Top 300 Finishes in College Football History (50-1)

50. Oct. 23, 1909-Lafayette 6, Princeton 0 (University Field, Princeton, New Jersey)

The Build Up: Princeton came into this game 5-0, while Lafayette was 3-0

The Finish: Lafayette’s Frank Irmschler blocked a FG in the final 6 seconds and returned it 92 yards for the GW TD in what the New York Times described as “probably the most sensational finish that has ever been seen in a football game.”

How they ended up: Princeton went 6-2-1, while Lafayette went 7-0-1.

49. Oct. 22, 1910- Arkansas 13, Southwestern (TX) 12 (The Hill, Fayetteville, Arkansas)

The Build Up: 364 days later Arkansas was in their first year calling themselves the Razorbacks and were 2-1. 

The Finish: A Southwestern score gave them a 12-8 lead with less than 2 minutes left.  On the ensuing kickoff, Steve Creekmore threw a lateral pass across the field to Russell May who went 75 yards for the GW score (TDs were worth 5 points at the time).

How they ended up: This predates the “Music City Miracle” by almost 90 years.  Arkansas went 7-1. 

48. Oct. 10, 1936-(1) Minnesota 7, (9) Nebraska 0 (Memorial Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota)

The Build Up: Both teams came into this early season meeting 1-0.

The Finish: Future legendary Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkenson fielded a punt, and before being tackled, lateraled to Andy Uram who took it 77 yards for a TD with 1:08 left. 

How they ended up: Minnesota went on to a 7-1 record and the first ever AP national champions.  Meanwhile, Nebraska went 7-2.

47. Nov. 21, 1987-#6 (4) Syracuse 32, West Virginia 31 (Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York)

The Build Up: Syracuse came into this regular season finale a perfect 10-0 and were hoping to extend their perfect season.  Meanwhile, West Virginia was 6-4.

The Game: West Virginia scored on a 3-yard TD run from Undra Johnson to give the underdog Mountaineers a stunning 31-24 lead with 1:32 left. 

The Finish: It was then that Syracuse coach Dick MacPherson decided that if they scored an answering TD, they would go for 2 and the win.  The Orangemen got the ball back at their own 26 with 1:27 left.  QB Don McPherson hit Deval Glover for big gains of 23 and 20 yards to move the ball to the WVU 25.  A few plays later, McPherson hit TE Pat Kelly for a 17-yard TD pass with 10 seconds left to pull Syracuse to within a single point.  Coach MacPherson stuck with his decision and went for 2 with a perfect season on the line.  He sent out QB McPherson to run an option to the left.  McPherson drew the defense and pitched to Michael Owens who raced to the left corner of the end zone for the GW 2-point conversion to end Syracuse’s regular season a perfect 11-0. 

How they ended up: The win secured their spot in the Sugar Bowl where they took a #4 ranking against #6 Auburn.  The Orange’s perfect season came to an end when Tiger coach Pat Dye opted to kick a tying FG to end the game in a tie to end Syracuse’s season 11-0-1.  Meanwhile, the Mountaineers lost to Oklahoma St. in the Sun Bowl to finish 6-6.

46. Jan. 1, 2005-#11 (8) Iowa 30, #12 (16) LSU 25 (Capital One Bowl, Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida)

The Build Up: Iowa ended their regular season on a 7-GW streak to sit at 9-2.  Meanwhile, LSU was on a 6-GW streak and also 9-2.

The Game: With 1:12 left in the 1^st half, LSU had to punt from their own 27, but Iowa blocked it for a TD to give the Hawkeyes a 14-6 lead.  However, LSU answered right back with a 74-yard TD run with 38 seconds left in the half.  The Tigers went for 2 to tie the game, but they were whistled for offensive pass interference and then had another penalty to force a long PAT that missed to end the 1^st half with Iowa up 14-12.  Iowa increased their lead with a 3^rd quarter FG and a short TD run early in the 4^th to take a 24-12 lead with 12:48 left to play.  LSU cut into the deficit with a 22-yard TD pass from JaMarcus Russell (replacing injured starter Marcus Randall) to Skyler Green to cut it to a 24-19 deficit with 8:21 left.  The Tigers forced a punt and got the ball back at their own 31 with 5:06 left. 

