When the Michigan Wolverines and Washington Huskies take the field Saturday for the second time this calendar year, it will be with considerably less fanfare then their first matchup.
In January, the Wolverines and Huskies squared off at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, to determine college football’s national champion. This weekend, it will be a clash between one program looking to keep pace in the expanded college football playoff rate (Michigan, which saw its streak of 23 consecutive home victories snapped by Texas in Week 2) and another simply looking to find their footing (Washington, which has lost two of its past three outings).
History tells us, though, that the rematch will be one to keep an eye on. The national championship game has been replayed in the next season just four times since the inaugural BCS National Championship Game in 1998 — with three of those games being decided by one-score margins.
Here’s a look back at those four national title rematches:
2018: Alabama 35, Georgia 28
The season after the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs played out an instant classic to decide the 2017 college football national champion, the two storied programs met again in the SEC championship.
Alabama came out on top once again in the rematch, though Georgia controlled the game early. The Bulldogs led by two touchdowns halfway through the third quarter when the Crimson Tide, aided by Jalen Hurts playing in relief of the injured Tua Tagovailoa, stormed back for 21 unanswered points and the win.
2017: Alabama 24, Clemson 6
One season after their iconic national championship matchup, Alabama met the Clemson Tigers once again in the College Football Playoff — this time in the semifinal round.
Though living up to the previous year’s thriller was perhaps impossible, the semifinal clash was comparatively tame. Clemson’s defense held its own, only allowing the Crimson Tide 261 yards of total offense, but a pick-six by Alabama’s Mack Wilson effectively put the game out of reach by the end of the third quarter.
2016: Clemson 35, Alabama 31
National title rematches are rare, but a rematch in the title game itself? Even more so. One year after Alabama bested Clemson 45-40 for the Crimson Tide’s fourth national title in seven seasons, the Tigers returned to the sport’s biggest stage and got their revenge.
Alabama held a small advantage for most of the game, setting the table for a thrilling fourth-quarter finish. The title game saw three lead changes in the final five minutes, with Clemson getting the last laugh when Deshaun Watson found Hunter Renfrow with just a second remaining to capture the Tigers’ first national championship under Dabo Swinney.
2012: Alabama 21, LSU 17
Alabama had a businesslike 21-0 win over the LSU Tigers — which featured five field goals to just one touchdown — in the 2011 national championship.
The two rivals’ rematch ten months later in Baton Rouge, however, was a thriller. LSU outgained their title game performance by 343 total yards, but it still wasn’t enough to claim victory. A.J. McCarron found T.J. Yeldon for a 28-yard score with just under a minute remaining to give the top-ranked Crimson Tide a road win over the fifth-ranked Tigers.