We don't have a 'rival' and haven't had one since Oklahoma and the Big 8 and then to lesser extent in Big 12. To be a rival, you must play each other for a LONG period of time in very competitive fashion typically and the annual game needs to have season make or break significance. It will often have major championship or title impact OR be based on a geographic tie such as the two prgrams at the same level within a given state or community or other grouping/association. A rvialry can and often grows out of one particularly noteworthy contest or battle with unusual or exceptional plays or events within - such as a fight, an unfair or illegal ruling, or other disruptive or destructive thing.
The key ingredients are, in my view:
- duration (normally several decades of annual games
- very competitive contests with title or other signficance
- very few teams have more than one rival
- geographic, conference or non-athletic ties or competitiveness adds to the spirited compeition between the two
- origins date are often traced back to a single event or controversy or 'spark' which lights the competitive fire
- rivalries cannot be created or started by declaration - they are not planned but more spontaneous
- they survive coaching and player personnel changes, etc etc
