College Football: The 50 Best Rivalries in College Football
What makes a great college football rivalry?
Unlike any other sport, college football can divide friends, family or even states in the rivalries that exist all over the country.
Some of the biggest college rivalries that are still active can be dated back beyond the beginning of the 20th century. These were the series that helped college football become the spectacular environment that takes place on Saturday afternoons in the Fall.
With that, let's take a look at the top 50 college football rivalries in major college football today.
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SMU-TCU
1 of 50
First Meeting: 1915
Series Record: TCU leads 44-39-7
For the two Dallas based programs, TCU and SMU has been successful football programs over the several decades with the Horned Frogs coming off a Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin and the Mustangs rebuilding back to their winning ways with new June Jones after the infamous death penalty in the 1980s.
Utah-Utah State
2 of 50
First Meeting: 1892
Series Record: Utah leads 77-28-4
In this, the 11th oldest rivalry in college football, Utah and Utah State face off every year in the Battle of the Brothers, but with the Utes blossoming into a national power, the Aggies haven't won in this series since the 1997 season.
Washington-Washington State
3 of 50
First Meeting: 1900
Series Record: Washington leads 66–31–6
In the battle for the Apple Cup, the Huskies have held custody of the trophy for the past two seasons after the Cougars held it for the two previous season in the Evergreen State rivalry.
West Virginia-Marshall
4 of 50
First Meeting: 1911
Series Record: WVU leads 10-0
The two Mountain State rivals meet in the annual Friends of Coal Bowl after very sporadic meetings since the first meeting in 1911. However, this rivalry is a bit one-sided, with West Virginia winning every meeting to date.
Stanford-California
5 of 50
First Meeting: 1892
Series Record: Stanford 56-46-11
In a rivalry series highlighted by the magical ending of the game in 1982, the academic-minded Stanford have been unable to use their classroom intelligence during their football series with their Berkley neighbors as the Golden Bears have been able to beat the Cardinal in seven of the last 10 meetings.
Pittsburgh-Penn State
6 of 50
First Meeting: 1896
Series Record: Penn State leads 50-42-4
With this Keystone State rivalry being on hold since 2000, it looked like a good decision for the Pitt Panthers on the hiatus as they won only three of the last 10 meetings against Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions including seven straight losses ranging in meetings from 1989 to 1999 in this series.
Ole Miss-Mississippi State
7 of 50
First Meeting: 1901
Series Record: Ole Miss leads 60-41-6
After long winning streaks by Ole Miss and Mississippi State in different stages of this rivalry, the two programs have pulled even with each other in the last 10 meetings with the Bulldogs and Rebels each winning five games in their annual rivalry game in the SEC West.
Colorado-Colorado State
8 of 50
First Meeting: 1893
Series Record: Colorado 60–20–2
As the two schools face off in the Rocky Mountain Showdown every year, the Buffaloes seemed to have fallen back, as the recent coaching changes along with talent lacking in Boulder have allowed the Rams to upset Colorado in recent years.
Arizona-Arizona State
9 of 50
First Meeting: 1899
Series Record: Arizona leads 46-37-1
As the two programs meet in the Duel in the Desert, Arizona had its best moments in the rivalry with Arizona State in the very early stages of the series as the Sun Devils took over in recent decades as they won 11 of the last 20 meetings in their time in the Pac-10.
Cincinnati-Miami (OH)
10 of 50
First Meeting: 1888
Series Record: Miami leads, 59-49-7
With only the Michigan-Notre Dame series being older, the rivalry between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Miami of Ohio Redhawks is the second oldest in all of college football for the two western Ohio programs in the country today.
Iowa-Iowa State
11 of 50
First Meeting: 1977
Series Record: Iowa leads 23–11
In the battle for the Cy-Hawk trophy, Iowa and Iowa State have both had runs in this rivalry. But with the Hawkeyes gaining a lot of top talent in recent years, the Cyclones have been left on the losing end of scores in the past three years and six of the last 10 years.
Kansas-Kansas State
12 of 50
First Meeting: 1902
Series Record: Kansas leads 65-38-5
With the title of the rivalry game derived from the Kansas nickname, the Sunflower Showdown has been owned by the Wildcats as they have had their way with the Jayhawks on the football field for the past two decades, winning 15 of 20 games.
