Best Current SEC Rival/Must Win Games

[TexasTideFan]

I'm bored and curious what everybody considers the best SEC rival games are for each team. I know that there are the old stand-bys like the Iron Bowl, Egg Bowl, Battle for the Boot, etc., but what is the game that most teams/fans are circling as must win or must see right now?

I think in the West it would go like this:

Arkansas has LSU (no real rival team in the SEC for Hawgs like they had against the Horns in the old SWC, so LSU wins by default and because of that boot trophy)
Auburn has LSU (this game usually decides the West but Bama is a close #2)
Bama has Auburn (I guess losing to them 4 straight times makes them #1)
LSU has Auburn (same reason that Auburn has)
Miss State has Ole Miss (really no explanation because any win these days is huge for them but I guess beating your in-state rival is the biggest)
Ole Miss has LSU (all the Ole Miss fans I know get the most riled up for the LSU game)

Over in the East, I'll wing it on the games I like the most:

Florida has UT (usually a really intense game)
Georgia has Florida (pretty good game and atmosphere)
UT has Florida
South Carolina has UT (now that Spurrier is back, him and Fulmer can square off like the good old days)
Kentucy has UT (Does this team have a good rivalry with any team?)
Vandy has UT

 

[bamapeppy]

You almost have to leave out the East & West divisions when talking about SEC rivalries. It's criminal not to mention these two games.

Alabama vs Tennessee and the oldest rivalry in the SEC is Auburn vs Georgia.

 

[cbi1972]

South Carolina vs. Florida, though not historically a strong rivalry, should be good for years to come.

 

[CornBiscuit]

Auburn-LSU has gotten really big as of late.

The close games, high rankings and the Duval halftime incident have only added to the tension.

 

[bamapeppy]

Auburn-LSU has gotten really big as of late.

The close games, high rankings and the Duval halftime incident have only added to the tension.

Don't forget Auburn stomping on the Tiger's eye and smoking cigars in the stadium after beating LSU. LSU is building up some serious hate for those "WarTigerEagles".

 

[BamaSkins]

Bama's biggest rival has and will continue to be the barn...all who forget that are doomed to failure...I believe the only Bama coach to ever lose three straight games to them and keep his job is Mike Shula...

 

[Bamafan in BGKY]

Oh, thank you finebaum clone!

 

[Proxigean Tide]

Georgia-Auburn is always a big game, though not played every year. Georgia-Tennessee has become a big game for both teams as well.

The important rivalry games are the ones where the score of the latest game is only of slightly more signifigance than how the wins-losses shake out over a 5-10 year period. Success in true rivalry games isn't measured over 4 quarters, but rather in 10 year periods.

Bama has 3 chief rivals in Auburn, UT and LSU with the latter only becoming important when LSU started beating Bama and contending for SEC titles. I think for a coach to be really secure at Alabama, he has to maintain a 60% or better winning percentage against the three aforementioned rivals.

These are all very good programs and with scholly limits and parody in today's college football, I think being 6-4 against your top rivals is almost as good as it gets unless they get hit by Bama-like sanctions.

At 0-3 against Auburn & LSU and 1-2 against UT, Shula has to go on quite a tear to get to .600 against these 3 by end of 2012 season. However, anything is possible as the Auburns, Tennessees and LSUs all think their winning streaks will never end...until the pendulum swings the other way.

 

[cbi1972]

Georgia-Auburn is always a big game, though not played every year.

Georgia and Auburn play every year. They missed a game in 1943, but it's been played every year since at least 1919. The series began in 1892. In recent history, all games have been scheduled for mid-November.

 

[Denny Chimes]

Bama's biggest rival has and will continue to be the barn...all who forget that are doomed to failure...I believe the only Bama coach to ever lose three straight games to them and keep his job is Mike Shula...

Not necessarily. I personally think the Bama/UT rivalry is a better one with historically greater national implications. Not a flame but a difference of opinion. RTR!

 

[TexasTideFan]

Not necessarily. I personally think the Bama/UT rivalry is a better one with historically greater national implications. Not a flame but a difference of opinion. RTR!

Maybe historically, but right now I bet most Bama fans want a Barn win more than any other.

 

[BAMMAR]

ALABAMA v tutorsee, Gawd, I hate UcheaT

 

[GrayTide]

I believe historically the Bama vs UT rivalry has had the most implications in terms of who won the SEC; however, of late the rivalry with AU has become as big simply because of their success against us since Coach Bryant's retirement in 1982 not to metion the last 4 years. A game only becomes a rivalry IMO when who wins the game is really in doubt. The Alabama-Auburn game from 1958-1982 pretty much was a foregone conclusion as was the Alabama-LSU game. Is UT vs Vandy really a rivalry or UGA vs GaTech? Only to the extent they are in the same state.

 

[Proxigean Tide]

LSU-Bama didn't become a rivalry until they started winning...now its probably just below UT and Auburn in terms of importance to Bama fans. RTR.

 

[TommyMac]

Actually, the Georgia/Florida series has never really been much of a rivalry. When Spurrier took over at UF, UGA led the series 43-22-2, but the Gators are 14-2 since his arrival. Even so, the Dawgs still have a 45-36-2 series lead. Lots of intense feelings between the two, but UGA has always had a comfortable lead between the two.

 

[BamaJeff]

To me, THE GAME is still the Iron Bowl. I love to see us beat UT but the BIG ONE..at least to me...is still Bama vs Auburn. I think some around here have gotten used to losing to the barn and so they try to down play the importance of that game. If we only win 1....let it be vs Auburn. But better yet, let's just win them all!

 

[voodoodave]

I love all the other teams big games UT/GA. FL/LSU etc. But the Bama/UT game
is bigger to me know than the Iron Bowl. I still want to kill them on the field but the hole Bama/UT thing got a hold of me.

 

[cbi1972]

To me, THE GAME is still the Iron Bowl. I love to see us beat UT but the BIG ONE..at least to me...is still Bama vs Auburn. I think some around here have gotten used to losing to the barn and so they try to down play the importance of that game. If we only win 1....let it be vs Auburn. But better yet, let's just win them all!

Keep in mind that Auburn fans hate it when we say UT is now a bigger rivalry.
They hate it even more when we mean it.

 

[TexasTideFan]

Keep in mind that Auburn fans hate it when we say UT is now a bigger rivalry.

Well the few Auburn people that I can actually speak to in a civil manner say that Bama isn't even in their Top 2 anymore, it's LSU and Georgia.

 

[cbi1972]

Well the few Auburn people that I can actually speak to in a civil manner say that Bama isn't even in their Top 2 anymore, it's LSU and Georgia.

They will change their mind on November 18th.