The Finish: LSU converted a 4^th & 1 at the Iowa 41 to keep the drive alive.  Then Russell nearly had the ball stripped by Matt Roth, but he kept his grip on the ball and threw a pass to Dwayne Bowe down to the Iowa 14.  With 1:02 left, the Tigers converted a 3^rd & 6 to the 3.  Russell then found Green in the back of the end zone with 46 seconds left for what looked to be the GW TD.  The 2-point try failed for a 25-24 LSU lead.  After the kick return, Drew Tate and the Iowa offense had the ball at their own 29-yard line with 39 seconds left.  An 11-yard completion to the 40 to Ed Hinkel stopped the clock with 33 seconds left.  Tate’s next pass, though went for only 9 yards to Warren Holloway, so the clock did not stop, and the Hawkeyes scrambled to get to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball, but not everyone was set when the ball was snapped for a 5-yard penalty.  When the ball was placed, the clock started again.  Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz made a seeming mistake by not calling timeout as the clock started rolling dangerously low, suddenly making the upcoming play the final play of the game.  Tate dropped back to pass and found an open Holloway streaking down the field.  Holloway caught it at the 15, shrugged off a desperation tackle attempt, and ran the rest of the way in for the GW 56-yard TD pass as time expired. 

How they ended up: It was Holloway’s final reception as a Hawkeye and was the only TD reception in his Iowa career.  This was a memorable final game for Nick Saban as LSU head coach.  Iowa finished 10-2 for their 3^rd straight 10-win season and top ten finish, while LSU had to settle for a 9-3 finish.

45. Nov. 6, 1999-#3 (2) Virginia Tech 22, West Virginia 20 (Mountaineer Field, Morgantown, West Virginia)

The Build Up: Virginia Tech came into this rivalry game 7-0 and ranked #3 in the AP.  Meanwhile, West Virginia was just 3-5.

The Finish: West Virginia scored a go-ahead TD with 1:15 left to put them up 20-19.  Redshirt Freshman sensation Michael Vick completed a couple of passes, but after one was stopped short of a first down, time was ticking down to 36 seconds with the Hokies at their own 38.  Vick scrambled and appeared to be running out of bounds at the first down marker when suddenly he exploded down the sideline for a 26-yard gain to the WVU 36.  Vick completed a 9-yard pass to the 27 where Vick spiked the ball with 5 seconds left.  That set up Shayne Graham’s GW 44-yard FG as time expired to keep Virginia Tech’s national title hopes alive. 

How they ended up: The Hokies went on to an 11-0 regular season to clinch their spot in the BCS National Championship Game.  They lost to Florida State, but Virginia Tech’s arrival on the national scene was complete.  Meanwhile, the Mountaineers went just 4-7.

44. Jan. 1, 1994-#1 (1) Florida St. 18, #2 (3) Nebraska 16 (Orange Bowl, Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida)

The Build Up: Florida St. lost the “Game of the Century” to Notre Dame (see #143), but the Irish lost to Boston College the following week (more on that later) to move the Seminoles back up to #1.  Meanwhile, Nebraska had quietly had an 11-0 regular season to take a #2 ranking into this game with the national title on the line for both teams.

The Game: Nebraska had a punt return for a TD called back by a phantom clipping penalty in the 1^st to keep the game scoreless.  After Florida State’s Scott Bentley kicked a 33-yard FG, Tommie Frazier had a pass tipped into the hands of WR Reggie Baul for TD and a 7-3 Husker lead.  With 29 seconds left in the half, Bentley kicked a 25-yard FG to make it a 7-6 Seminole deficit at halftime.

Early in the 3^rd, William Floyd scored a 1-yard TD run that was controversial because it appeared he fumbled before the ball reached the goal line.  However, before replay reviews, the call stood.  FSU went for 2, but failed, so Florida St. took a 12-7 lead.  A Bentley FG later in the 3^rd gave FSU a 15-7 lead.  At the start of the 4^th, Lawrence Phillips scored a 12-yard TD run to pull Nebraska to within 2, but the 2-point attempt failed to leave FSU ahead 15-13.  The Huskers got the ball back and drove in range for 1^st & goal inside the 5, but they were held to a Byron Bennett 27-yard FG with 1:16 left to give NU a 16-15 lead. 

