Best SEC Football Rivalries Ranked: Iron Bowl and More

Few conferences turn a single Saturday into a statewide holiday quite like the SEC. Some of these matchups split households down the middle. Others have decided national championships. All of them carry enough history that the score alone rarely tells the whole story. This ranking of the best SEC football rivalries covers six of the…

Few conferences turn a single Saturday into a statewide holiday quite like the SEC. Some of these matchups split households down the middle. Others have decided national championships. All of them carry enough history that the score alone rarely tells the whole story.

This ranking of the best SEC football rivalries covers six of the conference’s defining series — the Iron Bowl, the Third Saturday in October, the Alabama-LSU game known as the Saban Bowl, the Egg Bowl, the Florida-Georgia game, and Alabama-Georgia—using official series records, team-reported statistics, and recent results. Judgment calls are labeled clearly as analysis.

How We Ranked These Rivalries

Analysis: Ranking rivalries is inherently subjective, so this list weighs four measurable factors: length of the series, competitive balance, the presence of a physical trophy or defining nickname, and recent stakes. A century-old series still separated by single digits tends to matter more than a lopsided one, and a rivalry with real modern-day championship implications carries more weight than one that’s cooled off.

The Iron Bowl: Alabama vs. Auburn

Alabama and Auburn first met on February 22, 1893, with Auburn winning 32-22. Per Alabama Athletics’ official opponent history, Alabama improved to 52-37-1 against Auburn following its 2025 win, and the rivalry has been contested 90 times since 1892. Alabama Athleticssportskeeda

The series wasn’t always annual. A financial dispute led to a long break in the schedule, and when the two sides finally met again after that gap, Alabama won 55-0 — still the largest margin of victory in series history. Alabama AthleticsAlabama Athletics

Why It Matters: Recent history has tilted heavily toward Alabama. The Crimson Tide’s 27-20 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium in the 2025 Iron Bowl marked its sixth straight victory over Auburn (2020-25) and its third consecutive road win in the series — a first in program history — while also clinching a spot in the SEC Championship Game. Ty Simpson threw for three touchdowns in that win, all to Isaiah Horton. sportskeedasportskeeda

Third Saturday in October: Alabama vs. Tennessee

Alabama and Tennessee first met on November 28, 1901, playing to a 6-6 tie in Birmingham. The series was halted from 1915 to 1927, then resumed in 1928 as the first of 66 consecutive meetings on the traditional third Saturday date, with Tennessee winning that comeback game 15-13 in Tuscaloosa. Alabama AthleticsAlabama Athletics

Alabama’s 11-game winning streak from 1971 to 1981 gave the Crimson Tide the upper hand in the series, and Tennessee’s longest streak — seven straight wins from 1995 to 2001 — remains the longest by any Alabama opponent in program history. More recently, Alabama won 16 of 17 meetings in the series, with the Volunteers’ lone win in that stretch coming on a field goal as time expired in Knoxville in 2022. Alabama AthleticsWikipedia

Why It Matters: Per Alabama’s official series notes, this is one of the Crimson Tide’s most historically even rivalries, and it’s shifted control multiple times across a century-plus of play — unlike some series on this list that have settled into a clearer modern hierarchy.

Alabama vs. LSU: The Saban Bowl

Per Alabama Athletics’ official football history database, Alabama and LSU have met 90 times since November 18, 1895, when LSU won the series opener 6-12 (LSU 12, Alabama 6). Alabama now leads the all-time series 58-27-5, with a largest margin of victory of 47-3 set on November 10, 1922. Alabama Athletics

The rivalry’s modern nickname traces to one coach’s path between the two programs. Nick Saban went 48-16 in five seasons at LSU, winning two SEC titles and a national championship, before leaving for the NFL and eventually taking the Alabama job in 2007. His first meeting with LSU as Alabama’s coach came that same year, a 41-34 LSU win in Tuscaloosa — the game that earned the “Saban Bowl” nickname. DraftKings NetworkAmerican Football Wiki

