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If you're buying a ticket and making a trip to one college football game somewhere in America each year, Miami vs. Florida State should be the one.
Never mind that the series doesn't have quite the sizzle of old. The standard these programs set from 1987-93, when both teams consistently were ranked in the top 10 at the time of their meeting, is fairly ridiculous and will not be repeated.
Doesn't take a poll, though, to vault the Hurricanes and Seminoles into the national spotlight. The major networks long have loved this rivalry for its close and crazy finishes, and for an impressive pattern of road-team victories that demonstrates just how little one team intimidates the other.
That's why the game is ABC's prime-time showcase event Saturday night, with kickoff at 8.
What other rivalry comes as close to guaranteeing a great show as the Miami-FSU game, which has been nationally telecast nine of the past 12 years?
Last season's meeting was a Labor Day special, with Miami winning 38-34 at Tallahassee but scrambling all the way to the finish line. Christian Ponder had FSU at the Hurricanes' 2-yard line and seemed to have the winning touchdown as time expired, but his receiver dropped the ball in the end zone.
The previous year at Sun Life Stadium was a mud-caked monument to everything that is perfectly insane and insanely perfect about the college game. FSU led Miami 24-0 but wound up scrapping to preserve a 41-39 victory. Miami coach Randy Shannon dialed up a pair of desperate touchdowns on the comeback trail that day, one on a halfback pass and another on a tackle-eligible play.
That's what makes this rivalry the one to watch for pure, unadulterated entertainment value. The last winning streak was two in a row by FSU in 2005 and 2006. The last victory by a home team was five years ago. Ten years ago, FSU's Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke passed for 496 yards and lost.
Compare that level of competitive chaos to the other high-profile rivalries.
Ohio State has won six in a row over Michigan, and by an average margin of nearly two touchdowns.
Alabama and Auburn have split their past four meetings, but there was a Crimson Tide blowout in there a couple of years ago.
USC has won eight straight against Notre Dame. Florida has won six in a row over FSU. The Gators have taken 10 of the past 12 from Georgia, too.
Texas and Oklahoma is a sensational series, splitting the past four editions of the Red River Rivalry by an average of a little more than a touchdown per game. Widen the scope just a bit, however, and you find a 65-13 Oklahoma romp in 2003 and a 45-12 Texas stampede in 2005.
Compare that to FSU and Miami, with an average winning margin of 4.1 points in the past nine meetings and an overtime Hurricanes victory in 2004.
No reason to expect the No. 13 Hurricanes to crush No. 23 FSU, or vice versa, though there is one startling contrast to past environments.
"I thought I was going to die before Bobby Bowden left Florida State," Miami cornerback Ryan Hill, a Tallahassee native, said this week.
Jimbo Fisher is the new head coach at FSU, that's true, but he's been running the offense for a while and can be counted on to keep the pressure on both rushing and passing. The Seminoles have run for 200 yards in consecutive blowout wins over BYU, Wake Forest and Virginia. Shannon won't soon forget, either, how Ponder rushed for a career-high 144 yards at Miami two years ago.
"I can't tell you what's going to happen in the game," said Shannon, "but it'll be a game that you watch. It's the reason TV has put it on prime time. ... It's old-time tradition."
But with a new twist, relatively speaking. This is the first week since the final regular-season poll of 2005 that Miami is ranked higher than Urban Meyer's Gators in the AP poll.
The Hurricanes were a top-10 team for most of that season, climbing as high as No. 3 at one point. With a win over FSU Saturday and a little help, Miami could be back in the top 10 again, and perhaps to stay, if Jacory Harris can cut down on his interceptions.
It all adds up to what is expected to be the first home sellout for the Hurricanes since they moved from the old Orange Bowl to Sun Life in 2008.
Don't have a ticket? Hey, you snooze, you lose. Of all the big rivalries in college football, this one is the surest bet. National championship implications or not, that should never be taken for granted.
~dave_george@pbpost.com
