Ten in old game for top universities paired together? (8)
I believe the answer is:
oxbridge
'top universities paired together?' is the definition.
(term for Oxford and Cambridge)
'ten in old game' is the wordplay.
'ten' becomes 'x' (roman numeral).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'game' becomes 'bridge' (card game).
'o'+'bridge'='obridge'
'x' inserted within 'obridge' is 'OXBRIDGE'.
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for oxbridge that I've seen before include "Model of academic elitism" , "Universities united" , "Elitist universities" , "Related to Britain's two oldest universities" , "The two most famous British universities regarded like 32 Across" .)