2006 NCAA Division I FBS Football Season - Key Matchups

Key Matchups

Date Visitor Home Source Significance
August 31 Northwestern
21		 Miami (Ohio)
3		 Feldman This matchup was more significant sentimentally than competitively. This was Northwestern's first game after the unexpected death of head coach Randy Walker, who was also the winningest head coach in Miami history.
September 2 California
18		 Tennessee
35		 Feldman After a shocking 5–6 season last year, Volunteers coach Phillip Fulmer sought to assure the Knoxville faithful that it was only an aberration. Cal sought to validate its highest preseason ranking in a half-century. Tennessee wins easily.
September 9 Ohio State
24		 Texas
7		 Feldman TSN Ohio State and Texas were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in several polls entering this game. Ohio State goes into Texas and wins with ease, ending the 21-game winning streak the Longhorns had entering the game. The Buckeyes would hold onto the No. 1 ranking the rest of the season.
September 9 Penn State
17		 Notre Dame
41		 Feldman Coming in to the game, Notre Dame was ranked in the top 5 in several polls with several votes for first place and Penn State was ranked in the top 20. What was expected to be one of the season's toughest tests for Notre Dame turned into an easy win for the Irish.
September 16 Miami (FL)
7		 Louisville
31		 Feldman This was the first real test for Louisville since the season-ending injury to Michael Bush in their opener against Kentucky. The Cardinals got the signature win that coach Bobby Petrino was looking for, but it could have been a Pyrrhic victory; they lost another Heisman hopeful, quarterback Brian Brohm, to a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand. He would return four weeks later against Cincinnati with the Cardinals still unbeaten.
September 16 Nebraska
10		 Southern California
28		 Feldman No. 19 Nebraska visited No. 4 Southern California with a chance for Nebraska to prove it has returned, and for the Trojans to show that it could win without Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart. The Men of Troy limit the Huskers to 68 yards on the ground and 211 total yards, and win comfortably.
September 16 Texas Tech
3		 TCU
12		 Feldman No. 24 Texas Tech vs. No. 20 TCU: The Battle for Texas—2 of the 3 best teams in Texas play. The Horned Frogs defense keeps Tech's normally explosive offense out of the end zone for only the second time in Mike Leach's seven years as head coach in Lubbock. The Frogs extend their winning streak, the longest in Division I FBS, to 13 games, and put themselves in pole position to be this season's "BCS buster". (However, the Frogs would lose the next two weeks to BYU and Utah.)
September 16 Oklahoma
33		 Oregon
34		 Feldman After No. 18 Oregon ties the game at 20 early in the fourth quarter, No. 15 Oklahoma takes a 33–20 lead into the final two minutes. In a wild finish, the Ducks score a touchdown with 1:12 remaining, make a dubious recovery of an onside kick, score a second touchdown, take the lead on the ensuing conversion, and block a Sooners field goal attempt on the game's final play to secure a stunning win at home.
September 16 LSU
3		 Auburn
7		 TSN No. 6 LSU vs. No. 3 Auburn: In a game that had the potential to decide the SEC West (but ultimately did not), the defenses dominate in the lowest-scoring game at Auburn since 1973. Auburn holds on thanks to a saving tackle near the goal line on the game's final play. LSU had the ball five times in Auburn territory in the second half and failed to score.
September 16 Michigan
47		 Notre Dame
21		 Feldman TSN In this traditional contest between the two teams, the Wolverines entered No. 11 and Notre Dame #2. The Irish had another chance to prove they deserve the No. 1 spot. However, the contest essentially ended Notre Dame's national championship dreams, with the Irish giving up more points at home than they have since 1960.
September 16 Iowa State
17		 Iowa
27		 Feldman No. 16 Iowa defeats Iowa State in the battle of Iowa.
September 23 Notre Dame
40		 Michigan State
37		 Feldman Forty years after an infamous 10–10 tie between the two schools, the Irish and Spartans produce another game for the ages. The Spartans take a 37–21 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Irish pull off a furious fourth-quarter comeback to keep their BCS bowl hopes alive. Brady Quinn passes for five TDs, with two each to Rhema McKnight and Jeff Samardzija.
September 28 BYU
31		 TCU
17		 Feldman While number 17 ranked TCU was favored to become the Mountain West Conference champion, BYU ended TCU's 13 game winning streak. BYU finished the season with its own 10 game winning streak to secure the MWC championship with an undefeated 8–0 conference record.
October 21 Georgia Tech
7		 Clemson
31		 AP With a surprisingly easy win, Clemson put itself in pole position for a trip to Jacksonville and the ACC Championship Game in December—but the Tigers' next game, a 24–7 loss to Virginia Tech, left them needing considerable help to make the ACC title game.
October 28 Florida
21		 Georgia
14		 TSN In a key SEC East game, the Florida vs. Georgia Football Classic, the Gators kept their hopes of a BCS trip alive with a hard-fought win.
November 2 West Virginia
34		 Louisville
