Whether it is in college football or in the NFL, beating the same team multiple times in the same season is a hard feat.
Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti has said as much.
“It’s hard to beat a really good football team twice, and Oregon is a really good football team,” Cignetti said on Thursday, Jan. 1 following Indiana’s 35-point win over No. 9 Alabama in the College Football Playoff Rose Bowl quarterfinal after officially learning the Hoosiers would face No. 5 Oregon for the second time in the 2025 season.
It’s a statement that Cignetti has doubled down on 24 near the top-seeded Hoosiers kick off in the CFP Peach Bowl semifinal at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 9 in Atlanta, where they look to pick up their second win of the season over the Ducks.
“It’s hard to beat a great team twice. Well, it’s hard to beat a great team, period. So there is a reason for that,” Cignetti said.
How common is it for two teams to face each other in the College Football Playoff after meeting in the regular season, either in non-conference play or in conference play?
Here’s what to know:
Has there been a CFP regular-season rematch before?
Yes. The CFP Peach Bowl matchup between Indiana and Oregon is the sixth regular-season rematch in the College Football Playoff of the same season. It is the fourth time this season that two teams will face each other twice in the same year.
CFP rematch record, history
Entering Friday’s CFP Peach Bowl, the team that lost the regular-season meeting has a 4-1 record in the rematch. The lone team that lost both the regular-season matchup and the CFP rematch is Tulane, which lost both times to Ole Miss this season.
Here’s a breakdown of CFP regular-season rematches:
Georgia-Alabama, 2021
- Regular season score: Alabama 41, Georgia 24 (SEC Championship Game)
- CFP score: Georgia 33, Alabama 18 (CFP title game)
Former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young tore up the Georgia defense in the 2021 SEC Championship game with three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown to help lead the Crimson Tide to their then-eighth SEC title under Nick Saban and hand Saban’s former assistant, Kirby Smart, and No. 1 Georgia its first loss of the season.
It was then Smart who beat his former boss in the 2021-22 CFP championship game a few weeks later in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium, as Georgia avenged Alabama 33-18 for the first of its back-to-back CFP titles. The Crimson Tide ended the game with an interception and a turnover on downs on their final two drives after Stetson Bennett put Georgia up 38-18 in the fourth quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brock Bowers.
Ohio State-Oregon, 2024
- Regular season score: Oregon 32, Ohio State 31
- CFP score: Ohio State 41, Oregon 21 (CFP Rose Bowl quarterfinal)
The regular-season matchup between Ohio State and Oregon in 2024 was an all-time instant thriller, as the Buckeyes and the Ducks traded the lead back-and-forth until Atticus Sappington’s 19-yard field goal with 1:47 to go in the fourth quarter. The pivotal play in the Ducks’ win at Autzen Stadium came from Buckeyes’ quarterback Will Howard, who slid down on the game’s final down just a second too late for Ohio State coach Ryan Day to call a timeout for a potential game-winning field goal at the Oregon 26-yard line.
The rematch between the two Big Ten programs in the Rose Bowl was far from a thriller, as the Buckeyes got their revenge with a 20-point win over the top-seeded Ducks in “The Granddaddy of Them All.” Jeremiah Smith was a big reason for Ohio State’s upset win, as the Buckeyes’ wide receiver finished with 187 receiving yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions. Ohio State’s offense put up 500 total yards in the 41-21 win as well.
JEREMIAH SMITH IS UNREAL‼️
HE FINDS THE END ZONE AGAIN 🔥 pic.twitter.com/N8J1f9giQF
— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2025
Ole Miss-Tulane, 2025
- Regular season score: Ole Miss 45, Tulane 10
- CFP score: Ole Miss 41, Tulane 10 (CFP First-Round)
While the coaching matchup changed between Ole Miss and Tulane’s two meetings this season, the way the games were played out did not. The Rebels picked up two convincing wins over the Green Wave this season: a 45-10 win in the regular season and a 41-10 win in the first round of the CFP.
In the CFP matchup between Ole Miss and Tulane, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss finished with a combined three touchdowns while throwing for his then-fourth consecutive game of at least 280 yards.
Alabama-Oklahoma, 2025
- Regular season score: Oklahoma 23, Alabama 21
- CFP score: Alabama 34, Oklahoma 24 (CFP First-Round)
Alabama’s regular-season loss to Oklahoma was not only an uncharacteristic performance from Ty Simpson and the Crimson Tide, as they turned the ball over three times, but it was the start of their late-season struggles that ended up being on full display in the SEC Championship game against Georgia.
The Crimson Tide looked to be on the way to a third straight loss to the Sooners in the first round of the CFP when Oklahoma went up 17-0 at the 10:51 mark of the second quarter. However, a 10-yard touchdown pass from Simpson to Latzier Brooks on fourth-and-2 catalyzed a 17-0 run for Alabama to tie the game at 17 going into halftime.
Daniel Hill’s 6-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to put Alabama up 34-24 proved to be just enough, as Oklahoma’s Lou Groza Award-winning kicker Tate Sandell missed a pair of field goal attempts later in the frame.
🤫
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/dMW3CcyUeG
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) December 20, 2025
Ole Miss-Georgia, 2025
- Regular season score: Georgia 43, Ole Miss 35
- CFP score: Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34 (CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal)
The most recent rematch was the CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal between Ole Miss and Georgia. The Rebels, then coached by Lane Kiffin, lost a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter to Gunner Stockton and the Bulldogs for their lone loss of the regular season.
The Rebels were able to flip the switch and win a shootout in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day thanks to the second-half performance from Chambliss, who led Ole Miss to three consecutive touchdown scores across the third and fourth quarters. He also set a Sugar Bowl record with 13 consecutive passes in the second half.
Before a chaotic last few seconds of the game, Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro hit a 47-yard field goal to seal the win for the Rebels.
HAVING THE NIGHT OF HIS LIFE 👑
📺 @espnpic.twitter.com/CKbfpEPj1t
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) January 2, 2026
Who won Oregon vs Indiana regular-season matchup in 2024?
Cignetti’s Hoosiers took the Week 7 matchup over Lanning’s Ducks out in Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon by the score of 30-20. Isaiah Jones sealed Indiana’s second-ever win over a top-five ranked opponent with a late fourth-quarter interception of Oregon quarterback Dante Moore.
The Ducks turned the ball over on their final two drives, both of which were interceptions by Moore. Then-Heisman candidate Fernando Mendoza completed 20-of-31 passing for 215 yards with a touchdown and an interception in Indiana’s win.
Indiana’s win snapped Oregon’s 18-game home winning streak at Autzen Stadium, which was the longest active streak in the nation.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How have CFP teams done in regular-season rematches?
