A look at the “Top” NCAAF Rivalries since 2010
The significance of a rivalry in college football can be defined by many things which makes it very tough to decide which ones have been the best of the past decade. It definitely doesn’t help when fans of all teams will always argue that their rivalry is the best.
While figuring out our top 5 rivalries of the past decade, we decided to use three aspects of the rivalries. How many times both teams were ranked, average score differential of the games, and series records.
The first rivalry brought up is the Big Game. Arguably being one of the most well known rivalries of the history of college football automatically puts it into this conversation. Sadly, the excitement of this rivalry has been losing its touch. While the winner has gone to to the Big Ten Championship every time except once since 2010, the team that has gone has been Ohio State every time. Only 4 times since 2010 has the game been decided by one score. While there has been a top 10 team every time since 2005 except for one matchup, Michigan has failed to be in the top 25 for the matchup 4 times. To make matters worst, Michigan has only been in the top 10 3 times since 2010. Michigan has also only beat Ohio State 3 times since 2000, with only one of those coming since 2010.
Because of the lack of competiveness in this rivalry, should it even be considered one of the top rivalries at this time?
The Red River rivalry has been one of the top rivalries since the start of it. While Texas has not been as strong as they were in the early 2000’s, they have still had plenty of great teams and Oklahoma has been lights out to top it off. Since 2010, both teams have been in the top 25 6 times. As if this past matchup wasn’t exciting enough with the most recent game going to 4 overtimes, the game has been within one score 8 of the last 10 times with Texas winning 3 times.
Where would you rank this rivalry in the best of college football?
Another huge rivalry, the Iron Bowl. If you’ve watched at least a couple college football games you’ve probably heard of the Iron Bowl. Since the start of this rivalry in 1893, it has not only been one of the most heated but also competitive rivalries. Since 2010, both teams have been in the top 25 7 times. While Alabama has arguably been the best team ever during their 2010’s stretch, Auburn has still managed to win 4 times with 2 wins coming in the past 3 matchups. While there has only been 3 1 score games since 2010 with all of those matchups coming with a Auburn win, those 3 games have been some the most exciting matchups in recent college football history. After all, the famous kick six happened just a couple years ago which helped send Auburn to the championship game.
Is this the best rivalry there is?
