Three historic rivalries taking place in college football Saturday

If your college football Saturday revolves around rivalry games, then make other plans for the majority of your day. Take a fall color tour, rake leaves, go apple picking or maybe clean out your garage, because the first rivalry game of the weekend does not kick off until Saturday night. While the rivalry schedule is light this week, it does involve three games that have deep meaning to each program.

*All times Eastern

LSU at Alabama, Saturday 7:30 pm

The fortunes of these two rivals have changed dramatically from the start of the season until now. Consider just two months ago LSU was 2-0 with a big win over a Top 5 ranked Clemson team, while Alabama already had a loss to a Florida State team coming off their worst season in 50 years.

Saturday will be LSU's first game this season following the dismissal of head coach Brian Kelly on Oct. 27. — Saturday's rivalry matchup with Alabama will be LSU's first game this season following the dismissal of head coach Brian Kelly on Oct. 27. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Today, though, Alabama is a Top 5 ranked ball club, while LSU has fired their head coach and limps into Tuscaloosa as a 10-point underdog. Saturday will be the 90th meeting between these two football teams, and while it is traditionally played on the first Saturday in November, this year it is each team’s first game this month as they are both coming off bye weeks.

Alabama-LSU usually has national title implications, and the rivalry has been sharpened over the last 20 years by intense recruiting wars. Remember when former Alabama safety Landon Collins announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide on national television, while his mother sat next to him, visibility disappointed?

“I feel that LSU is the better place for him to be,” Collins’ mother remarked at the time, prior to his All-American career as a member of the Crimson Tide.

LSU has bigger issues to contend with in recruiting this year considering they have to find a new head coach, but a win over rival Alabama would at least give the fans in purple and gold something to smile about if their Tigers can pull off the upset.

Navy at Notre Dame, Saturday 7:30 pm

Navy and Notre Dame is a rivalry borne out of tradition more than competition. Notre Dame holds a dominating 81-13-1 lead in the series and has won the last seven meetings, including a game contested in Dublin, Ireland two years ago. The Fighting Irish are again favored to win this year, being installed as 26.5-point favorites by the oddsmakers.

Navy and Notre Dame met in Dublin, Ireland for the 2023 version of their rivalry game. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Navy and Notre Dame, though, means more than just wins and losses to these two schools. When Notre Dame was struggling financially as an all-male institution during World War II, it was the U.S. Navy’s decision to host an officer training program at the school that kept Notre Dame afloat during that difficult stretch. In response, past Notre Dame leaders have insisted Navy always has a place on the Fighting Irish’s schedule.

The first meeting between the two programs took place in 1927 during the Knute Rockne era at Notre Dame and at the start of the best stretch of football in Navy’s history. Starting with that first game, the rivalry was contested every single year until the COVID pandemic canceled the 2020 game. This included a 43-game winning streak by Notre Dame from 1964-2006 before Navy’s three-overtime triumph in the 2007 game.

Florida at Kentucky, Saturday 7:30 pm

Legendary Florida head coach Steve Spurrier was notorious for running up the score on Kentucky every chance he got. | Allen Eyestone / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It is fair to say that Florida-Kentucky is a bigger basketball rivalry than it is a football rivalry. The two teams have combined to win six NCAA basketball national titles in the last 30 years, while only Florida has made national championship appearances in the modern era of football.

There is some drama and intrigue around both programs heading into Saturday's matchup. Florida is looking for their next head coach after firing Billy Napier last month, while Kentucky's benched transfer quarterback Zach Calzada is flexing his NIL cash on social media.

The passions of both fan bases will still burn pretty hot when these two founding Southeastern Conference programs meet on the gridiron Saturday. Some of that is holdover from the basketball rivalry, though the football rivalry stretches back almost 110 years and has notable history of its own.

Former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier was notorious for holding a special level of animosity for the Wildcats and running up the score whenever possible. Spurrier had a number of chances to run up the score on Kentucky during a 31-game winning streak from 1986-2017. Kentucky actually got out to a big lead in this rivalry, however, winning 12 of the first 16 meetings, and they have gotten the better of the Gators in recent years as well, winning three of the last four. Saturday’s game in Lexington is expected to be closely contested, however, with Florida a slim three-point favorite in a matchup of 3-5 teams.

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