\u201cThere\u2019s a psychological theory that anger is fueled by fear. If that is true, LSU fanatic fans have had their worst fears realized. Nick Saban is back as the coach of a dreaded rival, and Nick Saban is here coaching the top-ranked team in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can taste it, can\u2019t you?\u201d analyst Gary Danielson quipped moments later.<\/p>\n
![\"Tennessee](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/01m2m4emb92ngtmk6kyh.jpg\" "\\"Tennessee")
<\/p>\n
Calvin Mattheis\/News Sentinel\/USA Today Network\/Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
Whether or not you could taste it, you could absolutely hear it, the thunderous boos in Saban\u2019s direction as he led the Crimson Tide onto the field, where just five years earlier he led a national championship-winning program \u2026 and four, he left for a quick dip in the NFL waters before returning to another SEC powerhouse in need of a jolt.<\/p>\n
It was also fewer than two years after Saban apologized for his use of a derogatory term for Cajun people in recounting a story he said he was told by a friend, about an angry LSU fan\u2019s reaction to his decision to take the Alabama job. That wound was still fresh, made clear by Wright Thompson\u2019s ESPN story about a group of Tigers fans preparing for that weekend\u2019s epic showdown<\/a>, who called him \u201cTricky Nick,\u201d \u201cSatan\u201d and \u201cJudas\u201d in the piece. Others went with \u201cturncoat,\u201d \u201ccarpetbagger\u201d and \u201ccrawfish,\u201d<\/a> a perfectly Cajun slang term for someone who backs out of or reneges on a promise, to local journalist Glenn Guilbeau after Saban denied his pursuit of the Alabama job.<\/p>\n The night before the game, LSU fans burned Saban in effigy<\/a>. Saban called it \u201cone of the most difficult homecomings in the history of ball\u201d in July 2026<\/a>. Fans packed Tiger Stadium hours early to lambast Saban as he walked onto the field well ahead of kickoff. And, as was so often the case during his untouchable run with the Crimson Tide, his team answered.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing that I think that people underestimate, is when your players and they understand the challenge, they look at it as a challenge. And sometimes the home team thinks, This is going to be an advantage for us, and it really isn\u2019t. And we won that game in overtime thanks to the great competitive disposition that our team took into that game.\u201d<\/p>\n Alabama won an overtime thriller 27\u201321, after Tide safety Rashad Johnson intercepted LSU\u2019s Jarrett Lee to open the extra frame. A long John Parker Wilson pass to Julio Jones put the Alabama offense on the Tigers\u2019 2-yard line. Wilson punched in the game-winning touchdown with a quarterback sneak two plays later.<\/p>\n Nick Saban leaves the field at Tiger Stadium after his Alabama team beat LSU in his first game back at his old stomping grounds. | Bob Rosato\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n This week, the shoe is on the other foot. Last December, LSU poached Lane Kiffin\u2014a former Alabama assistant under Saban\u2014from another rival, Ole Miss. And where Saban had a stop in between Baton Rouge and Tuscaloosa, Kiffin left the Rebels on the cusp of a College Football Playoff run. In 2008, the Tigers were coming off of a national title under Saban replacement Les Miles, but would face the Tide a week after they reached No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time under their new coach. A year later, he delivered his first of six national titles\u2014truly those worst fears prophesied by Lundquist on that November afternoon.<\/p>\n And now just three weeks into his first season at LSU, Kiffin returns to Oxford, Miss., with his team at No. 7 in the AP Top 25, exactly one spot ahead of the Ole Miss squad he left behind. Saban, at least, played his first game against LSU at home in 2007. Both teams have star-studded rosters (largely built by Kiffin) and legitimate CFP aspirations. Both are 2\u20130. And if Tigers fans felt jilted back in 2008, imagine how Ole Miss fans feel in 2026<\/a>. The Rebels didn\u2019t win a national title under Kiffin; LSU had two recent championships under their belts in 2008. Ole Miss has never been a program the level of Alabama or LSU, which finally realized its full potential under Saban. The Rebels were still climbing toward the sport\u2019s mountaintop when its coach left, and now hope former defensive coordinator Pete Golding can finish the job.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Oxford promises to be about as hostile as we\u2019ve seen in the sport, and college football is no stranger to the sentiment, especially in the South where it is as much religion as recreation.