What are Your Favorite Rivalries? [Archive]

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Zoo

February 21st, 2007, 06:17 PM

To me, my three favorite rivalries are:

Harvard - Yale

Montana - Montana St.

Georgia Southern - App. St.

Of course, this is all I know for me living in Wisconsin, I hardly ever get FCS games here. :bawling:

TexasTerror

February 21st, 2007, 06:47 PM

Great selections on your part...

I'll add...

SFA-SHSU
Lehigh vs Lafayette
NDSU vs SDSU

NDSUFREAK

February 21st, 2007, 06:51 PM

NDSU vs SDSU is a great one!

mistersykes

February 21st, 2007, 06:59 PM

ASU - Furman is probably my favorite.

Kill'em

February 21st, 2007, 07:15 PM

Obviously, I love our rivalries with Furman and App St. Both are guaranteed to be physical and with close victories but my personal favorite is The Citadel-VMI.

crunifan

February 21st, 2007, 07:40 PM

UNI vs. SIU

ChadWC

February 21st, 2007, 08:28 PM

GSU-Furman is bigger than GSU-App St. IMO. Like was stated before, GSU-Furman may be the biggest rivalry in FCS(or at least the Southeast, but I'm probably a little bias too) due to the amount riding on every game these two teams play. Always has playoff implications and certainly conference. Met twice for the National Title as I'm sure most know.

Gil Dobie

February 21st, 2007, 09:07 PM

NDSU - SDSU
NDSU - UCD
NDSU - Cal Poly

:hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

Go Lehigh TU Owl

February 21st, 2007, 09:09 PM

1. Lehigh-Lafayette
2. Lehigh-Colgate
3. Villanova-Delaware: I hate 'Nova!!!
4. Montana-Montana State
5. Harvard-Yale

UNHWildCats

February 21st, 2007, 09:12 PM

Maine-UNH are some exciting games every year while UMass-UNH is turning into some great contests as well

Eyes of Old Main

February 21st, 2007, 09:12 PM

All the above listed are great choices.

I guess I'd add a couple of rivalries that were very hot at one time and have cooled because of circumstance or reclassification.

Western Carolina/Furman (circa early 80's)
There were some barn-burner games and a playoff semi-final meeting as well. At one time, this was THE game in the SoCon. Man, what a differenc ehaving Bob Waters in Cullowhee made for the Cats.

Marshall/The "Big 3" (circa mid 90's)
Marshall was very good and any game they played involving Georgia Southern, Appalachian State or Furman was a big deal.

Wofford/Presbyterian (pre 1997)
There wasn't a trophy like the PC/Newberry Bronze Derby, but this was the biggest rivalry game for both schools. I'm not sure about the PC side, but I know Wofford students spent most all year thinking about beating PC in football. With PC's move into the Big South, this rivalry may be renewed (last game was in 1996).

I know these aren't the biggest right now, but all had their day. Just kind of goes to show that rivalries can change over time.

poly51

February 21st, 2007, 10:37 PM

DrG

February 22nd, 2007, 10:23 AM

Maine-UNH are some exciting games every year while UMass-UNH is turning into some great contests as well
While Maine-UNH is perhaps a more traditional and geographic rivalry, I think UMass-UNH is turning into a very nasty rivalry, one in which the fans and players don't like each other. Both programs are almost always competitive in the A10/CAA and they recruit many of the same kids.

UNHWildCats

February 22nd, 2007, 10:26 AM

While Maine-UNH is perhaps a more traditional and geographic rivalry, I think UMass-UNH is turning into a very nasty rivalry, one in which the fans and players don't like each other. Both programs are almost always competitive in the A10/CAA and they recruit many of the same kids.

kinda resembling the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry huh :p

OL FU

February 22nd, 2007, 10:29 AM

Western Carolina/Furman (circa early 80's)
There were some barn-burner games and a playoff semi-final meeting as well. At one time, this was THE game in the SoCon. Man, what a differenc ehaving Bob Waters in Cullowhee made for the Cats.

I am in no way saying this was typical.

The only game I ever went where I was actually concerned about my safety. 1983 in the whee. WCU only had one side to their stadium and some boys from the hills ( I know they were not related to the school) were drinking tequila and after they emptied the bottles decided the bottles would make pretty good weapons. :eek:

It was a heck of a game though. Ended in a tie, of course later in the year, WCU beat us in the playoffs.

HiHiYikas

February 22nd, 2007, 10:29 AM

How lucky for SoCon fans to be able to choose from several rivalries. GSU/Furman is outstanding, ASU/Furman has been very intense the last several seasons. GSU showed ASU that the rivalry is still solid when one is National Championship caliber and one is in a tailspin. Regardless of records, ASU/WCU is the default for a lot of Mountaineer/Catamount fans. Wofford/Furman is big, Furman/Citadel too.

