Twitter beef makes case for FAU-USF as college football's fiercest new rivalry

Conference realignment has tragically ended some of college football's best rivalries, but the resulting movement has reunited some old rivals while igniting a new flame of hatred between some schools that were previously strangers.

In fact, I think we can safely say Florida Atlantic and South Florida have college football's fiercest rivalry among programs with five or fewer all-time meetings.

It all started, as so many modern-day feuds do, on Twitter. 

USF joined in the trend of wooing potential future Bulls on an official visit weekend by showing off millions of dollars in new sports cars. I'm not sure who started this trend or why it seems to work, but that's beside the point. The point here is that the grass at Raymond James Stadium looked barren and weed-infested, which isn't surprising given that it's an outdoor football stadium, in Florida, in June.

Still, the presence of suboptimal grass was enough to spark a flame. "(Lipstick) on a (pig)," tweeted Florida Atlantic chief of staff Matt Smidebush.

South Florida director of scouting Alex Fagan responded, pointing out that USF won the Boca Raton Bowl in FAU's staff while the 4-8 Owls had the month off.

Smidebush shot back, this time getting personal.

Fagan moved on (at least on main), while Smidebush circled back to post video evidence behind FAU's 56-14 win at Raymond James Stadium last October, and then got into it with USF fans. 

FAU won only one more game after that to close out Tom Herman's inaugural season, while USF closed Alex Golesh's first campaign by winning four of its final six. 

Did we mention these teams have played all of five times? FAU didn't launch football until 2001 (USF isn't much older, beginning in 1997), and the pair didn't share a conference until this past season. The Bulls won the first three meetings, played sporadically in the 2010s, but FAU has taken the last two, including the first meeting as AAC bunk mates.

And for what it's worth, recruits weren't turned off by the poor grass at USF's pig of a stadium. Eight players have committed since Saturday, and as of this writing the Bulls' 20-man class stands as the best in the American. 

So, is this beef between Smidebush and Fagan played up for the likes, or real? I've reached out to both and will update if I hear back. 

In the meantime, USF visits FAU's "erector set" stadium on Nov. 1. Please join me in circling that one on your calendar.

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.