November 2, 2006

No. 1 vs. No. 2 ( x 3)

We floated the idea a month ago that the No. 1 Buckeyes had a chance to possibly face three different No. 2 ranked teams this season, and wondered if anything close to that scenario had ever happened before. That prospect seems ever more likely now, and Ivan Maisel has done the legwork on the subject. I figured somebody would eventually save me the trouble of researching it.

Not only would the Buckeyes be the first No. 1 to win three games against No. 2s, there have never been three 1 vs. 2 games in one season in the 70 years of the Associated Press poll. In fact, Ohio State's 24-7 defeat of Texas on Sept. 9 was the first regular-season game between the two highest ranked teams in 10 years.

Only twice before, in 1943 and 1945, has a regular-season No. 1 played two No. 2 teams. In 1943, Notre Dame beat Michigan 35-12 and Iowa Pre-Flight 14-13. In 1945, Army beat Notre Dame 48-0 and three weeks later beat Navy 32-13.

Regular-season 1 vs. 2 games rarely took place before the late 1980s. After Army and Notre Dame played their famous 0-0 tie in 1946, No. 1 didn't play No. 2 again until 1963, when Texas beat Oklahoma 28-7.

In 1985, however, college football fans began to get lucky. In seven of the next nine seasons, No. 1 played No. 2. After second-ranked Notre Dame upset top-ranked Florida State 31-24 in 1993, there would be only one such game in the next 12 years, the Seminoles' 24-21 upset of Florida in 1996.

What happened to 1s vs. 2s? Simple: In 1992, the limit on I-A scholarships dropped to 85. The talent spread among more teams. That's why eight Big Ten teams have won at least a share of the conference championship in the last seven seasons, why in the last 10 years no SEC team has won more than two league championships.

All of which is to say that college football fans are lucky this season. Enjoy the regular-season games between No. 1 and No. 2. You never know when they'll come around again.

Posted by dan at November 2, 2006 9:04 AM