re: What’s the bigger college football rivalry ?

"The Game" took on national relevance when ABC put it on every year at 11 or 3. Since it was a national broadcast and got the hype from ABC pushing it, everyone thought it was more important than it actually was. I mean both teams went over three decades without winning a championship. Also, add in the stigma of the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl was the only thing of significance on the line. Guess who had exclusive rights to the Rose Bowl, it was ABC. So ABC definitely wanted their games to seem more important than they actually are.