SEC Football: Secondary Rivals That are Better than Primary

The world of SEC football thrives off of rivalries as one of its many foundations.  In 2016, some school’s secondary rival will be a more important game than their primary rival.

Let’s get this out of the way first: in-state rivalries trump all.  There are no rivalries more heated in all of SEC football than the Iron Bowl and the Egg Bowl.  The hatred in both is on par or exceeds any rivalry in all of college football.  Both Alabama and Ole Miss, however, have bigger fish to fry in 2016.

Yes, fans of both Ole Miss and Alabama can say the opposite is a bigger fish than their in-state rival in 2016.  And anyone would be hard-pressed to argue that fact.  But the Ole Miss-Alabama rivalry is still forming after years of Tide dominance.  Instead, I’m talking about secondary rivals that are currently more important than each school’s primary in-state rival.

Of course, each is an SEC football school.

Ole Miss 

Primary Rival (debated):  Mississippi State

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Secondary Rival:  LSU, known as LSWho to Rebel faithful

Why the Shift:

First, props to the staff over at Ole Hotty Toddy for their witty break up letter to Mississippi State. In all honesty, that’s what got this idea rolling.

But on to why the Magnolia Bowl is now more important than the Egg Bowl for Ole Miss.  It really breaks down to one simple thing:  SEC football.  Yes, both LSU and Mississippi State are in the SEC West and only count as one SEC football game.  But both Ole Miss and LSU are expected to beat Mississippi State at this point.  The Bulldogs are in for a bit of a fall without Dak Prescott, though they should still make a bowl without issue.  The same can be said of Arkansas, which also makes the Magnolia Bowl more important to LSU than the Battle for the Golden Boot.  The Tiger’s battle with the Tide is still goal #1, however.

Ole Miss and LSU both want to be playing in the SEC Football Championship Game in Atlanta in 2016.  Mississippi State and Arkansas have no such expectations.  If all goes according to plan, LSU and Ole Miss should win their primary rival games with ease.  Don’t count your egg (bowl)s before they hatch, though, as it is still a rival game.

But back to the plan.  If that indeed happens, both schools will need the Magnolia Bowl trophy in their showroom if they expect to contend with Alabama to represent the SEC West in the SEC Football Championship Game.

Alabama

Primary Rival:  Auburn

Secondary Rival:  Tennessee

Why the Shift:

Let’s be real honest for a second.  The third Saturday in October hasn’t mattered in quite some time.  Tennessee has come close to knocking off Alabama on a number of occasions, but has ultimately come up unsuccessful time and again.  Alabama has continued to win the SEC West, Iron Bowl, SEC and National Championships — again becoming the standard bearer for SEC football.  Tennessee has been bogged down battling their SEC East rivals, which are many.  It is no doubt that in 2016, though, that their rivalry with Alabama will trump the rest in terms of importance.  The same is true for Alabama, as it must be expected for Alabama to again reign supreme over Auburn.

Auburn cannot provide the résumé  boost that Tennessee can for Alabama.  Both will still be fantastic SEC football games, but the third Saturday in October will matter much more than the Iron Bowl in 2016.  Auburn fans will disagree, but they’ll have to beat Alabama to prove their opinion.

The reason why Alabama-Tennessee will matter more to both schools than other SEC football games is quite simple:  the College Football Playoff.  While Ole Miss and LSU are hoping for a place in the SEC Football Championship Game, both Tennessee and Alabama fans have reservations in Atlanta for the weekend.  Both are expected to win their division and could end up playing twice in 2016.  If either school is to represent the SEC in the College Football Playoff, their encounter(s) will trump the rest.  Their rivals (Auburn, Florida, Georgia, etc) don’t have those expectations.  Alabama has had a tendency to drop early season games to Ole Miss;  Tennessee has choked in big games.  Both schools will need the win to remain in the Top 10, which both will likely be in come the third Saturday in October.

must read: 3 Biggest Questions Facing Arkansas Football in 2016

This isn’t meant to disrespect fans of the SEC East, Auburn, Arkansas or Mississippi State.  If they want to be the primary concern of their primary rival once again, they’ll have to step their game up.  Otherwise, they risk being left in the dust for more national goals.