This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed.
AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 29m ago
Top five most hateful rivalries in college football
Ohio State Buckeyes mascot Brutus celebrates following the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Nov. 29, 2025. Ohio State won 27-9.
The college football season is finally upon us in all its glory and pageantry. While some aspects of the sport become more unrecognizable every year, the rivalries that make it so special haven’t changed at all.
With Week 0 upon us, we took it upon ourselves to delve into which of the rivalries that make the game mean that much more harbor the most hate (and begrudging respect).
5. Catholics vs Convicts
This one between the Miami (FL) Hurricanes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish is a real sleeper of a pick. We’ve come a long way from the “Catholics vs Convicts” days in the 90s, but there’s still no love lost between these programs. It’s all warranted, too; between 1987-90, the Hurricanes and Fighting Irish faced off as top-10 teams every season, and in 1987, 1988, and 1989, the winner of the game went on to win the national championship.
“This rivalry is good vs. evil. It is the Hall of Justice vs. the Legion of Doom. It is the Jedi Knights vs. the Sith Lords, because we were the everyday men, and they were the ones with the silver spoon,” former Miami WR Randal Hill said of the rivalry. That alone should tell you all you need to know.
4. Red River Rivalry
This is one of the most storied rivalries in all of sports. This series between the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners, played every year in Dallas, Texas, dates back to 1900, with the Longhorns leading 64-51-5. The “Red River” nickname references the actual Red River, which serves as the border between the states of Texas and Oklahoma.
“It can make your Saturday, or ruin your whole damn year,” A-list Hollywood actor and Texas superfan Glen Powell said of the stakes involved in this game every year.
3. Iron Bowl
We may get some flak for having this as low as three, but the reality is there just isn’t the same kind of hate involved in the annual clash of the Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide. It doesn’t help that legendary Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has seemed to downplay the importance of this game at every single opportunity. Still, it’d be criminal to leave this rivalry, which goes all the way back to 1984, off this list, because there’s more than enough bad blood between these programs to go around.
“Nothing matters more than beating that cow college on the other side of the state,” late-great Crimson Tide coach Bear Bryant said of beating Auburn.
2. Backyard Brawl
It was very hard to leave this one off the number one spot on the list. When it comes to pure, unadulterated hate, it’s hard to beat the atmosphere that surrounds a football game between the Pittsburgh Panthers and West Virginia Mountaineers. These teams faced off for the first time in 1985 in Morgantown, West Virginia. Following the dissolution of the Big East, it’s not an annual clash anymore, but it’s just as contentious as one.
“I think it’s one of the greatest rivalries in sports,” West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez said of the game. “Obviously, the location between the two are close. There’s a lot of intensity with it, and there never seems to be any love lost between the fanbases. It’s always, to me, the biggest game on your schedule when you’re at West Virginia.”
1. The Game
What else could’ve come in at the one spot? The title of the rivalry between the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes says it all. In fact, there’s so much animosity surrounding this one that Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was on the hot seat even after winning a national championship because he’d failed to beat the “Team Up North” for four straight seasons.
“We do not pull in and fill up,” legendary Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes said of the drive to face Michigan. “And I’ll tell you why we don’t. It’s because I don’t buy one goddamn drop of gas in the state of Michigan. We’ll coast and push this goddamn car to the Ohio line before I give this state a nickel of my money.”
The post Top five most hateful rivalries in college football appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions .
TopWhileWith WeekOhio State BuckeyesBrutusNCAAMichigan WolverinesMichigan StadiumAnn ArborMichNovOhio State
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.
