Poll Arch rival CFP seeding?
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Tennessee's rivalry situation is interesting...
Our traditional in-state rival is Vanderbilt but they are terrible in football so it really isn't much of a rivalry although it has been interesting the last 10-15 years since Tennessee has been terrible as well.
Kentucky is another local rivalry but wasn't very interesting until Tennessee's program collapsed.
Alabama was a historical rivalry starting in the 1930s because they used to be the game to decided the SEC and was once on par with a Michigan vs. Ohio State type game. However, it hasn't held that prestige in over 30 years. Even when Tennessee was good, Alabama wasn't. It is rare for both teams to be good anymore and Saban has kind of killed this rivalry. Both programs still hate each other but it is debatable whether either sees the other as a top rival.
Tennessee vs. Florida was a new rivalry game started in 1990s and one that has been a black-eye for Tennessee overall because the Vols haven't done much in the rivalry since it started. Probably the biggest win by Tennessee was in 2002 in the Swamp.
Tennessee vs. Georgia is another rivalry game and may take on more emphasis if Heupel continues to turn around the program.
So basically, as a Vols fan, I have a hard time identifying who are top rival is in the scheme of things. We even had Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Ole Miss as rivals at one-time. I think right now, most Tennessee fans might say Alabama or Florida but Alabama wasn't talked about a lot when I went to school there because they were struggling at that time (early 2000s).
We also have semi-rivalries with Memphis and even UConn in Women's Basketball.
Our traditional in-state rival is Vanderbilt but they are terrible in football so it really isn't much of a rivalry although it has been interesting the last 10-15 years since Tennessee has been terrible as well.
Kentucky is another local rivalry but wasn't very interesting until Tennessee's program collapsed.
Alabama was a historical rivalry starting in the 1930s because they used to be the game to decided the SEC and was once on par with a Michigan vs. Ohio State type game. However, it hasn't held that prestige in over 30 years. Even when Tennessee was good, Alabama wasn't. It is rare for both teams to be good anymore and Saban has kind of killed this rivalry. Both programs still hate each other but it is debatable whether either sees the other as a top rival.
Tennessee vs. Florida was a new rivalry game started in 1990s and one that has been a black-eye for Tennessee overall because the Vols haven't done much in the rivalry since it started. Probably the biggest win by Tennessee was in 2002 in the Swamp.
Tennessee vs. Georgia is another rivalry game and may take on more emphasis if Heupel continues to turn around the program.
So basically, as a Vols fan, I have a hard time identifying who are top rival is in the scheme of things. We even had Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Ole Miss as rivals at one-time. I think right now, most Tennessee fans might say Alabama or Florida but Alabama wasn't talked about a lot when I went to school there because they were struggling at that time (early 2000s).
We also have semi-rivalries with Memphis and even UConn in Women's Basketball.
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I don’t want them having a good enough season to make the playoffs
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Who is Georgia's biggest rival out of curiosity? You are kind of in the same boat as Tennessee in that your in-state rival isn't very good. Georgia Tech really goofed up leaving the SEC.
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Most UGA fans hate Florida the most. Though, in recent times, a lot would say it’s Alabama.
I’d probably put Bama ahead of Auburn right now because I find myself pulling for Auburn to beat Bama and don’t really see Auburn as a threat
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So Tennessee has had rivalries with Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss?!?! That'd basically be like having an entire schedule of rivalry games.
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I was going to say -- Don't they call the Georgia/Florida game, the world's largest cocktail party or something along those lines? Obviously -- Alabama is a team Georgia wants to beat and will root against (as most everyone will as they would rather not face Bama), but when you will go years and years without playing them -- it is tough to call them a rival, when you only play them once in a while. Since the turn over century -- 12 of the 22 years -- Georgia and Bama didn't face other.
It is a shame -- I wish Georgia and Bama played each other yearly -- that is a highly entertaining game to watch with the level of talent on the both sides of the field.
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Florida is the biggest rival, but since UGA became legit title contenders, a lot of the fan base would call Bama the biggest rival. Since 2017, UGA and Bama have played more times than OSU and Michigan. They also reference recruiting since Bama and UGA are after the same recruits
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Makes sense although the hatred of Alabama seems to be more related to Saban.
I didn't think of Auburn but that is a big rival for Georgia. I think you are right about Florida though.
