Big Ten football has a history of good, heated rivalries. Which ones make the top 10 for the conference’t best rivalry matchups?
It is the dog days of summer with the start of college football season still about two months away. Thankfully, rivalries never die out in the off-season.
What makes college sports, and college football in particular, unique among sports are its rivalries. Sure there are rivalries in professional sports, but it is not quite the same as beating your hated rival school.
The Big Ten revels in its long and storied history and the rivalries in the conference are no different with interesting histories. Many of the top rivalries in the Big Ten go back generations, some as far back as the late-1800s. However some have recently become heated battles organically due to high stakes involving conference championships.
The conference also loves its rivalry trophy. Some are pretty cool with neat backstories. With other rivalries, bragging rights for the following year is the reward and it is just as satisfying. Teams get a little more hyped up for their rivalry games and the fans take to social media to jostle with opposing fans in the lead up to the games.
Many Big Ten teams have rivalries outside of the conference too, but you will not find those on this list. Let’s get to the top 10 Big Ten rivalries.