44		 Feldman Louisville wins the battle of Big East unbeatens. The two teams combine for over 1,000 yards of offense, but the difference is in turnovers: three for West Virginia, one of which was returned for a TD, to one for Louisville. The Cardinals earned the inside track to the Big East crown and a good chance to make the BCS Championship Game if they were to finish unbeaten.
November 4 LSU
28		 Tennessee
24		 Feldman A last-second TD by LSU not only wins the game, but ends Tennessee's national title hopes, and, combined with Florida's win over Vanderbilt on the same day, puts the Gators in the SEC title game.
November 9 Louisville
25		 Rutgers
28		 Forde In the second battle between Big East unbeatens in two weeks, Louisville's dreams of a spot in the BCS Championship Game go down the drain after a second half in which they gain a total of 53 yards. Rutgers, which played in the first college football game in 1869, wins on a 28-yard field goal by Jeremy Ito with 13 seconds left.
November 11 Georgia
37		 Auburn
15		 TSN In the 110th installment of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, the Bulldogs bounce back emphatically from the previous week's stunning loss to Kentucky. Three interceptions by Tra Battle, one of them returned for a TD, and big plays by the offense not only sink Auburn's national title hopes, but leave the Tigers' hopes of reaching the SEC title game hanging by the slimmest of threads.
November 11 South Carolina
16		 Florida
17		 Feldman In the return of Steve Spurrier to the sidelines of "The Swamp" as a visitor, Florida gained revenge for the upset from last season knocking them from their No. 12 ranking, the first South Carolina victory over Florida in decades—but only after blocking a last-second Gamecocks field goal attempt that would have won the game.
November 11 Tennessee
14		 Arkansas
31		 Forde Led by 181 yards rushing, two TDs on the ground, and a TD pass by Darren McFadden, the Hogs take a huge step toward a spot in the SEC title game.
November 11 Oregon
10		 Southern California
35		 Feldman Thanks to a string of upsets in the BCS top 10 during the week, the Men of Troy, who had seemingly been all but knocked out of the national championship race by Oregon State on October 28, re-enter the title race with an easy win.
November 18 Michigan
39		 Ohio State
42		 TSN
Feldman
Mell		 For the second time this year, the Buckeyes were playing in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. The Buckeyes not only won the Big Ten championship, but will be virtually assured of the No. 1 BCS ranking and be invited to the National Championship Game. The Wolverines, because the game was close, could also be invited to a rematch for the BCS Championship; otherwise they are likely to play in the Rose Bowl. The death of Bo Schembechler the day before the game added a somber note to the rivalry game. The game resulted in Jim Tressel's fifth win in six games against Lloyd Carr's Michigan teams.
November 18 California
9		 Southern California
23		 Feldman
Mell		 Before Oregon State's upset of the Trojans, California was the only Pac-10 team to beat Southern California in the past three seasons. After Arizona's upset of the Golden Bears on November 11, the dynamics changed. The Men of Troy overcame an early 9–6 deficit and ran away in the second half.
November 18 Auburn
22		 Alabama
15		 Feldman Auburn won their fifth straight Iron Bowl game, remaining unbeaten in Tucsaloosa through the series' history.
November 18 Washington
35		 Washington State
32		 Feldman Washington started the season 4–1, but then lost their next six games, including a loss to previously winless Stanford at home. Washington State had been ranked in the AP top 25 earlier in the season, and was looking to take an unprecedented third straight Apple Cup victory from the Huskies. Playing in Pullman, Washington nonetheless managed to pull off the upset, and with it took away Wazzu's chances of going to a bowl game.
November 24 Texas A&M
12		 Texas
7		 Feldman After Texas' hopes of defending their national title ended in a loss at Kansas State on November 11, this game was for bragging rights in the state rivalry. The Longhorns, who entered at No. 11 in the AP poll, were stunned by the Aggies at home, and their hopes for a spot in the Big 12 championship game disappeared when Oklahoma State failed to upset Oklahoma.
November 25 Notre Dame
24		 Southern California
44		 TSN
Feldman
Mell		 Southern California moved one step closer to a date against Ohio State by routing the Fighting Irish, who gambled three times on fourth down in the first half and did not succeed.
November 25 Florida
21		 Florida State
14		 Feldman The Seminoles made a game of it in this state rivalry, but the Gators kept their slim (at that time) BCS Title Game hopes alive.
November 25 Boise State
38		 Nevada
7		 Forde Boise State completed a 12–0 regular season, becoming the second team outside the BCS conferences to play in a BCS game, the only team this season to go undefeated.
December 2 Southern California
9		 UCLA
13		 Mell The crosstown rivals' meeting ended with the Bruins ending their seven-year losing streak against the Trojans, knocking them from the BCS Title Game and winning the Victory Bell.
December 2 Rutgers
39		 West Virginia
41		 Feldman A triple overtime thriller ends Rutgers' BCS hopes in their Cinderella season.

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