re: Bigger Rivalry? Michigan and Ohio State or Auburn and Alabama?

LINK

Slideshow from sporting news comparing the two. Basically calls it a dead heat (Show from 2013 so doesn't have Auburn playing for the title in 2013 nor OSU winning it in 2014)

I know it's a slideshow but it's actually a good slideshow giving good info

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Well, now we know you're lying. Whether you loved or hated tB1G(or even as a casual fan), you certainly would have heard about The Game in 2006.

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Really had no clue about the rivalry in 2006. I literally had to go to Google to figure out why I had no idea about this game. It's because I was on Paris Island going through boot camp and around November I was probably more worried about qualifying expert on the rifle range or getting ready for the Crucible than a football game.

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but at least you knew it was a thing. No one is going to argue the regional draw of the rivalry, but it's not on the same national level as OSU/UM

And I'm calling bullshite, no way you didn't know about the game in 2006

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See the above. And by "didn't know shite" I mean I didn't even know it was a rivalry. I wasn't a huge college football fan at the time. I followed the SEC would watch bowl games and the NC game and that was about it. Didn't follow stats of anyone didn't memorize players names. And I didn't have cable or satellite so it was more hey football game on TV and I'd watch it. With the ol rabbit ears antenna that was almost entirely SEC or Sun Belt games.

Haven't lived in Ohio or Michigan. I do live in Alabama. I can't imagine any rivalry being bigger than the Iron Bowl. It is between two schools within the same state (obvious point). My wife from Louisiana, when we were dating, went home with me the weekend of the Iron Bowl several years back. She commented on how every person she saw the day of the game while at different stores all had on either AU or UA gear and how she saw people jawing at each other. Prior to coming the Alabama and being an LSU graduate, she never comprehended the pure passion that game/two teams bring about in the state year round.

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Is that 3:30 ET (the 2:30 slot you are referring to)

I figured it just wasn't the first game on in the morning. Not saying it's a huge deal, but I think if OSU/Mich played the same time as Auburn/Bama everyone losses since most football fans want to see both

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The 2:30\1:30 slot. its always been an earlier day game, because of the time of year. We recently switched to mostly playing the 3:30/2:30 slot after leaving the Friday time slot

So am I to understand that national implication is what makes a rivalry? The bloods and crips have never decided who played for a national championship but they are pretty big rivals.

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Ehhh I just think it's cyclical as stated multiple times in the thread. Right now. Auburn and Bama are top 10 type teams year in and year out and Michigan just isn't. I would like to find a year where all 4 teams were really good to use that as a base, while still acknowledging that OSU/Michigan is a noon game (by tradition not because ESPN doesn't want to make it later) while Auburn/Bama is usually 3:30

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I wouldn't object to anyone saying Michigan/OSU is a broader rivalry. But I think the trend is, over the last couple of decades, toward AU/UA. Now very recently, with coaching changes, maybe there is some momentum the other direction.

UM/OSU is a legacy game. Most people I know tune in casually, out of habit and tradition, but not because it's likely to be must see football. The magnitude of the rivalry was upheld during down years in part because of a Big 10 bias from ESPN and sports media that largely grew up outside of the Southeast in an era where Big 10 football was arguably king.

I would agree that it is probably cyclical and we'll probably see some compelling UM/OSU games with a lot on the line. It just hasn't been that way recently. And with sports media increasingly obsessed with/biased toward the SEC, a declining media base for the BIG 10 (meaning the bias is sort of shaking off at this point), and regional changes on national influence, I think Auburn and Alabama will have a lot of arguments for #1 in the future.

As it stands, I think AU/UA is the most intense, most important and most intriguing game in the most important college football region in the country. To me, that would make it the biggest rivalry. I would be open to other definitions, and I'm also willing to acknowledge that the drama factor and importance factor for OSU/Mich could certainly rise.

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OSU and MI have national championships stretch back each of the last three decades.

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'97 and '02 are not each of the last three decades

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'97 and '02 are not each of the last three decades

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Eh, 97, 2002 and 2014

I didn't like the way he said it. I mean Bama had titles in the 90s and 2000s and 2010s and Auburn has one in 2010.

And that is my point....each has produced national titles the last three decades.

Alabama had a down period. Michigan is working to come out of a don period. Auburn had some terrible years. Ohio state had a 7 win season (I think).