National Limelight Brings Old Rivals Out of Shadows

College football rivalries have always existed in towns such as Corvallis, Ore., and West Lafayette, Ind. It’s just that hardly anyone paid attention to them.

But today--a day when rivals square off across the nation--several out-of-the-way games are grabbing the spotlight.

The Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State has two teams ranked in the top 10. The Old Oaken Bucket game has Purdue needing to defeat Indiana for its first Rose Bowl berth since 1966.

Some glamour games--such as Florida at Florida State--retain their shine, but the upstarts have shoved aside the likes of USC-UCLA and Michigan-Ohio State.

“That’s what’s happening around the country in college football,” Ohio State Coach John Cooper said. “We’ve talked about the balance of power, parity in college football.”

Never has that been more true than in the Pacific 10 and Big Ten, where seven teams have shots at the Rose Bowl.

If No. 5 Oregon defeats No. 8 Oregon State, the Ducks win the conference title and the Rose Bowl bid. If Oregon loses and Washington defeats Washington State--that’s the Apple Cup in Pullman, Wash.--the Huskies go to Pasadena. Oregon State needs to defeat Oregon and have Washington lose.

The Beavers have another reason for wanting to win.

“To lose this game would be heartbreaking,” Oregon State linebacker Richard Seigler said. “[Oregon] will be able to celebrate the Rose Bowl on our field. We can’t let that happen. That would be too much to take.”

Purdue is in the driver’s seat for the other Rose Bowl spot. Should the Boilermakers lose, however, Cooper and his Buckeyes can win the conference title, and the Big Ten’s Rose Bowl berth, with a victory over Michigan in the 100-Year War. But wait, there’s more.

Northwestern gets it with a victory over Illinois and losses by Purdue and Ohio State. Michigan still has a chance too. The Wolverines must defeat Ohio State and hope that Purdue and Northwestern lose.

The scenarios are simpler in other rivalries that have national implications.

The Governor’s Cup game between No. 3 Florida State and No. 4 Florida is exactly what you’d expect: a clash of titans. The winner puts itself in position to leapfrog Miami for a spot in the BCS national championship game.

“This is the biggest game there is these days,” Gator quarterback Jesse Palmer said. “Both teams have almost identical records, high rankings and all these implications. You throw everything on top of it and I think families break up over this game.”

A little north, at Clemson, the Tigers have already accepted a Gator Bowl invitation but face surprising South Carolina, which is fighting for the best bowl it can get.

Even the Iron Bowl, with Auburn visiting disappointing Alabama, has meaning. The Tigers are trying to clinch at least a share of the SEC West title.

“I don’t think anybody in this building will consider this a winning season if we lose to Alabama,” Auburn linebacker Alex Lincoln said.

That sentiment extends to rivalries that have nothing to do with major bowl bids.

Games such as North Carolina at Duke, playing for the Victory Bell. Or Montana State at Montana, where the winner receives “The Grizzly-Bobcat Painting.” Or Stanford and California, where teams with losing records face each other in “the Big Game.”

“We’re just going to direct all our energy toward beating Cal,” Stanford quarterback Randy Fasani said. “That’s our bowl game, right there.”

It’s not only the players who feel strongly about this particular rivalry. The mascots--a bear for Cal, the infamous tree for Stanford--have a history of being kidnapped, being kept under strict security and being asked to take Breathalyzer tests before entering the stadium.

On a more dignified note, Yale plays at Harvard in a rivalry known simply as “The Game.” Neither school has a shot at the Ivy League title, but they would like to believe a more significant victory is at stake.

Twelve of the last 15 times they have played in an election year, a Yale victory has coincided with a Republican winner, while a Harvard victory has meant that a Democrat wins.

With this year’s election up in the air, the Yale press office suggests: “Why not let the 117th playing of The Game determine the next leader of the free world?”

Texas Gov. George W. Bush is a Yale graduate, and Vice President Al Gore earned his degree at Harvard.