ESPN’s Sam Acho Insults The Iron Bowl While Talking Up The Red River Rivalry

Getty Image / Kevin C. Cox

One of the best parts about college football are the rivalry games played year-in and year-out that split families, states, and regions apart and incite incredible year-round passion. Two of the biggest rivalries are the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn and the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas.

I think a lot of general college football fans would only rank one rivalry at most, Michigan-Ohio State, ahead of the Iron Bowl in terms of the sport’s best rivalries. But, ESPN’s Sam Acho decided to take a jab at the rivalry while at SEC Media Days as he talked about why the Red River Rivalry is so special.

Every year, the Red River Rivalry takes place the second Saturday of October at the Texas State Fair in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl, with the crowd split 50/50 between burnt orange and red. It’s no doubt one of the better rivalries, and while Texas just went through a decade in the wilderness, so to speak, it’s often a very important game for both teams.

Still, the Iron Bowl probably has the edge, given the pure hate and historical significance, especially recently. Only older college football fans will remember that Alabama refused to play away games at Auburn for decades before being forced to due to political pressures. Most of the games in the mid-20th century in the series were played in Birmingham.

But, Sam Acho claims that because Texas-Oklahoma is an interstate rivalry as opposed to an intrastate rivalry, the rivalry is bigger and better.

The part about the clip that is confusing is when he went on and on about the ramifications that the Texas-Oklahoma game usually has.

“Think about other games and other quote-unquote rivalries where it’s they’ve been very much one-sided. (The Red River Rivalry) means something year in and year out. Go back a decade ago and yes, Auburn had a lot of success a decade ago ,but even Texas Oklahoma who’s number one, who’s number two, that game always meant something,” Acho said.

A few things here. First off, just by the nature of the schedule with Oklahoma and Texas playing at around the halfway point and Alabama and Auburn playing the final week of the season, the Red River Rivalry is going to, at the time the game is played, have more games with big implications for both teams.

But, how many years in the last 20 years has the Auburn-Alabama game not mattered on a national scale and been a nationally relevant game that draws a lot of viewers? It hasn’t happened often. And, even in years where Alabama was much better than Auburn on paper, the Tigers have played them tough.

I get that Sam Acho went to Texas and played four games in the Red River Rivalry, a special rivalry on its own. But, there’s no reason to be ignorant about what the Iron Bowl means to college football.