Indeed, the top two teams have only ever met 25 times in over 150 years of college football history, shedding light on the rarity of such meetings. More often than not, such games have massive national championship implications.
The latest such meeting will occur when No. 2 Tennessee visits No. 1 Georgia on Saturday with an appearance in the SEC championship game and College Football Playoff on the line. Whether the Volunteers and Bulldogs can live up to the history of such games remains to be seen.
With that, The Sporting News breaks down the history of No. 1 vs. No. 2, including outcomes, all-time appearances, records and more:
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History of No. 1 vs. No. 2 games in college football
The 2022 meeting between No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Tennessee will represent the 25th regular-season meeting between the top two teams in the country, and only the fifth of the 2000s.
There is a five-way tie for most common “Game of the Century” matchups: Notre Dame-Michigan, Army-Navy, Notre Dame-Army, Oklahoma-Nebraska and Alabama-LSU, all of which have been played twice.
Below is every “Game of the Century” in college football history, in chronological order:
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All-time ‘Game of the Century’ appearances
No team has had more appearances in a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 regular-season game than Notre Dame, which also appeared in the first two “Games of the Century” in 1943 (both Fighting Irish wins). Notre Dame has nine such appearances, going 5-2-2 all time; it also has the record for most wins (five) and most ties (two).
Oklahoma is second in appearances, going 1-4 in five appearances. Army and Michigan are tied for third with four appearances apiece. The Black Knights are 3-0-1 all time, making them the only team with more than two appearances to have never lost; Michigan is the only team with more than two appearances without a win.
Only three teams have made appearances in more than one “Game of the Century” in a given season: Notre Dame in 1943 (2-0), Army in 1945 (2-0) and Ohio State in 2006 (2-0).
Below is a rundown of every team to have made an appearance in a “Game of the Century,” in alphabetical order:
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No. 1 vs. No. 2 all-time record
The No. 1 team has an overwhelming all-time advantage vs. the No. 2 team in “Game of the Century” meetings, going 16-6-2 all time. The No. 1 team went 5-0 before the first No. 2 team avoided a loss: a 0-0 tie between No. 1 Army and No. 2 Notre Dame in 1946.
The No. 2 team didn’t get its first outright win until 1963, when No. 2 Texas beat No. 7 Oklahoma 28-7. The biggest win streak for the No. 1 team is five, a streak that has occurred three times: once from 1943 through 1946, again from 1968 through 1985 and again from 2006 through 2022.
The longest win streak for the No. 2 team is three, which occurred from 1991 through 1996. The No. 1 team is on a current five-game win streak, dating back to Ohio State’s 24-7 win over Texas in 2006 through Georgia’s 27-13 win vs. Tennessee in 2022.
