Rivalries are a big part of what makes college football so special. Few sports have as many meaningful feuds, many of which span well over a century. Some rivalry games are as entertaining and intriguing as the national championship, if only for the tradition and surrounding fanfare.
The SEC isn’t short on featured conflicts. Some date back to the formation of the conference. Others have sprung up in recent years to accommodate for expansion.
The latest round of conference shuffling brings Oklahoma and Texas into the fold, giving the SEC claim to one of college football’s most prolific rivalries and allowing others to be renewed. The latter is one of the more positive aspects of the whole realignment fiasco.
Though the SEC has yet to set in stone which rivalries will be protected as it debates which scheduling model is appropriate for a 16-team super-conference, the 2024 and 2025 slates provide some insight into which conflicts will be preserved or brought back. Some would be impossible to do away with for good.
With that in mind, here’s how the SEC’s current (and likely future) rivalries stack up against one another.
1. Oklahoma vs. Texas (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 the games are competitive. Neither team has won more than four consecutive installments since 2004, and eight of the last 10 Red River games have been decided by a single score. Texas leads the all-time series 63-51-5
2. Alabama vs. Auburn (Iron Bowl)
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. Alabama leads 50-37-1
3. Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss (Egg Bowl)
Maybe the Egg Bowl doesn’t boast the same national stakes as other SEC rivalries, but that doesn’t really matter here. This game will always feel like the biggest thing on either team’s schedule, regardless of…
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