College Football: 5 best small-school rivalries of all time

College football small-school rivalry No. 2: Grambling State vs Southern – Bayou Classic

There is a great tradition in historically black college or university (HBCU) football but one of the rivalries that truly stands out is Grambling State and Southern, known simply as “The Bayou Classic”, and is it ever a classic matchup – for both the football teams and the marching bands.

Eddie Robinson, one of the greatest coaches in college football history was a prominent part of this rivalry as he led the Tigers to 17 SWAC conference championships and nine HBCU national championships.

He was the head coach at Grambling State for over 50 years and won over 400 games. He was also coaching the Tigers against Southern before the game was even called the Bayou Classic. That started in 1974 when the game moved to New Orleans and the Super Dome. That’s also when it adopted the name.

The game has been played after Thanksgiving in the Big Easy every year outside 2005 when it was played in Houston due to Hurricane Katrina.

It gained national relevance as the only FCS game to be broadcast each year on national television as it was on NBC and then later on the NBC Sports Network. Another great part of it is the pageantry, which notably includes the bands.

Former Grambling State quarterback Doug Williams is also famous for being the first black starting quarterback in the Super Bowl and also winning Super Bowl MVP for the Redskins win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XXII.

Williams was a first-round draft pick of the Bucs and finished fourth in the Heisman voting after the 1977 season. He was undefeated against Southern and led the Tigers to three SWAC championships.