Top 25 College Football Rivalry Names of All Time

Read Mike's top 25 college football rivalry names of all time including the Iron Bowl, Red River Shootout, and more. His best rivalry game names.

It's not time for my college football preseason top-25 just yet, so we will do something a little bit different while we're waiting. Some rivalries have good names. Some rivalries have great names. We're going to sort through those here for my first top-25 list for the 2025 college football season.

This isn't about the top rivalries. Just the name. "The Game" and "The Big Game," while great rivalries, aren't going to cut it here. We want those with unique names. The funnier the better! This will also only include FBS schools, so no "Dam Cup (Eastern Washington vs. Portland State)" or "Brawl Of The Wild (Montana vs. Montana State)" here. Honestly, narrowing this list down to just 25 was difficult.

Some of these I have barely heard of, so you are bound to learn something here. We're all about shining the light on the names of some old rivalries that aren't played much anymore. We have some new rivalries that are just fun. Even one Big 12 fan came up with a rivalry for everyone in the new conference. Some of those will be included here.

(25) "Battle For The Bones" - Memphis vs. UAB

17 meetings. UAB leads 10-7

Why? This rivalry originally began in basketball but carried over to the gridiron when UAB joined FBS in 1997. The trophy for the football game is a 100-pound bronze rack of ribs, a nod to both cities' fame for BBQ.

(24) "Civil War" - Oregon vs. Oregon State

125 meetings. Oregon leads 67-48-10

Why? No one knows the origin of this. The first reference to this rivalry as the "Civil War" was in 1929, and it stuck.

November 19, 1983: The Civil War Game now known as “The Toilet Bowl.”

Oregon State 0
Oregon 0 Final

A combined: 11 fumbles (6 for turnovers) 5 INTs 4 missed FGs

(🎥 via @KVALnews)
pic.twitter.com/eEFMXLkMYm pic.twitter.com/3UNKlsyP5w

— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) November 19, 2023

It hasn't always been pretty, but this is the fifth-most-played college football game in history. The Ducks and Beavers first met in 1894, with Oregon State (then Oregon Agricultural College) winning 16-0, and have played every season since 1945. This rivalry may end up being cut after the Pac-12 destroyed itself and the Big Ten (18) poached Oregon.

The teams made it happen in 2024 and will again this year, but it may not occur annually anymore.

This has the distinction of being a heated rivalry as well, especially in the 1950s. In 1954, Oregon students infiltrated Corvallis and started the Beaver Bonfire early. Twenty-five students were "captured" and "held prisoner" until after the game. They were painted orange and black and had their heads shaved.

In 1960, Oregon abducted Oregon State's homecoming queen and held her for "ransom." She was returned unharmed before dinner that night.

(23) "Border War" - Kansas vs. Missouri

120 meetings. Missouri leads 56-55-9 

Why? The name comes from the Civil War era, when many skirmishes erupted along the border of Kansas and Missouri in 1863. The teams first met in 1891, with the "Border War" still fresh in people's minds. Civil War veterans, who fought on opposite sides, frequented the sidelines in the early years of this game.

There are other rivalries with the name "Border War" (Colorado State and Wyoming come to mind), but Kansas and Missouri keep the name because of the historical significance. True to the name, this remained one of the most bitter rivalries until Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012. The game hasn't been played since 2011. It was the second-most played game at the time of Missouri's departure.

Missouri held the first-ever "Homecoming" game in the 1911 version of the Border War, but the niceties ended there. Kansas football coach Don Fambrough was once referred to a doctor in Kansas City, Missouri, from Lawrence, to which Fambrough responded, "I'd die first."

I loved that Norm Stewart wouldn't spend a dollar in kansas.

Go in there to play the game then leave immediately.