That's the beauty of being in a geographically small conference with traditional powerhouses, and a surprising team or two popping up on a semi-regular basis.

*****

February 22nd, 2007, 10:30 AM

I like the long-running in-state rivalries the best

UNHWildCats

February 22nd, 2007, 10:40 AM

I like the long-running in-state rivalries the best

Ralph I bet you could get hyped up by two 0-10 fcs teams if they were the only game on :)

Pard4Life

February 22nd, 2007, 11:13 AM

Lafayette-Lehigh...

..don't really care about anything else..

..occasionally H-Y-P games though..

Sir William

February 22nd, 2007, 12:25 PM

I am in no way saying this was typical.

The only game I ever went where I was actually concerned about my safety. 1983 in the whee. WCU only had one side to their stadium and some boys from the hills ( I know they were not related to the school) were drinking tequila and after they emptied the bottles decided the bottles would make pretty good weapons. :eek:

It was a heck of a game though. Ended in a tie, of course later in the year, WCU beat us in the playoffs.

I was there also, and your testimony is accurate. But man, what a game!

Peems

February 22nd, 2007, 12:42 PM

I like the long-running in-state rivalries the best
:hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

Go...gate

February 22nd, 2007, 05:45 PM

Lehigh-Lafayette
Lehigh-Colgate
Princeton-Yale
Princeton-Pennsylvania
Colgate-Holy Cross
Fordham-Georgetown
Fordham-Columbia

Sure miss the old rivalries, such as:
Colgate-Syracuse
Princeton-Rutgers
Columbia-Rutgers
Delaware-Temple
Holy Cross-Boston College

PaladinFan

February 22nd, 2007, 06:26 PM

Why do people keep putting Wofford/Furman as some intense rivalry? Have all the respect in the world for their program and what Mike Ayers does there, but Joe Furman just doesn't get up for that game.

I agree with the GSU poster earlier. GSU/Furman might be the more intense rivalries in FCS football, most certainly in the southeast and definitely in the SoCon.

I'm glad that some scheduling wizard somewhere down the line decided that each one of the big three schools plays one of the other on the road every year.

ngineer

February 22nd, 2007, 09:10 PM

Lehigh v. Lafayette
Lehigh v. Lafayette
Lehigh v. Lafayette
Lehigh v. Lafayette
Lehigh v. Lafayette
Lehigh v. Lafayette
Lehigh v. Lafayette
Lehigh v. Lafayette
Lehigh v. Lafayette
Lehigh v. Lafayette
Honorable Mention: Moravian v. Muhlenberg;)

TonkaBison

February 22nd, 2007, 09:22 PM

Cal Poly's best rivalries

Fresno State (last played in 1985. Fresno State leads the series 29-10-2)

Current
UC Davis (This one is getting very good. California's 2 premier ag and engineering schools. Davis leads 16-14-2)
NDSU (We owe them)
SDSU (South Dakota State or San Diego State. San Diego State leads 13-10 but we got them last year.)

By that I'm assuming you are talking about the 55 of the 162 total points you gave up last year? See you at Poly next year it's gonna be a bloodbath! :eek:

poly51

February 23rd, 2007, 12:32 AM

It should be quite a game. Cal Poly has 2 new quarterbacks in spring drills and Ryan Mole at running back to go with James Noble.

Death Dealer

February 23rd, 2007, 12:45 AM

How lucky for SoCon fans to be able to choose from several rivalries. GSU/Furman is outstanding, ASU/Furman has been very intense the last several seasons. GSU showed ASU that the rivalry is still solid when one is National Championship caliber and one is in a tailspin. Regardless of records, ASU/WCU is the default for a lot of Mountaineer/Catamount fans. Wofford/Furman is big, Furman/Citadel too.

Notice a trend? To be the best you gotta beat the BEST.:nod:

Maroons

February 23rd, 2007, 01:11 AM

CSU BUCS

February 23rd, 2007, 01:59 AM

Why do people keep putting Wofford/Furman as some intense rivalry? Have all the respect in the world for their program and what Mike Ayers does there, but Joe Furman just doesn't get up for that game.

It’s funny how one side can think of it as a rivalry and the other not. For example a lot of Charleston Southern people think of The Citadel as a rival……but Citadel folks don’t think twice about CSU.

North Greenville College’s student population voted Charleston Southern as there #1 rival and CSU doesn’t think twice about NGC………….. I was talking to a North Greenville player a couple of weeks ago and he was talking about how great of a rivalry the NG and CSU game is …………I was like “WHAT?”

