Strike 1: College Football is all about rivalries. Good ol’ fashioned “We really hate those guys” kind of rivalries. The kind you circle in red on the calendar as soon as the schedule comes out. Games like “The Iron Bowl” between Auburn and Alabama. “The Civil War” between Oregon and Oregon State, and even the “Battle for the Bronze Boot” between Colorado State and Wyoming.
Nearly every major program across the country has an “arch rival” they play every year without fail. The entire country waits for Oklahoma vs. Texas, Ohio State vs. Michigan and even the “Holy War” between Utah and BYU.
There’s genuine football hate between the competing schools and their respective fan bases. And while there’s certainly more than enough actual hate to go around pretty much everywhere these days, some level of healthy “football hate” makes a program that much better. Go back and read up on the comments of the late CU coach Bill McCartney.
You can name on one hand the number of high(est) profile college football programs that lack a year-in, year-out hated rival. Penn State (used to be Pittsburgh, but realignment made it an every few years kind of deal.) Nebraska. Back in the day it was the Huskers and the Oklahoma Sooners the day after Thanksgiving and it was oftentimes a game that decided the national title. But OU already had and still has Texas, “the Red River Rivalry” game. When the Big 12 broke apart, so did the battle of the Big Reds. Nebraska was left without a rival.
When Colorado took over Oklahoma’s spot on Nebraska’s schedule, the Buffs and Huskers became a thing, around here at least. CU never could truly replace OU in the hearts of Nebraska fans. And when those two moved to different conferences, that rivalry faded away, too.
Both programs were left wanting.
Now you can put Colorado in that same category with Penn State, Nebraska and perhaps Missouri and a few others. They all lack a true year-in, year-out arch-rival to point at.
As far as the Buffs are concerned, the old Pac-12 tried to force feed a Colorado vs. Utah “rivalry” during the dozen plus years that conference had both teams. But it never took root, largely because the “hate” factor was absent. Who can hate Utah? And while technically the Buffs and CSU play for the “Centennial Cup” (when they do play), which should make it a “rivalry” game, is it? They don’t play every season. Certainly CU doesn’t think CSU is their rival, and the CSU admin will always point at the Bronze Boot game with Wyoming – one of the few rivalry games not to be squelched by realignment – as CSU’s rivalry game.
So the Buffaloes are still in need of a true rival. And despite their ongoing clashes with Utah in the Holy War, it’s Brigham Young University that could be the Buffs rival moving forward.
To date they’ve only played 13 times since the series began more than a century ago. Colorado leads the series 7-5-1. After coming to Boulder and posting a 24-21 win Saturday night that dropped Colorado under .500 for the first time in two seasons, the 25th-ranked Cougars have now beaten CU twice in just nine months. Maybe some ill will is brewing?
Last year’s Alamo Bowl that pitted the two teams was a snoozer. Both outfits were not thrilled to be there after narrowly missing out on a shot at the College Football Playoff. Last Saturday night was different. The atmosphere at Folsom Field was rivalry-like. Intense. There were hard feelings, great plays and big mistakes. Yet it was still this CU team’s best and most spirited performance of this season thus far.
Folsom was packed, and not just with CU fans and Deion worshipers. The BYU fan contingent was very large, dare we say Nebraska-eque? A lot of blue in the stands, and they got very loud when their team was doing good things.
The most important ingredient that could fuel this new rivalry is the vast difference in ideologies. If this were cultural/political, you’d have had deep blue hosting deep red. As it was, you had BYU – well known to give off an aura of superiority and even arrogance, looking down their noses at the “woke” Boulder scene with disdain.
If we’re being honest, BYU is very easy to hate. Ask anyone who has played against them, even their in-state brethren in Salt Lake City.
The ingredients are there for a good ol’ fashioned sports hate to take root.
Buff Nation will never accept CSU as a rival, and Nebraska isn’t interested in going back. CU needs this. If the Buffs are to have an actual rivalry game on the slate every year, BYU would be the perfect foil.
