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College football rivalries: Ranking the top 10 for 2019

By Phil Poling

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Travis Etienne #9 of the Clemson Tigers rushes for a touchdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the College Football Playoff National Championship held at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 44-16. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Travis Etienne #9 of the Clemson Tigers rushes for a touchdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the College Football Playoff National Championship held at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 44-16. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 26: (R-L) Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 26: (R-L) Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Michigan vs. Ohio State

Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler. Eddie George and Charles Woodson. Maurice Clarett and Braylon Edwards. Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer. Each of those people, players and coaches alike, represent the greatest rivalry in college football – Michigan versus Ohio State.

Since 1897 have these two clashed on the football field, Michigan owning the all-time series 58-50-6. The Buckeyes, however, are currently on a seven-game winning streak including last season’s 62-39 thumping in Columbus. Harbaugh’s yet to beat the Buckeyes, and the Wolverines haven’t done so as a program since 2011 when Harbaugh was still in the NFL.

With Meyer out as head coach and Ryan Day taking over for Ohio State, what comes next? This rivalry has been an excellent measure of how successful Buckeye coaches will be during their tenure. Woody Hayes, Earle Bruce, Jim Tressel and Meyer all won their first games against Michigan and had, for the most part, successful tenures in Columbus. Luke Fickell and John Cooper, on the other hand, each lost their first game against, that team up North,” and aren’t thought as highly as those previously mentioned. Fickell was replaced by Meyer, so he’s forgotten rather quickly. The same goes for Cooper as Tressel came in blazing hot, winning 14 games in year two.

This rivalry takes the cake when it comes to the best in college football, but I’d stack it up against Duke-North Carolina in college basketball, the Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA and the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees in baseball. When your rivalry game is simply dubbed and recognized by outsiders as, “The Game,” it’s importance is obvious. What rivalries do you think stand out the most in college football?

Next. College football: Top 100 players of 2019. dark