Three More Underrated College Football Rivalries You Told Me I Missed

ou all know the rules by now: I release a list of rankings for something incredibly important, and you, my dear readers, send me emails reminding me how much of an idiot I am for missing some rather obvious subjects.

It's a really healthy relationship, I swear!

Anyway, I put out a list of some of my favorite underrated college football rivalries, and I found my inbox once again flooded with suggestions from readers of games that I left off the list entirely.

I consider myself a man of the people, so I am here to rectify the situation.

Without any more preamble, here are three more rivalry games that you all thought I missed.

Arkansas vs. Texas

A holdover from the days of the Southwest Conference, the Longhorns and Razorbacks have plenty of history to back up their inclusion on the list.

They took part in one of the earliest "Game of the Century" matchups, as the No. 1 Longhorns took down the second-ranked Razorbacks en route to a national championship in 1969.

The rivalry had to be put on the back burner after Texas’ move to the Big 8 and Arkansas’ move to the SEC, but the two met a few more times before finally linking back up in the SEC a few years ago.

These two teams HATE each other, which is a winning recipe for any rivalry, and while it might not be as popular nationally as other, more prominent rivalries, this one still has plenty of juice — and my readers were right to remind me of this one.

The Commonwealth Cup (Virginia vs. Virginia Tech)

I was very close to including this on my list originally, so I’m glad it got some love from someone other than myself.

This has been a pretty one-sided rivalry over the past several years, but part of that is what makes it such a good, under-the-radar rivalry.

The vitriol coming from Virginia toward Va Tech for their "little brother" treatment of the Cavaliers can make anyone see red with anger.

And so, when Virginia does end up winning (like they did in 2019), it makes for an explosion of emotions that are rarely seen in any other sport.

Speaking of 2019, the stakes alone in that game made for some entertaining theater, with the upset-minded Cavaliers (historically speaking, anyway) knocking the hated Hokies down a peg and taking their spot in the Orange Bowl in the process.

Rivalries are at their best when one team can spoil another’s goals for the season.

Speaking of which …

The Palmetto Bowl (Clemson vs. South Carolina)

In-state, non-conference rivalries have some extra bite to them, and while most will think of Georgia vs. Georgia Tech or even Florida vs. Florida State, the Palmetto Bowl has all the hatred and high stakes any football fan could ask for.

South Carolina and Clemson can’t stand each other as it is, but the rivalry got even more fiery when trash-talk aficionado Steve Spurrier started coaching the Gamecocks in the mid-2000s.

As he usually does, the Head Ball Coach made it his life’s goal to troll Clemson, both on the field and in the press room, every chance he got.

The games have had some intriguing stakes attached to them, too.

It wasn’t too long ago (2022, to be exact) that the Clemson Tigers had their playoff hopes ruined by an unranked South Carolina squad on the last weekend of the season.

Thanks to guys like Spurrier and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, this rivalry has been thrust to the forefront of the national landscape — but myself and others still think it doesn’t get the love it deserves.

No matter their records, this is must-see television.