\u00a0<\/p>\n In anticipation of perhaps the most hyped game in Ole Miss history, let\u2019s revisit the most hostile environments in the sport\u2019s history. \u2014Dan Lyons<\/p>\n &amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;section data-block=&amp;amp;amp;amp;#34;SingleChoice&amp;amp;amp;amp;#34;&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;h3&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Which College Football Crowd Is the Most Hostile?&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/h3&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span style=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;font-size: 12px;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Make your pick and continue to the final results page to see how your answer compares \u27a1\ufe0f&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;ul&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Alabama&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Auburn&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Clemson&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Florida&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Georgia&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;LSU&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Ohio State&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Oklahoma&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Ole Miss&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Oregon&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Penn State&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Texas A&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;M&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/ul&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;\/section&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;<\/p>\n 15. Colorado State at Wyoming, 1899<\/p>\n Geography is responsible for many of the great rivalries in college football. That is certainly the case for the Border War between Colorado State and Wyoming, considered the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River. The two schools met for the first time in 1899 in Laramie, Wyo., the first road game of any kind for what was then Colorado Agricultural College. It took just one game to cement one of college football\u2019s most historic series, one now being contested in its third century.<\/p>\n The Fort Collins Express described the scene as \u201cvery loud and unruly,\u201d according to Colorado State athletics historian John Hirn<\/a>. At the time, each school would bring an official to the game, and Colorado Agriculture professor Edward House did so for the 1899 game, beginning as its referee, but was so harangued by the crowd that he opted to switch places with his home Wyoming counterpart E.D. McArthur. That decision came to a head in the game\u2019s final moments, when House and McArthur disagreed on a penalty that would have awarded the CAC Aggies the ball. When McArthur disagreed and the Cowboys opted against giving the ball to their opponents, House called the game a Wyoming forfeit, while McArthur allowed the Cowboys to score a go-ahead touchdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hirn describes \u201ca bit of a riot\u201d breaking out onto the field, during which the Aggies\u2019 quarterback was hit on the head by a fan\u2019s cane.\u00a0<\/p>\n CAC initially pledged against facing Wyoming in any sporting event unless the school apologized for the incident, but sure enough the two sides played in 1900 and 36 more times before the game became a permanent fixture on the schedule in 1946. The series continued in 2026, a Colorado State win, even after the Rams moved to the Pac-12 while the Cowboys remain in the Mountain West conference. \u2014D.L.<\/p>\n 14. Mississippi State at Mississippi, 2018<\/p>\n The Egg Bowl has had its fair share of unsavory moments over the years, seeing as it\u2019s one of the longest uninterrupted rivalries in the sport. It\u2019s also fitting that one of its fiercest moments came in a blowout with a full quarter left to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mississippi State galloped out to a 28\u20133 lead on the road in Oxford, and the crowd in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was both dissipating and getting antsy. That\u2019s when freshman quarterback Matt Corral connected with A.J. Brown, seemingly before time expired in the third quarter, for a touchdown. But Brown and Mississippi State defensive back Johnathan Abram both refused to let go of the football and frustrations boiled over. The pair exchanged punches, then Corral ran into the fray and had his helmet ripped off and the sidelines emptied. Then, at long last the Ole Miss\u2013heavy crowd got back into the game, letting its displeasure be known.