College football’s rivalry weekend kicks off Friday

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, if you are a college football fan. The regular season will wrap up this weekend, and many schools have saved their most intense rivalries for this date on the schedule. From the Egg Bowl to a Duel in the Desert, here is the history behind seven rivalry games on Friday’s college football schedule.

*All times Eastern

Mississippi at Mississippi State, Friday noon

Why is this rivalry known as The Egg Bowl? It all goes back to 1926 when, facing a 13-game losing streak in the series, Ole Miss went down to Starkville and beat what was then known as Mississippi A&M by a 7-6 final. Filled with celebratory fervor, the Ole Miss fans stormed the field, which enraged the opposing Bulldog fans, who accosted their rivals with chairs from the stadium. Both sides agreed this was a bad look for the rivalry, and decided a traveling trophy would quell future hostilities. That trophy was a golden egg, which has been presented to the winner ever since.

Iowa at Nebraska, Friday noon

Iowa and Nebraska are once again traditional Thanksgiving Weekend rivals. | Bryon Houlgrave/The Register, Des Moines Register via Imagn Content Services, LLC

This may not seem like one of the most historic rivalries on a weekend such as this, but Iowa and Nebraska go all the way back to 1891. The two teams faced off ten times before the 20th century and for the last 14 years they have played on the final weekend of the regular season. The series went on a 33-year hiatus between 1946 and 1979, but has been renewed and revitalized since Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference.

Air Force at Colorado State, Friday 3:00 pm

The Air Force Academy played its first season of varsity football in 1957, and that year finished with a 20-7 loss to Colorado State. Air Force would go on to win or tie 12 of the next 13 meetings between to intrastate rivals, and currently leads the series 39-22-1. Today, the winner of this game is awarded the Ram-Falcon Trophy, a wooden sculpture carved by a Colorado-based artist that has represented this rivalry since 1980.

Georgia at Georgia Tech, Friday 3:30 pm

Georgia and Georgia Tech battled out an eight overtime thriller in their rivalry matchup in 2024. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia has a respectful rivalry with the University of Florida that is known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Its rivalry with Georgia Tech is nothing of the sort. These two Peach State programs have decades of animosity built up between them, so much so that author Bill Cromartie coined the phrase “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate,” to describe the rivalry. When these rivals face off in Atlanta on Friday as Top 25-ranked opponents, you can expect any niceties to be left on the sidelines.

Indiana at Purdue, Friday 7:30 pm

Another intrastate rivalry sees Indiana and Purdue meet on Friday for the 127th time in their series. Never in the 126 previous meetings has Indiana been ranked as high as their No. 2 status going into this year’s game. Purdue would love to play spoiler and be the only mark in the loss column of the Hoosier’s regular season. The Boilermakers did not scare a 10th-ranked Indiana team last year in this rivalry, losing 66-0 and giving back the Old Oaken Bucket after three straight series wins.

Texas A&M at Texas, Friday 7:30 pm

Texas emerged victorious when the Lone Star Showdown rivalry renewed last season after a 13-year hiatus. | Sara Diggins/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

This is a rivalry so important to Texans that the state legislature submitted a bill demanding that the game be played annually. With Texas now joining Texas A&M in the SEC, the Lone Star Showdown resumed its traditional Thanksgiving Weekend get together last year for the first time since 2011, even if not all sides were in favor of reigniting the rivalry. There was some bitterness when the Aggies initially left the Big 12 Conference, but with old feuds aside the rivalry will play its 120th edition Friday night.

Arizona at Arizona State, Friday 9:00 pm

From the Lone Star Showdown to the Duel in the Desert, Friday night’s college football slate has some strong Wild West vibes. Arizona and Arizona State have been playing each other in football going back to just about the Old West era, and their rivalry trophy, the Territorial Cup, dates back to that first meeting in 1899. Arizona was still just a territory at the time, but it had two colleges that pitted their football teams against each other on Thanksgiving Day that year, and a tradition, and rivalry, was born.