Maryland-West Virginia
13 of 50
First Meeting: 1919
Series Record: West Virginia leads 24–21–2
The border war between West Virginia and Maryland has been in existence since 1919, with the Mountaineers having the edge in the closely contested rivalry. Maryland enjoying a four-game winning streak in the early part of the last decade while WVU is currently on a five-game winning streak against the Terrapins.
WIsconsin-Minnesota
14 of 50
First Meeting: 1890
Series Record: Wisconsin leads, 36-24-3
In a rivalry that has included trophies like Paul Bunyan's Axe and a Slab of Bacon, Minnesota and Wisconsin have the fourth-longest rivalry in major college football with the Badgers dominating the last two decades, with 16 wins out of the last 20 meetings as members of the Big 10.
USC-UCLA
15 of 50
First Meeting: 1929
Series Record: USC leads 43-28-7
As these two schools battle for the city of Los Angeles, USC has built one of the most successful college football programs in history whereas their crosstown rival UCLA hasn't enjoyed the success of the Trojans on the football field.
Virginia Tech-West Virginia
16 of 50
First Meeting: 1912
Series Record: West Virginia leads 28-22-1
The Black Diamond Trophy was awarded to the winner of the game between Virginia Tech and West Virginia, but with the rivalry on hiatus for the meantime, the Mountaineers will enjoy their six-game lead on the Hokies for now.
Virginia-Virginia Tech
17 of 50
First Meeting: 1895
Series Record: Virginia Tech leads 50-37-5
With the boys from Blacksburg growing into a national power, Virginia Tech has enjoyed a great deal of success in recent years as Virginia is unable to compete with the talent that the Hokies possess in their season finale games in the ACC.
Notre Dame-USC
18 of 50
First Meeting: 1926
Series Record: Notre Dame leads 43-33-5
The luck of the Irish finally broke through last year in the first campaign of new coach Brian Kelly in South Bend, as Notre Dame was able to defeat USC on the road for the first time since 2000 and snap their eight-game losing streak to the Trojans from 2002-2009.
Oklahoma-Oklahoma State
19 of 50
First Meeting: 1904
Series Record: Oklahoma leads 82-16-7
In a rivalry know as Bedlam, the Sooners and Cowboys matchup has been very one-sided in recent years; Oklahoma has dominated Oklahoma State by winning 10 of the last 12 meetings in a series that has stretched over the old Southwest Conference, to the Big Eight and into the current Big 12 conference.
North Carolina-Virginia
20 of 50
First Meeting: 1892
Series Record: North Carolina leads, 57–54–4
In the series known as the South's Oldest Rivalry, North Carolina and Virginia have met continuously on the football field since 1919 that makes the rivalry the fourth oldest in the South just behind Minnesota-Wisconsin, Kansas-Missouri and Texas-Texas A&M, respectively.
Iowa-Minnesota
21 of 50
First Meeting: 1891
Series Record: Minnesota leads, 40-34-2
At the beginning of the rivalry where Minnesota won the first 11 contests over Iowa, the Hawkeyes have bounced back in more recent years. The two programs have swapped places as Minnesota has not reclaimed the success they had in the 1950s and 1960s.
Georgia-Georgia Tech
22 of 50
First Meeting: 1893
Series Record: Georgia leads 61-39-5
After Tech was able to run off a three-game winning streak against the Bulldogs in the late '90s, Mark Richt and Georgia came with a bite that UGA would be proud of, only losing once to the Yellow Jackets in the past decade.
South Carolina-Clemson
23 of 50
First Meeting: 1896
Series Record: Clemson leads, 65-39-4
For the two most prominent programs in South Carolina, the Tigers and the Gamecocks have been meeting since the early part of the 1900s in major college football with the two schools splitting the last four meetings.
Iowa-Wisconsin
24 of 50
First Meeting: 1894
Series Record: Tied, 42-42-2
In the world of college football, there is no closer rivalry than the one between Iowa and Wisconsin for the Heartland Trophy. Iowa leads it 4-3, but the overall record currently is tied with 42 wins a piece in addition to two ties.
Illinois-Northwestern
25 of 50
First Meeting: 1945
Series Record: Illinois leads 33-29-2
As the outcomes of the rivalry between Illinois and Northwestern were very even, the Wildcats have been successful against the Fighting Illini in recent memory in the Big Ten, even if the conference hasn't been very welcoming to the two programs.
