LSU and Arkansas is definitely a rival

Over the past 25 years Arkansas has been a much better series with LSU than old piss.

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They are annoying to play but I hate the “boot trophy” and this forced upon LSU rivalry.

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LSU and Arkansas have met 69 times. That’s more than Auburn (58) and A&M (62) and only one less than Florida (70).

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LSU and Arkansas have met 69 times. That’s more than Auburn (58) and A&M (62) and only one less than Florida (70).

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playing a lot doesn't automatically make it a "rivalry"

we've played Rice only 2 fewer times than we've played Auburn.
does that make Rice almost as much of a rival as Auburn?

It’s a rivalry for LSU too. Our fans just like to say Arkansas cares more than we do, to make ourselves feel better, for when our rivals, Bama, Ole Miss, A&M, and Florida all say that we aren’t their biggest rivals.

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How is that historically any less contrived than Arkansas?

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LSU hadn't played Arkansas in almost 30 years before the '92 expansion.
Arkansas hadn't beat LSU in 63 years prior to the '92 expansion.

then because the two states share a border, the SEC put the game on "rivalry week", called it a "border state rivalry" and after a whopping 4 games played, they even added a "rivalry trophy"

playing a total of 4 games over 30 years is not a rivalry.
but that's exactly how the game was pushed by the SEC from the very beginning.

that's trying to force a rivalry where there isn't one.

rivalries have to develop organically.
and while the LSU/Arkansas series has been a good one for the last 15-20 years, there just hasn't been enough that has happened in the series to elevate it from being a very good game on the schedule to "man frick those cocksuckers I hope they burn in hell!"

take Auburn as an example of one that developed into a rivalry.
nobody could have predicted in '92 that LSU/Auburn would become one.

but the wild '94 interception game was followed by the '95 "bring back the magic" game that was decided on the last play
which was then followed by the '96 Barn Burner that also had a wild ending.
then the '97 Cecil Collins game that came down to a blocked 60+ yard FG on last play
then the '99 Cigar game
the '01 season ender for the West championship, Auburn stomping the eye, etc.
the '04 leaping game
the '05 overtime game with Auburn missing 5 FGs
the '06 Ref-Gate
the '07 Flynn-Byrd


all of a sudden LSU/Auburn was "must see TV". the winner represented the West more often than not. the two teams and fanbases were circling THAT game on the roster. the player all said it was the most physical and intense game on the schedule. And while that has tapered some in the last decade, the game still just "delivered" in most seasons. Something different was just going to happen in that game.


none of that ever really developed with Arkansas.

and a lot of it is that very very few of our games have had any implications outside of just that game.
for the vast majority of our matchups, the 2 teams' post season lot in life did not change based on the outcome of the game.
in years where only one team had a shot at the west, that team typically won.
in years where one team already clinched the west and lost this, that loss didn't really change that season's outcome.

you need things like that to happen in a series to elevate it from an important conference game to a "rivalry".

that's not a knock on Arkansas, or saying LSU is above them in anyway.
Just that the pure hatred needed to have a true "rivalry" isn't there because the series hasn't provided any real fuel for it.