Top three Pac-12 rivalry games (excluding the Apple Cup)
(EXCLUDING THE APPLE CUP)
1. UCLA VS. USC
Nickname: There isn’t one, but the teams play for the Victory Bell.
Series: USC leads, 44-31-7.
Comment: Two programs that know football success well and seem to play each other tough more often than not. But with that said, how is it possible that nobody has christened this series with a legitimate nickname? Can you really call it a rivalry without one? (Yes, probably.)
2. STANFORD
VS. CALIFORNIA
Nickname: The Big Game.
Series: Stanford leads, 61-46-11.
Comment: There is an underrated amount of animosity between the teams’ respective fanbases, even if it doesn’t reach Auburn-Alabama levels. And let’s be honest: These teams could combine for another 25 years of boring football games, and “The Play” would still give the rivalry an air of tradition. Keep that band out on the field forever.
3. OREGON
VS. OREGON STATE
Nickname: The Civil War
Series: Oregon leads, 62-46-10
Comment: The series has grown more lopsided in recent years, with the Ducks winning the past seven meetings (and they are almost certain to win again this season). But it has been pretty competitive, otherwise, and it will always have a special place in our hearts for the beautifully awful result produced in 1983, when the teams played to a scoreless tie on a rainy, miserable day in Eugene — “The Toilet Bowl,” as the locals still call that one.
Christian Caple:
ccaple@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Top three Pac-12 rivalry games (excluding the Apple Cup)."