<\/p>\n It took several minutes and some haranguing to get the teams back to their respective sidelines. Every single player received an unsportsmanlike penalty for their roles in the brawl, even if the infraction was as miniscule as stepping an inch off the bench. Four players were ejected. And the best part? It was all for nothing. The clock hit zero before Ole Miss had snapped the ball, meaning the touchdown came off the board. Mississippi State rolled to a 35\u20133 victory and the Bulldogs were particularly thrilled to take the Egg Bowl trophy before the final seconds ticked off the clock, bringing it out to the Ole Miss logo to celebrate postgame.<\/p>\n The bad blood carried over into the next year when Ole Miss receiver Elijah Moore mimicked a dog urinating after scoring a touchdown with four seconds left. He earned an unsportsmanlike penalty that pushed back the extra point, which the Rebels would miss, resulting in the program\u2019s second straight Egg Bowl loss. \u2014Zach Koons<\/p>\n 13. Texas at Ohio State, 2005 Texas quarterback Vince Young celebrates with teammates after beating Ohio State in 2005. | David Bergman\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n The first-ever meeting in football between Texas and Ohio State in 2005 was not only a battle of two top-five-ranked teams, but it was also a home game for the Buckeyes. Needless to say, the fans and the university were charged up.\u00a0<\/p>\n To hear former Texas coach Mack Brown and quarterback Vince Young reminisce about the scene<\/a> of the Longhorns\u2019 hard-fought victory is to see the image of a riot or uprising being painted. Brown recalled the Buckeyes\u2019 marching band heckling Texas during a walkthrough practice the day before the game. That was merely a precursor.\u00a0<\/p>\n Young remembers Ohio State fans throwing things at the Texas team bus as it made its way to Ohio Stadium, and then fans hurling bottle tops at the Longhorns as they made their way out onto the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n The hostility even seemed to spill into the stands themselves, as an Ohio State spokeswoman told The Lantern that the university received letters<\/a> from both fans of the Longhorns and Buckeyes fans complaining about some Ohio State fans\u2019 actions, which included bottle throwing and threats of violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fortunately, nothing physical seemed to come of these incidents, though it does open a window into the emotions of the high-stakes game. The Longhorns trailed for nearly two quarters before Young led a 67-yard touchdown drive to take the lead for good with under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. \u2014Tim Capurso<\/p>\n 12. Ohio State at Michigan, 1971<\/p>\n When former longtime Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes got angry, no one was safe, least of all the equipment on the field. During a Nov. 21, 1971, iteration of the always heated Ohio State\u2013Michigan rivalry, it was hazardous to be a down marker on the field, especially late in the fourth quarter with the Buckeyes trailing and Hayes incensed about what he felt was a missed defensive pass interference call on a play in which his quarterback, Don Lamka, was intercepted by the Wolverines defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n First, Hayes stormed onto the field and got into the face of the referee, arguing for so long that he was flagged for a 15-yard penalty and his players had to drag the national championship\u2013winning coach back to the sideline, to the glee of the fans in Ann Arbor.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ohio State coach Woody Hayes after ripping a flag from a sideline marker, squares off for a fight with a sideline official, but is restrained by a member of his sideline staff following his rush onto the field protesting a Michigan interception and a unsportsmanlike call. | Bettmann Archive<\/p>\n Like a baseball manager getting his money\u2019s worth, Hayes wasn\u2019t done. The Buckeyes coach ripped up a down marker and then grabbed another, tossing it onto the turf as the Michigan crowd jeered and booed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Michigan eventually ran out the clock after the officials restored order, and Wolverines fans poured onto the field in celebration. Hayes would go on to write to Michigan and offer to pay for the down markers. \u2014T.C.