Why It Matters: Alabama has won its last three meetings with LSU, including a 20-9 result on November 8, 2025, and the two programs are 8-2 across their last 10 games. They meet again on November 7, 2026. Alabama Athletics

The Egg Bowl: Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State

The rivalry has been played for the Golden Egg trophy since 1927, and the “Egg Bowl” name itself was coined by a Clarion-Ledger headline writer in 1978. Per ESPN’s game recap of the 2025 meeting, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw for 359 yards and four touchdowns as No. 6 Ole Miss beat Mississippi State 38-19, giving the Rebels 11 regular-season wins — the most in school history. Sports IllustratedESPN

Mississippi State controlled the series’ early decades. Note: series win totals are reported slightly differently by ESPN across different points in the 2025 season — sourced as 66-49-6 in an early-November account and updated after the game itself — so treat the exact all-time figure as approximate pending Ole Miss and Mississippi State’s own official releases.

Why It Matters: Lane Kiffin’s name was heavily linked to the LSU coaching vacancy at the time of the 2025 Egg Bowl, adding extra weight to what was already a season-defining matchup for Ole Miss. ESPN

Florida vs. Georgia: The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party

(Sourced via ESPN in the absence of an indexed Florida Athletics or Georgia Athletics series-history page — flagging this since it’s the one section still resting on a media outlet rather than a team site.)

This rivalry comes with a built-in dispute. Georgia counts the all-time series at 56-44-2 across 102 meetings, while Florida counts it as 55-44-2 across 101 meetings — the discrepancy stemming from a 52-0 Georgia win in 1904 that Florida doesn’t recognize, since the modern University of Florida wasn’t formally established until 1905 and didn’t field a team until 1906. Wikipedia

Georgia has won the majority of recent meetings, and the schools have played the game annually in Jacksonville since 1933, aside from a brief construction-related relocation in the 1990s. ESPN

Why It Matters: Few rivalries on this list carry an argument over their own history the way this one does — which, per ESPN’s own rivalry coverage, is part of what makes it distinctive even among SEC matchups.

Alabama vs. Georgia

(Also sourced via a general reference database rather than a confirmed team-site page — worth noting for the same transparency reason.)

Alabama and Georgia have met 76 times since 1895, with Alabama holding the all-time edge. Georgia snapped a long Alabama winning streak with a win in the most recent meeting in December 2025, giving the Bulldogs a short current streak heading into the 2026 matchup on October 10.

Why It Matters: With both programs regularly competing for SEC and national title contention in recent seasons, this series has taken on more weight than its historical record alone would suggest.

Conclusion

Analysis: By series length, competitive history, and recent stakes, the Iron Bowl still sits atop the best SEC football rivalries — its historical hiatus, its 52-37-1 record, and its annual grip on the state of Alabama are hard to match.
The Third Saturday in October and the Alabama-LSU Saban Bowl follow closely, both shaped directly by championship-era coaching storylines. The Egg Bowl and Florida-Georgia bring longevity and tradition even in down years for either program, and Alabama-Georgia has quietly become one of the conference’s most consequential modern matchups.

FAQs

Who leads the Iron Bowl series?
Alabama leads the all-time Iron Bowl series 52-37-1, per Alabama Athletics’ official record following the 2025 game.

Why is the Alabama-LSU game called the Saban Bowl?
The nickname stems from Nick Saban’s history on both sides of the rivalry — he won a national title at LSU before later taking over at Alabama, first facing his former team as Alabama’s coach in 2007.

Why can’t Florida and Georgia agree on their own series record?
Per ESPN, the schools dispute both the total number of meetings and the outcome of a 1904 game, since Florida doesn’t recognize that contest as part of the official series.

When was the Egg Bowl name coined?
The “Egg Bowl” nickname dates to 1978, referencing the Golden Egg trophy that’s been awarded since 1927.

How did Ole Miss perform in the 2025 Egg Bowl?
Ole Miss beat Mississippi State 38-19, with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss throwing for 359 yards and four touchdowns.

Who has Alabama’s longest active win streak among these rivalries?
Alabama’s active streak against Auburn stood at six straight games following the 2025 Iron Bowl.