Some Top 10 College Football Series Trivia

Welcome to this week's edition of the NCAA Top 10 College Football Series Trivia. Since the BCS ranking is now out, we'll use that for the rest of the regular season.

   The #1 Alabama Crimson Tide will invade Neyland Stadium to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. Alabama leads the series 49-37-8, but is 7-3 against the Vols since 2002. They first met in 1901, which ended in a 6-6 tie. The highest scoring game came in 2003, when Tennessee won 51-43. The last time Alabama shut out Tennessee was 27-0 in 1980. The last time Tennessee shut out Alabama was 24-0 in 1970. Their last tie was 17-17 in 1993.

   In yet another SEC Top 10 game, the #2 Florida Gators will host the #7 South Carolina Gamecocks. Florida dominates the series 23-6-3, but South Carolina won the last two games against the Gators. However, the Gamecocks have beaten the Gators only three times since 1939 and have never won three in a row against the Gators. They also didn't play each other from 1940-63. They first met in 1911, which ended up in a 6-6 tie. The highest scoring game in the series came in 2007, when Florida won 51-31. The last time Florida shut out South Carolina was 37-0 in 1964. The last time South Carolina shut out Florida was 6-0 in 1939. Their last tie was 6-6 in 1931.

   The #3 Oregon Ducks will go down to Tempe to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils. The series is tied 16-16, but the Ducks have won the last seven games against the Sun Devils. They first met in 1966 when Arizona State won 14-10. In fact, Arizona State won the first nine games in the series, spanning from 1966-88. Their highest scoring game came in 2000, when the Ducks edged the Sun Devils 56-55. There is only one shutout in the series, a 24-0 win by Arizona State in 1981.

   Now that they're finally home, the West Virginia Mountaineers will take on the #4 Kansas State Wildcats. There have been only two other meetings, both in Morgantown. The series is tied 1-1. West Virginia won their first meeting in 1930 23-7 and Kansas State won their second meeting in 1931 in a shutout 19-0.

   The #5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will host the BYU Cougars. Notre Dame leads the series 4-2, but the series is 2-2 since 1994. They first met in 1992, when the Irish won 42-16. The highest scoring game in the series came when they last met, in 2005. Notre Dame won 49-23. There are no shutouts in the series.

   The #6 LSU Tigers will travel to College Station to play the #20 Texas A&M Aggies. LSU leads the series 27-20-3, but the Aggies are 6-2 against the Tigers since 1989. They last played each other in the Cotton Bowl in 2011, a 41-24 LSU victory. They first met in 1899, when Texas A&M shut down LSU 52-0. The highest scoring game in the series came in 1914, when the Aggies rolled over the Tigers 63-9. The last time Texas A&M shut out LSU was 24-0 in 1993. The last time LSU shut out Texas A&M was 27-0 in 1988. Their last tie was 7-7 in 1966.

   Since the AP #8 team, the Ohio State Buckeyes are banned from postseason play this year, they are not listed in the BCS rankings. If I write another college football entry this week, the Ohio State vs Purdue game will be covered. However, their historical scores will be included today.

   The #8 Oregon State Beavers will host the Utah Utes in Corvallis. Oregon State leads the series 9-6-1, but Utah is 5-2 against the Beavers since 1969. Oregon State last beat Utah in 2007. They first met in 1931, when Oregon State won 12-0, the only shutout in the series. The highest scoring game in the series was a 61-28 Beaver win in 1951. Their only tie was 20-20 in 1948.

   Fresh off their spanking of the now unranked Texas Longhorns, the #9 Oklahoma Sooners will take on the Kansas Jayhawks in Norman. Oklahoma owns the series 69-27-6, having won every game against the Jayhawks since 2000. Kansas once owned the series, having won the first eight games, six by shutout. They first met in 1903, when Kansas won 17-5. The highest scoring game in the series came in 1987, when the Sooners dominated the Jayhawks 71-10. There have been 25 shutouts in the series, plus two 0-0 ties. Oklahoma has a 14-11 edge in shutouts, not including the ties. The last time Oklahoma shut out Kansas was 38-0 in 1979. The last time Kansas shut out Oklahoma was 10-0 in 1961. Their last tie was 13-13 in 1960.

   The #10 USC Trojans will host the Colorado Buffaloes at the Los Angeles Coliseum. USC is undefeated against Colorado in the series 6-0. They first met in 1927 and the Trojans won 27-6. The highest scoring game in the series was last season 42-17. There are only two shutouts in the series, coming in consecutive years, 14-0 in 1963 and 21-0 in 1964.

Here are some historical scores for this week's Top 25 matchups played on October 18:

1908  LSU 26 - Texas A&M 0
1908  Kansas 11 - Oklahoma 0
1914  Michigan 3 - Michigan State 0
1931  Tennessee 25 - Alabama 0
1936  Tennessee 0 - Alabama 0
1936  Oklahoma 14 - Kansas 0

1942  Alabama 8 - Tennessee 0
1942  Oklahoma 25 - Kansas 0
1942  Ohio State 26 - Purdue 0
1953  Oklahoma 45 - Kansas 0
1953  Tennessee 0 - Alabama 0
1959  Ohio State 15 - Purdue 0
1959  Tennessee 7 - Alabama 7

1964  Kansas 15 - Oklahoma 14
1964  Alabama 19 - Tennessee 8
1964  Florida 37 - South Carolina 0
1970  Michigan 34 - Michigan State 20
1970  Tennessee 24 - Alabama 0

1981  Temple 24 - Rutgers 12
1981  Oklahoma 45 - Kansas 7
1981  Alabama 38 - Tennessee 19
1987  Ohio State 20 - Purdue 17
1987  Alabama 41 - Tennessee 22
1992  Alabama 17 - Tennessee 10
2009  Purdue 26 - Ohio State 18
2009  Mississippi State 27 - Middle Tennessee State 6