\u00a0<\/p>\n 11. Ohio State at Michigan, 1973 Michigan coach Bo Schembechler complains to an official during the Wolverines\u2019 game against Ohio State in 1973. | Neil Leifer\/Sports Illustrated(<\/p>\n In a moment that foreshadowed future shenanigans between these two bitter rivals, the Buckeyes turned the temperature up on a battle of undefeated squads with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line. As they ran out of the tunnel at Michigan Stadium, Ohio State ran right through and tore down the Wolverines\u2019 iconic \u201cGo Blue\u201d sign, which was being held up by team boosters.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wolverines fans jeered and Michigan announcer Bob Ufer skewered the Buckeyes on the broadcast. Then a hard-fought football game broke out in which the two rivals played to a 10\u201310 tie for the Big Ten Conference title, leading to an eventual vote from the league\u2019s directors, who opted to side with the eventual national champion Buckeyes, to the chagrin of Wolverines coach Bo Schembechler.\u00a0<\/p>\n And the banner incident? There was a sequel in 1977, when Buckeyes players attempted to again tear down the banner but were met with physical force from a Michigan delegation that included former Wolverines players from that 1973 team. \u2014T.C.\u00a0<\/p>\n 10. Texas at Texas Tech, 2008<\/p>\n There\u2019s never been any love lost in the Battle for the Chancellor\u2019s Spurs, but the 2008 edition of the in-state rivalry was particularly meaningful\u2014and thus, particularly spiteful\u2014for both sides. Texas trooped into Lubbock as the No. 1 team in the country, while Texas Tech ranked No. 6, the latter\u2019s best mark since the 1976 season. That also brought College GameDay to town for\u00a0<\/p>\n the first time, and Lubbock rose to the occasion to greet them.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas Tech students camped outside of \u201cThe Jones\u201d (now Galaxy Stadium) for days to try and get tickets and when Texas arrived, the Red Raider faithful were ready. Texas coach Mack Brown recalled fans, including a business professor<\/a>, \u201cscreaming at you, yelling and throwing frozen tortillas.\u201d<\/p>\n That crowd momentum didn\u2019t slow down after kickoff and a back-and-forth contest unfolded with Texas Tech getting the ball back, down 33\u201332 with 1:29 remaining. Quarterback Graham Harrell powered the Red Raiders down the field, getting to the 28-yard line with eight seconds left for a potential game-winning field goal. But Tech, still with one timeout, had time for one last play and took a chance with Harrell flinging the ball to the sideline where junior receiver Michael Crabtree hauled in the catch, shook off a defender and scrambled into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. If there was a roof on top of The Jones, it would have exploded.\u00a0<\/p>\n Except there was one issue: There was one second left on the clock.<\/p>\n The field was cleared, security lowered the goalposts and the play still needed to be reviewed. Once it was confirmed\u2014you guessed it\u2014the fans rushed their way back on the field, meaning security had to do its job all over again.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tech was penalized heavily for the field storms and had to kick off from its own 7-yard line. Fans were pushed back off the field, but not all the way to their seats as they were just too unruly by that point. Everyone waited one last final second for the clock to hit triple zeros, at which point the crowd rushed the field all over again. Leave it to the indomitable Brent Musburger to nail the scene: \u201cNo more penalties for this crowd.\u201d \u2014Z.K.<\/p>\n Texas Tech fans rush the field to celebrate after beating Texas in 2008. | Peter Read Miller\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n 9. Oklahoma at Ohio State, 2017<\/p>\n When they locked horns for a home-and-home series in the mid-2010s, the Buckeyes and Oklahoma had not played each other in football since 1983. The 2016 game was no contest: Ohio State, riding an astounding four-touchdown performance from wide receiver Noah Brown, demolished the Sooners 45\u201324 in Norman, Okla. The game turned out to have seismic CFP stakes: It gave a trump card (and berth) to a Buckeyes team that didn\u2019t win their division, while Oklahoma couldn\u2019t neutralize it with an undefeated romp through the Big 12.