It’s official, and unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past week, you already know that the epic rematch of the “Game of the Century” is on between the No. 1 Tigers of LSU and the No. 2 Crimson Tide of Alabama, set to take place in New Orleans on Jan. 9 in the BCS National Championship.
Still, many pundits and fans nationwide are grumbling that Alabama doesn’t deserve the shot at a rematch, that it had its chance and that Oklahoma State, another 11-1 team who actually won their conference, should be given the same opportunity to play against LSU. But, despite all the grumblings, this will not be the first time two teams have had to play rematches of games with national championship implications.
For example, in 1945, in what many consider to be the first “Game of the Century,” the No. 1 Army Black Knights took on the No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish; it was assumed the victor in the matchup would continue on to be crowned national champions. The game turned out to be a romp, and Army came away with a 48-0 win. Army would indeed win the national championship that year, while Notre Dame finished No. 9 in the polls.
However, the 1946 version of the game, in which both teams again met as No. 1 and No. 2, featured a scoreless tie. For whatever reason, Notre Dame jumped Army in the polls, finishing the season on top of the college football world, while Army finished No. 2.
But still, many would say the match-up featured teams that had a rematch in different seasons, and it was therefore not unfair to ask the two teams to play each other again. But in one pre-BCS Bowl era, two teams actually did meet up in the regular season and in the post season: and what’s more, the matchups featured two hated rivals, the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles. What makes the rematch even more intriguing is the fact that both teams were competing in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship. Rewind 15 years to 1996. The No. 1 Gators were taking on their cross-state rivals, the Seminoles, ranked No. 2. In what turned out to be a great game, FSU came away with a 24-21 win, preserving its chances at a national championship while Florida was seemingly knocked out of picture. Florida was able to remain unbeaten the rest of the season, though, working their way to the No. 2 spot. The Gators had earned their rematch against the only team that had beaten them in the regular season: the Seminoles, who were the nation’s best team.
The Gators were able to exact revenge on their hated rivals, as they whipped the Seminoles 52-20 and came away with the school’s first national title. The FSU fell to No. 3 at the end of the season. The Tide is no stranger to epic rematches. In 2008, in what many consider Alabama’s resurgence back to the top of college football, an undefeated Alabama had one final obstacle between it and the national championship game: the No. 2 Florida Gators. But again, the Gators ruined the national title hopes of another top-ranked team, this time in the SEC Championship Game. Led by the infallible Tim Tebow, the Gators had a fourth quarter rally to take the game, 31-20. As the Gators were celebrating their second national title in three years, the Tide was forced into the Sugar Bowl, where it took a shellacking against the Utah Utes. Alabama would finish the season ranked No. 6 in the nation.
Still, the game was not without its purpose: the Crimson Tide had an entire year to stew over its loss, and with the core of the team coming back and a talented young quarterback in Greg McElroy to lead the way, the Tide seemed destined to once again meet up with the seemingly invincible Gators. This time, the Gators came into Atlanta with the top spot in college football, ready to get rid of one last road test before taking Tebow to his third national championship game in four years. Unfortunately for the Gators, Alabama came into the game ready to play, and thoroughly defeated Florida, 32-13. With the win, Alabama continued on to take the national title against Texas in the Rose Bowl, while Florida was sent to the Sugar Bowl. The Gators would win their game, however, and finished as the No. 3 team in the nation. Despite the attention the BCS National Championship game is receiving, however, it isn’t the only game this season to feature an intriguing rematch. Earlier this year in the Big Ten, the No. 15 Michigan State Spartans upset the No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers on a last-second desperation heave to the end zone. Despite all odds, Spartan receiver Keith Nichol caught the pass, ending the game and giving the Spartans a thrilling 37-31 victory, and knocking Wisconsin from the ranks of the unbeaten.
In any other year in the Big Ten, that would have been the final bell, but with the Big Ten initiating its inaugural Big Ten Championship Game, the Badgers would have one more shot to take down the Spartans. The rematch was just as exciting as the first matchup, but this time, the No. 15 Badgers got the stop they needed, sinking the No. 11 Spartans, 42-39 and claiming the Badgers’ second Big Ten title in two years. So, whether a team is avenging a loss from a previous season or the same season, whether the game has national or conference title implications (as if there’s a difference in the SEC), it just goes to show that rematches can be a great part of the college football tradition. And for the Crimson Tide and Bayou Bengals, the rematch will provide perhaps one of the greatest matchups college football has ever seen.
