Rivalry Week 2016

[Iceland12]

Michigan vs. tOSU, Gophers vs. Sconnies top the Big Ten rivalry games for obvious reasons. Here are a few more courtesy of the Strib:

• No. 25 LSU at No. 22 Texas A&M (6:30 p.m. Thursday): Beating the Aggies helped Les Miles save his job — temporarily as it turned out — last year. Can another LSU victory against A&M help Ed Orgeron keep coaching the Tigers?

• No. 6 Washington at No. 23 Washington State (2:30 p.m. Friday): The Apple Cup will decide the Pac-12 North.

• No. 16 Auburn at No. 1 Alabama (2:30 p.m. Saturday): The Crimson Tide has already clinched the SEC West and could likely lose and still make the playoff.

No. 21 Utah at No. 9 Colorado (6:30 p.m. Saturday): The Buffs win the Pac-12 South with a victory. A loss gives the division to USC.

• No. 13 Florida at No. 15 Florida State (7 p.m. Saturday): The Gators and Seminoles both still have hopes to score a major bowl bid.

 

[Go Gophers Rah]

I like the Leftover Friday matchup between Iowa and Nebraska.

 

[DarrenTheGreek]

LSU @ TAM and Utah @ Colorado are good games, but not rivalry games.

 

[Iceland12]

LSU @ TAM and Utah @ Colorado are good games, but not rivalry games.

Utah vs. Colorado The "Rumble in the Rockies" game and, much to my surprise, a long term rivalry.

"The Rumble in the Rockies is an American college football rivalry between the University of Colorado Buffaloes from Boulder and the University of Utah Utes of Salt Lake City. After nearly five decades of dormancy, the rivalry was revived five years ago in 2011, when both joined the Pac-12 Conference.

From 1903 until 1962, Utah and Colorado played each other nearly every year, a total of 57 games. At that time, it was the second-most played rivalry for both teams (Utah had played Utah State 62 times;Colorado had played Colorado State 61 times. After the 1962 meeting, a second consecutive win by Utah, the teams stopped playing each other in football.

LSU vs. Texas A&M is more manufactured. The SEC is trying to make it a "thing" by scheduling it on near Thanksgiving much like the Texas/Texas A&M game was. Again to my surprise there is some history there already.

Pre-SIAA/SIAA
The teams first played at College Station in 1899. A&M won 52–0. It was the only game before they joined the SIAA.

They did not meet again until 1906 in Baton Rouge, the first of five games between 1906 and 1914 in which they were opponents in the SIAA. They played two more times in 1913 and 1914. A&M went 3–1–1. After 1914, A&M left to join the newly formed Southwest Conference (LSU participated in initial meetings to form it, but chose not to join.)

While the Texas A&M nation was relieved to escape the shadow of the University of Texas and flattered to be formally invited to join what is generally considered the nation's best football conference, the LSU side had to be the next most excited. Finally, the Tiger fans had an honest-to-goodness conference rival that they could have all to themselves to hate.

LSU and Texas A&M have played 50 times, including a 41-24 LSU victory in the 2011 Cotton Bowl. Only Tulane (98 games) and Rice (55) have played LSU more times than Texas A&M. LSU holds a 27-20-3 edge.

Without the conference realignment, the series might have never been renewed because of hard feelings over LSU opting out of the final two games of a 10-year deal that would have ended in 1996-97.

That's why when the talk of the Aggies joining started to circulate, it created a good deal of excitement among LSU fans.

They played two neutral-site games in 1916 and 1917 before four straight games from 1920–23. Between 1916 and 1923, A&M went 3–2–1. The series resumed from 1942 to 1949 in the regular season. In addition to the regular season game in 1943, they met in the first bowl game of the rivalry. LSU won the January 1, 1944 Orange Bowl 19–14. LSU went 7–2, winning the last five.

They met again in 1955 and 1956, with A&M taking both games. They were led by John David Crow, their first Heisman Trophy winner. They played annually from 1960–75. This was the longest consecutive games played between the two teams in the series history. LSU went 12–3–1. After 1961, LSU took the lead in the series; LSU still leads the series today. A&M's 1970 win had a 79-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left to upset LSU (who would win the SEC title). A&M did not win another game that year.

The series resumed from 1986–95. A&M went 6–4, winning the last five. Four were over LSU head coach Curley Hallman, a former Aggie. R. C. Slocum, a native Louisianian, was A&M's head coach for the last seven.

A lot of fans went to the game in the '80s and '90s and see it as a renewal of a great rivalry," said Herb Vincent, LSU's vice chancellor and senior associate athletic director. "There are a lot of similarities between the schools with their military traditions. A lot of the old-time fans are excited about bringing Texas A&M into the league.

"We've got such a big alumni base in Houston, those are the people you hear the most from. It's right there in their back yard."

LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva said the letters and emails poured in from alumni in Texas wanting LSU to help get the Aggies in. Alleva said the outcome was never in doubt, that it was a "no-brainer."

From Wiki and NOLA.com

http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2012/10/lsu_texas_am_meeting_is_the_re.html

 

[DarrenTheGreek]

Thanks

 

[TexasAggie11]

LSU and Texas A&M have played 50 times, including a 41-24 LSU victory in the 2011 Cotton Bowl. Only Tulane (98 games) and Rice (55) have played LSU more times than Texas A&M. LSU holds a 27-20-3 edge.

Without the conference realignment, the series might have never been renewed because of hard feelings over LSU opting out of the final two games of a 10-year deal that would have ended in 1996-97.

That's why when the talk of the Aggies joining started to circulate, it created a good deal of excitement among LSU fans.[/I]

During the 80s and 90s, Texas A&M and LSU played each other for the season opener every year (we also played pretty regularly from the 40s-70s). The feeling from both schools during the 80s-90s was that it absolutely was a rivalry. As the article states, A&M fans were very sore that LSU discontinued this series once we beat them five years in a row. Of course, it's also much to our chagrin that they are the only SEC West football team we haven't beaten since joining the conference. So, it is the most natural fit for a rivalry that we have (although we have played Arkansas 73 times to LSU's 50). It is a much better fit than the manufactured cross-division rival of South Carolina.

Of course, our true rival in all things will be that cesspool over in Austin. I will enjoy spending my Thanksgiving with 100k+ of my closest friends battling it out with a top 25 program than to be in a half-empty DKKKR Memorial Stadium the following day trying to claw for bowl eligibility against a down TCU program. No matter how much we may s**t the bet against LSU, at least we won't:

* Not have any clue as to whether our coach is fired or not (and not have it drag out in a ridiculous manner on the national scene)
* Have a risk of players boycotting the game because the coach may be fired
* Be even remotely considering taking Baylor's sloppy seconds for a coach
* Paying out $10.4 million to a coach with the eloquence of Cookie Monster

I'm also confident that we won't have players crying on the field or needing their mothers to fly in to console them if they get benched.

Next to actually playing the game, it's the best I could ever dream for.