Rivalry Week Part I: Football Friday and The Howell Report's One Year Anniversary.

It is the day after Thanksgiving, a day where many people wait in long lines outside of department stores to hunt for perceived bargains on the first day of the holiday shopping season.  It is day that the country calls "Black Friday" but lately I have decided to call it "Football Friday" since many college games are airing this afternoon.  I would also like to point out that last year's Football Friday was the day I started The Howell Report.  And now, one year and 3500 hits later, I want to thank everyone who took the time to visit this little corner of the internet.  

Anyway, today's Football Friday slate of games features some great interstate and in-state football rivalries.  At Noon on ABC, the Big Ten Conference presents the Hy-Vee Heroes Game, a recently resurrected border rivalry between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Iowa Hawkeyes.  Nebraska and Iowa have been playing each other since 1891 and their rivalry was an annual matchup (with some interruptions) until 1946.  By then Nebraska and Iowa were in separate conferences (Iowa -Big Ten, Nebraska - Big 8, forerunner to the Big XII) and they rarely played each other until Nebraska joined the Big Ten in July 2011.  The Cornhuskers currently lead the series 28-12-3.  Today's game should prove interesting since both teams are almost evenly matched in terms of their records.  (Neb: 8-3, 5-2 conference; Iowa: 7-4, 4-3 conference).  Regardless of the outcome of today's game, both teams will go to postseason bowls.

At the same time, the American Athletic Conference has a game between Southern Methodist and Houston on ESPN2.  Both the Mustangs and the Cougars were part of the old Southwest Conference before it dissolved in the mid-1990s.  After that conference broke apart, Houston joined Conference-USA in 1996 and Southern Methodist joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) where it remained until it joined C-USA in 2005.  Both schools found their way into what became the AAC last summer.  I don't know if either team considers the other a major rival.  But since these two teams are the only members of the AAC that are from Texas, in-conference and state bragging rights could be a major issue in today's game.  The AAC also has another in-state contest between #19 Central Florida and South Florida.  That game airs on ESPN at 8PM tonight.

At 2:30PM on CBS Arkansas and #17 Louisiana State will commence the "Battle for The Golden Boot" a trophy shaped like the state outlines of Louisiana and Arkansas.  LSU currently leads the series 36-20-2 and the rivalry has been played since 1901, ninety years before Arkansas joined the Southeastern Conference.  The trophy looks like this:

 Image source:  Wikipedia

The PAC-12 has two major in-state rivalries in the Pacific Northwest.  Washington and Washington State will kickoff at 3:30 PM Eastern on FOX.  Both teams play for the "Apple Cup," a trophy symbolizing the state's role as a major apple producer.  The Huskies currently lead the series 67-32-6.  The teams have played each other 105 times since 1900, making it one of the longest continually played rivalries in the country.  At 7:00PM Eastern tonight on FOX Sports 1, the "Civil War" between #13 Oregon and Oregon State will begin.  Had Oregon defeated Arizona last week, this game would have been the only thing standing between the Ducks and an appearance in the PAC-12 Championship game.  Instead, both teams will play for bragging rights and invitations to mid-level and upper-level non-BCS bowl bids.  However, if Oregon wins today and Stanford loses the PAC-12 Championship to Arizona State, the Ducks may be eligible for an at-large bid to a BCS bowl game.  Both teams have played each other since 1894 and Oregon currently leads the series 60-46-10. 

Enjoy the day, everybody!!