Husker Dan: Rematches. Good or Bad?

Nebraska has played the same team twice 6 times in the same season.

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Those of us who didn't fall asleep by halftime of the national championship game last week between Georgia and perennial powerhouse Alabama saw a great game despite the slow start. That is, if you're not a 'Bama fan.

As everyone knows, just 37 days prior to the NC game, these same two teams met in Atlanta for the SEC championship. Georgia ended up being embarrassed by the Tide, 41-24.

There were some college football fans who said they weren't going to bother watching the NC game. No use in seeing 'Bama roll over the Bulldogs again, they said.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Tide's coronation.

After a ho-hum first half in which there were no touchdowns, 'Bama held a slim 9-6 lead. Even though Georgia was a slight favorite, It seemed as though Alabama was going to find a way to put the 'Dogs away in the second half.

But Georgia seemed to get stronger in the fourth quarter while the Tide seemed to get weaker. The result was a stunning 33-18 whipping of the Tide.

Playoff Expansion?

There has been a lot of discussion recently about the College Football Playoff system needing to be expanded to maybe 8 or even 12 teams. I would favor an expansion, but I'm not sure what the number should be.

If the playoff schedule had been expanded this year to 8 or 12 teams, I think Georgia and Alabama would have still ended up playing each other for the NC.

Only Two Teams

I believe these two teams were the only two teams that could have beaten these two teams.

At 70 years of age, Nick Saban (who has solidified himself as being the greatest college football head coach in the history of the game) will retire someday and Alabama's fortunes may taper off. No doubt, there will be other programs willing to pick up the baton. But Saban's astonishing record of 7 national championships isn't likely to be broken any time soon.

Trivia Question

What college football team holds the record for handing Nick Saban the worst two losses in his college head coaching career? His career includes stints at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama. See the answer below.

Husker Rematches

After hearing about how hard it is to beat a team twice in one season, I got to thinking about rematches the Husker football team has faced in their 120-plus years of existence.

It surprised me to discover that there were six times in Nebraska football history the Huskers had to play a team twice in the same season. The venues include rematches in the regular season (twice), bowl game (twice) or a conference title game (twice).

1891 (Head Coach Theron Upson "Tule" Lyman)

The first rematch came during the 1891 season when Nebraska beat Doane College 28-4 on October 3rd in Lincoln. The next month they lost to Doane 12-14 in Crete, Nebraska.

1896 (E. N. Robinson)

Husker fans didn't have to wait long for the another rematch. This one was in 1896. On November 26th, Iowa and Nebraska played to a 0-0 tie and just two days later played a second time with Nebraska losing 0-6. And no, I don't know why they played two games so close together.

1978 (Tom Osborne)

It would take another century for Nebraska to experience another rematch. After five years of losing to Oklahoma, Nebraska finally beat the #1 ranked Sooners on November 11th in Lincoln. It was Tom Osborne's first win (17-14) over Oklahoma. Nebraska's win knocked the Sooners out of the national championship picture.

And the following week after the Huskers lost at home to Missouri (31-35), Huskerland got word that Nebraska's New Year's Day Orange Bowl opponent was going to be: You guessed it. Oklahoma. Sadly, Nebraska lost that game 24-31.

1999 (Frank Solich)

Nebraska lost to Texas in Austin on October 23rd by a score of 20-24. But a couple months later, Texas and Nebraska met again. This time for the Big 12 Championship. Nebraska, with future Heisman winner Eric Crouch at QB, prevailed 22-6 to win the conference championship. That was the last time a Husker football team won a conference title.

2010 (Bo Pelini)

Nebraska managed to destroy a good Washington Huskies team 56-21 in Seattle on September 18th. To "reward" the Huskers at the end of the season, Nebraska was paired with Washington again in the Holiday Bowl on December 30th. Regrettably, the Huskers lost the game, 7-19.

2012 (Bo Pelini)

And lastly, Nebraska beat the Wisconsin Badgers 30-27 on September 29th in Lincoln. The two teams met again on December 1st for the B1G Championship in Indianapolis. The Huskers got squashed by Wisconsin 31-70. So much for rematches!

Trivia Answer

The University of Nebraska holds the distinction of handing Nick Saban the two worst losses in his entire head coaching career. In '95, the Huskers met the Spartans at East Lansing and pulverized Saban's Michigan State team 50-10 (40-point margin). That win was the second worst loss of Saban's career. The following year in '96, the Huskers handed Saban the worst loss of his career winning 55-14 (41-point margin).