King 👑 MIZ 🐯 pic.twitter.com/LO1UGzVJ1O

— Andrea Katherine (@AndreaKatSTL) June 6, 2025

Missouri basketball coach Norm Stewart took this even further, refusing to spend a dime in the state of Kansas. His teams would always stay on the Missouri side of the river for away games in Lawrence. Stewart insisted that the bus be gassed up in Missouri and often reprimanded players who bought anything, including food, in Kansas. That is what I call a rivalry!

(22) "Egg Bowl" - Mississippi vs. Mississippi State

121 meetings. Mississippi leads 66-49-6

Why? The trophy is a golden "egg" (which is a brass football, as footballs weren't uniform and more oblong in the 1920s when the trophy was created), given annually to the winner of the game since 1927. A brawl broke out in 1926 when Mississippi beat Mississippi State and tried to tear down the goalposts. The trophy was created to prevent any more incidents like that.

REBEL FLASHBACK:

“The Immaculate Deflection”

Ole Miss 24
Mississippi State 23

November 20th, 1983

🎥: @OleMissVideo | #EggBowl pic.twitter.com/F0jqFeqVQp

— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) November 26, 2024

This rivalry is littered with dominant runs. Ole Miss lost 15 in a row from 1911 to 25. Mississippi State didn't win a game from 1947 to 63 (there were a couple of ties). It also features a couple of crazy endings, such as the "Wind Bowl" in 1983, when a 40-mph wind gust knocked down a last-second field goal to secure the win for Mississippi.

Who will forget Dak Prescott pulling a Willis Reed in 2013 and coming off the bench to lead a comeback win? Perhaps the most bizarre was in 2019 when Elijah Moore caught a touchdown with four seconds left, but celebrated by imitating a dog urinating in the end zone. After the 15-yard penalty, kicker Luke Logan missed the extra point that would have tied the game.

(21) "Battle Of The Bricks" - Miami (Ohio) vs. Ohio

101 meetings. Miami leads 56-43-2

Why? Marketing. Though this game has a rich history, the term "Battle For The Bricks" didn't appear until 2002, apparently because the schools were tired of calling it the rivalry against Ohio or Miami. There's no grand story. They just wanted another name for it, but hey, at least they made a really cool logo!

Midweek MACtion! The 98th Battle of the Bricks is at 6:30 central on ESPN2. Is THE U back? Does Ohio have what it takes to get that school that’s slightly out west?

WE WILL FIND OUT. pic.twitter.com/7qfZzpKIwd

— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) November 8, 2022

This has been a mostly even series, but it is unusual for a series of such rich history to have a void of major incidents. There has only been one. In 1992, the Marching 110 Alumni of Ohio and the Miami football team ended up on the field at the same time. The Alumni -- mostly a bunch of pickled 30-somethings -- were unhappy about the invasion since their show wasn't done. Thankfully, someone got a video of this incident.

(20) "Modern Day Hate" - Georgia State vs. Georgia Southern

11 meetings. Georgia State leads 6-5

Why? This is a relatively new rivalry in football, but the teams have had a long-standing dislike for each other since their basketball meetings in the 1970s. Fans took to social media debating about who the real GSU was in the lead-up to the inaugural game in 2014. A beat writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution dubbed this "Modern Day Hate" as a play on the rivalry between Georgia and Georgia Tech. More on that later.

Though this is a new rivalry (and the name may officially be axed), it began the right way. After the Twitter war of 2014, Georgia Southern smacked the Panthers in Atlanta and unfurled a banner saying "Paulson Stadium North." The next season, Georgia State got revenge by handing Georgia Southern its worst home defeat in its short history of 34-7. The rest is (modern-day) history.

(19) "BUTT Bowl" - Baylor vs. Texas Tech

83 meetings. Baylor leads 42-40-1

Why? Though the official name of the series is the "Texas Shootout," many started calling it the "BUTT Bowl" because of the abbreviations of the schools on the score overlay for TV, "BU" for Baylor and "TT" for Texas Tech.

