Since the TSIO is often listed amongst certain rival fans as being just an automatic win in a dumb rivalry, I thought we might give our opinions.
SEC: LSU vs Arkansas- I had aTm vs USCE up here but I decided against it mostly due to the fact that this game is mostly based around the SEC pushing for a rivalry game to have a trophy to start a trend that resembled the Big 10. LSU and Arkansas have no chemistry whatsoever and very rarely fight for valuable recruits. This “rivalry” is mostly LSU beat downs and the once in 6 years Arkansas miracle. I think both think of this game as another game that just happens to have a ridiculously heavy trophy.
Granted aTm-USCE has a trophy, but they were more or less forced to be cross division rivals. LSU-Arkansas had the ability to just say they were “ division foes”.
P5- Wisconsin vs Nebraska- this rivalry really stems from envy and stupidity. They have played less than 15 times. This also is a rivalry that exists for 3 reasons:
1) Nebraska fans just don’t want to treat Iowa as their main rival
2) Nebraska fans were upset that Brett pantsed them twice in their first two years in front of national television
3) Barry Alvarez wants more trophy games
Ask a Nebraska fan “who is their biggest rival in the Big 10”, and they would say Wisconsin. Ask your typical badger fan where Nebraska ranks in terms of rival teams and they most likely say 4th or 5th.
Both examples have the push for more trophy games aspect of football and completely engineered to be bigger games than they actually are without having years of fierce competition, bad blood, and chemistry between the two naturally occurring before the rivalry status was warranted.
The Little Brown Jug - I mean, Michigan has won 75 of 103 games (with 3 ties). That's not a rivalry. Wanna know how "big" it is? In 1991, the game was scheduled at the Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome - and got rescheduled to be played on Friday night so as not to interfere with Game Six of the Twins-Braves World Series. And back then a Friday night game was about as rare as a politician who told the truth.
Yankees vs Red Sox - okay, you might be able to say this became a rivalry in 2004. But it wasn't a rivalry before then. A rivalry means that the "lesser" of the two names wins quite a bit. Wanna know how many times the Red Sox beat the Yankees in a pennant race (e.g. BOTH teams were actually good) after the Curse of the Bambino?
The Red Sox didn't make a single WS appearance between 1947 and 1966 - during which the Yankees made 15 and only once (1950) were the Red Sox less than 12 games behind at the end.
HEAD TO HEAD PENNANT RACES/PLAYOFFS
1949 - Yankees beat out Red Sox for pennant on last day of season
1977 - On Aug 10, Boston leads Yanks by five games - and finish in second 2.5 out
1978 - the infamous blown 14-game lead from late July
1988 - 9 behind on July 10, the Red Sox hire Joe Morgan and win the pennant on the last day, Yankees 3 out
1999 - Red Sox lose LCS in five games
2003 - leading 4-2 in the 8th....the Red Sox blow game 7 of the LCS
From 1918 to 2003 (85 years).....the Red Sox only got the best of the Yankees when both were real good ONE SINGLE TIME (1988).
That's not a rivalry, it's Alabama vs Vandy. Yeah, they knocked out the Yankees in 2004 and 2018, but that's all recent.
Tennessee-Kentucky - I mean, who cares? Vols lead 80-25-9, and almost always if UK wins it's because the Vols are horrible.
Alabama-MSU - I mean....really. Anyone looked at the numbers? 81-18-3, Tide went 37-1 from 1958-1995.
LSU-Tulane - The Green Wave actually owned LSU prior to the start of the SEC; they've lost 18 straight and they don't play every single year anymore, either.
