Most important rivalry game in the SEC?

[Jax_Vol]

How many conference and national championships has each team won since 1971?

Florida has been more relevant in that time span than UT.

Florida never even won a SEC championship until Spurrier arrived in the '90s. Never a factor in the national scene. They have zero history prior to the Ole Ball Sack.

 

[bamawriter]

I have a T-shirt that lists the years of our six. Therefore, those must be legit. If you want to discount your list, we are ok with that.

So 6 + 14 = 20..........as originally stated.

Like I said, UT claims 6. UT doesn't actually have 6.

 

[Jax_Vol]

Like I said, UT claims 6. UT doesn't actually have 6.

Them's fightin' words

 

[Alto1]

Tennessee owns the longest win streak against Alabama at 7.
Yes, we are a big rival.
To some, their biggest.

 

[Jdh13579]

From a vol fans point of view I assume Alabama hates auburn because of the in state rivalry and consider auburn an annoying red headed step child that they don't respect. I feel like Alabama has a strong respect for Tennessee because of history like we respect them. Would Alabama fans consider that accurate or am I totally off?

 

[LA Vol]

Most Bama fans have lost all respect for UT the past 6-7 years. It's not so much that we were knocked down, but that we can't seem to get up off the mat. They're not going to respect us again until we earn it.

 

[Jdh13579]

Most Bama fans have lost all respect for UT the past 6-7 years. It's not so much that we were knocked down, but that we can't seem to get up off the mat. They're not going to respect us again until we earn it.

I think you'd be surprised the respect Bama has for us. If you remember before Saban arrived they were going through the same process we are right now with coaching changes and program instability. We never lost respect for them during the late 90's early 2000's when we controlled the series. Just my opinion.

 

[Bama_In_Da_Bayou]

I think you'd be surprised the respect Bama has for us. If you remember before Saban arrived they were going through the same process we are right now with coaching changes and program instability. We never lost respect for them during the late 90's early 2000's when we controlled the series. Just my opinion.

:rock:

 

[jakez4ut]

the Bama/TN series has always been streaky. it'd be nice for it be competitive year in and year out.

same with FL. this talk of rivalry....the reality is we're the kid brother in both of those rivalries.

both of those series need to be more competitive, on our end.

 

[Catbone]

Lol the game is so one sided no one cares outside of the Bama and Tennessee fans. It's a rivalry but it's pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme lately.

 

[OrangeSoddyDaisy]

Tennessee owns the longest win streak against Alabama at 7.
Yes, we are a big rival.
To some, their biggest.

:mf_surrender:

 

[SeahawkVOL94]

The fact that Missouri was forced to be in the Eastern division in order to preserve this game speaks volumes about how important this rivalry is to the league and to the schools involved. Think about it: Missouri in the east is, geographically absurd.

Butch?

 

[TrueOrange]

The fact that Missouri was forced to be in the Eastern division in order to preserve this game speaks volumes about how important this rivalry is to the league and to the schools involved. Think about it: Missouri in the east is, geographically absurd.

Well it was also done to preserve the Iron Bowl as well.

 

[onevol74]

Florida never even won a SEC championship until Spurrier arrived in the '90s. Never a factor in the national scene. They have zero history prior to the Ole Ball Sack.

Here is a stat for you. We have had the SEC Championship Game 23 years and UT has only appeared in 5 of them. And that is in the same division as Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina.

At the same time UT has never faced Bama in the championship game. If you would have told me that would not have happened in 1992 I would have said you are crazy.

 

[TrueOrange]

No, he chooses to focus on the Third Saturday in October.

Please don't bring insults into this. It's not a matter of knowledge or ignorance, it's a matter of opinion. There's no single right answer.

There's not. He was choosing to say UT Bama dwarfed everything, including mentioning OSU Michigan being below it though.

 

[TrueOrange]

I know a lot of bama fans who tell me lsu is a bigger rival than tennessee.

Everything depends on who you talk to

Exactly.

Not to mention a lot of times it depends on which team's bragging fans that person regularly encounters/ has to listen to each year.

 

[TrueOrange]

This has been discussed on this board before.

Every one of tennessee's rivals has a bigger rival than except vandy.

Even kentucky has louisville

That last one's a bit interesting, because I think they've only played Louisville maybe 26 times (as opposed to the 110 or so times they've played TN).

