Last weekend was one of the best weekends of the year in college football.
It was "rivalry" weekend in many areas of the country that still are able to have traditional games. Sadly, conference growth and re-alignment has taken away many traditional games and we no longer have consistent meetings of Nebraska-Oklahoma, Pitt-West Virginia, Texas-Texas A&M and others.
Here are my favorite rivalries in college football.
1. Army-Navy: With apologies to all the other big conference games, this is the best rivalry in college football. If you love college football and have not been to this game, you should go. It may not feature rosters full of NFL talent, but this is a special game. It has all of the intensity, enthusiasm and pageantry of a big-time college game, but it also features the future leaders of our country. When you see the young men and women in the stands, it makes you feel good about our country. Quite frankly, you can't say that about many student sections in most stadiums. There is an underlying feeling of brotherhood and respect that is unlike any other game. I have only been one time and I had a lump in my throat and goose bumps on my arm during most of the pre-game and post-game ceremonies. The rest of the college football world can learn a great deal from the Army-Navy game.
2. Alabama-Auburn: The Iron Bowl. I love this game. For years it was played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, but now it is played on campus. The game was played last weekend in Tuscaloosa. Ohio State and Michigan fans will disagree, but in my opinion this is our country's best big-time rivalry. The deep-south flavor helps put it ahead of Ohio State-Michigan. The game features big-time football with elite talent, but it also has the flavor of a family reunion and state fair. The weather is usually perfect in Alabama in late November and the tailgating is great. The hitting is hard and the trash-talking is plentiful, but the respect is mutual. Most of the players have known each other since high school. They have played with and against each other. They have taken recruiting trips together, gone to summer camps together and played with each other in various all-star games. When I think of this game, I think of Bo Jackson, Johnny Musso, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler, Pat Sullivan, Terry Beasley, Bear Bryant, Shug Jordan, Ray Perkins, Cam Newton, Major Oglivie and many others. This is more than a game. It is a way of life.
3. Ohio State-Michigan: As great as it is, I have it at number three on my list. We hear more about it here since we are a border state to Ohio. It is a great rivalry with a genuine dislike for each other, but I rate it behind the Iron Bowl because the weather is better in the south and the tailgating is not as friendly up north in November. I prefer the sunshine of the deep south to a cold, grey Midwest day with spitting rain. This year's game was fun because of the national playoff implications. Also, head coaches Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer are very polarizing. Their rivalry brings back memories of Woody Hayes vs. Bo Schembechler. However, no head coach is more interesting than West Virginia native Nick Saban. He makes a game an "event" just because he is coaching in it.
Two other rivalries that are picking up in intensity are Washington-Washington State (The Apple Cup) and Kentucky-Louisville. Both are classic "big brother-little brother" games where "little" brother is actually more than competitive. The Apple Cup had national playoff implications this year, while Kentucky-Louisville produced one of the best games of the year and also featured the soon-to-be Heisman Trophy winner.
n One of our area's most underrated sports stories is the one of former South Charleston and current WVU Tech athlete Hunter Moles.
Moles was a soccer and basketball player at South Charleston who is now in Montgomery playing both sports for the Golden Bears. It is not easy to play two sports in college, and it is very rare that youngsters from our area find collegiate success in soccer.
Moles has been an outstanding goalkeeper at Tech. He has 170 career saves, including 72 this season, and he helped lead Tech to the quarterfinals of the NAIA national tournament with a record of 18-3-2. The Golden Bears were eliminated this past week 2-1 by the tournament's top seed Hastings College from Nebraska. Hastings is the alma mater of former Cornhuskers football coaching legend Tom Osborne.
Now Moles will turn his attention to basketball, where he will begin practice on Monday for coach Bob Williams.
"Hunter is a great kid, a great athlete and a terrific ambassador for our athletic program at Tech," said Williams. "We're excited to have him join us on Monday. He is such a smart and competitive player and does many things to help his team win."