Wow a topic about rivalries devolves into north vs. south nonsense, who would've thought? Regardless, the best is either Ohio State-Michigan, Bama-Auburn, or OU-UT (honorable mention Army vs. Navy).

The heatedness of the Egg Bowl, Clemson-SC, and Bama-Auburn is because they are in-state rivalries. I'd argue that there is just as much heatedness between Ohio State and Michigan. The fact that the two states fought a literal war against each other adds an interesting dimension to it too.

Competition-wise, Ohio State-Michigan have both been ranked in the top-5 13 times. And I think they've given the other their first loss of the season like 8 times (i.e. kept the other out of a potential natty appearance 8 times). It's good stuff between two blue bloods.

Also, the "criticisms" here that Ohio State and/or Michigan is overrated in any given year is weird. A great rivalry is where one wants to see the other suffer as much as possible, and the source/circumstances of that suffering can change in any given season. When Michigan has a great team, I want them to be undefeated going into the game since a loss would make them suffer even more. When Michigan doesn't have a great team, I want them to lose literally every single game while we win a national title; that's maximum suffering. And if the outside world thinks Ohio State is overrated, then that's fine since it'd be hilarious if our biggest rival lost to an overrated team.