Auburn’s top rivalry games are saved from realignment trend
Conference realignment has always played a role in college football, but this latest wave has been the most detrimental.
Oregon is paired with Rutgers, Utah is paired with UCF, and an entire Power Five conference is in danger of folding. In other words, the world as we know it is on its last leg.
There are several disappointing features of the latest round of realignment, one of those is the loss of several great rivalries. The Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State, and Bedlam between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are the top rivalries that will be played for the final time for the foreseeable future in 2023.
247Sports recently ranked the most-heated rivalries that have been spared by realignment, and two of Auburn’s top games have made the list. Grant Hughes of 247Sports placed Auburn’s annual game with Georgia at the No. 8 slot, while the Iron Bowl checks in at No. 2.
When discussing the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, Hughes says that he hopes the hiring of Hugh Freeze will bring some life back into the game.
Auburn-Georgia is referred to as the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry for a reason. Both sets of rivals have met 127 times throughout their respective histories, which ties for the second-most among all rivalries nationally. Georgia has a slight 63-56-8 lead in the rivalry but has won nine of the past 10, rubbing some of the shine off what used to be an ultra-competitive matchup. There is hope new Tigers coach Hugh Freeze can inject some life into this one.
When it comes to the Iron Bowl game with Alabama, anything can happen. Hughes says that despite Auburn’s recent downward trend, the annual game has produced several noteworthy moments over the years.
The Iron Bowl has had more memorable moments throughout its history than arguably any rivalry. Every college football fan, from casual to hardcore, remembers the “Kick Six” in 2013 when Auburn’s Chris Davis caught a short Alabama field goal attempt on the game’s last play and housed it from 109 yards to snap a two-game Alabama winning streak. It’s also hard to forget when an Alabama fan poisoned and killed Auburn’s oak trees at Toomer’s Corner three years earlier. Like its rivalry with Georgia, Auburn hasn’t been as competitive in recent years. Still, it has done little to diminish the Iron Bowl’s standing as one of college football’s greatest rivalries.
The Iron Bowl lost out to Ohio State–Michigan for the top spot. Other rivalry matchups to make the list are Oklahoma-Texas, Florida State-Miami, and Wisconsin-Minnesota.
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