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Michigan-Washington the final championship rematch the following season
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Michigan-Washington the final championship rematch the following season

When the Michigan Wolverines and Washington Huskies take the field for the second time this calendar year on Saturday, it will be with considerably less fanfare than their first matchup.

In January, the Wolverines and Huskies faced off at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, to determine college football’s national champion. This weekend will be a clash between one program looking to keep pace with college football’s increased playoff percentage (Michigan, which saw its streak of 23 straight home wins snapped by Texas in Week 2) and another program simply looking to is looking for something to hold on to (Washington, which has lost two of its past three outings).

However, history tells us that the rematch will be one to keep an eye on. The national championship game has been replayed the following season only four times since the first BCS National Championship game in 1998 – with three of those games decided by a one-score margin.

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 an instant classic to determine the 2017 college football national champion, the two storied programs met again in the SEC Championship.

Alabama once again came out on top in the rematch, although Georgia controlled the game early. The Bulldogs led by two touchdowns midway through the third quarter when the Crimson Tide, aided by Jalen Hurts playing for the injured Tua Tagovailoa, stormed back for 21 unanswered points and the victory.


2017: Alabama 24, Clemson 6

One season after their iconic national championship game, Alabama met the Clemson Tigers again in the College Football Playoff – this time in the semifinals.

While it may have been impossible to match last year’s thriller, the semi-final was relatively tame. Clemson’s defense held firm, allowing the Crimson Tide just 261 yards of total offense, but a pick-six by Alabama’s Mack Wilson effectively put the game out of reach near the end of the third quarter.


2016: Clemson 35, Alabama 31

National title repeats are rare, but a rematch in the title game itself? In fact. A year after Alabama defeated 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 revenge.

Alabama held a slim lead for most of the game, setting the table for an exciting finish in the fourth quarter. In the title game, there were three lead changes in the final five minutes, with Clemson having the last laugh when Deshaun Watson found Hunter Renfrow with just one second left to capture the Tigers’ first national championship under Dabo Swinney.


2012: Alabama 21, LSU 17

Alabama had a matter-of-fact 21-0 win over the LSU Tigers – with five field goals and just one touchdown – in the 2011 national championship.

However, the two rivals’ rematch ten months later in Baton Rouge was a thriller. LSU surpassed its performance in the title game by 343 yards, but it still wasn’t enough to claim the victory. AJ McCarron found TJ Yeldon for a 28-yard score with just under a minute remaining to give the top-ranked Crimson Tide a fifth-place win over the Tigers.