The Finish: However, Nebraska kicked the ensuing kickoff out of bounds to give Florida St. great field position.  Newly crowned Heisman trophy winner, Charlie Ward, led the Seminoles to the NU 3.  The Nebraska defense held but Bentley kicked his 4^th FG of the night for the 18-16 lead with just 21 seconds left.  Florida St. was flagged for excessive celebration on their sidelines to give the Huskers great field position much to the dismay of a fuming Bobby Bowden.  Frazier hit TE Trumane Bell for a 29-yard gain to the FSU 28, but the clock ticked to 0:00 setting up more chaos on the Seminole sideline, including a Gatorade bath for Bowden.  However, referee John Soffey ruled that there was still one second left.  Bennett had one more chance to win the national championship for Nebraska, but he badly missed the 45-yard attempt as Florida St. could finally celebrate their first national championship.

How they ended up: After so many close calls, Bobby Bowden and the Noles celebrated a national title with a 12-1 record.  Meanwhile, Nebraska finished 11-1, but they would go on to win back-to-back consensus national titles and would not lose another game until Sept. 21, 1996 at Arizona St…

43. Jan. 1, 1997-#4 (2) Ohio St. 20, #2 (4) Arizona St. 17 (Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California)

The Build Up: Arizona St. came into this game 11-0 with their national title hopes still alive.  They had handed Nebraska their first loss since that Orange Bowl and just needed a win here and a Florida win over #1 Florida St. to clinch their first national championship.  Meanwhile, for the 2^nd straight year, Ohio State’s national title hopes came to an end with a loss to rival Michigan for a 10-1 record coming into this Rose Bowl.

The Game: The teams traded TDs in the early going with Ohio St. converting a 3^rd & goal with a TD pass from Stanley Jackson to David Boston, and later Arizona St. tied the game at 7 when Jake Plummer found Ricky Boyer who made a spectacular diving catch on a 26-yard TD connection.  The 7-7 score held heading into the half.  Arizona St. struck first in the 2^nd half with a 37-yard FG for a brief 10-7 lead, but just moments later, QB Joe Germaine, who came in to replace starter Jackson, threw a 72-yard TD pass to Dimitrius Stanley for a 14-10 Ohio St. lead still in the 3^rd, which would hold as the score heading into the 4^th.  Later in the 4^th, Ohio St. RB Pepe Pearson broke a run from the Buckeyes’ own 2 to the Arizona St. 35.  However, eventual American hero Pat Tillman broke up a 3^rd down pass to force an Ohio St. FG attempt, but Arizona St. blocked it and appeared to run it back for a TD, but an illegal forward lateral put Arizona St. at their own 42.  Plummer led a methodical drive, converting on 3^rd down once, and later on 4^th down with a 28-yard pass to move the Sun Devils down to the OSU 8-yard line.  On 2^nd down, an Ohio St. sack pushed Arizona St. into 3^rd & goal at the 11.  The Buckeyes brought pressure again, but Jake “The Snake” Plummer evaded a sack and scrambled all the way to a diving TD to give the Sun Devils a 17-14 lead just 1:40 away from a potential national championship. 

The Finish: Ohio St. began the ensuing drive from their own 34 where Germaine converted two 3^rd & 10s to Stanley, and then two pass interference penalties moved Ohio St. to the Arizona St. 5-yard line where Germaine hit Boston in the flat for a 5-yard go-ahead TD pass with only 19 seconds left.  The PAT was blocked, however, to give ASU a glimmer of hope.  Plummer wouldn’t go quietly and completed 2 long passes to move into FG range, but time ran out after the second completion to end Arizona State’s national championship dreams. 

How they ended up: Both teams finished 11-1.  Florida beat rival Florida St. 52-20 in a rematch in the Sugar Bowl, so if the Sun Devils had won, they would’ve been national champs.  Instead, the Gators were crowned as consensus national champs despite losing to the Noles in Tallahassee to end the regular season.

42. Dec. 5, 1998-#10 (11) Texas A&M 36, #2 (10) Kansas St. 33 (((2OT))) (Big 12 Championship Game, Trans World Dome, St. Louis, Missouri)

The Build Up: Kansas St. was having their best season in program history.  After decades of futility, Bill Snyder had turned around the K-State program from perennial loser to contender, and this was their best team yet.  They took an 11-0 record into this game and just needed a win to clinch their spot in the BCS National Championship Game.  Meanwhile, Texas A&M was 10-2.

The Game: Kansas St. took a 17-6 lead into halftime and went on to lead 27-12 with 9 minutes to go and appeared to be on their way to their first ever national championship game.  However, Dat Nguyen picked off a pass, and Branndon Stewart threw 2 TD passes and a 2-point conversion to Sirr Parker to incredibly tie the game. 

