by S Bond Herndon

Created on: September 24, 2007

It makes no difference what part of the nation two rival teams come from. Usually, they are conference foes. In some cases (such as Notre Dame vs. USC) they are national rivals with fans tuning in all over the country to see the outcome. This is not to say that these two teams and their annual game represent the best of rivals; they actually do not.

Which heated rivalry is the best of them all? That's a tough one. There are a lot of factors to consider. This list, although subjective, is a best effort at examining the best, most contested rivalries that college football has to offer.

#10 ARMY vs NAVY
For the last 102 years, these two service academies have played each other in a game that once held great significance to national rankings. The hay-day of both schools has long past, with most blue chip athletes going to top conference teams today. However, the rivalry is still a celebrated one, with years of history. It's always the last game of the year, usually in December.

#9 WISCONSIN vs MINNESOTA
They have been playing this one since 1890. The winner takes home "Paul Bunyan's Axe", to which the results through the years have been marked on its handle. A lot of sausage and cheese are consumed during this one and from time to time, an upset by Minnesota can upset the national rankings.

#8 MICHIGAN vs OHIO STATE
The game has been played since 1897. These two schools started to recognize the importance of the rivalry in 1935 and began to schedule the game for the last of the season. Usually, it determines the winner of the Big Ten, and who will participate in the Rose Bowl.

#7 USC vs UCLA
There's nothing like cross-town rivals, huh? The annual "Showdown in Tensile town" has been played for seventy six years. Storied and filled with history, many of the college football's all time greats played in this one. Big rivalry, yet, seated in the laid back atmosphere of So-Cal, it lacks a little of the all-out hatred of rivalries yet to be listed.

#6 TEXAS vs TEXAS A&M
Now we get to the blood baths. These two teams hate each other. If you live in Texas, you either love or hate one or the other of these two schools and their powerful football teams. Usually both teams are ranked by the time they meet up in November. Upsets happen often and are dreamed of by both.

#5 AUBURN vs ALABAMA
Getting deeper into the more nasty of rivalries, we come to the deep, deep south, where they can't sell enough orange/blue or crimson colored paint to splash on the opposing team's campus, statues or

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>