After the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Tom Groeschen wrote a great article about the 1986 Miami-UC game in Friday’s paper, I reflected back on my impressions of one of the nation’s oldest college football rivalries.

The Miami-Cincinnati Victory Bell is the oldest current non-conference college football rivalry in the United States. The series ranks fifth on the list of most-played rivalries in college football and is the oldest Division I rivalry west of the Allegheny Mountains. Of the more than 30 rivalries that include at least 89 games, none is older than Miami vs. Cincinnati (MORE HISTORY).

Growing up with my uncle, Tim Rose, as the head coach at Miami University, I had instilled at me at early age the intensity and the history of the rivalry. Long before mega conferences, BCS shenanigans, and there were 57 bowl games winning a game like that would define a season and the teams place in its school’s history.

That '86 game epitomized everything I remember out the rivalry during my childhood. Back-in-forth action. Great entertainment and pure hatered. Even though UC won that thriller, Miami went onto to be No. 8 LSU the following week on their way to the California Bowl, a big accomplishment at that time. During the 70's and 80's Miami dominated the series, but that has changed over the last 15 years. Aside from the Ben Roethlisberger years, Miami has only mustered a couple of wins.

Since UC has joined the Big East things have gotten rather one-sided in the matchup with Bearcats now having won six straight games and seven of the last eight meetings. When you beat your opponent by nearly 30 points a game, the rivalry loses its luster.

Saturday's 27-0 shutout by Cincinnati, only stengthened the argument that this series has lost its luster and I'm not sure it will ever come back.

College Football cincinnati bearcats, miami redhawks, ben roethlisberger, tim rose