The Big 12 (16), in its infinite wisdom, also didn't protect this rivalry, which has been played continuously since 1956. What the hell are they even doing? Most fans are about as thrilled about this as I am. The teams are not scheduled to meet this season.

Every fiber of my being wants a BUTT bowl Big XII title game.
Only way to make up for the complete and utter ball drop by the league.

— TortillaTimmy (@Tortilla_Timmy) July 19, 2025

(18) "Old Mountain Feud" - Appalachian State vs. Marshall

27 meetings. Appalachian State leads 16-11

Why? Both universities are located in the Appalachian Mountains. This became the name when both schools often fought for Southern Conference supremacy in the 1980s and 90s.

My favorite @SickosCommittee - level fact about the @OldMountainFeud is that neither team has won as the away team since the 90s.

Always bet on the home team for the old mountain feud. pic.twitter.com/A3MtQyzaUs

— Go Herd Pls Dont Die (@GoHPDD) October 6, 2024

This rivalry went dormant when Marshall made the jump to FBS in 1997. It is now back on with both teams from the Sun Belt Conference.

(17) "Iron Bowl" - Alabama vs. Auburn

89 meetings. Alabama leads 51-37-1

Why? The two teams played in Birmingham, once the world's largest producer of pig iron, yearly from 1948 to 88. Thus, the name is the "Iron Bowl."

Despite "only" 89 meetings, this is one of the most heated and most important rivalries in college football history. It started with the very creation of a land grant university in Auburn following the Civil War. Alabama refused to play the Iron Bowl in Auburn until 1989, when Pat Dye finally got the "home and home" that Auburn so desperately wanted.

Alabama wanted this game in Birmingham so badly that they continued to play their "home games" in Legion Field until 2000. This rivalry is so heated that the schools couldn't decide on officials, so they suspended the entire series....for 41 years!

There are many iconic finishes in this series. Ken Stabler's "run in the mud" for the game's only touchdown in a deluge in 1967 is one. Auburn blocking two punts late in the game in 1972 and returning both for touchdowns to claim a 17-16 victory was ranked the eighth-most painful outcome to a college football game in 2010.

Is your rivalry so hardcore that the game wouldn't even be stopped because of a tornado warning? No? Lightweights. Auburn and Alabama don't let tornadoes get in the way of a rivalry.

OTD in 1983: A tornado warning was issued for the Birmingham metro during the 2nd half of the Iron Bowl, played at Legion Field. The game was not stopped. A tornado did not touch down or the results would have been catastrophic. A tornado did strike Oxford later, killing 2. pic.twitter.com/GwmmMre88p

— James Spann (@spann) December 3, 2020

Bo Jackson won the game for Auburn as a freshman in 1982, but his missed block due to him going the wrong direction on the last play of the game in 1984 cost Auburn that game. Cam Newton erased a 24-point deficit to win the 2010 game and help Auburn to its second National Championship.

Then there was this.

5 years ago today, the "Kick Six" happened.

It still gives me goosebumps... pic.twitter.com/h8mxOCTAyz

— College Sports Only 🏈🏀⚾️ (@CollegeSportsO) November 30, 2018

Things have been just as crazy in recent years. It took third-ranked Alabama four overtimes to dispose of an unranked Auburn team without starting quarterback Bo Nix in 2021. The 2023 meeting featured a 4th-and-31 conversion to win the game with 32 seconds remaining. Though the name of the rivalry may not be the best, the rivalry itself might be.

(16) "100 Miles Of Hate" - Western Kentucky vs. Middle Tennessee State

74 meetings. Western Kentucky leads 38-35-1

Why? The schools are separated by 100 miles on U.S. Highway 231.

This rivalry dates to both schools being FCS members. They played every year from 1952 to 91 when MTSU moved up to FBS. Western Kentucky made the jump in 2007, and the rivalry is still going strong.

(15) "Clean Old-Fashioned Hate" - Georgia vs. Georgia Tech

118 meetings. Georgia leads 72-41-5

Why? These teams really don't like each other. The now-official nickname of the series was coined by author Bill Cromartie, who wrote a book on the rivalry in 1977. The name of his book stuck.

