ESPN College Football

Picking out one rivalry in the SEC that stands alone during the decade of 2000-09 is tricky.

Alabama and LSU played several memorable games, and Nick Saban’s switching sides during the decade certainly qualifies that rivalry for consideration. The Florida-Georgia rivalry was spiced up considerably in 2007 thanks to the Bulldogs’ end zone celebration following their first touchdown en route to a 42-30 win. Then Florida’s Urban Meyer calling two timeouts in the final seconds the next year to make sure the Bulldogs felt the full effect of a 49-10 rout.

There’s never a time that the Alabama-Auburn rivalry isn’t big, and Auburn and LSU had their share of thrilling finishes when they clashed last decade.

But the Alabama-Florida rivalry separated itself toward the end of the decade with the two epic No. 1 versus No. 2 meetings in the SEC championship game. Both times, the winner went on to win a national championship, and the two teams dominated the league in 2008 and 2009.

Florida’s Tim Tebow made one clutch play after another in the second half of the 2008 game to lead the Gators to a 31-20 win over the previously unbeaten and No. 1 Crimson Tide. That next season, the Crimson Tide made it their mission to get back to Atlanta and get another shot at the Gators. They did just that, winning 32-13 over the previously unbeaten and No. 1 Gators on their way to a perfect 14-0 season.

The Big Game between California and Stanford -- or is it Stanford and California? -- kicks off our season-ending series of rivalry weekends, so the Big Bosses in the palace in Bristol, Conn., wondered: What has been the best rivalry in each conference from 2000-2009?

As usual, when my bosses ask anything of me, I was thrilled to cogitate over the assignment. My reply: The Civil War. Without question.

Start with this: It's competitive. Oregon and Oregon State have split their last 10 games.

Further, it's been important, starting on Nov. 18, 2000, which was a horrible, no-good, rotten, very bad day for the Ducks. Not only did the Beavers win the Civil War 23-13, the loss knocked the Ducks out of the Rose Bowl. And not only did the Ducks get knocked out of the Rose Bowl by their in-state rival, their loss allowed the hated Washington Huskies, whom they had beaten, to go to the Rose Bowl instead. Meanwhile, the Beavers went on to whip Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, the Huskies won the Rose Bowl over Purdue, and the Ducks had to settle for beating Texas in the Holiday Bowl. Ah, but things haven't always been rosy for the Beavers in the rivalry. Not by a long shot. In the last two Civil Wars, an Oregon State win would have earned it a Rose Bowl berth for the first time since the 1964 season. The Beavers lost both. In 2008, the Ducks blew out the Beavers in Corvallis, 65-38. In 2009, with the Rose Bowl going to the winner, the Ducks again prevailed, but this time in a 37-33 nail-biter.

Today we're taking a look at the top rivalries in each major conference during the past decade (2000-09). For all your rivalry needs, check out ESPN Passport, a cool feature where you can weigh in on all of your favorite matchups.

Two Big Ten rivalries come to mind when thinking about the aughts, but my pick is Ohio State-Penn State.

In 2006, Michigan and Ohio State produced the most anticipated regular-season game in Big Ten history, but the Buckeyes' recent dominance in The Game shifted the focus to another annual matchup.

Penn State is the only Big Ten squad to provide a legitimate challenge to Ohio State during the Buckeyes' incredible run under head coach Jim Tressel. The Nittany Lions beat Ohio State in both 2005 and 2008, and while the teams shared the league title both times, Penn State earned the Big Ten's automatic BCS bowl berth because of its victories against the Buckeyes. Ohio State countered last fall with a win in Happy Valley that knocked Penn State out of the league title race.

Back in 2001, Penn State mounted the largest home comeback in team history against Ohio State, rallying to win 29-27 and making Joe Paterno the all-time winningest coach in major college football. Both teams were ranked in each of their past five meetings of the decade.

With ESPN Passport, you can check into any game, add events, photos, venues and anything else you want from your travels. It’s an interactive way to check out who’s going where, and find the best bars and restaurants at games all across the country. If there’s one rivalry in the ACC you don’t want to miss, it’s Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech.

Even though Virginia Tech has only been in the ACC since 2004, the game against Georgia Tech has developed into the best rivalry in the conference since 2000 -- the year the game was canceled after lightning struck Lee Corso’s car. No game has been more important to the ACC championship game, as the winner has gone on to represent the Coastal Division every year since the league was split, and the winner has won the past three ACC titles.

Georgia Tech won in 2006 and 2009, and the Hokies won in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010. And once again, Virginia Tech is on its way to winning the division, thanks in part to a regular-season win over the Jackets. It’s usually a close game, as the past three games have been decided by a combined 15 points. Both programs are the ACC’s winningest teams, regardless of division.

Missouri and Kansas played the one rivalry game with the most on the line in 2007, but there's no doubt the Big 12's defining rivalry over the past decade has been Oklahoma and Texas' annual battle for Big 12 South supremacy. The two titans clash in Dallas every year with the burnt orange and crimson fans split by the 50-yard line, and the pair has combined for eight Big 12 titles in the last 10 years, as well as six national championship game appearances and two national titles.

The aromas of corny dogs and other guilt-riddled delicacies fill the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas every year, surrounding the field where so many legends were born. Some of the best players to ever wear a college uniform -- such as Vince Young, Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Adrian Peterson -- have written their legacies just in the past decade in the Red River Rivalry.

Every year, there's plenty on the line, but never more (during the last decade, anyway) than 2008's 45-35 Texas win that became a dominant storyline in the chase for the national title the rest of the season. As Nebraska leaves for the Big Ten to begin the 21st century's second decade, don't expect the Longhorns and Sooners' yearly clash to leave its perch as the Big 12's best rivalry.

What was the best Big East rivalry from 2000 to 2009?

That's a difficult question, given the wildly different incarnations of the league in each half of the decade. There was Miami-Virginia Tech for a while. Louisville-West Virginia burned bright but then faded.

But the one constant has been the oldest and best rivalry in the Big East: the Backyard Brawl.

Fittingly, West Virginia and Pittsburgh split their 10 meetings from 2000-09. The most important from a national perspective happened in 2007, when the Panthers upset the heavily favored Mountaineers 13-9 in Morgantown in the season finale, knocking the then-No. 2 team in the BCS standings out of the national title hunt.

That game changed the fortune of both teams, and the last two games have been settled by a combined seven points. The 2004 game, won 16-13 by Pitt, helped decide the Big East's BCS representative. The Panthers were ranked in the top 10 last year when West Virginia beat them on a last-minute field goal.

This year's game, scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving, could have a major impact on the Big East title as well.