Did the Red River Rivalry usurp the Iron Bowl as the SEC's best rivalry in 2024 when Texas and Oklahoma officially joined the conference? USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer certainly doesn't believe so.
Toppmeyer ranked Alabama-Auburn as the top rivalry and claimed that Texas-Oklahoma is the one rivalry that gets away with playing at a neutral site.
"Instate rivalries hit differently, especially when that state is football-crazed Alabama. As an Auburn fan once said, the Iron Bowl isn’t life or death. It’s much bigger than that. There been national title implications and memorable moments that serve to add to the lore," Toppmeyer wrote of the Iron Bowl,
"When the SEC added Oklahoma and Texas, the conference didn’t just gain two iconic brands, it acquired one of college football’s best rivalries. Most games are better when played on college campuses, but this one at the Cotton Bowl during the State Fair of Texas stands as an exception to that rule," he added on the Red River Rivalry.
Toppmeyer essentially deemed three rivalries as transcendent: Alabama's, Mississippi's, and the interstate rivalry between the Lone Star State and Sooner State.
"Some matchups like the Iron Bowl, Egg Bowl and Red River are non-negotiable. They’re going nowhere, no matter the format. The importance of other rivalries varies based on factors such as your age, where you're from, and the extent to which history matters to you," Toppmeyer wrote.
To be fair, the Third Saturday in October rivalry between Alabama and Tennessee and the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry between Auburn and Georgia will never go anywhere either. Some schools, and states, won't break these traditions for anything.