I kind of have to wonder if that ridiculously long streak from the 80s until this last decade actually deflated their fanbase's feelings towards the UT game being such (the ending of it being a long-standing trophy game - though completely understandable in reason - might have impacted such, as well).

 

[pismonque]

Nothing touches Bama vs Auburn.

They literally live and die for that game.
Cousins/sisters/sister wives kill each over the outcome.

They should play it more often.

 

[MikeVol44]

I know a lot of bama fans who tell me lsu is a bigger rival than tennessee.

Everything depends on who you talk to

That's true now.....but it hasn't always been that way...
And I'm not trying to disagree with you in any way....

Historically--and as a matter of record--Alabama and Tennessee have won more games than anyone else in the SEC, with Georgia and LSU being the closest....which led the TN--Bama contest to be the biggest rivalry game in the SEC....but it ain't that way any more...

A lot has changed since the late 1980s.....

Spurrier brought Fla to prominence in the SEC in the early 90s. Urbie continued the legacy, only because he got Tebow to go to Fla instead of signing with Bama...

And, unfortunately (for a VOL fan) it looks like McElwain will continue to have the Gators dominate the SEC East. As Ric Flair used to say..."...to be da man, you gotta beat da man..." and we've not beaten anyone as of late.

I lived in Birmingham for 4 years while in school--and there is no doubt that they hate TN--but they kill each other (and some innocent trees) over the Auburn-Alabama rivalry....The passion about that game is unmatched...in the state of Alabama.

I'd consider Fla-Bama to be a great rivalry game if they played more often...and that game was always worth watching when Spurrier was at Fla...and when Saban came to Bama and played Tebow's Gators in the SEC championship games...

I believe you when you say that Bama fans say LSU is a bigger rival than Tennessee to them. I think it's because Saban coached at LSU, Bama and LSU are the best teams in the West...and my VOLS aren't even close to being competitive with Bama....

But--when we do get good again....I doubt those same folks will think LSU is still a bigger game....:salute:

 

[volgrad500]

I think a lot of our fans have yet to realize the huge impact of things like conference realignment, BCS and now playoffs, tv contracts, etc have had on college football. It's a new day folks. People wanted to squeeze every dollar out of the game, and that came with a price. Rivalry games we all used to love have been marginalized. UT picked the ABSOLUTE worst time to take a nose dive. While we've been dicking around with Dooley, other schools have been building a more national brand and establishing new rivalries. We need to be getting better, and with a sense of urgency.

 

[TrueOrange]

Here is a stat for you. We have had the SEC Championship Game 23 years and UT has only appeared in 5 of them. And that is in the same division as Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina.

At the same time UT has never faced Bama in the championship game. If you would have told me that would not have happened in 1992 I would have said you are crazy.

I don't think any of the permanent cross division rivals ever rematched in the SEC championship game except for Florida and Auburn in 2000, and that was back when each team still had two permanent cross division rivals.

 

[Bama_In_Da_Bayou]

I think a lot of our fans have yet to realize the huge impact of things like conference realignment, BCS and now playoffs, tv contracts, etc have had on college football. It's a new day folks. People wanted to squeeze every dollar out of the game, and that came with a price. Rivalry games we all used to love have been marginalized. UT picked the ABSOLUTE worst time to take a nose dive. While we've been dicking around with Dooley, other schools have been building a more national brand and establishing new rivalries. We need to be getting better, and with a sense of urgency.

Yup. Everything comes with a cost.

 

[SD189]

The iron bowl is so big due to the recent success of the teams IMO. Wasn't that big nationally for a while.

 

[Jdh13579]

The iron bowl is so big due to the recent success of the teams IMO. Wasn't that big nationally for a while.

Bear Bryant called auburn another team on the schedule and called Tennessee the yearly measuring stick and only smoked cigars when beating Tennessee. Nobody else. But people here think auburn is a bigger historic game than the third Saturday in October lol. Very low sec history knowledge on this board.

 

[volgrad500]

Bear Bryant called auburn another team on the schedule and called Tennessee the yearly measuring stick and only smoked cigars when beating Tennessee. Nobody else. But people here think auburn is a bigger historic game than the third Saturday in October lol. Very low sec history knowledge on this board.

Maybe they just like living in this century?