The Finish: K-State came close to pulling off a miraculous Hail Mary as time expired but instead would have to settle for OT.  The teams traded FGs in the 1^st OT to send the game to a 2^nd OT tied at 30.  The Wildcats kicked another FG for a 33-30 lead on the first possession of the 2^nd OT.  Then, facing 3^rd & 18, Parker caught a screen pass, broke free and went all the way for the GW walk-off 32-yard TD to give the Aggies the Big 12 title and cost Kansas St. a shot at their first ever national championship. 

How they ended up: The loss not only cost K-State a chance at a national title, but they wouldn’t even get invited to a BCS bowl game as they fell to 11-1 and #4 heading into the Alamo Bowl against unranked Purdue.  This snubbing would lead to rule changes in how BCS bowls made their selections.  Meanwhile, Texas A&M improved to 11-2 heading into the Sugar Bowl against #3 Ohio State.  Both teams would lose their bowl games to finish 11-2 and 11-3 respectively.

41. Nov. 24, 2018-#22 (16) Texas A&M 74, #8 (6) LSU 72 (((7OT))) (Kyle Field, College Station, Texas)

The Build Up: LSU came into this game 9-2, while Texas A&M was 7-4.

The Finish: The madness began with Texas A&M trailing 31-24 in the final minute.  It appeared that LSU intercepted a Kellen Mond pass to end the game, which led to a Gatorade bath for Tiger coach Ed Orgeron.  However, replay showed that Mond’s knee was down before he threw the interception, so instead of LSU possession, the Aggies faced 3^rd & 18.  After an incompletion they faced 4^th & 18, but Mond completed a 20-yard pass to Quartney Davis to keep the game alive (do-or-die play #1).  Mond spiked the ball with 10 seconds left with Texas A&M now at the LSU 41.  Mond threw a 22-yard pass to Kendrick Rogers to move to the LSU 19 where Mond spiked the ball with only 1-second left.  With only one play left, Mond threw a 19-yard touchdown to Davis to miraculously send the game to OT (do-or-die play #2).

The teams exchanged FGs in the 1^st OT, and then Mond had a 3-yard TD run to give Texas A&M a 41-34 lead after the first possession of the 2^nd OT.  LSU faced 4^th & 2 from the 3 on their possession when Nick Brossette had a 3-yard touchdown run to send the game to a 3^rd OT (do-or-die play #3).  The teams traded quick 25-yard TD passes and 2-point conversions to send the game to a 4^th OT (the second conversion was do-or-die play #4) where the teams traded FGs to send the game to a 5^th OT.  LSU had the ball first and scored on a trick play when Clyde Edwards-Helaire threw an 11-yard touchdown to Tory Carter, but the 2-pointer failed to leave LSU ahead 58-52.  The Aggies faced 4^th & goal at the 6 when Mond found Kendrick Rogers for another TD (do-or-die play #5).  They had a chance to win with a 2-pointer, but again it failed to send the game to a 6^th OT.  To open the 6^th OT, Mond threw a quick 25-yard TD to Jace Sternberger.  Mond followed that up with a successful 2-point pass to Rogers for a 66-58 lead.  LSU responded with Joe Burrow’s 4-yard touchdown run and his 2-point pass to Dee Anderson (do-or-die play #6) to incredibly send the game to a 7^th OT.  Burrow had a 10-yard touchdown run, but they couldn’t convert the 2-pointer to leave LSU ahead 72-66.  Texas A&M faced 3^rd & 15 with Mond throwing a 17-yard TD to Davis to tie the game at 72.  A pass interference penalty gave the Aggies a second chance at the GW 2-pointer after the first fell incomplete.  An additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed A&M towards the goal line, but a false start penalty moved them back to the 6.  Finally, Mond scrambled and found Rogers for the GW, walk-off 2-pointer to finally end this marathon game.

How they ended up: A fight broke out between the teams and coaching staffs after the game.  Texas A&M improved to 8-4 and #19, while LSU fell to 9-3 and #11 heading into the Fiesta Bowl against #8 UCF.  This was the last time LSU lost until Sept. 26, 2020.  Incredibly there were 6 do-or-die non-kicking plays that were converted to extend this game.  The game set a record for most combined points in an FBS football game and lasted nearly 5 hours leading to the rule change of exchanging 2-point conversions starting with the 3^rd OT that would be adopted soon afterwards.