The "hate" started before 1900 when Georgia eschewed old gold as one of their official colors since it's too close to yellow, the color of cowards. Tech then picked up Old Gold as one of its school colors. The hate was there from the first game in 1893 -- a Tech victory spurned on by a 33-year-old Army physician -- where Georgia threw rocks at players after the game, essentially chasing them back to the train station.

The hate reached a fever pitch when Georgia Tech, which is partially a military academy, didn't suspend football activities during World War I. Georgia fans lost many able-bodied men to the war and claimed Tech was a coward for continuing to play a game during wartime. The series was briefly halted after WWI because of the heated feelings between the two schools.

This is where the "To Hell with Georgia" line in Georgia Tech's school song comes from. Yes, that lyric is in the official school song.

Georgia's Chapel Bell and Tech's "Ramblin' Wreck" -- a 1930 gold and white Model A Ford -- have been stolen before, after, and even during meetings of this game. The nickname "Ramblin' Wreck" even comes from Georgia Tech engineering students who made makeshift motorized vehicles in the early 1900s for use in Central America. Those who drove the vehicles were referred to as the men who drove "the Ramblin' Wrecks from Georgia Tech."

Not a single College Football fan supports this

Seriously, we’re rebranding 125+ year old rivalries for a money making branding scheme & playing them off campus

Corporate greed is quickly replacing the tradition & loyalty that made us all fall in love with the sport https://t.co/ANkvK0p5yp

— Sebastian Fearon DPT, CSCS, OCS (@TheDegenDoc) August 2, 2025

Unfortunately, as is the norm with everything related to college football lately, these morons are changing the name and location of this rivalry. This will be played on a "neutral field" for the first time since....NEVER. This game has NEVER been played on a neutral field. Georgia did use Grant Field, Georgia Tech's home field, for many home games before the completion of Sanford Stadium in 1929.

(14) "Deeper Than Hate" - Appalachian State vs. Georgia Southern

40 meetings. Appalachian State leads 21-16-1

Why? Both teams have often fought for Southern Conference supremacy since 1993, and both joined the Sun Belt concurrently in 2014. It is meant to encapsulate the dislike and mutual respect for the other team. These two teams often met in the FBS playoffs as well, deepening the rivalry.

(13) "Rumble In The Rockies" - Colorado vs. Utah

70 meetings. Utah leads 35-33-3

Why? When this series started, both Colorado and Utah were members of the Rocky Mountain Conference. In their 38 years together in that conference, Colorado or Utah won the conference championship 27 times, with the Utah-Colorado game routinely deciding the conference champion.

The rivalry lay dormant for 50 years before Colorado joined Utah in the Pac-12 in 2011. Both teams are now in the Big 12 (16) Conference, but this is another rivalry that the conference ruined by not protecting it during scheduling.

(12) "TechMo Bowl" - Georgia Tech vs. Virginia Tech

20 meetings. Virginia Tech leads 12-8

Why? This is one of the few rivalry games born after the video game revolution. Tecmo Bowl was one of the first (and most popular) NFL games on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Since both of these teams are Techs, it stuck.

Today in 1989, Tecmo Bowl was released for Nintendo and our lives were better because of it… pic.twitter.com/FIJbSpzTTd

— 80s Sports N Stuff (@80sSportsNStuff) February 2, 2023

From 2008-12, Georgia Tech became the first-ever conference opponent to win three consecutive games in Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium. ACC realignment will create another gap in this series. After 2026, the teams won't play again until 2029. Don't you love conference realignment?

(11) "Revivalry" - Baylor vs. TCU

120 meetings. TCU leads 59-54-7

The Revivalry going to “The Bluebonnet Battle” might be the biggest downgrade ever.