Oregon-Oregon State
26 of 50
First Meeting: 1894
Series Record: Oregon: 58-46-10
The Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State has to be the most heated rivalry on the west coast as Oregon has enjoyed recent success over their counterpart Oregon State in their battles in Eugene and Corvallis in Pac-12 action.
Florida-Miami
27 of 50
First Meeting: 1938
Series Record: Miami leads 28–26
After meeting continuously from 1944 all the way to 1987, the Gators and the Hurricanes have once again started to meet on the football field after the 13-year hiatus. In the last five meetings, Florida won four straight from 2001 to 2004, with Miami taking the fifth and last meeting to date in 2008.
Clemson-Florida State
28 of 50
First Meeting: 1999
Series Record: Florida State leads 17-7
With the fairly young rivalry between Clemson and Florida State still blossoming in the ACC, the matchup was originally based on Bobby and Terry Bowden coaching the two programs. With the family completely removed from the series, the Seminoles and Tigers must rejuvenate the meetings with Jimbo Fisher, now the head man at Florida State and Dabo Sweeney at Clemson.
Brigham Young-Utah
29 of 50
First Meeting: 1896
Series Record: Utah leads 54–34–4
With both these teams having religious ties residing in the state of Utah, BYU and Utah have been successful programs over the past few decades. The Cougars dominate the rivalry series while Utah has gained national attention from being a BCS buster like their counterparts Boise State and TCU.
Kansas-Missouri
30 of 50
First Meeting: 1891
Series Record: Missouri 56-54-9
No matter what people call the rivalry between Kansas and Missouri, the border battle between the Tigers and the Jayhawks have the sixth-longest series in major college football, with Mizzou besting Kansas in six of the last 10 meetings for the Big 12 rivals.
Boston College-Notre Dame
31 of 50
First Meeting: 1975
Series Record: Notre Dame leads 11-9
In the fairly recent history between the two Catholic universities, the Boston College and Notre Dame rivalry has been a bit of a one-sided series of games, with the Eagles winning six straight from 2001 to 2008. Meanwhile, the Irish's longest winning streak is four games against BC.
Florida-Tennessee
32 of 50
First Meeting: 1916
Series Record: Florida leads 21-19
In another SEC East rivalry, the Volunteers-Gators history has been a bit one-sided in recent years. Tennessee, riding a six-game losing streak to Florida, has been trying to reclaim the glory from the great years during the Phillip Fulmer era in Knoxville.
Arkansas-LSU
33 of 50
First Meeting: 1901
Series Record: LSU leads 34-20-2
After the Razorbacks left the Southwest Conference to join the SEC, the rivalry between Arkansas and LSU was able to be restarted as an annual rivalry game after the two programs met a bit on a sporadic basis following their first meeting all the way back in 1901.
Oklahoma-Nebraska
34 of 50
First Meeting: 1912
Series Record: Oklahoma leads 45–38–3
As the two teams head their separate ways with the Cornhuskers' move from the Big 12 to the Big Ten this year, it has been reported that Oklahoma and Nebraska will likely renew their yearly rivalry game as a non-conference affair in the coming years.
Texas-Texas A&M
35 of 50
First Meeting: 1902
Series Record: Texas leads 68-37-5
In the rivalry officially known as the Lone Star Showdown, Texas A&M has been able to be competitive with the Longhorns in recent years winning three of the last five games after losing six straight games in the late 90's and early 2000's.
Florida-Florida State
36 of 50
First Meeting: 1958
Series Record: Florida leads 33-20-2
After a rough stretch for the Gators in the prime of Bobby Bowden and Florida State, Florida has claimed the title of the winningest program in the state of Florida in the past decade as the Seminoles along with the Miami Hurricanes have had some uncharacteristic down years after impressive runs in the 1990.
Arkansas-Texas A&M
37 of 50
First Meeting: 1903
Series Record: Arkansas leads 40–24–3
After being conference rivals in the Southwest Conference for nearly 60 years, Texas A&M and Arkansas has renewed the rivalry in recent years after almost a two decade hiatus with the new games being held at Cowboys Stadium, owned by former Arkansas alum and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Michigan State-Notre Dame
38 of 50
First Meeting: 1949
Series Record: Notre Dame leads 31–26–1
In the last 10 years of the rivalry between Michigan State and Notre Dame, the Irish and the Spartans have flip flopping wins and losses every year since 2001 with Michigan State breaking through for two straight wins in 2007-2008 before falling back to alternating wins and losses in the past two years.