<\/p>\n The 2017 season was a different story. In Columbus, the two teams fought to a 3\u20133 halftime draw before the Sooners pulled away to a 31\u201316 victory behind quarterback Baker Mayfield\u2019s trio of second-half touchdown passes. Sealing his Oklahoma legend forever, Mayfield punctuated the victory by seizing a large Sooners flag and driving it into the Ohio Stadium turf. The incident popularized that specific victory gesture, which would rear its head in Columbus again seven years later \u2026 \u2014Patrick Andres<\/p>\n Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield waves the Sooners\u2019 flag following their 31\u201316 win over Ohio State in 2017. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n 8. Texas vs. Texas A&M, 2011 and \u201924\u00a0<\/p>\n Realignment has deprived us of a number of hate-filled rivalries over the years, but the loss of Texas and Texas A&M for a 13-year stint was one of the biggest. A&M, ahead of the curve, fled for the revenue in the SEC and no one handled it well: not Texas, not A&M, not state legislators and certainly not the fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n What unfolded over the next decade-plus was constant bickering over scheduling, who said what when and general angst. Through various coaching and athletic director regimes, there was always some whisper of one side trying to get the rivalry back on the books, only for someone on the other side to blast them in the press or on social media<\/a>. The best one-liner of the bickering came from Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp upon hearing the news that Texas would start selling beer and wine at its stadium. \u201cOur athletic program has not reached the point where we require the numbing effects of alcohol,\u201d Sharp said at the time in 2015.<\/p>\n Texas eventually shook the college football world in the next wave of realignment by announcing a move to the SEC, even though A&M AD Ross Bjork made clear he wanted his program<\/a> to be the only school from the state in the league. That set the stage for a renewed rivalry in 2024 and after 13 years without a game, the crowd that arrived for that Saturday night matchup at Kyle Field had the juice.<\/p>\n The Longhorns would win that matchup in a slugfest and get the better of the undefeated Aggies in \u201925. Thankfully for college football fans, the Lone Star Showdown has resumed its spot on the rivalry weekend calendar. \u2014Z.K.<\/p>\n 7. Michigan at Michigan State, 2018<\/p>\n Long a lightning rod for Michiganders\u2019 class and occupational divides, the Wolverines and Spartans\u2019 feud turned more sinister in the late 2010s. Example: 2018, when Michigan had revenge on its mind after a rain-soaked 14\u201310 upset loss to Michigan State a year prior. The Wolverines\u2019 defensive leaders that year were lineman Rashan Gary, lineman Chase Winovich, and linebacker Devin Bush\u2014the last of whom decided to make some mischief before kickoff against the Spartans.<\/p>\n Still clad in street clothes almost two hours before kickoff, Bush spent about 30 seconds<\/a> attempting to ruin Michigan State\u2019s midfield logo\u2014one of numerous altercations between the two teams that morning. Michigan wound up doing most of the talking on the field as well, beating the Spartans 21\u20137 thanks to a 395 to 94 advantage in total yards. \u2014Patrick Andres<\/p>\n 6. South Carolina at Clemson, 2004<\/p>\n The game now known as the Palmetto Bowl has long been one of college football\u2019s most heated, yet unheralded, rivalries. The 2004 edition of the game, played at the Tigers\u2019 Memorial Stadium, pit two programs floating around .500 against one another, and yet the atmosphere was tense from before the opening whistle.<\/p>\n One night after the infamous Malice at the Palace brawl in the NBA between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers, and shortly after Gamecocks coach Lou Holtz informed the team that it would be his final year coaching<\/a>, a group of South Carolina players set the stage for the hostilities, gesturing toward their Clemson counterparts who were preparing for the program\u2019s traditional run down the hill, leading to a bit of pregame shoving.<\/p>\n The game itself was filled with dirty plays and cheap shots from both sides, with Tigers and Gamecocks alike agreeing that the officials failed to take control of the game. The pent-up anger came to a head in the fourth quarter, when after an incomplete pass on fourth-and-11 with 5:48 left to play, South Carolina quarterback Syvelle Newton was hit late by Clemson defensive end Bobby Williamson.<\/p>\n The hit led to more shoving, and eventually the two full rosters were engaged in combat across the field<\/a>, as the soon-to-be-retired Holtz and Tigers coach Tommy Bowden struggled to separate their teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n The game was ultimately delayed, as state troopers worked to break the teams up, and Clemson would win their third straight game in the series 29\u20137, though the final score has been fully overshadowed by the on-field extracurriculars at this point.