— Bags U (@TheBags_U) April 3, 2025

Why? The official name of this game is the "Bluebonnet Battle," but it was called the Revivalry for many years before the sanitization of the name. The "Revivalry" refers to both schools' "reviving" after fires destroyed all or part of their campuses in the late 1800s. Since both are faith-based institutions of different faiths, Revivalry made sense for more than one reason.

Both schools called Waco home for more than 15 years and played multiple times a season -- but a 1910 fire of suspicious origin on the morning of the 1910 Revivalry game destroyed the TCU campus in Waco. They headed up I-35 and found a new home about an hour away. There have been 45 games in this series decided by a touchdown or less.

The highlight of those was the 2014 version of the Revivalry -- the first time that both teams were nationally ranked heading into the contest.

In the 2015 Baylor team picture, they had number 61 next to number 58 in the first row as homage to keeping TCU out of the playoff. The Revivalry has been decided by three points or less three times in the last four years, so it is still going strong! This is one of the few rivalries that the Big 12 (16) protected.

(10) "Red River Shootout" - Oklahoma vs. Texas

120 meetings. Texas leads 64-51-5

Why? The teams first met in 1900, and that game was called the Red River Shootout. The name was "officially" changed after 100 years because of corporate naming rights, but this will always be the Red River Shootout. I will die on this hill.

Much like I still call it the Sears Tower and not the Willis Tower, the Red River Shootout is not the Red River Rivalry.

— yellowdog (@dr_lge) July 26, 2025

Since the inception of the AP Poll in 1936, at least one of the teams has been ranked coming into this game 70 times. Both teams were ranked in the top five in 11 of those meetings. Since 1934, this game has been played inside the Cotton Bowl surrounded by the Texas State Fair in Dallas. The stadium is divided in half from the 50-yard line to the 50-yard line—half burnt orange and half red, creating one of the most unique rivalry settings in any sport.

Red River Shootout: Timelapse shot of the hour leading up to kickoff.

There’s no other atmosphere like it. pic.twitter.com/AfLvI0CVmO

— Bryan Clinton (@BClinton40) October 14, 2024

This series is marked by iconic players making iconic plays and iconic coaches squaring off. Who can forget when Darrell Royal, who beat Texas as Oklahoma's quarterback just 10 years earlier, defeated his mentor Bud Wilkinson in 1958? Royal then beat Wilkinson every year until he retired in 1963. The 1963 game marked one of the two times Oklahoma and Texas entered this game as the top two-ranked teams in the country.

In the 1970s, coaches Barry Switzer and Royal refused to even speak to each other because of allegations (later proven true) that Oklahoma had spied on Texas practices leading up to the game. The Sooners also "accidentally" dropped a play sheet on the field after warm-ups that a Texas coach found, only to have it be a plant that Oklahoma put there on purpose to lead Texas astray. It worked.

Bob Stoops and Mack Brown took the series into the new millennium. After the 2000 meeting -- a 63-14 Oklahoma victory marking the most lopsided game in series history -- Oklahoma University president David Boren cancelled classes on Monday due to inclement weather since "it was snowing touchdowns in Dallas." Oklahoma's Quentin Griffin tied the NCAA FBS record with six rushing touchdowns in that game. It was followed the next year by one of the most iconic plays in the series.

23 years ago today: SUPERMAN!!!

Leading 7-3 with 2:06 left, Roy Williams took flight and made one of the most legendary plays in OU-Texas history.

Teddy Lehman completed the magical play with a pick-6 that sealed the win against Texas. pic.twitter.com/qFfbYW9R3x

— The REF (@KREFsports) October 6, 2024

Vince Young's redemption in 2005 started in the Red River Shootout. Texas saved Mack Brown's job with the upset of the Sooners in 2013. No one will soon forget the 2018 game. Texas led 45-24 with only 16 minutes left before Kyler Murray dominated the fourth quarter to tie the game, only to have Texas freshman kicker Cameron Dicker nail a field goal with 14 seconds remaining to win the game for Texas.

