Thanks in large part to conference realignment, all ten of these historical rivalries have come to a sad end or have been put on hold. However, fans on both sides of these rivalries still share very little love for one another. Hopefully, we'll see these historical grudge matches return at some point in the near future. But, for now, all we can do is soak in the memories and look ahead to future dates on the calendar. Here are college football's ten most notable forgotten rivalries.
10. Cincinnati and Louisville (Keg of Nails)
Even before their days together in the BIG-East and AAC (2005-2013), Louisville and Cincinnati have never shared much mutual caring for one another. Located about an hour and a half apart down I-71, the rivalry dates all the way back to 1929 and has seen 53 chapters (Cincinnati leads 30-22-1). From 2005-2013, the winner of the Keg of Nails went on to win at least a share of the BIG-East or AAC and appear in a BCS Bowl game six times (4 - Louisville, 2 - Cincinnati).
With Louisville bouncing from the American to the ACC in 2014, the rivalry was put on hold. Louisville was really the only true rival that Cincinnati had in the BIG-East or American Athletic Conference, and with the Cards now gone, it's hard to call anybody in the AAC a true rival of the Bearcats with how geographically separated they are from the rest of their conference foes. With all of the crazy non-conference matchups we see at the beginning of every season nowadays, the Keg of Nails is definitely something that needs to be renewed in an annual meeting at Paul Brown Stadium or something.
9. Penn State and Pittsburgh
People sometimes forget that while Joe Paterno may have built an empire in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions have not always been the No. 1 team in PA. From 1922 to 1938, the Pittsburgh Panthers were victorious over the Penn State Nittany Lions 14 straight times, and despite Penn State surging and going on a streak of their own from the mid-60's to mid-70's, the rivalry's overall record remains tight (50-43-4 in favor of Penn State). Following a 12-0 win by Pittsburgh in 2000, the rivalry was put on hold for 16 years due to scheduling conflicts, as Penn State wanted to host the majority of the contests in Happy Valley on a 3-2/2-1 scale. In 2016, the Lions and Panthers renewed their rivalry at a packed Heinz Field and the Panthers handed the eventual BIG-10 champs a 42-39 loss.
In 2017, the rivalry shifts back to Happy Valley with the Nittany Lions playing host to the Panthers and looking to avenge last season's lone non-conference defeat. With the rivalry seemingly having wheels again, it appears as if we could be returning to a time where every September, the two best programs in Pennsylvania (sorry, Temple) are squaring off in a massive early-season bout that could have national championship implications. Hopefully, it stays this way and the rivalry doesn't return to the almost deceased form it was in from 2000-2016.
8. Texas and Arkansas
Dating back to their days together in the BIG-8, Arkansas/Texas used to be one of the nation's best rivalries. Texas fans will argue that the rivalry was pretty one-sided, as the 'Horns currently lead the all-time series 56-22, and that Texas' true football rivals are A&M (we'll get to that later) and Oklahoma. What makes this rivalry even more appealing is that the town of Texarkana, which is split down the middle (half in Northeast Texas, half in southwest Arkansas) has adopted a similar rivalry, with the Arkansas side (Arkansas High) and the Texas side (Texas High) facing off every year with almost exact replica uniforms of the two college teams.
Since the Razorbacks made the move to the SEC, the Battle for the Golden Boot between the Hogs and Tigers of LSU has become Arkansas' main rivalry game along with their annual meeting with Texas A&M at Jerry's World. The death of the BIG-8 in 1991 put the rivalry between Arkansas and Texas hold for nine years. In 2000, the two schools met in the Cotton Bowl (27-6 Arkansas victory). From 2003-2008, the two schools met in a non-conference match-up three times ('03, '04, '08), with Texas winning two of the three. In 2014, Arkansas and Texas met in the Texas Bowl in Houston, with the Hogs pulling out a 31-7 victory.
Arkansas is forced to play a brutal schedule every season in the SEC West, but the Hogs have recently scheduled BIG-12 opposition for early-season nonconference games, including TCU both in 2016 and 2017, so a future matchup with Texas to renew this old rivalry could certainly be on the horizon. SEC and BIG-12 fans alike are dying for it.
7. Nebraska and Colorado
Sure, the overall series might be a little bit lopsided (49-18-2 Nebraska), but a lot of people forget about how big of a thorn the Colorado Buffaloes were to Tom Osbourne's Cornhusker dynasty and how competitive and intense many of these games were. The ESPN 30For30 documentary The Gospel According to Mac does an incredible job of highlighting just how intense the rivalry was during its height in the late-80's and early-90's. In 1989 and 1990, Colorado defeated Nebraska in the final game of the regular season to earn a berth in the Orange Bowl, going on to win a share of the 1991 national championship with Georgia Tech after a 10-9 win over Notre Dame in Coral Gables.
