What's the best rivalry in college football?
It depends on who you ask. Many around the midwest would agree it's the annual showdown between the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes at the end of November. Those in the south may say the Iron Bowl between Auburn and Alabama. Out west, UCLA vs. USC may get a few votes. If you were in either the Army or the Navy, we likely know your answer.
Lindy's came out with their preseason college football preview magazine, and decided to rank the top rivalries in college football for the 2020 season. Two of U-M's rivalries made the list: 'The Game' against Ohio State checked in at No. 3 and the Wolverines' tilt with Michigan State came in at No. 15.
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The only two games ahead of Michigan-Ohio State are Army-Navy at No. 1 and Alabama-Auburn at "1B."
If U-M had held its own better in the rivalry over the last two decades, perhaps it would rank higher. But alas, the Buckeyes have won 15 of 16 meetings. Even still, it's one of the most anticipated spectacles in all of sports each calendar year.
"The consistent, decades-long excellence of these programs has made their meeting one of the marquee matches every season, even when it is lopsided," the publication wrote. "And boy, is it lopsided. The Buckeyes have won the past eight and 15 of 16.
"Yet, Michigan is allowing Jim Harbaugh to keep trying. After all, his 0-5 is not all that much worse than Fielding Yost's 16-3-1, or Fritz Crisler's 7-2-1, or Bo Schembechler's 11-9-1 against the caravans of invaders from the south. Wait ... yes it is. It's even worse than Brady Hoke's 1-3 or Rich Rod's 0-3. Or Lloyd Carr's 0-for-last-4. Harbaugh's mark is even worse than [insert name of any former Michigan coach here]. Those 11 preseason games are of little of important to the Maize and Blue in 2020."
The Wolverines lead the all-time series with the Buckeyes, 58-51-6.
The in-state rivalry between the Wolverines and the Spartans has gone U-M's way of late, with the Maize and Blue winning three of four, turning the tide back in their favor after a decade of MSU having the edge.
"Somebody needs to tell Coach Khaki (3-2 against Sparty) that this is not the biggest rivalry on the schedule," the explanation read. "Michigan has won this 61 percent of the time, and that figure should be even higher, except that there was "trouble with the snap" as time ran out in 2015."
U-M leads the all-time series 71-36-5.
The Wolverines' battle with Minnesota for the Little Brown Jug did not appear on the list.
Lindy's List Of Top Rivalries For 2020
1. Army-Navy
1B. Auburn-Alabama
3. Michigan-Ohio State
4. Oklahoma-Texas
5. Notre Dame-USC
6. Harvard-Yale
7. Florida-Georgia
8. Florida State-Miami
9. California-Stanford
10. UCLA-USC
11. Mississippi-Mississippi State
12. Iowa-Minnesota
13. Auburn-Georgia
14. Florida-Florida State
15. Michigan-Michigan State
16. Southern-Grambling State
17. BYU-Utah
18. Indiana-Purdue
19. North Dakota State-South Dakota State
20. Lafayette-Lehigh
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