The 2020 game featured a limited crowd witnessing a four-overtime thriller won by Oklahoma 53-45 (this was before college football installed another rule to make the game less enjoyable with the new overtime rules). The 2021 game featured the highest-scoring game in the series with Oklahoma winning 55-48. Texas got revenge in 2022 with a dominant 49-0 win, Texas's largest in the series.

(9) "War On I-4" - Central Florida vs. South Florida

14 meetings. Central Florida leads 8-6

Why? Both schools are located on I-4 in Florida (South Florida in Tampa and Central Florida in Orlando). A former Arena Football League rivalry between Tampa and Orlando also had this name.

This was a "Black Friday" rivalry game for the two schools while part of the American Athletic Conference. Central Florida bolted to the Big 12 in 2023, and no future meetings have been scheduled. South Florida won the first four meetings of this series and spurned UCF in favor of higher-profile non-conference opponents before they both joined the AAC. Now UCF is returning the favor. It was fun while it lasted!

(8) "Holy War" - BYU vs. Utah

102 meetings. Utah leads 62-36-4 (officially). BYU states 59-33-4

Why? BYU is run by the Church of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Utah is a public university with a diverse range of cultural and religious backgrounds.

This was originally Boston College and Notre Dame's rivalry name, but since they rarely play anymore, the Utah schools took it over in the 1990s. The rivalry between the two schools is so deep that they can't even agree on when the series started. Utah claims 1896 since they played Brigham Young Academy six times, splitting the meetings, before it became Brigham Young University. BYU officially claims 1922.

The schools are only 50 miles apart. This rivalry reached the current fever pitch in 1977 when BYU put QB Marc Wilson back into the game with BYU leading 38-8, so he could break the NCAA passing record (since broken). Utah coach Wayne Howard took exception, saying, "It will be a crusade to beat BYU from now on."

During the 1980 meeting, BYU QB Jim McMahon, tired of being relentlessly heckled throughout the game by Utah fans, pointed to the scoreboard and yelled "Scoreboard!" to the fans, which showed BYU with a 58-8 win, their largest in the series. This became something that was done by thousands of kids throughout the 80s in many different sports.

In 1989, one year after Utah's highest score in the series (57 points), BYU scored 70 and further fanned the flames when RB Fred Whittingham claimed, "it was just as easy as it looked. It was like we were running against air."

A decade later, Utah Cheerleader Billy Priddis was running along the visitor's sideline at Edwards Stadium with a large "U" flag after Utah scored and was attacked by a BYU fan. The cheerleader fought back, landing several punches before security broke it up. Later in the game, Utah WR Steve Smith taunted BYU's fans, saying, "even our cheerleaders are kicking your butt."

When Urban Meyer was hired as Utah's coach in 2003, he prohibited players from using the name "BYU." This tradition still sticks to this day. If you think this rivalry isn't still going strong, think again. 10 of the last 12 meetings have been decided by seven points or less. And there's always this...

It has been 2,169 days since @Utah_Football last beat @BYUFootball.

— Holy War Clock (@HolyWarClock) August 6, 2025

(7) "Riot Bowl" - West Virginia vs. Iowa State

12 meetings. Series tied 6-6

Why? When West Virginia first joined the Big 12 in 2012, these teams played during "rivalry week" at the end of their season since their "rivalry" games were non-conference games earlier in the season. Both of those are coming up! Before the forced rivalry meeting in 2013, fans of both schools realized that both fan bases love alcohol and fire. The term Riot Bowl was born.

West Virginia used to burn couches in downtown Morgantown after big wins. Veishea parties -- an annual spring party in Ames celebrating the school -- were permanently banned in 2014 after 92 years because of riotous behavior. West Virginia's Milan Puskar Stadium was modeled after Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. It's serendipity.

Even though there is no historical significance and the rivalry is very friendly, it doesn't mean that it's not enjoyable. On top of that, it has one of the best "trophies" in football. Take a look at this beauty!

