There are many things that favor Clemson today, especially the fact that Lawrence and the three defensive starters who missed game one will be back in the lineup today.
But the thing that concerns me the most was touched on today in these Lou Somogyi's Countdown 10-1 column tidbits:
3 Times, per ESPN research, since the advent of the Associated Press poll in 1936 that two teams ranked in the top 4 met during the regular season — and then again in a postseason contest while still ranked in the top 4. This Notre Dame-Clemson matchup will make it the fourth. In each of the first three, the losing team won the rematch by at least 21 points:
• In 1959, No. 1 LSU defeated No. 3 Ole Miss at home, 7-3. Then in the Sugar Bowl, No. 2 Ole Miss defeated No. 3 LSU, 21-0.
• In 1996, No. 1 Florida lost to No. 2 Florida State, 24-21. In the Sugar Bowl, the No. 3-ranked Gators then captured their first national title with a 52-20 demolition of the No. 1-ranked Seminoles.
• In 2011, No. 1 LSU won at No. 2 Alabama, 9-6 in overtime. Then in the BCS Championship in New Orleans (and eerily similar to 1959), the top-ranked Tigers this time lost to the No. 2 Crimson Tide, 21-0.
2 This will be the second time since 1902 that Notre Dame will have played the same school twice in football during the same season. In 1997, the Fighting upset No. 11 LSU in Baton Rouge 24-6 (the lone game ever where Notre Dame committed neither a turnover nor a penalty), but lost 27-9 in the rematch a month later at the Independence Bowl.
It just confirms an old but very true adage - it is next to impossible to beat a good team twice in the same season. A great team would likely beat an average or even good team 5 times in a row if they played. However it is simply hard to beat an equally matched team twice in the same season.
I hope that ND bucks this trend today.
But the thing that concerns me the most was touched on today in these Lou Somogyi's Countdown 10-1 column tidbits:
3 Times, per ESPN research, since the advent of the Associated Press poll in 1936 that two teams ranked in the top 4 met during the regular season — and then again in a postseason contest while still ranked in the top 4. This Notre Dame-Clemson matchup will make it the fourth. In each of the first three, the losing team won the rematch by at least 21 points:
• In 1959, No. 1 LSU defeated No. 3 Ole Miss at home, 7-3. Then in the Sugar Bowl, No. 2 Ole Miss defeated No. 3 LSU, 21-0.
• In 1996, No. 1 Florida lost to No. 2 Florida State, 24-21. In the Sugar Bowl, the No. 3-ranked Gators then captured their first national title with a 52-20 demolition of the No. 1-ranked Seminoles.
• In 2011, No. 1 LSU won at No. 2 Alabama, 9-6 in overtime. Then in the BCS Championship in New Orleans (and eerily similar to 1959), the top-ranked Tigers this time lost to the No. 2 Crimson Tide, 21-0.
2 This will be the second time since 1902 that Notre Dame will have played the same school twice in football during the same season. In 1997, the Fighting upset No. 11 LSU in Baton Rouge 24-6 (the lone game ever where Notre Dame committed neither a turnover nor a penalty), but lost 27-9 in the rematch a month later at the Independence Bowl.
It just confirms an old but very true adage - it is next to impossible to beat a good team twice in the same season. A great team would likely beat an average or even good team 5 times in a row if they played. However it is simply hard to beat an equally matched team twice in the same season.
I hope that ND bucks this trend today.
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