It is a known fact that we here at BC just love us some analogizing.
So Eyes' post on the state of Aggie Football brought to mind an analogy that might help explain to our Aggie Brethren just where they fit on the football food chain.
Look to the Big 10.
Ohio State is to Michigan as Oklahoma is to Texas.
Michigan State is to Michigan as Texas A&M is to Texas.
Or to put it another way:
Ohio State & OKlahoma = Darth Vadar & the Death Star.
Michigan State & Texas A&M = Goofy in-laws
TOP RIVALS
Any list of college football's greatest rivalries includes Texas-OU and Michigan-Ohio State. These are interstate matchups that generate passion and heat that last throughout the year. The outcome frequently has conference and national implications.
Texas leads the overall series with OU 59-40-5.
Michigan leads the overall series with Ohio State 57-42-6
Since 1950, Texas leads the series 30-27-3
Since 1950 Ohio State leads the series 30-27-2
They are bitter, long-standing rivalries where careers are made - or broken - with win streaks, and where individual contests can be talked about for generations.
A little story about the Ohio State-Michigan Rivalry. In 1975, Baylor went to Michigan in early September. The Bears played the Wolverines to a 14-14 tie. The next Monday, Grant Teaff was in a staff meeting when his secretary came and said Ohio State's Woody Hayes was on the line and insisted on talking to him.
Teaff took the call and Hayes immediately peppered him with questions about the game, questions about what Michigan did on certain down and distances, what were their defensive tendancies, etc.
After a few questions, Teaff Finally said,
Woody, I'll be glad to send you the game film, and go into detail over what happened some other time, but you don't play Michigan until the end of the season.
Hayes paused and then replied, Grant, we play Michigan every Monday.
Losing streaks in these rivalries can get you fired or pushed out the door, no matter how many total wins you have (see Wilkinson, Bud - Royal, Darrell - Cooper, John - Carr, Lloyd.)
INTRASTATE RIVALRIES
Family Feuds. Contests where your in-state rival wants the game to mean more to you than it really does. Games where you generally win, and when you lose it is irritating, but not to the extent that your out-of-state rival gets to you. A losing streak in this series can really piss you off, but again, it doesn't bring the DEFCOM Level 4 Angst that a losing streak to OU or Ohio State brings those fan bases.
Texas leads the series with A&M 74-36-5 a 67% winning percentage.
Michigan leads its series with Michigan State 67-30-5 for a winning percentage of 68%.
Both Michigan State and Texas A&M have had their moments, and both owe them to a duo of coaches.
MICHIGAN vs. MICHGAN STATE
Between 1950 and 1968, Michigan State had its Golden Era. Clarence "Biggie" Munn was the coach from 1947-53, followed by Duffy Daugherty. Munn took a couple of years to get the program going, but by 1950 Michigan State was winning on a regular basis.
From 1950-1968 Michigan State won three National Championships, and went 125-49-4 for a 71% winning percentage. Included in that record was a 13-4-2 mark against Michigan.
Duffy Daugherty & his predecessor, Biggie Munn accounted for almost half of Michigan State's wins over Michigan.
After the 1968 season Michigan hired Bo Schembechler. Since then the Wolverines have gone 31-12 against their in-state rivals. Earlier this season, the Spartans celebrated back-to-back wins in the series for the first time since Schembechler was hired.
TEXAS vs TEXAS A&M
The Aggies high water mark came during the Jackie Sherrill/R.C. Slocum run from 1984-94. Texas A&M was 101-29 for a winning percentage of 78% It included the 10-1 record against Texas, along with six conference titles.
Jackie Sherrill and FedEx helped turn the tide in the Texas series for the Aggies in the mid-80's.
Sherrill and Slocum combined to go 12-9 against Texas, which means they have accounted for a 3rd of all the Aggie wins against the Longhorns.
From 1995, Texas has a 10-4 series record, which at 71% is close to the historical winning percentage for the Horns.
Texas and Michigan are two of the winningest programs of all time. They are used to being a key target to just about everyone they play.
The Longhorns and Wolverines also have bitter rivals that are at the top of their hit list -- and their intrastate rivals aren't it -- and never have been.