These are the rivalries fans have come to expect greatness from each year through their decades of prominence. Even if neither team is in the hunt for the national championship (although both usually are), college football savants can still expect an exciting game fueled by intense emotion on both sides.
While these rivalries continue to captivate the nation every autumn, new ones also emerge from time to time. The reconfigurations of conferences like the Big East have spawned fresh rivalries like West Virginia-Louisville, new coaches like Steve Spurrier at South Carolina have breathed new life into traditional conference matchups like South Carolina-Florida, and others have become must-see college football events because of consistently tight and exciting games each year.
Rivals.com's Steve Megargee ranked his top five "new grudge matches" as follows:
Louisville vs. West Virginia
Auburn vs. LSU
Texas A&M vs. Texas Tech
Florida vs. South Carolina
Kansas State vs. Nebraska
These aren't the only hot new rivalries, however. What are your favorite "new" college football rivalries? What non-traditional rivalries are you most looking forward to in the fall?
I am looking forward to TCU/BYU and TCU/Utah. With TCU being the newest member of the MWC, there is now a consistent 3 team race for the conference title.
I think Alabama vs. LSU will be interesting just because of the intensity Saban will bring to the sideline. I also will enjoy watching Saban get destroyed for at least 2-3 years.
Well, I'll get this thing started. As for "new" rivalries, I'm not so sure I'll get much agreement, but Virginia Tech and Miami have become a hatefest over the past 10 years or so. I also really think that VT and LSU should play more often. They bring a similar style game to matchups and could be fun year in and year out.
One of the biggest up-and-coming rivalries in college football has to be USF-UCF. Two up and coming schools that are essentially the same duke it out for national respect. It may not be anything special now, but give it some time. There are few teams, even in the south, that hate each other as much as these two.
I am a displaced Big 10 fan trying to survive at LSU, but even I have to admit that I am looking forward to LSU vs. Florida this year....also almost as interested in UM vs Wisconsin as I am in UM vs OSU.....remember I said almost...
Im not sure, but is there any sort of rivalry brewing between Ohio State and Florida?? Seems like there should be with the gators dominating the dumbeyes in two championship games in one year
I'm looking forward to the Boise State/Hawaii matchup on Nov. 23 in Honolulu. Obviously everyone knows about Boise State now, but it seems like at the end of this season, everyone will know about Hawaii too. Boise State has won the past two meetings, 41-34 in '06 and 44-41 in '05. With Hawaii's offense, I don't see why they can't get over the hump this year. Very close, high scoring games between these darling "mid-majors?" Sounds like the birth of a legit rivalry to me.
As a Florida fan I have to wonder if Florida needs another rival. The Gators already play big, exciting games every year against Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, and FSU. Is a fifth rival really going overboard? Is Florida going to play a rival every week? South Carolina will become a real rival when the Gators play them when it actually has implications, at least in the conference, for both teams. It looks like South Carolina has a few years to go before they're good enough to be a rival.
How about South Carolina and Tennessee. Nothing like adding Steve Spurrier to spice things up in Knoxville. Also like VT and Miami. Once Tech won a couple it made the Big East more interesting. Apparently LSU and USC have one, also. Even though they haven't played in 20 years.
Here on the west coast, USC and Cal have played the most intense Pac 10 games over the last five years. That is a much anticipated game for this fall too.
Nu-K.State is only big because of the unbalanced scheduling in the Big 12 interrupted NU-OU every year. Bigger loss than gain. NU-Texas on the off years is bigger than NU-K.State.
No way, almost that entire list is absurd. Lousiville-WVU YES! They're the new heavyweights in a BCS conference, and they're going to stay that way for the next 10 years and beyond. The other rivalries are just silly short-termers, or bear no weight on the BCS/NC picture. As for my top 3 (not enough for 5 new ones), gotta stick with newly aligned conferences:
1) UL-WVU 2) Clemson-FSU - now with 2 Bowdens, this adds a little something extra as long as it continues. 3) MAYBE Virginia Tech-Miami
Pac 10 fans are once again showing why they are the red headed step children of college football fandom. This is best *new* rivalries...USC vs. Cal? Cal vs. Stanford? The Apple Cup? Not exactly new fellas.
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