Some College Football Series Trivia

November 28, 2011 – Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend.  This is one of my favorite weeks in college football: championships and arch-rivalries.  Although we won’t focus solely on the BCS Top 10, some of those teams are playing this week.

The #1 LSU Tigers face the #14 Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome.  LSU leads the series 15-12-1.  They are 1-1 in SEC Championship games against each other.  The series is also tied 6-6 since 1986, but the Bulldogs have won three out of the last four games against the Tigers.  Georgia should make a game of it for a while, but LSU has too much team speed and should win.  The last time LSU shut out Georgia was 7-0 in 1951.  The last time Georgia shut out LSU was 7-0 in 1949.  Their only tie game was 13-13 in 1950.

The #3 Oklahoma State Cowboys host the #10 Oklahoma Sooners in Boone Pickens Stadium for the Oklahoma Bedlam Football Game.  Oklahoma owns the series 82-16-7 and the Sooners have won the past eight straight against the Cowboys.  Oklahoma State has never won more than two games in a row against Oklahoma, but should win this one.  The last time Oklahoma shut out Oklahoma State was 27-0 in 2009.  The last time Oklahoma State shut out Oklahoma was 12-0 in 1995.  Their last tie game was 15-15 in 1992.

The #5 Virginia Tech Hokies face the #20 Clemson Tigers in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Clemson leads the series 18-12-1 and the Tigers beat the Hokies 23-3 earlier this season.  However, Virginia Tech is 5-1 against Clemson since 1998.  The tendency is if two college teams meet twice in the same season, the team who lost the first game tends to win the second.  Unless one of the teams falls apart, this should be a close game.  The last time Virginia Tech shut out Clemson was 37-0 in 1998.  The last time Clemson shut out Virginia Tech was 21-0 in 1979.  Their only tie was 0-0 in 1906.

The #6 Houston Cougars take on the #24 Southern Miss Golden Eagles for the Conference USA Championship.  Southern Miss leads the series 8-5, but Houston is 3-2 against the Golden Eagles since 2005.  This could be an upset, since this is the first time each team is facing a BCS Top 25 opponent this season.  The only shutout in the series is a 33-0 Southern Miss win in 1997.

The #7 Boise State Broncos host the New Mexico Lobos on the blue field of Bronco Stadium.  This is their third ever meeting.  The Broncos won the first two decisively, in 1999 and 2000, and there’s nothing other than a total collapse to stop the Broncos from decisively beating the Lobos again.

The South Division Champion UCLA Bruins go to Eugene on Friday to take on the North Division Champion #9 Oregon Ducks for the Pac-12 Championship.  UCLA leads the series 39-25, but Oregon is 8-2 since 2000.  This is their first meeting this season and should be an Oregon win.  UCLA only beat one ranked opponent this year, Arizona State.  The last time UCLA shut out Oregon was 16-0 in 2007.  The last time Oregon shut out UCLA was 21-0 in 1957. 

The Legends Division Champions #13 Michigan State Spartans face the Leaders Division Champions #15 Wisconsin Badgers for the Big 10 Championship at Lucas Stadium, home of the winless Indianapolis Colts.  Michigan State leads the series 30-20 and already won their earlier meeting this season.  This could be another upset and again, the loser in an earlier game tends to win the later game.  Michigan State is 15-8 against Wisconsin since 1985.  The last time Michigan State shut out Wisconsin was 36-0 in 1988.  The last time Wisconsin shut out Michigan State was 32-0 in 1983.

The #17 Baylor Bears host the #22 Texas Longhorns in Floyd Casey Stadium.  Texas owns the series 72-23-5, but Baylor broke the Longhorns’ 12 game winning streak against the Bears back in October.  Although Texas could pull off the upset, Baylor may be too much for the Longhorns and the Bears are at home this time.  The last time Texas shut out Baylor was 62-0 in 2005.  The last time Baylor shut out Texas was 16-0 in 1980.  Their last tie game was 7-7 in 1957.

Here are some historical scores for this week’s matchups played on November 28,

1912 – Colorado State 33 – Wyoming 0

1918 – Oklahoma 27 – Oklahoma State 0

1918 – Wisconsin 7 – Michigan State 6

1935 – Oklahoma 25 – Oklahoma State 0

1953 – Oklahoma 42 – Oklahoma State 7

1959 – Oklahoma 17 – Oklahoma State 7

1964 – Oklahoma 21 – Oklahoma State 16

1970 – Oklahoma 66 – Oklahoma State 6

1970 – Utah State 45 – New Mexico State 21

1981 – Oklahoma 27 – Oklahoma State 3

2009 – Oklahoma 27 – Oklahoma State - 0