There’s something about a good rivalry game in college football that seems to transcend the sport itself.

The game is less about outscoring the opponent, and more about asserting one university’s superiority over the other. Somehow, a win on the football field represents a win for the entire school, and there are no higher stakes in the regular season than a team’s biggest rivalry game.

Whether a team has a conference title on the line or is in last place, these rivalry games always have a championship-like atmosphere. The prize? A year’s worth of bragging rights, as valuable as any trophy in sports.

Many of the best rivalries in college football fall on the last weekend of the season, serving as the climactic conclusion to a long and grueling year. Winning a final-week rivalry game can save a “down” season, and losing the game can taint an otherwise successful campaign. That’s what makes these games so great.

With a tepid slate of games on this week’s schedule, we look ahead to Week 14 and rank the five best final-week rivalry games throughout college football history.

NOTE: To qualify for this list, a game must be traditionally played on the final weekend of the season, and that must hold true this year. For example, because Texas and Texas A&M no longer meet at the end of each season, their rivalry was not considered for this list.

5. Grambling State vs. Southern

The annual Bayou Classic between Grambling State and Southern may not matter to most football fans, but it has all the elements of a great rivalry game. It has a fantastic nickname, two teams that hate one another as if their opponent were the devil incarnate, and a tradition of excellence dating back 40 years.

For these two HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) programs from the FCS, this game defines their seasons. Grambling barely has enough money to fund its football program (you’ll recall the players boycotted over this issue last year), but a win in the Bayou Classic is as good as a national title to most fans. The same goes for Southern, which plays most of its season in relative anonymity until the final weekend arrives.

In 40 meetings all-time, each program has won 20 times. How’s that for a great rivalry?

These teams have combined to win 42 conference titles throughout history, and they are two of the proudest, most accomplished FCS and HBCU programs in the history of college football. Longtime Grambling head coach Eddie Robinson is not only a Hall of Famer, but there’s a Coach of the Year award named in his honor. Southern has three Hall of Famers of its own and it has produced 70 NFL stars throughout history.

So before shrugging off this matchup in favor of the rivalries that will follow on this list, give this game a chance. These schools are proud, successful, and full of hate and mutual respect for one another. Those are the cornerstones of a great rivalry, and that’s what the Bayou Classic has become.

4. Florida vs. Florida State

These two teams have played 58 times in the last 56 years (once every regular season plus two meetings in the 1994 and 1996 Sugar Bowls), and one or both teams have been ranked on almost every occasion. Florida won 16 of the first 19 meetings from 1958-1976, but since then the series has evened out, with FSU winning 20 of the last 39 games since 1977.

This is a rivalry built upon two of the great football institutions from one of the great football states of America. From Bobby Bowden to Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel to Charlie Ward, Peter Warrick to Percy Harvin, the rivalry has as much star power throughout history as any in America. These two schools have combined to win six of the last 21 national championships and five of the last 21 Heisman Trophies. There are few rivalries in the country more accomplished than the one Florida and Florida State share.

This game doesn’t affect conference records. But it does affect each school’s national standing, its chances at a national title or a prominent bowl appearance, and even its success in recruiting. The winner of this game is often able to claim itself as the best program in the state (depending on Miami’s success in a given season), and in the state of Florida that means everything.

It’s rare that this game doesn’t have major implications on the final weekend of the season, and with the history of these programs and the stars that have passed through over the course of 50 years, this is a rivalry that matters to most of America, not just the Sunshine State.

3. Alabama vs. Auburn

Football is more than just a game in the state of Alabama, and the annual Iron Bowl showdown between Alabama and Auburn marks one of the most important days of the year for both schools and most residents of the state.

The two teams have played 76 times dating all the way back to 1893, and the Crimson Tide has won 42 of those meetings throughout the years. It’s Auburn, however, that currently holds bragging rights in this series, coming off the greatest finish in the history of the rivalry in 2013 — Chris Davis’ kick-six as time expired to clinch the SEC West for the Tigers.

Last year’s game might have been one of the best Iron Bowls ever, but it was far from the only memorable game in the series. Eight times since the year 2000 has this game been decided by single digits, and 28 times overall has the winner held on by nine points or fewer.

The histories of these two teams include football titans like Bear Bryant and Bo Jackson, and the two schools have combined to win the last five SEC championships (31 overall) and four of the last five national championships (17 overall).

The programs are accomplished and prominent in the college football world. However, only one can claim superiority in a state where football superiority means everything. Deciding that superiority is what the Iron Bowl is all about, and that’s why it has become one of the great rivalries to close the college football season each year.

2. Michigan vs. Ohio State

The Wolverines and Buckeyes share in one of the most tradition-rich rivalries in the history of college football, including 110 meetings all-time dating back to 1897. This game has decided countless Big Ten titles and it has earned the winner countless berths in the national championship game.

Michigan has won 58 meetings all-time to Ohio State’s 45 (the rest were ties), and the history of the rivalry is littered with Hall of Fame players and coaches. The two teams have combined to win a whopping 78 Big Ten titles and 18 national titles, and they’ve produced 10 Heisman winners.

The showdowns between Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler are some of the greatest in the history of the sport, and although Michigan is down right now these two teams have faced multiple times as top 10 foes just in the last decade.

This rivalry has history. It has tradition. It has star-power and championship implications, and it is always among the marquee matchups on the final weekend of the regular season. You’d be hard-pressed to find two teams that hate one another more than these two. And at the end of the day, isn’t it hatred that fuels the best rivalries in sports?

Within the realm of the power conferences, this is the greatest final-week rivalry of all-time.

1. Army vs. Navy

As FBS independents, the final weekend on Army and Navy’s schedules falls one week later than most of the rest of the country. Nevertheless, there is no greater season-ending rivalry than the one Army and Navy have shared throughout the years.

Rarely in the modern era has either of these schools contended for a championship of any kind, but for Army and Navy this game is their championship game.

Both schools, their student-athletes and the communities that surround them have far more to worry about than a game of football, but nothing unites Americans on a Saturday afternoon like this game. The pageantry is second-to-none. The passion displayed on the field and in the stands gives us goosebumps. And when the President of the United States makes it a point to attend the game every year, you know it’s about more than just football.

Ultimately, for 364 days of the year Army and Navy are on the same team, working to protect our freedoms as Americans. And while there is an element of appreciation for their bravery and tireless work embedded in this game, it is the one day a year Army and Navy take sides and face off in what has become an American sports institution.

Again, these games are almost never for anything more than pride, but when it comes to Army and Navy pride means everything. This game might not contain the raw football talent that a game like Michigan-Ohio State or Alabama-Auburn does, but its as hyper-competitive as they come.

There are a number of great final-week rivalries in college football, but Army-Navy sets the standard for excellence and represents everything a true college football rivalry is about.