<\/p>\n Both teams would self-impose bowl bans, effectively ending Holtz\u2019s Hall of Fame career on a deeply sour note. \u2014D.L.<\/p>\n 5. Mississippi at Tennessee, 2021<\/p>\n The clear antecedent to what we\u2019ll see in Oxford on Saturday: Kiffin\u2019s return to Tennessee, the program he cut and ran on after just one year as head coach in 2009. Kiffin took over the Volunteers guns-a-blazing, a brief tenure that set the stage for the rule-shirking run he\u2019s had in Baton Rouge so far, but quickly fled for USC when the Trojans\u2019 job opened with his mentor Pete Carroll leaving for the NFL.\u00a0<\/p>\n His failure in Los Angeles knocked Kiffin down a few rungs in the coaching world, and after a stint on Saban\u2019s staff at Alabama and three years leading FAU, Kiffin reemerged as an SEC head coach at Ole Miss. In 2021, his second year with the Rebels, he returned to Knoxville for the first time as opposing head coach, and despite the fact that more than a decade had passed since he left the Vols, the resentment was still clearly fresh.<\/p>\n Late in the fourth quarter of a 31\u201326 Ole Miss road win, home fans began throwing debris on the field in Kiffin\u2019s direction, including beer cans, a golf ball and, most famously, a mustard bottle, causing a delay of nearly 20 minutes.<\/p>\n The field at Tennessee pic.twitter.com\/SZXhC0YovW<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 17, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n Kiffin has cracked jokes about this game since, but it was a pretty dangerous situation on the field at the time. Now shorten the timeline from 12 years to just a few months, and add in the stakes of this Ole Miss situation. Tennessee was at the start of a rebuild, going 7\u20136 with a 4\u20134 record in the SEC before he left for USC. Last season\u2019s Rebels were on the doorstep of the College Football Playoff and ultimately made a run to the semifinals. The scenes from Neyland Stadium in 2021 are a big reason why there is concern about what will transpire at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday night. \u2014D.L.<\/p>\n 4. FIU at Miami, 2006<\/p>\n In 2004, the Hurricanes\u2019 monopoly on Division I-A football in the Miami area ended as Florida International began play with a Vice City mailing address. The Golden Panthers, as they were then known, quietly took up residence in the Sun Belt (alongside top-division newcomer Florida Atlantic). They won three games in \u201904 and five in \u201905, but slid to 0\u20136 to start in \u201906 (including a septuple-overtime loss to North Texas). And then they played the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n Miami, navigating its own lost weekend (it\u2019d end the season in the MPC Computers Bowl), led Florida International 14\u20130 in the third quarter when all hell broke loose. A Hurricanes unsportsmanlike conduct penalty led to two Golden Panthers appearing to attack Miami quarterback and holder Matt Perrelli, which in turn ignited an all-out brawl requiring police to separate. As memorable as the fight itself: Ex-Hurricanes wide receiver Lamar Thomas egging his old team on from the Comcast\/Charter Sports Southeast booth, declaring that, \u201cYou come into our house, you should get your behind kicked.\u201d Miami won 35\u20130, and what had been intended as an annual series has been contested just three times since. \u2014P.A.<\/p>\n 3. Michigan at Ohio State, 2024<\/p>\n A string of particularly charged games between the Wolverines and Buckeyes hit a fever pitch in 2024 with one of the series\u2019 greatest upsets. Ohio State entered the last game of the season No. 2 in the country; Michigan limped in at 6\u20135 just a year after winning the national title. The Wolverines stymied the Buckeyes for almost the entire contest, holding them scoreless for the duration of the second half and winning on a 21-yard field goal from kicker Dominic Zvada with 45 seconds to play.<\/p>\n The real action unfolded after the game, however. When a group of Michigan players attempted to plant a Wolverines flag in the frigid Ohio Stadium turf, a group of Ohio State players took exception, and a tussle ensued. Columbus\u2019s police department responded by bombarding both teams with pepper spray, and television viewers saw members of both teams rubbing their eyes. The Buckeyes shook off the loss and subsequent embarrassment to win the national championship; their 27\u20139 win over Michigan in 2025 was a markedly quieter affair. \u2014P.A.