@JakeBrendTV & @DerekDuke25 no Riot Bowl Rivalry in the rundown, shameful. It has a freaking trophy. 🏆 #Cycloneers pic.twitter.com/CVqA2eUeIz

— Adam Batcheller🌽 (@Batch40oz) May 17, 2025

(6) "Backyard Brawl" - West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh

107 meetings. Pittsburgh leads 63-41-3

Why? These teams are only an hour apart and often compete for the same recruits. No one knows who coined the term, but since the game was usually a brawl, it stuck.

The 1921 version of the Backyard Brawl was the first collegiate game broadcast on the radio. The 1961 version was called the "Garbage Game" after a Pitt player referred to West Virginia, which was winless in 1960, as rebuilding its program with "Western Pennsylvania garbage." The 1970 game in which Pitt erased a 35-8 halftime deficit ended with fans banging on the locker room door, screaming for the head of then-rookie West Virginia coach Bobby Bowden.

The 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl in 2007 was the most critical game in the series. West Virginia was the heavy favorite and a shoo-in for the BCS Championship Game until running into a four-win Pitt team.

College football Classics: Backyard Brawl 2007

A 4 win Pitt team goes into Morgantown and spoils the #2 West Virginia Mountaineers chances of playing for a National Championship in the regular season finale 13-9. pic.twitter.com/hFzOM3ajuo

— The Get Back Coach (@TheGBCoach) July 13, 2023

Even though these schools aren't in the same conference, they have renewed the series until 2026 and have agreed on another series of games from 2029-32. The revival of the series in 2022 after an 11-year hiatus set a Pittsburgh city record for attendance at a sporting event (70,622).

(5) "Moonshine Throwdown" - Marshall vs. Western Kentucky

13 meetings. Marshall leads 8-5

Why? This is another name that no one knows where it came from. Both universities are located in the mountains, and the mountains love moonshine... The first meeting between these teams as conference opponents in 2014 was one for the ages.

Where were you when WKU beat #24 undefeated Marshall 67-66 in 2014?

QB passing stats

Brandon Doughty:
491 yards with 8 TDs / 2 INTs

Rakeem Cato:
417 yards with 7 TDs / 4 INTs#MoonshineThrowdown pic.twitter.com/0r8gTdc7Kh

— CFB Home (@CFBHome) August 4, 2025

The rivalry took hold after that, with both teams routinely in the thick of the Conference USA title race.

(4) "Bedlam"- Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State

118 meetings. Oklahoma leads 91-20-7

Why? During the first meeting in 1904 (played at a park in Guthrie, Oklahoma), it was a very cold and very windy day. Oklahoma A&M punted the ball, but the wind carried the ball behind the kicker. If the Aggies recovered, it would be a touchback. If the Sooners recovered, it would be a touchdown. Both teams chased the ball into a half-frozen creek since a touchdown was at stake. A newspaper article referred to the incident as "Bedlam," and it stuck.

The all time Bedlam record stands at 698-657-22 in all sports favoring The Best School in Oklahoma.

S-E-C YOU LATER😉 pic.twitter.com/08ZVM6Fu6n

— Keaton It Real (@KeatonItReal_) May 26, 2024

Not many rivalries with this lopsided a series history are this heated, but Oklahoma State has dominated in other sports. Oklahoma State won nine of the last 29 Bedlam games, a significant improvement for them in the series. The Cowboys' win in 2001 prevented Oklahoma from playing for a second straight National Championship.

Oklahoma's move to the SEC has halted the series. After initially claiming that Oklahoma State had no interest in renewing the rivalry, discussions are in place for a renewal starting in 2031.