Husky Alum

February 23rd, 2007, 06:55 AM

Harvard - Yale
Yale - Princeton
Yale - Dartmouth

NU doesn't really have any rivalries per se. Used to be NU-BU, but the Rat Dogs had to go and drop football.

saint0917

February 23rd, 2007, 07:42 AM

Umass vs Uconn, when Uconn was in I-AA (FSC)
Montana vs Montana St.
Harvard vs Yale

Engineer91

February 23rd, 2007, 07:58 AM

Eyes of Old Main

February 23rd, 2007, 10:11 AM

Why do people keep putting Wofford/Furman as some intense rivalry? Have all the respect in the world for their program and what Mike Ayers does there, but Joe Furman just doesn't get up for that game.

The rivalry is a very big deal to Wofford fans, admittedly not as much to Furman fans at this point. I think that is slowly changing due to Wofford's better play over the last few years, but it won't get heated up until the Terriers win more regularly. I didn't list it and wouldn't for these reasons. I think fans of other SoCon schools assume it is a heated rivalry due to proximity, size similarities, etc. All that being said, I see it as a growing rivalry that is maybe 10 years away from joining some of Furman's other rivalries.

Lastly, if Joe Furman can't get up, maybe he should see his Doctor about some new medications that could help him take care of that.

BALD EAGLE

February 23rd, 2007, 10:14 AM

Ga. Southern vs Furman - My Favorite, in my very biased opinion it really is very special. The majority of Furman's players always seem to be from Georgia, and alot of Furman's students seem to be from Atlanta. Which are a couple of the reasons along with the history between the two schools of great games including the best football game I ever saw (the 1985 National Championship Game) that I believe makes this rivalry the best in the FCS. In fact, I believe this rivalry is as good as any in the FBS. The only thing this game is missing is 90,000 fans. Furman the small private school with the Atlanta flavor located in a city in South Carolina versus Ga. Southern the mid-size public school located in a small town in South Georgia (yes South is capitalized when mention with Georgia) also with a significant Atlanta flavor, the excitement is just tremendous when the teams come on the field.

Ga. Southern vs ASU - ASU the Team I love to "hate" but also a team I have tremendous respect for. In fact, I view ASU and GSU as mirror images of each other, although fans of both schools would probably not admit that. Of all the schools that Ga. Southern plays ASU is the school that I have the most passionate "respectful hate" for, and based on my experience the Mountaineer fans seem to feel the same way. When you get the fans of these two proud schools together there is certainly alot of passion of what I call "good-natured hate" and alot of fun.

Montana vs Montana St. - Great Fans

Harvard vs Yale - Tradition

Killtoppers90

February 23rd, 2007, 11:30 AM

No love for the Battle of the Bluegrass? EKU v. WKU?
We're talking some serious hate here:
http://media.www.easternprogress.com/media/storage/paper419/news/2006/09/07/Sports/Western.How.Do.I.Hate.Thee.Let.Me.Count.The.Ways-2259499.shtml
Yeah I would have to agree, I love this rivalry! One of the longest and heated rivalries ever! Although that article is not completely accurate!

JDC325

February 23rd, 2007, 04:40 PM

TIE
GSU/Furman
GSU/App

Non GSU
Mont/Mont State

JMUFortier

February 23rd, 2007, 10:07 PM

For us, the favorites are JMU-William and Mary, JMU-Richmond, and JMU-Delaware.

My personal one is JMU-Maine...a family feud for me.

FargoBison

February 24th, 2007, 12:33 AM

I like the NDSU-SDSU rivalry, the schools have been playing each other for over a 100 years but there is still plenty of respect between the two fan bases. I am definately looking forward to heading down to Brookings next year to check out the game in November.

PaladinFan

February 24th, 2007, 01:38 AM

The rivalry is a very big deal to Wofford fans, admittedly not as much to Furman fans at this point. I think that is slowly changing due to Wofford's better play over the last few years, but it won't get heated up until the Terriers win more regularly. I didn't list it and wouldn't for these reasons. I think fans of other SoCon schools assume it is a heated rivalry due to proximity, size similarities, etc. All that being said, I see it as a growing rivalry that is maybe 10 years away from joining some of Furman's other rivalries.

Lastly, if Joe Furman can't get up, maybe he should see his Doctor about some new medications that could help him take care of that.

Right, but that's just it. Wofford fans see it as a rivalry, Furman fans just don't Wofford rarely beats Furman in any sport and has been shelacked by the Paladins in football the last two seasons.

I agree, the close proximity and similar student size makes it an appealing topic for the local papers but rarely do we compete for the same players, compete for playoff spots, or for the conference championship. I'd like to see it, I would, but right now their programs just aren't on the same level.

Wofford has certainly played better, but not necessairly against the Paladins. I might argue that in 2003 Wofford's best team in recent memory barely managed to beat a very subpar Furman team. The only two teams, and this is personal opinion, that I have less interest in playing are Elon and UTC.