<\/p>\n 2. Texas A&M at Baylor, 1926<\/p>\n Like Wyoming and Colorado State, 1899 marked the first meeting of Baylor and Texas A&M, two future Southwest and Big 12 Conference foes situated about 90 miles apart along the Brazos River. The 31st meeting between the two Texas programs came in 1926, and put the rivalry on pause due to tragedy that occurred at halftime of the game.<\/p>\n Texas A&M\u2019s cadets would traditionally perform a halftime military calisthenics routine during the games, annually staged in Waco in the late 1910s through 1926. During a halftime homecoming show put on by Baylor students, an Aggie cadet rushed toward a float pulled by a Ford car, in what he later said was an attempt to steer it away from the rest of the cadets, after A&M had taken exception with a display the year before. The commotion caused some of the women riding on the float to fall off of it, causing other Baylor students to rush the field as well, ultimately resulting in a brawl.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe two sides started fighting. They used folding metal chairs as well as two-by-fours and one-by-fours that were used as yard markers,\u201d Baylor archivist Tommy Turner Sr. said, per the Houston Chronicle<\/a>. \u201cSome Aggies suggested there were a lot of one-by-fours that just happened to be there. They thought the Bears were expecting trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n One cadet, Charles M. Sessums, died the day after the game as a result of a serious injury sustained in the brawl. According to the Chronicle, the cadets were so incensed that they planned to bring a cannon by rail from College Station to attack Baylor\u2019s campus, until they were stopped by Texas Rangers.<\/p>\n All athletic events between the two schools were put on pause for five years, resuming only in 1931, this time in College Station. The series was played, without interruption, from 1945 to 2011, when the Aggies departed the Big 12 for the SEC. The two sides haven\u2019t met on the gridiron since. \u2014D.L.<\/p>\n 1. Miami at Notre Dame, 1988<\/p>\n Two undefeated teams. Two top-five-ranked teams. The defending national champion Hurricanes, who had won 36 straight regular-season games, against the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Oct. 15, 1988, game pitting Miami against Notre Dame had a little bit of everything, especially bad blood between the programs. The Fighting Irish were out for revenge after getting embarrassed by Miami 82\u20137 in the last two meetings. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes had a bone to pick with the Fighting Irish after a Notre Dame student created T-shirts that read, \u201cCatholics vs. Convicts,\u201d essentially depicting the Hurricanes as thugs and the Fighting Irish as choir boys.\u00a0<\/p>\n So you could say there was much anticipation\u2014and tension\u2014in the air when the two teams took the field. What ensued before the battle between the lines was an all-out brawl in the tunnel, as punches were thrown, helmets were torn off and a massive scrum of Fighting Irish and Hurricanes players came together.\u00a0<\/p>\n The preceding tension and bad blood bubbling to a head is remembered just as much as the game, which was an instant classic. The back-and-forth affair came down to the final minute, when Miami coach Jimmy Johnson decided to go for a two-point conversion and the win down 31\u201330 after a Hurricanes touchdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n Notre Dame safety Pat Terrell broke up Miami quarterback Steve Walsh\u2019s pass, and the Fighting Irish were victorious. \u2014T.C.<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s note: Sports Illustrated writers Pat Forde and Bryan Fischer contributed to this list and ranking.<\/p>\n PODCAST: Listen to Sports Illustrated\u2019s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, hosted by Pat Forde, on Apple<\/a> and Spotify<\/a>. Watch the show on SI\u2019s college YouTube channel<\/a> or on SI TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/01m2m4h32av2f9cqvkce.jpg\" "\\"Nick")
<\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/01m2m4k2c9ece3xm8c84.jpg\" "\\"Texas")
<\/p>\n![\"Ohio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/01m2m4yexqcysj4rnywr.jpg\" "\\"Ohio")
<\/p>\n![\"Michigan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/01m2m4nbxew4kndr9tr4.jpg\" "\\"Michigan")
<\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/01m2m4s28vgva19kc4yb.jpg\" "\\"Texas")
<\/p>\n![\"Oklahoma](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/01m2m57e6qqm76t7cx4k.jpg\" "\\"Oklahoma")
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