What is the SEC’s oldest rivalry in football?

The SEC has many great college football rivalries, but only one can be deemed the oldest.

Of all the storied college football rivalries that make the SEC so great, it starts with the first one.

Dubbed the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, the Auburn Tigers have played the Georgia Bulldogs almost annually since 1892. Auburn won the first game over Georgia 10-0 taking place at Piedmont Park in Atlanta. While it has pretty much alternated from Auburn to Athens since 1959, this rivalry has played games in Atlanta, Columbus, Macon, Montgomery and Savannah as well.

With the exception of five times between 1893 and 1943, this game has been played annually.

SEC football: What is the oldest college football rivalry in the conference?

To date, Georgia holds the all-time record over Auburn at 61-56-8. Georgia has won the last four meetings dating back to the 2017 SEC Championship game in Atlanta. The Dawgs have the longest winning streak over Auburn at nine games from 1923-31. Auburn has the most lopsided victory in the rivalry series with a 44-0 shutout over the Bulldogs way back in 1990 in Atlanta.

While Georgia views Florida as its biggest rival and Auburn sees Alabama as its arch nemesis, this is the best secondary rivalry in the sport. Because of this, it necessitated annual cross-divisional opponents once the SEC expanded from 10 to 12 teams in 1992 with Arkansas and South Carolina joining the league and then to 14 teams in 2012 once Missouri and Texas A&M entered the fold.

The importance of this rivalry staying active best exemplifies why it just means more in the SEC.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.