While laughing with former teammates in the 30For30 documentary, Colorado running back great Eric Bieniemy told a simple yet perfect joke that defines just how big of a rivalry this was. "You know what that N in the middle of Nebraska's field in Lincoln stands for, right? Knowledge!"
With Nebraska moving to the BIG-10 in 2011 and Colorado shifting to the PAC-12 in 2014, the rivalry is currently on hold. Colorado is building a nice little rivalry with Utah in their annual " Rumble in the Rockies", while Nebraska is still in the process of establishing a sustainable rivalry with Iowa in the "Hero's Game." However, Colorado and Nebraska fans alike are circling September 8, 2018, on their calendars, as the Buffs and Huskers get set to dig up the hatchet.
6. Miami and Florida ("Seminole War Canoe")
Florida State serves as a common ground of hatred for fans of Florida and Miami, but what about the feelings that 'Cane and Gator supporters have for each other? Throughout their storied histories, Florida and Miami have met 55 times (two bowl games) with Miami leading the all-time series 29-26. Obviously, being in different conferences and not playing every season like Florida State does with both schools makes it difficult for this rivalry to keep the wheels spinning. However, a Bourbon Street brawl at the Sugar Bowl in 2001 and Florida later claiming to be the "the real U" and running it up a little on Miami in 2008 added a little fire back to the rivalry.
Florida and Miami will never be what Florida/Florida State or Miami/Florida State is. But, whenever these two powerhouse programs do square off every four or five years, there's always excitement both on and off the field due to all of these athletes growing up and playing with/against with one another. The 'Canes and Gators last played in 2013 with Miami taking down the favored Gators 21-16 at Sun Life Stadium. There are so many Division I football programs in Florida (Florida Atlantic, UCF, USF, etc) that you'd never be able to make a true award for the best team in the state, especially when they all don't play one another in a given year. But, Miami and Florida will meet in Orlando to kick off the 2019 season, so while most Floridians forget that the Gators and Hurricanes are not too fond of one another, the rivalry will be back on the national stage very soon and hopefully become an annual thing at some point in the near future.
5. Missouri and Kansas ("Border War")
The "Border War" was the perfect rivalry, especially when it shifted from Lawrence/Columbia to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City for the final five meetings from 2007-2011. Yes, Kansas and Missouri have never consistently been the purebreds of the BIG-12 like Oklahoma or Texas, but the all-time series between the Tigers and Jayhawks could not be tighter or more competitive (57-54-9 Missouri). In 2007, the No. 2 Jayhawks and No. 3 Tigers met in their annual grudge match at Arrowhead with both teams eying a national title, making it arguably the most relevant Border War ever. The Tigers prevailed 36-28 to claim the BIG-12 North but fell the following week to Oklahoma (38-17) in the BIG-12 title game down in San Antonio to fall out of the national championship race. Due to NCAA rules at the time only allowing a max of two teams from each conference to participate in a BCS bowl game, the Jayhawks (12-1) earned a spot in the Orange Bowl, Oklahoma (11-2) headed to the Fiesta Bowl where they would fall to Boise State and Missouri (11-2) took on Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl (38-7 win). Missouri fans were especially bitter after Kansas defeated the Hokies 24-21 down in Miami for their first and only BCS bowl win in program history.
Since the end of the Border War in 2011, Kansas football has fallen off the cliffs of relevance. Missouri has seen its share of limited success in the SEC, winning back-to-back SEC East titles during their second and third seasons in the conference in 2013 and 2014 as well as winning two bowl games (2013 Cotton Bowl, 2014 Citrus Bowl). However, with Missouri so geographically distant from the rest of their SEC East foes, the Tigers have yet to establish a clear conference rival heading into their now sixth season in the SEC. Kansas obviously still has their normal in-state rivalry with K-State, but the Jayhawks winning just one conference game during the last two seasons has taken away a lot of the appeal from the Governor's Cup. Even if this rivalry were to be renewed, it would likely take some time for it to mean much due to how badly Kansas has fallen off. However, the memories the Jayhawks and Tigers gave to their fans on a cold November night for more than 120 years are hard to forget.
4. Notre Dame and Michigan
Unlike the majority of these forgotten rivalries, the annual matchup between Notre Dame and Michigan was put on hold for reasons not tied to conference realignment, as Notre Dame is an independent and Michigan is always a household name in early-season nonconference matchups. A series that has seen multiple extended breaks in action (1909-1942, 1943-1978), the Wolverines and Irish almost always failed to disappoint when they did meet on the gridiron, and 2011's matchup under the lights in Ann Arbor did just that with one of the wildest final two minutes in the history of college football in a dramatic 35-31 win for Michigan.
