The most interesting college football rivalries that have their own Wikipedia pages

Matt Brown of The Athletic posted a link out earlier today that is a Wikipedia pages of college football rivalries that were worthy enough of having their own Wikipedia pages.

Scanning through the page, most of the games were dormant, but still had a lot of history behind them. Here are some of the best rivalries that Wikipedia thinks are worthy of their own Wikipedia pages.

Alabama-Penn State

In 1975 and 1979, Alabama and Penn State met in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama won both of those games by a touchdown a piece, including this famous goal line stand by the Crimson Tide.

After meeting in the two Sugar Bowls, the two sides decided to play each other every single year for 10 years starting in 1981. Over those 10 games, the series record was 6-4 in favor of the Crimson Tide. That includes a 8-3 win for Alabama in 1988 which did not have a single touchdown scored. You can find a recap of that game here.

The series was renewed in 2010 and 2011 with a home and home series between the two. Alabama won both, to bring the all time series record to Alabama 10-5 Penn State.

Blue Key Victory Bell

From 1931 to 1991, Indiana State and Ball State played each other every single year, except in 1943, 1944, and 1945 for what seems to be a break for World Word II. Old Indiana Intercollegiate Conference rivals, the two schools have been playing for the Victory Bell since 1940.

Until 1961, Ball State was considered a regional campus of Indiana State, settling in Muncie, Indiana. They played each other home and home until 1984, when they moved to a neutral site at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. After six games in the Hoosier Dome, the two schools moved back to one final home and home series in 1990 and 1991.

After the game in 1991, the two schools have only played each other three times. Indiana State had moved down to FCS and the two teams were no longer in the same conference. The last time the two teams met was in 2014, where Indiana State got their first win against the Cardinals since 1987.

With an all-time 38-24-1 series advantage for Ball State, they have the chance to get back to their winning ways when the two schools play in 2023.

Crab Bowl Classic

Only separated by 30 miles, the University of Maryland and the Naval Academy played consistently for the first two decades of the 20th century. While the two teams have gone multiple long stretches of not playing each other, the off the field bitterness has continued over the years.

From 1935-1950, the game was not played and was not originally scheduled to be played in the 1950 season. Navy only agreed to play the Terrapins due to Georgetown canceling on them. Maryland got its second victory ever in the series, winning 35-21.

The teams met four more times in the 1950s and twice in the 1960s. After a 19-7 Navy win in 1965, they did not play for another 40 years. In 2005, they met at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore where Maryland squeezed out a 23-20 win.

The game was played again in 2010, but not before some controversy. In 2006 and 2008, the Midshipmen and Terrapins had the chance to meet each other in bowl games. Navy accepted the invitation both times, while Maryland refused to play in the bowl games. In 2006, the Terrapins claimed playing in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando against Purdue would be better exposure for the program. In 2008, they were invited to the EagleBank Bowl, but claimed that it was impossible for the Terrapins to play due to the time of the game occurring during exam week.

The two teams met for the final time in 2010 where Maryland won 17-14. Currently, the two teams have no future plans of playing each other.

Colonial Clash

This is a rivalry that goes all the way back to the 1800s. Meeting for the first time in 1897, Massachusetts Agricultural College beat New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts 10-4. Now known as UMass and the University of New Hampshire, these two teams have met 74 times.

After a 30 year hiatus, the game was played annually from 1952 until 2011. UMass dominated the series from 1956 until the 1990s where they only lost seven times. From that point on, New Hampshire won 13 out of the 22 matchups.

One of the most important matchups they had was in the 2006 FCS playoffs. Winning the regular season matchup 28-20, UMass hosted New Hampshire in the quarterfinals. The Minutemen won 24-17.

The final game of the rivalry was played in 2011 when UMass went up to FBS. They originally joined the MAC, but have since then gone independent. There are no future scheduled matchups between the two schools.

Idaho-Idaho State

There are multiple factors that go into this rivalry. Even though Boise State-Idaho is considered the bigger rivalry within the state, it is not currently active as Boise State is in the Mountain West and Idaho is in the Big Sky. To add onto that, even though both teams are in the Big Sky conference, they do not play each other every year.

Why? The Big Sky is a 13 member conference with no divisions. Idaho joined the conference this past season and played the Tigers this past year and next year in 2019. Starting in 2020, each Big Sky team will have two protected rivals. Idaho State got left behind by the Vandals, as Idaho was given other rivals Montana and Eastern Washington as their protected rivals. With a rotating schedule, there is no guarantee the two instate rivals will play every year.

As for games that have actually been played, the two teams have not played each other that many times. Idaho leads the all-time series 28-12, including a 11-2 record in games that stretch from 1988 to 2018. Starting it was dubbed the “Battle of Domes”, both teams host their games in domes.

While this might not be the most intense and fierce rivalry, it is the only active football rivalry in the state of Idaho. What is even crazier to think is that even though they are both in the Big Sky, the Tigers and Vandals do not get to play each other every year.