Does the Red River Rivalry dethrone the Iron Bowl as the best SEC rivalry game?

The upcoming college football season features a plethora of changes, one of the biggest being mass conference realignment. Though the Big Ten and ACC added a handful of new programs to the lineup, the SEC will only welcome in the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners.

While having those two programs in the conference boosts the competition, it also results in the coveted Red River Rivalry matchup being an SEC matchup.

That fact led to Will Backus of CBS Sports re-ranking every SEC rivalry matchup. The Iron Bowl may have been the long-standing top pick, but it has officially been dethroned, according to Backus.

Every matchup between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers is full of excitement. Look no further than the most recent matchup between the two Yellowhammer State teams, which came down to a fourth-and-31 touchdown pass from Jalen Milroe.

On the Iron Bowl, Backus acknowledges the memories created from this rivalry, and credits the in-state animosity between the fans for its strength as one of the top rivalries in all of college football.

“Though it may not be as ancient as other entries on this list, few rivalries have produced as many memorable moments as the Iron Bowl. From Chris Davis’ kick-six to Isaiah Bond’s miraculous fourth-down catch in Alabama’s most recent win against Auburn, the Iron Bowl has given fans a feast of highlights that will be shown for decades to come. These two in-state foes cannot stand one another, and an Iron Bowl win means a whole lot more than anything else in the regular season.”

In Backus’s rankings, though, the Iron Bowl is second to the Red River Rivalry.

“The pageantry. The tradition. The stakes. The pure dislike for one another. The Red River Rivalry, née Shootout, checks pretty much every box you want in a college football blood feud. It also helps that…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/does-red-river-rivalry-dethrone-221619470.html

Author : Roll Tide Wire

Publish date : 2024-06-30 22:16:19

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.