Auburn-LSU
39 of 50
First Meeting: 1901
Series Record: LSU 24-20-1
SEC West rivals Auburn and LSU meet in the annual Tiger Bowl that in 1988 the game winning score by LSU quarterback Tommy Hodson and the immediate reaction from the crowd at Tiger Stadium registered at LSU's Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex just outside the stadium.
Florida State-Miami
40 of 50
First Meeting: 1951
Series Record: Miami leads 31–24
Whether it be wide left or right, the rivalry between the Seminoles and the Hurricanes have brought the world of college football some of the most iconic moments in the last 20 years with Bobby Bowden, the great Miami teams of the late 90s-early 2000s and the lengthy list of pros coming out of the two programs.
Pittsburgh-West Virginia
41 of 50
First Meeting: 1895
Series Record: Pittsburgh leads 61-39-3
In one of the most heated rivalries in all of college football, the Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pittsburgh is a guarantee to bring out the die hard and borderline ravenous fans of both programs that rest some 70 miles away from each other in northern West Virginia and western Pennsylvania.
Florida-Georgia
42 of 50
First Meeting: 1915
Series Record: Georgia leads 47–40–2
For the rivalry game formerly know as the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party", the two SEC East teams have had some spirited contests in recent years of the rivalry with the majority of the Georgia Bulldogs' players swarming the field after a first quarter touchdown to Chaz Henry taunting a Georgia coach after booting the game winning field goal this past Fall.
Auburn-Georgia
43 of 50
First Meeting: 1892
Series Record: Auburn leads 54–52–8
While Virgina-North Carolina might hold the title of the South's Oldest Rivalry, Auburn and Georgia has staked a claim to being the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry with 114 meetings since the first game took place in 1892 in Atlanta, GA and might eventually pass the former rivalry in total games as it stands at 115 for the Cavaliers and Tar Heels.
Alabama-LSU
44 of 50
First Meeting: 1895
Series Record: Alabama leads 45–24–5
In an SEC rivalry game that was already intense before, Nick Saban leaving LSU for the NFL and then returning to the college game to take the head job at Alabama putting gasoline onto the fire that was the series between SEC West programs LSU and Alabama.
Oklahoma-Texas
45 of 50
First Meeting: 1900
Series Record: Texas leads 59–41–5
The annual game between the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns at the Texas state fair brings with it a route to another Big 12 title for the two programs along with a springboard into the discussion of a National Championship berth at season's end.
Alabama-Tennessee
46 of 50
First Meeting: 1901
Series Record: Alabama leads 47–38–7
In a rivalry series who's name shares the date of the game, Alabama and Tennessee competes against one another on the third Saturday in October with the Crimson Tide enjoying a great deal of success after the introduction of Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa.
Michigan-Notre Dame
47 of 50
First Meeting: 1887
Series Record: Michigan leads, 22-15-1
In the longest rivalry in major college football, Michigan and Notre Dame first met on the football field in 1887 and have been meeting continuously every year since 2002 after meeting sporadically in the decades before that.
Army-Navy
48 of 50
First Meeting: 1890
Series Record: Navy, 55–49–7
In the 81 year history of the game, the Army/Navy game has been one of the most historical rivalry games in the history of college football in the battle between the United States Armed Forces where Navy has won nine straight and 12 of the last 14 games in the series.
Alabama-Auburn
49 of 50
First Meeting: 1893
Series Record: Alabama 40-34-1
In the most intense rivalry in the SEC, Auburn and Alabama meet in the annual Iron Bowl which went to a new level with an Alabama fan poisoning the famous tree at Tooner's Corner after the Tigers beat the Crimson Tide and won the National Championship last season.
Michigan-Ohio State
50 of 50
First Meeting: 1897
Series Record: Michigan leads 57–44–6
The Michigan/Ohio State rivalry has to be the most well known rivalry in all of college sports but for the Maize and Blue faithful, the rivalry has been hard on the Wolverines in recent meetings with the Buckeyes going 9-1 in the past 10 meetings.
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