SeattleGriz

February 24th, 2007, 04:16 AM

Other than the obvious Montana State, I like to watch Eastern Washington play the Griz. They seem to be unfazed by the stadium and usually give the Griz a great game.

OOC would most definitely have to be Cal Poly - some great games this last two years between the two.

DaveK

February 24th, 2007, 04:24 AM

Michigan/Ohio State
USC/UCLA

YaleFootballFan

February 24th, 2007, 10:38 AM

I always liked Yale's rivalry with UConn. I liked it even better when we beat them! :D

I think its pretty obvious who Yale's biggest rivals are....Harvard and Princeton.

Maroons

February 24th, 2007, 11:13 AM

Yeah I would have to agree, I love this rivalry! One of the longest and heated rivalries ever! Although that article is not completely accurate!

I have a feeling I wouldn't consider a Hilltopper account completely accurate either! Such is the beauty of the thing... the mythology that comes to surround it...

Eyes of Old Main

February 24th, 2007, 12:58 PM

Right, but that's just it. Wofford fans see it as a rivalry, Furman fans just don't Wofford rarely beats Furman in any sport and has been shelacked by the Paladins in football the last two seasons.

I agree, the close proximity and similar student size makes it an appealing topic for the local papers but rarely do we compete for the same players, compete for playoff spots, or for the conference championship. I'd like to see it, I would, but right now their programs just aren't on the same level.

I'll agree with you that it's a bigger deal in Spartanburg than it is in Greenville. Most of that is results based and I'll agree that our program has not yet reached the level of Furman's. Hopefully, time will even that up and Wofford will figure out how to break our jinx against you guys.

But, the importance of the Wofford/Furman rivalry in the eyes of Furman alums seems to depend on the age of the Paladin fan in questions. Furman alums from the 50's - early 70's seem to care a lot more than those from the late 70's - mid 90's, with an upturn in importance for those from the time Wofford joined the SoCon.

Another component in this is that Furman has developed a strong non-alum fan base (probably almost as big as The Citadel's). Wofford's non-alum fan base is starting to grow, but is very small by comparison.

I think your opinion is also colored by the relationship between the two schools. In all rivalries, the school with the better end of the series record always acts like it's not really a rival with the other. It's too easy a way to annoy the other schools fans. Appalachian fans do it to Western Carolina fans, Citadel fans do it to VMI, UNC fans do it to NC State and Furman fans do it to Wofford. Nothing wrong with it, but it is a reality.

Lastly, I did not list Wofford/Furman as a rivalry on this thread. I consider Furman and The Citadel to be Wofford's biggest in-conference rivals, but don't consider either to be worthy of national note yet. They may be big deals to our fans, but can't yet be mentioned with the GSU/ASU's of the world. Maybe one day.

citdog

February 26th, 2007, 05:57 AM

We HATE Furman, but DESPISE VMI.

OL FU

February 26th, 2007, 08:22 AM

I'll agree with you that it's a bigger deal in Spartanburg than it is in Greenville. Most of that is results based and I'll agree that our program has not yet reached the level of Furman's. Hopefully, time will even that up and Wofford will figure out how to break our jinx against you guys.

But, the importance of the Wofford/Furman rivalry in the eyes of Furman alums seems to depend on the age of the Paladin fan in questions. Furman alums from the 50's - early 70's seem to care a lot more than those from the late 70's - mid 90's, with an upturn in importance for those from the time Wofford joined the SoCon.

Another component in this is that Furman has developed a strong non-alum fan base (probably almost as big as The Citadel's). Wofford's non-alum fan base is starting to grow, but is very small by comparison.

I think your opinion is also colored by the relationship between the two schools. In all rivalries, the school with the better end of the series record always acts like it's not really a rival with the other. It's too easy a way to annoy the other schools fans. Appalachian fans do it to Western Carolina fans, Citadel fans do it to VMI, UNC fans do it to NC State and Furman fans do it to Wofford. Nothing wrong with it, but it is a reality.

Lastly, I did not list Wofford/Furman as a rivalry on this thread. I consider Furman and The Citadel to be Wofford's biggest in-conference rivals, but don't consider either to be worthy of national note yet. They may be big deals to our fans, but can't yet be mentioned with the GSU/ASU's of the world. Maybe one day.

The biggest difficulty for the late 70's mid 90's fan ( I fall at the older end of that spectrum ) is that Wofford played in a lower division during that period. An example from another team: The last PC game I went to Furman slaughtered PC. But you could tell that the PC fans had a real dislike ( screaming and hollering the entire game) for Furman while the Furman fans really did not care. It is much like Furman wanting to beat Clemson so bad that it hurts while Clemson fans have a difficult time not thinking about tailgaiting during the game. The Furman-Wofford rivalry will get stronger the more memories of the time period you mentioned fade.