10. LEHIGH vs. LAFAYETTE
First Game: 1884
Series Standings: Lehigh leads 77-65-4
The most frequently played rivalry in college football hasn’t missed a season since 1896. These two schools are only 17 miles away from each other and therefore share the particular competitiveness that arises when their fans see each other in the same restaurants and movie theaters on a regular basis. Still, modernity and technology have sadly eliminated the old-time tradition of the schools’ fans rushing the field to tear down the goalposts, not after, but during the game, sometimes as early as the second quarter. (That was back when the goalposts were made of wood and shaped like an H.)
9. CLEMSON vs. SOUTH CAROLINA
First Game: 1891
Series Standings: Clemson leads 65-39-4
The source of the conflict is … well, frankly, the conflict is so tied up with politics and socio-cultural pecking orders within South Carolina that we can’t really understand it. It has to do with farmers being made to feel like second-class citizens back in the 19th century. We think. Anyway, this rivalry has long gone under-recognized by the nation’s college football pundits, but that could change soon as both teams are presently undefeated and this year’s game might have national title implications.
