The Sports Staff shared their favorite college football rivalries.
Zaria Flippin (Head Sports Editor): Nebraska versus Iowa
My favorite college football rivalry is the rivalry between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Growing up in Nebraska, this rivalry was always the talk of the state when the game was coming up.
I grew up in Omaha, where there is a good mixture of Cornhusker fans and Hawkeye fans, so the trash talking between the two fans was something that was always entertaining.
Everyone at my elementary school would talk about it too. Even teachers would make a “no homework” bet with their students if the Cornhuskers took the win.
For me, this game definitely resembled good memories with my friends and family, because for the last couple of decades, this game would fall on Black Friday. Watching the game with my dad and eating Thanksgiving leftovers was always a great time with my dad.
And always, from the bottom of my heart, Go Cornhuskers.
Patrick Schmitz (Assistant Sports Editor): USC versus Notre Dame
My favorite college football rivalry is University of Southern California and Notre Dame.
I grew up as a Notre Dame fan my whole life, and this game was always the game to look forward to. Even though there wasn’t a conference title on the line, there was always implications for the college football playoffs.
They also play for the Jeweled Shillelagh. The rivalry started in 1926 and got the shillelagh in 1952 for the rivalry.
I love rivalries when they have either a fun name or a fun trophy to play for and the Jeweled Shillelagh is one of the better trophies to play for.
Overall, this is a very storied rivalry that always has a lot to play for. Go Irish.
Bryce Parker (Sports Reporter): Eastern Illinois versus Illinois State
The best rivalry in college football is Eastern Illinois versus Illinois State, the Mid-American Classic.
This over century-old matchup embodies the love of the game. It doesn’t feature athletes making millions of dollars and focusing on their Instagram followers but instead fully focused on working as a team to win.
This FCS competition entails true FCS football. It’s not controlled by TV programs and money hungry executives but for bragging rights in the Land of Lincoln.
Furthermore, with the FCS already having a bigger playoff format since the 80s, and then finally a 20-team format in 2010, all teams have realistic hopes of qualifying.
With this rivalry commonly landing in the first few games of the season, both teams are always playing with those hopes still alive.
Gabe Newman (Sports Reporter): Army versus Navy
The Army-Navy game is my favorite college football rivalry because of it’s uniqueness, a stand-alone college football game (even though that’s not the case anymore) with military personnel and some of America’s greatest people at the game every year.
The game’s aura is one of the things that unifies this divided country. While the on-field product isn’t always the greatest, it’s always fun to watch two teams play smash-mouth football.
The game also has a personal significance to my dad, who was in the Army earlier in his life.
He and I watch that game every year, so I have some cherished memories of watching football with him that stem from this rivalry.
Payton Liggins (Sports Reporter): Michigan versus Ohio State
My all time favorite college rivalry is the University of Michigan versus Ohio State University.
Often referred to simply as “The Game,” this game is one of the most storied and intense rivalries in college sports history.
This rivalry dates back to 1897, and since then, the rivalry has grown in significance, often determining the Big Ten Conference champion and impacting the national championship landscape.
These games are dynamic and intense. When the game comes rolling around, it is “hate week” for both schools, and they take it seriously to the point they don’t wear the other team’s colors.
Before 2020, Ohio State had a dominant run in the rivalry, winning most of the matchups, but since then, the University of Michigan has been making a way for the team and proving the years wrong.
Don’t get me wrong I love both teams, I know people on both sides of the ball. But, I usually would put all my bets against Ohio State. I just feel like defensively and offensively, Michigan is packed.
Emerson Reynolds (Sports Reporter): Army versus Navy
I am not someone who ever plans to join a branch of the military, but I would be lying if I didn’t say Army-Navy is easily one of, if not the coolest, rivalries in college football.
The first time that these two ever met on the football field was in 1890. Navy is winning the rivalry by seven games. But Army is coming back with a win streak of two games currently.
The standings sit at 62 wins for the Navy, 55 games for the Army and seven games tied.
This series has multiple long-standing traditions of prisoner exchange, the special jerseys they make for every game look amazing and the lines of “beat Navy” and “beat Army” are iconic.
Just seeing the aura around these games before, during and after is so legendary.
In the end, I root for the Navy because I like swimming.
Cameron Thomas (Sports Reporter): Alabama versus Auburn
I think the best college football rivalry is the Iron Bowl, Alabama and Auburn.
The Alabama and Auburn rivalry is typically a good and close game no matter which team is better. Auburn and Alabama are two Southeastern Conference schools, and the game usually has conference championship implications. They are both in the same state, which makes the rivalry more intense.
The Iron Bowl has given college football some of the best plays in history, like the “Kick 6” in 2013 that led to Auburn winning the game. Even recently, the 2023 game when Alabama converted a fourth and 31-yard touchdown to win the game at Auburn.
The Iron Bowl is the best and most memorable rivalry in college football history.
Aidan Cusack (Sports Reporter): Louisiana versus Louisiana-Monroe
Battle on the Bayou. Oh boy.
If you are not familiar with the Sun Belt Conference, get familiar for your own sake. College football is, for better or worse, in the midst of some growing pains. Football Bowl Subdivision leagues like the B1G 10 and the SEC have altered historic regional rivalries for the sake of conference survival.
The SBC, however, has stayed consistent.
Every football school that plays in the SBC is in the American Southeast, 14 teams all revolving around the headquarters in New Orleans.
Two flagship football programs in the SBC, being the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns and the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, make up the participants in the Battle on the Bayou.
The two teams are less than 200 miles apart. A three-hour drive separates both schools, and they compete for a wooden boot (love a trophy game).
Louisiana leads Monroe 31-26. The next match-up is Nov. 30, the last game of both teams’ seasons.
The Sports Staff can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@gmail.com.
