What would college football be without rivalries? Rivalries can make regular season games look like playoff games. Battling another school across the state line or within the state may be the biggest game of the season. The players get excited. The players get excited. The community is excited! Here are some of the more notable rivalries in NCAA football:
1. Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles
These two teams have been battling their intrastate rivalry since 1958. Florida leads the series, 31-19-2. People sometimes refer to this competition as the “Sunshine Showdown” (referring to Florida’s nickname as the Sunshine State) or the “Governor’s Cup”. Adding to the excitement of the game, one or both high school football teams have had high national rankings the week of their meeting since 1990. In fact, since Bobby Bowden began coaching Florida State in 1976, the series has practically stagnant. .
2. UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans
How intense is the intrastate rivalry between UCLA and USC? It even has a name. The Lexus Gauntlet refers to the competition between USC and UCLA, which involves head-to-head competition in 18 varsity sports. Both universities have participatory events during the week prior to the clash of the two soccer teams. USC refers to the week as “Conquest” or “Trojan Week”. On the other hand, UCLA calls that week “Beat SC Week” (the less combative official title is “Blue and Gold Week”).
By the way, what exactly are Bruins and Trojans? A Bruin is a huge and vicious bear in Europe and Asia. Meanwhile, the Trojans were citizens of Troy, an ancient city in present-day Turkey.
3. Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies
This rivalry is as big as the state of Texas. The teams’ soccer teams meet annually on the day after Thanksgiving. Teams do this to give the rivalry a national spotlight. Here are some interesting tidbits about the rivalry:
o Started in 1900, the teams’ rivalry is the third longest in college football.
o Activities such as the Texas “Hex Rally” and Texas A&M’s “Aggie Bonfire” precede the game.
o The Aggies “honor” Texas in their “Aggie War Hymn” fight song, while the Longhorns wish their rivals a “goodbye” in their “Texas Fight” fight song.
4. West Michigan Broncos and Central Michigan Chippewas
The Broncos were actually Hilltoppers once. That was referring to his East Hall sitting atop Prospect Hill. However, in 1939 Western Michigan changed the name of its athletic teams to the Broncos. At the time, other Hilltoppers existed, such as the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
Meanwhile, the Chippewas, or “Chips,” represent Central Michigan University. The team represents the Saginaw Chippewa Native American tribe, who live in the region. Ironically, although the university maintains a constructive relationship with American Indians, in 2005 the NCAA included the name “Chippewas” on its list of “hostile” or “abusive” nicknames. However, Central Michigan successfully appealed the sentence.
Rivalries are essential to the excitement of NCAA football. No matter what team you cheer for, wear NCAA merchandise to show your support!