When I was in Knoxville, Florida was the #1 hated team but historically it was always Alabama. Alabama has come back as the most hated now but we never beat them so it is hard to call it a rivalry. (Interestingly we were 2-2 against both Alabama and Florida when I went to UT).
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UGA and Tennessee weren’t rivals until 1992. Hell they went from the mid 30’s through the mid 60’s without playing each other.
UGA’s historic rivals are Florida, Auburn, Tech and Clemson. Don’t play Clemson annually anymore, so I guess you’d replace them with SCar, which I’d agree with. They spoiled a lot of seasons for UGA under Spurrier
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I think we played a lot in the 1980s as well right before division split. I remember some Reggie White vs. Herschel Walker games in the early 1980s. Georgia is one of the closest campuses to Tennessee so it is a surprise that we haven't been a bigger rivalry.
I made a campus visit to Georgia in 2001 when I was looking at schools and they really hated Tennessee back then. They talked about it often. Granted, they knew I was from Tennessee so that may have been part of it.
I find it funny how people in the SEC now complain about scheduling and not playing opponents a lot when back prior to 1980s, some SEC schools played only 4 conference games a season and went decades without seeing other conference opponents.
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The hatred for Tennessee at that time was because we went the entire 90’s without beating them. Breaking the streak in 2000 and the Hobnail Boot in 2001 were big deals at the time
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Yeah but in reality, we should have been playing Georgia all along due to location. It is kind of like Virginia Tech. I would love to see more Tennessee-Virginia Tech games and wouldn't even mind seeing them in the SEC because that campus is very close to us and we share a lot in common.
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UGA's main rivalries are (my ranking):
- AU
- UF
- Clemson
- UTjr
- GaTech
A lot of it depends on how old you are and when you went to UGA.
Auburn - Auburn has become mine and many others most hated rival due to (1) the year they turned the water cannons on us in '86, and then when Nick Fairley broke Aaron Murray's back with 2 cheap hits. I never wished injury on any player, until Nick Fairley. I am so glad he got injured and is out of the NFL. I only wish he hadn't made as much, and I hope he blows all he did.
UF - For most, UF is our most hated rivalry. We've always played them unlike UTjr, Bama, and Clemson. The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is a fantastic neutral field game where the fans have a blast. You have beaches, decent weather in Jax. It's closer to Gainesville than Athens, but the south Georgia fans love it. Lot's of history there ... we beat Spurrier in his Heisman year to keep them from being no. 1 (that's why he hates UGA so much), the Lindsay Scott catch and run was in 1980, both teams have had great upsets there.
Clemson - For anyone that went to UGA in the 80s, Clemson is a hated rivalry. The campuses are 60 minutes apart. We both won nattys in 1980 and 1981. We used to play each other every year for a while in the 70s and 80s. We have them 5 times in the next decade, and obviously played them last year. I was in law school from 83-86 so I hate Clemson. The Butler 60 yard field goal for the win is one of my top 5 sporting events ever.
UTjr - Anyone at UGA in the 90s despises UTjr. They were good, really good. A lot of people don't recall how dominant they were, but they were unreal good in the 90s. 10-0 against UGA, 10-2 against Bama, 6-9 against Florida (that was in UF's Spurrier days ... to win 6 was incredible). And their fans were unreal obnoxious. Knoxville was a tough place to go for away games.
GaTech - For the older generation, it's GaTech. The rivalry doesn't even register with me, but you talk to the old folks they hate Tech. When Tech is good and actually a threat it's a good in-state rivalry. They've not been good for a while.
Bama - it's not nearly as big as the others. To me there is a lot of mutual respect between the programs. We don't play each other as often as the others, except in big games. If you rate the rival on hate, it just isn't there. If you rate it on big meaningful games, obviously it is an intense rivalry.
Lindsay Scott catch and run, epic call by Larry Munson.
The Game Between the Hoses and Nick Fucking Fairley:
If both teams are from the same conference, they need to play each other in game 1.
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That gives a pass to lesser teams from lesser conferences. Get the best teams in there
fordman84
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Disagree. Need to work out the bugs to make sure both teams are at full potential heading into a match.
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What better bragging rights would there be then not only denying your enemy a NC but getting to notch another one for yourself. Besides beating them in the semis might suck all the emotional juice out for the big game.