6. USC vs. NOTRE DAME
First game: 1926
Series Standings: Notre Dame leads 43-34-5
There’s no intrinsic reason why the Trojans and the Irish should be perennial football rivals. The schools are far away from each other, often play no other teams in common, don’t regularly compete in other sports, and have other heated rivalries much closer to home (UCLA for USC, Michigan for Notre Dame). But it’s always one of the most-watched games of the year. No other rivalry boasts as many combined national champions, Heisman Trophy winners, and future NFL stars. And except for three years during World War II, they’ve played each other every season for more than 80 years.
5. GEORGIA vs. GEORGIA TECH
First game: 1893
Series: Georgia leads 61-39-5
The Georgia Bulldogs have three main rivals: Auburn, Florida, and Georgia Tech. Of these three, though, only Georgia Tech regards Georgia as its biggest enemy. And besides, this intrastate matchup has the best nickname of any rivalry in sport: “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.” The animosity between these two schools’ football programs goes back at least as far as World War I, when Georgia canceled its schedule for two years — and spent their subsequent free time relentlessly mocking Tech for not doing the same. (The Yellow Jackets were so pissed off that they refused to play Georgia for a couple years after the war ended.) During World War II, the teams played two games, both won by Georgia Tech, that the Georgia record books to this day refuse to acknowledge took place.
