by Adam Smith

Created on: December 20, 2007

This is a pretty generic title and your bound to see, as you scroll through the article, that there will be many different rivalries that, although credible 15 years ago, are henceforth dead. Slain by the advancement in television, recruiting tools, and the fast paced spread offense. Here are those that are most credible at the present time, you may be surprised

1. Iowa vs. Iowa State- Yes! believe it or not, "The Battle for the Cy-Hawk trophy is one of the most fiercely competitive rivalries at the present. This is more because of both the teams having little else to look forward too, being not very talented, and also because there IS NO OTHER GAME IN THE STATE. (It is also the second most costliest ticket in the NCAA regular season)

2. Cal vs. Oregon- Fiercely competitive, fast paced game. Usually with both teams in top 5-10

3. UCLA vs. USC- UCLA loses a majority of the rivalry games, but everyone outside of USC alum is usually rooting for the Bruins, big fan draw.

4. Oregon vs. Oregon St.- Laugh if you want. The Beavers are a different team when they take the field against the Ducks.

5. Missouri vs. Kansas- Fast paced, spread offenses and the idea of a two Davids competing to face two Goliaths ( OU and UT) in the Big 12 game, make this rivalry and the Big 12 in general a great newcomer on the national scene.

6. LSU vs. Florida- Back and forth over the past few years, the winner of this game has played in the last two national title games.

7. BC vs. Virginia Tech- Did you watch these two games this season? Amazing!

8. Rutgers vs. South Florida- Smash mouth defense, fast paced offense, Big East resurgences, all a recipe for an amazing game.

9. Louisville vs. West Virginia- The showdown at the Ville '06 may just have been the best it could be in rivalries north of Louisiana.

10. Texas vs. Kansas State- K-State refuses to give an inch to the Longhorns, someone always steps up and sends the horns home crying.

11.Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State- A battle between the most overrated and underrated teams in the nation (OU lost to Colorado and almost lost to Iowa State). Oh and the inner state rivalry.

12.Michigan vs. Wisconsin- Michigan can't beat Ohio St., Wisconsin can't beat anyone with a spread offense, but they are so equally behind the times, they make for a good match for old school "smash 'em up fans"

13. Boise State vs. Hawaii- Believe! Enough said.

14. Tennessee vs. Alabama- Two underachieving SEC teams are locked in the bottom half of there division, and with regional competition drawing them in the recruiting poll, they move to hire big name coaches for more money than the pros and take up bad boy, powerhouse rejects. If you love drama, you love the third week in October.

15. Auburn vs. Florida- Auburn has beat Florida each of the last two years. Still they get no respect, this is only fuel for there fire and the fire of there avid fans.

16. Florida State vs. Virginia Tech- Appeasement be damned! Florida State has ALWAYS been a home for the bad boys. They may have lost a step or two in the last 10 years but Virginia Tech is also often overrated and more so recently as people try to relate tragedy to football talent. A media ploy, but something that puts these two teams at polar opposites, more so than any other rivalry.

17. Texas vs. Texas Tech- Ones on the upswing, the other on the down spiral. It may not be too long before you see the top Texas recruits (especially QB's and WR's) going to Tech, especially if Tech moves past the "It's the system" bias.

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