that it produces great games.