College Football Teams Square Off in Debate Over Best Rivalry

With the approaching end of the 2007 NCAA college football season, the action is heating up. Season ending rivalry match ups are sure to have heavy implications on this years Bowl Championship Series as well as the ever present recruiting. So which of college football's heated annual duals is the best?

There's always the best award for the winning team, which goes to Minnesota versus Wisconsin where the winner gets Paul Bunyan's Axe. For football brutes what could be better than the axe of America's greatest folklore character. This match up also happens to be the oldest rivalry in the NCAA's Division I-A. Then there's always the rivalry with the best geography, which goes to Clemson versus South Carolina, known as The Battle for the Palmetto State. The two intrastate schools in South Carolina are hated rival schools that have bad blood for each other that runs deep into the heart of the state's residents. The two even brawled back in the 2004 edition, causing both to be banned from a bowl game.

If awards and geography aren't your thing, there's always the most played rivalry of all the NCAA divisions, which can only go to Lafayette versus Lehigh. The two teams have played over 140 times. The rivalry game is often plugged among top 100 lists of things to do before you die. With an atmosphere that is jovial and full of excitement and great games to boot, this rivalry is undoubtedly among the best. But who could forget the big boys in college football. This season the Ohio State versus Michigan match up will be the year's biggest game, with the winner to play for the BCS championship. In the Deep South, most would tell you without hesitation that Auburn versus Alabama is the most heated. Ownership of the state of Alabama is on the line annually and fans love every minute of hating the opposing school. So we think of all these rivals and attempt to pick one as our personal favorite, but yet we've left out so many. Notre Dame versus USC comes to mind among the omissions, along with Florida versus Florida State. Who's to know unless we've been to them all.

In the end, we choose based on atmosphere, hatred, geography, talent, and fans. With all these in mind, the simple choice for best rivalry is Auburn versus Alabama. The two teams have played to almost a dead heat over the years. Each team in America would love to claim the honor of top rivalry, but for now we leave the distinction with our friends in the state of Alabama.