{"id":117208,"date":"2024-06-06T07:24:21","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T14:24:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/herosports.com\/?p=117208"},"modified":"2024-06-06T07:24:26","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T14:24:26","slug":"fcs-most-played-rivalry-games-bmbm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/herosports.com\/fcs-most-played-rivalry-games-bmbm\/","title":{"rendered":"The Most-Played FCS Rivalry Games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You think you know everything about the big rivalry games in the FCS<\/a> ranks, right? Obviously, it must be the Bayou Classic, the Brawl of the Wild, or the battle for the Dakota Marker.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of recent relevance, those games have massive storylines attached to them. But today we\u2019re going to bring you the games that will have massive rivalry storylines this fall because of how many times<\/em> they\u2019ve been played. They\u2019ve been relevant for more than a century, not just a decade or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We break it down by conference and give you the most-often played FCS rivalry game for the conferences that have been around for a while. So which games have been contested the most among teams at the FCS level? How far do they go back? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CONFERENCE: Patriot League
LAFAYETTE VS. LEHIGH
\u201cThe Rivalry\u201d
GAMES: 159
LEADER: Lafayette leads 82-72-5
2024 DATE: Nov. 23 at Lehigh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE DETAILS: No college football rivalry game has been played more often than Lafayette-Lehigh. Not Alabama-Auburn, Michigan-Ohio State, USC-UCLA, or even what seems like the cradle of civilization when it comes to college football \u2013 the Ivy League. This Patriot League battle between Lafayette and Lehigh is so storied that it\u2019s just referred to simply as The Rivalry. Why does it need to be snazzier than that? The two schools are roughly 15 miles apart in the Lehigh Valley of Eastern Pennsylvania, and they didn\u2019t miss a game in a season for more than 120 years — from 1897 until CoVid screwed up the world in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OTHER NOTABLES: Bucknell vs. Lafayette (101 games back to 1883); Colgate vs. Holy Cross (85 games since 1917); Bucknell vs. Lehigh (85 games since 1888).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CONFERENCE: Ivy League
PRINCETON VS. YALE
GAMES: 145
LEADER: Yale leads 80-55-10
2024 DATE: Nov. 16 at Yale<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE DETAILS: As anyone who follows college football knows, the Ivy League is full of incredible rivalries just dripping with history. In fact, of the top seven most played intraconference rivalries in the FCS, five of them are Ivy League games. But leading them all in the Ivy League is Princeton vs. Yale \u2013 a game that pits two schools about a three-hour drive apart in today\u2019s terms, but when it was first played in 1873 right after the Civil War, it took a tad bit longer by railroad. These were some of the first games played in the history of the sport. And yes, this one has been played more often and for longer than Harvard-Yale (139 games back to 1875).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OTHER NOTABLES: Cornell vs. Penn (129 games since 1893); Brown vs. Yale (127 games since 1880); Dartmouth vs. Harvard (126 games since 1882).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CONFERENCE: CAA
RICHMOND VS. WILLIAM & MARY
\u201cThe Capital Cup\u201d
GAMES: 134
LEADER: Richmond 65-64-5
2024 DATE: Nov. 23 at Richmond<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE DETAILS: This won\u2019t officially qualify as an intraconference rivalry after this year, as Richmond is moving out of the CAA to the Patriot League<\/a>. When it comes to the most played rivalries among FCS schools \u2013 intraconference or not \u2013 none has been as hotly contested as The Capital Cup in Virginia. The two teams are virtually tied (Richmond leads 65-64-5) going into their 135th matchup this November.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OTHER NOTABLES: Maine vs. New Hampshire (113 games since 1903); Maine vs. Rhode Island (101 games since 1911)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CONFERENCE: Big Sky
MONTANA VS. MONTANA STATE
\u201cThe Brawl of the Wild\u201d
GAMES: 122
LEADER: Montana 74-42-5
2024 DATE: Nov. 23 at Montana State<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE DETAILS: The Brawl, which dates to 1897, is the oldest consistently played rivalry among FCS schools that are not from the Northeastern United States. The winner takes home the Great Divide Trophy and bragging rights. If you don\u2019t know anything about FCS football and this rivalry, think Alabama-Auburn and how it splits towns and sometimes even families in its home state. That\u2019s how hotly contested this one is. And in recent years, the winner usually gets a leg up on being a national contender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OTHER NOTABLES: Idaho vs. Montana (89 games since 1903); Sacramento State vs. UC Davis (70 games since 1954)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CONFERENCE: MVFC
SOUTH DAKOTA VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
\u201cSouth Dakota Showdown Series\u201d
GAMES: 117
LEADER: SDSU leads 57-53-7
2024 DATE: Oct. 26 at SDSU<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE DETAILS: The two schools have been bitter rivals since the Division II days and even before that. They even disagree on how many times South Dakota has won the game (by one game). Both teams were strong in 2023, but SDSU was a machine on its way to a second consecutive national championship \u2013 blowing out the Coyotes for their 57th win in a series dating back to 1889.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OTHER NOTABLES: You can add just about any rivalry game pitting one of the Dakota schools against the other. Behind USD-SDSU, there\u2019s the UND-NDSU rivalry matchup that played for the Nickel Trophy in the D2 days (116 games back to 1894), and one of the nation\u2019s top current rivalries, the Dakota Marker game between NDSU and SDSU (115 games back to 1903).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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