(3) "¡El Assico!" - Iowa State vs. Iowa

71 meetings. Iowa leads 47-24

El Assico in one image. https://t.co/AwZ7ZeoY5J

— Brett Belding (@bbelding) September 8, 2024

Why? Normies call this the CyHawk game, but others in the know know this is a play on the Real Madrid-Barcelona rivalry in European Football called "El Clásico" thanks to great play and plays in the series. The CyHawk games are usually the opposite of great play. These games are typically decided by punts more than points.

First punt of El Assico lives up to the hype #CyHawk pic.twitter.com/Uac8oMcKfD

— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) September 7, 2024

While the schools have refused to acknowledge the underground name of the series, fans of both teams have embraced it since both teams often bring out the worst in each other. Fumbles and punts are the name of the game, meaning these games are usually everything but "classico."

(2) "Farmageddon" - Iowa State vs. Kansas State

108 meetings. Iowa State leads 54-50-4

Why? Both teams play every year, but before a series at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium in 2009-10, a newspaper referred to it as "Farmageddon" due to both schools' agricultural backgrounds. It stuck.

This is the second-longest continuously played rivalry in college football, with the teams playing every year since 1917 (only Minnesota-Wisconsin is longer). Thanks to the morons running the Big 12 (16), that distinction will end in 2028 since this rivalry isn't protected.

Farmageddon is the longest uninterrupted FBS rivalry in history, stretching back to 1917. That will end in the 2027 football season after 110 years

Iowa State leads the series 54-50-4@Big12Conference There is time to fix this, protect the rivalry! pic.twitter.com/xJVr9YQu9C

— Prock Burdy (@ProckBurdyISU15) July 2, 2025

The series has gained popularity over the last decade. In an era where realignment is crushing many rivalries (and souls), seven of the previous 10 in Farmageddon have been decided by seven points or less. Who can forget Abu Sama III in Snowmageddon 2023?

Iowa State freshman RB Abu Sama is a star in the making

He's over 250 Yards and 3 TDs tonight👀

pic.twitter.com/9TAlySuQxy

— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 26, 2023

Farmageddon is heading to Dublin in just a couple of weeks to give the Irish their first-ever meeting amongst ranked teams this year.

(1) "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" - Florida vs. Georgia

102 meetings. Georgia leads 56-44-2

RV City, worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, Florida-Georgia game pic.twitter.com/ntuvj6zID0

— Byron (@Byron230) October 29, 2024

Why? This game has been held annually in Jacksonville every year since 1933 (except during WWII and when the Gator Bowl was renovated to accommodate the Jacksonville Jaguars), attracting large crowds of tailgaters who consume large quantities of alcohol. Writer Bill Kastelz coined the term after he saw a drunk fan cheerfully offer a beverage to an on-duty police officer before the 1958 game.

As with any truly great rivalry, these two teams can't agree on when the series began either. Georgia claims an extra win since they beat "Florida," then located in Lake City, in 1904. Florida says that only football teams fielded by the University of Florida in Gainesville count. Georgia sports historian Dan Magill states, "That's where Florida was back then. We can't help it if they got run out of Lake City."

Even though Jacksonville used the name of the rivalry as a slogan for many years, this has also been sanitized. It is now officially known as the "War For The Oar," referring to the Okefenokee Oar Trophy given to the winner.

Steve Spurrier, who had already won the 1966 Heisman Trophy, was picked off three times in the Cocktail Party that year. When Spurrier took over as the coach of the Gators, he declared this the "most important game of the year." Florida played like it, too. They were 11-1 against Georgia under Spurrier.

The most famous game of the series came in 1980 when Georgia trailed underdog Florida with 90 seconds left, when this happened:

Herschel Walker stole the game from the Gators again in 1981. During the 1995 game, the Gator Bowl was under construction to accommodate Jacksonville's new NFL team, so the game was played at Sanford Stadium. Steve Spurrier ran up the score on Georgia because he had heard that no one had hung half a hundred on the Bulldogs in their stadium before.

The 52 points scored by Florida in that game are still the most points scored against Georgia in that stadium.

There's my list of the best rivalry names. Which ones would you add?

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