Former Michigan head coach Brady Hoke proclaimed that the Irish were "chickening out" when Notre Dame opted to exercise their option to end the rivalry at the end of 2014 season. Notre Dame would get the final laugh (for now), however, in the form of a 31-0 blanking of the Wolverines in South Bend in 2014. Notre Dame then scheduled a home-and-home series with Michigan's arch rival, Ohio State, for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. However, Michigan and Notre Dame finally came to an agreement to resume their rivalry series with a home-and-home set beginning in 2018 in South Bend, so while the rivalry might be on hold and forgotten to some degree, it isn't dead just yet.
3. West Virginia and Pittsburgh ("Backyard Brawl")
When Boston College, Virginia Tech, and Miami all bailed on the BIG-East for the ACC, it was only a matter of time until the remaining three big dogs in the conference (Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia) also opted to realign. For years, the Backyard Brawl between the West Virginia Mountaineers and Pittsburgh Panthers had a major say on whom would represent the BIG-East in a BCS Bowl, and several times, the game had a big impact on the national championship picture. No edition of the Backyard Brawl may have been more stunning or impactful nationally than in 2007 when Pitt traveled to Morgantown and upended No. 2 West Virginia 13-7 in their regular-season finale, eliminating the Mountaineers from the national championship conversation.
The teams last played in 2011 in Morgantown (21-20 West Virginia win) before the Mountaineers switched gears to the BIG-12 and Pitt headed to the ACC. Pitt currently leads the all-time series 61-40-3. 2022 will see a renewal of the Backyard Brawl on both the hardwood for a "BIG-12/ACC Challenge" type of deal and on the football field with a four-game annual series in Morgantown and at Heinz Field in the early weeks of the season. Sad that this rivalry had to be put on the back burner for so long but it's great seeing the Backyard Brawl have a pulse again. The only thing that sucks is having to wait another five years for these two to square off again.
2. Oklahoma and Nebraska
Contrary to popular belief, Nebraska is OU's No. 1 rival, and most old-school Oklahoma fans will agree. The wars that the Sooners and Cornhuskers had in the Big-8 dating all the way back to 1912 had a massive say on the national championship for almost a full century until Nebraska departed for the BIG-10 in 2011. The Sooners and Huskers faced off in one bowl game (1979 Orange Bowl) and twice meet up in the BIG-12 title game with Oklahoma prevailing 21-7 in 2006 and again 23-20 in 2010. No Oklahoma/Nebraska matchup, however, was bigger than the 1971 meeting when No. 2 Oklahoma hosted No. 1 Nebraska in "the game of the century."
Nebraska ultimately defeated Oklahoma 35-31 to win the BIG-8 and advance to the 1971 Orange Bowl where they defeated No. 2 Alabama (38-6) for their second consecutive outright national title. With Barry Switzer at Oklahoma and Tom Osbourne taking over at Nebraska in 1973 after serving as the offensive coordinator from 1969-1972, the two schools continued to thrive as the two purebreds of the BIG-8 following their 1971 meeting. The post-Thanksgiving matchup between the Sooners and Cornhuskers continually decided the fate of the conference for decades. Oklahoma and Nebraska last met in Arlington for the BIG-12 championship in 2010 but will renew their rivalry with a home-and-home set beginning in 2021 in Norman. The rivalry will never be what it once was with OU and Nebraska now in different conferences, but it's great to see both schools coming to the realization that they needed to renew this sucker. Oklahoma currently leads the all-time slate 45-38-3.
1. Texas and Texas A&M ("Lone Star Showdown")
With Texas A&M bouncing from the BIG-12 to the SEC, the once famous Lone Star Showdown is now a forgotten memory. The tradition of the two biggest football powers in the state of Texas battling it out in a post-Thanksgiving dinner blood bath was always a game that highlighted rivalry week and had people glued to their seats. The last time the Aggies and Longhorns faced off was back in 2011 with Justin Tucker sending A&M off to the SEC with a nice middle finger in the form of a 27-25 walk-off win for Texas.
This is a game that needs to be played. I don't care that UT and A&M are no longer in the same conference. Texas football has taken a step back in recent years, and among the many reasons for their decline is the lack of a true in-state rival. TCU, Baylor, and Texas Tech just don't offer the same appeal as A&M does despite the success that both the Frogs and Bears have recently had in the BIG-12. A&M's non-conference slate in 2017 includes UCLA, Louisiana-Lafayette, Nichols State, and New Mexico. UT will face off against USC, Maryland and San Jose State. Why we cannot replace A&M vs. New Mexico and UT vs. San Jose State with a Lone Star Showdown is bananas. Tom Herman wants this rivalry to be a thing again, so now the ball is in Kevin Sumlin and A&M's corner. As of 2017, Texas leads the all-time rivalry 76-37-5.
If there's anything we missed or you don't agree with, feel free to comment down below or tell me how much of an idiot I am on Twitter @fLAno0
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