Icon Sportswire // Getty Images What makes for a great college football rivalry? Three main ingredients can be found consistently across some of the greatest competitions: First, it helps when the rival is geographically close. When schools are within the same state or a neighboring state, fans of both schools live close enough to feed a long-lasting competition yearlong–plus, they can drive to the game every season. Second, the teams need to be closely matched as competitors; no one wants to watch a game when the outcome is always a foregone conclusion. Third, a rivalry needs plenty of lore and storied history–the longer, the better. The 15 football rivalries featured here check all of those boxes and more. To celebrate school spirit, Best Universities compiled a list of the most evenly matched, long-running college football rivalries in the U.S., using data from Stathead. Rivalries were ranked based on how closely each team’s total wins compare in a given rivalry. Only rivalries with at least 90 games played were considered. Additionally, due to limitations of the dataset, only games where both teams were counted as a “major school” (equivalent to the current Division I Football Bowl Subdivision) were included, so records may not match all-time totals calculated elsewhere. Most of these 15 rivalries date back not one but two centuries ago–to the 1890s. Fans buy tickets and mark their calendars months ahead and regard the “big game” between their alma mater and its archrival as one of the highlights of the season every year. #15. Revivalry: Baylor | Texas Christian Tom Pennington // Getty Images – First game at major college level: Oct. 3, 1903 – Games played: 110 – Series record: Texas Christian leads 57-48-5 – Difference: 9 games (8.2%) Texas is so big that a 90-mile trip is just a hop down the road for fans of Fort Worth’s Texas Christian Horned Frogs and Waco’s Baylor Bears who make the drive every year for their annual showdown. TCU has been the dominant team in recent years, winning seven of the last eight games. The lowest-scoring game was their third one in 1899, a 0-0 tie. The highest-scoring game was a 61-58 thriller that Baylor won at home in 2014. #14. Rice | Southern Methodist Bob Levey // Getty Images – First game at major college level: Nov. 17, 1916 – Games played: 90 – Series record: Southern Methodist leads 48-41-1 – Difference: 7 games (7.8%) This was always a big game because Rice University and Southern Methodist University are the two leading private universities in Texas, and they’re in the state’s two biggest cities. But Rice (Houston) and SMU (Dallas) haven’t met since 2012 because SMU moved to a different conference. Although SMU won more games, Rice won the last one in 2012 (36-14) as well as the first (an unbelievable 127-3 blowout). #12. Iowa | Minnesota (tie) David Berding // Getty Images – First game at major college level: Oct. 26, 1901 – Games played: 115 – Series record: Minnesota leads 61-52-2 – Difference: 9 games (7.8%) This rivalry heated up in 1935 when the Minnesota and Iowa governors waged a bet on the game with a prize hog on the line. Minnesota won the hog, but beginning in 1936, a bronze hog trophy (called “Floyd of Rosedale”) has gone to the winner every year since. At the height of the rivalry in 1960, both teams were undefeated when they met with the Big 10 Championship and a Rose Bowl berth at stake. Minnesota won that one too and boasts a decisive edge in the series’ long history. #12. Red River Showdown: Oklahoma | Texas (tie) Icon Sportswire // Getty Images – First game at major college level: Oct. 17, 1903 – Games played: 115 – Series record: Texas leads 56-47-5 – Difference: 9 games (7.8%) Texans outnumber Oklahomans by a ratio of nearly 8-to-1 and outnumber their neighboring state in major professional teams by the same amount. But residents of the Sooner State have the edge in one department: The Oklahoma Sooners have beaten the Texas Longhorns more often at Dallas’ Cotton Bowl, where the game is played. The “Showdown” will continue even after the two teams’ impending switch from the Big 12 to the SEC. #11. Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry: Auburn | Georgia ISI Photos // Getty Images – First game at major college level: Nov. 27, 1902 – Games played: 119 – Series record: Georgia leads 61-52-6 – Difference: 9 games (7.6%) Southerners love their football–high school, pro, and especially college–so this annual matchup is treasured. Although the Georgia Bulldogs have won 15 of the last 18, there have been some nail-biters–none as stirring as the 56-49 Georgia win in 1996. It marked the 100th meeting of the two teams and the first overtime game in SEC history, a game that required four overtime periods before the Southern dust settled. #10. Oregon | Oregon State Ali Gradischer // Getty Images – First game at major college level: Nov. 25, 1916 – Games played: 106 – Series record: Oregon leads 54-46-6 – Difference: 8 games (7.5%) This natural rivalry between Oregon’s two biggest schools, located only 50 miles apart, was called “The Civil War” for decades before the term was officially scrapped in 2020 due to its perceived associations with slavery. The financial support of Nike, whose co-founder Phil Knight was a University of Oregon track star, has favored the Ducks in recent decades, as they’ve won 12 of the last 15 showdowns. Despite the Ducks’ dominance and the removal of the game’s nickname, however, the Thanksgiving weekend classic is still a season highlight for both teams. #9. Border War: Kansas | Missouri Peter Aiken // Getty Images – First game at major college level: Nov. 28, 1901 – Games played: 110 – Series record: Missouri leads 54-48-8 – Difference: 6 games (5.5%) Kansas and Missouri are natural rivals as it’s only a 2.5-hour straight shot on I-70 between the two campuses. Officially called the “Border Showdown” since 2004, the rivalry is historic partly because the rivals’ 1911 square-off in Missouri is regarded by the NCAA as the first-ever homecoming game. Homecoming is a tradition that later spread to countless college and high school series, usually featuring archrivals in games that feature big crowds of students and alumni and special events that surround the games. Missouri’s jump to the SEC in 2012 put a temporary end to the series, but it was announced in 2020 that the teams would resume the series in 2025, 2026, 2030, and 2032. #8. Border War: Colorado State | Wyoming
Top 15 college football rivalries