40. Nov. 29, 2002-(once #22) Arkansas 21, #17 LSU 20 (War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, Arkansas)

The Build Up: LSU came into this game 8-3 with already one of the great finishes under their belt: the Bluegrass Miracle (more on that later).  Meanwhile, Arkansas was on a 5-GW streak to also sit at 8-3.  The SEC West was on the line in this game.

The Finish: This game is known as the “Miracle on Markham” in Arkansas circles.  Trailing 20-14, Arkansas had the ball on their own 19 with only 34 seconds left.  However, Matt Jones came up with a 50-yard bomb to Richard Smith to give themselves a chance.  Two plays later, Jones threw the GW 31-yard TD pass to DeCori Birmingham over a defending Randall Gay with only 9 seconds left to give the Hogs the improbable win. 

How they ended up: The win sent Arkansas to the SEC Championship Game, but they were blown out 30-3 by #4 Georgia.  They also lost to Minnesota in the Music City Bowl to finish 9-5.  Meanwhile, LSU lost the Cotton Bowl to Texas to finish 8-5.

39. Sept. 1, 1984-#10 (18) Miami 32, #17 (3) Florida 20 (Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida)

The Build Up: Miami had beaten #1 Auburn in the Week 0 Kickoff Classic to take a 1-0 record into this game.  Meanwhile, this was the opener for the Gators.

The Finish: This was an absolute thriller with a deceiving final score.  A play after converting a 4^th down, Florida took a 20-19 lead with 41 seconds left on a 5-yard TD pass from freshman QB Kerwin Bell to Frankie Neal.  But right after Florida took the lead, Bernie Kosar led Miami 72 yards down the field in only 29 seconds for his GW 12-yard TD pass to Ed Brown with 7 seconds left for a 26-20 lead.  On the next play from scrimmage, a desperation pass attempt from Bell was intercepted and returned 59 yards for a TD on the final play by Tolbert Bain to give Miami a deceiving 2-possession victory to miraculously cover the Canes’ -6.5-point spread.  Kosar threw for 300 yards.

How they ended up: Despite the final score, Florida was just 7 seconds away from an undefeated season.  The Gators wouldn’t lose again all year, although their next result was a tie.  Even with the loss, Florida has a better national championship resume than eventual national champion BYU although the Gators were on probation to hinder their cause.  In the meantime, though, after beating #1 Auburn in the Meadowlands, and #17 Florida on a neutral field as well, Miami jumped all the way to #1 in the first official AP poll released during the season, while the Gators fell from the polls for a month.  The Canes went on to have one of the wildest seasons ever, blowing the biggest lead ever given up in college football at the time when they surrendered a 31-0 halftime lead to Maryland and lost 42-40, and 2 weeks later lost on a Hail Mary to Boston College (more on that later).  They lost another thriller to UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl to finish 8-5 having lost their last 3 games in dramatic fashion.

38. Nov. 9, 1974-(12) Michigan St. 16, #1 (4) Ohio St. 13 (Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan)

The Build Up: Ohio St. came into this game 8-0 and the clear #1 team after winning their last 5 games by at least 35 points.  Meanwhile, Michigan St. had won 2 in a row after going winless in 4 straight games from late September to late October to take a 4-3-1 record into this matchup.

The Game: Ohio St. appeared to be on their way to another win when Champ Henson scored a TD for a 13-3 lead with 9:03 left.  However, Michigan St. struck back quickly with a 44-yard TD pass from Charlie Baggett to Mike Jones.  They went for 2 but failed to cut it to a 13-9 deficit.  The Buckeyes went 3-and-out, and on the first play of the Spartans’ next drive, Levi Jackson went 88 yards for a TD to give Michigan St. a sudden 16-13 lead with 3:17 left. 

The Finish: Ohio St. drove all the way to the Spartan 1-yard line with less than a minute left.  Henson tried to bull his way in, but he was marked down inches short despite Henson’s later insistence that he got in.  The clock read 13 seconds and continued ticking.  The Buckeyes scrambled to line up for a final play, while the Michigan St. defenders were in no hurry to get to their feet.  By the time the ball was snapped it was either right before or right after the clock hit zero.  The ball was snapped through QB Cornelius Greene’s legs and was picked up by Brian Baschnagel who dove into the end zone for the apparent GW score.  One official ruled TD, while another said no TD.  The officials discussed the call for a further 10 minutes when the ABC broadcast ended without a winner being declared. 

How they ended up: For the fans in the stadium, it took a total of 46 minutes before Big Ten commissioner Wayne Duke declared Michigan St. the winner because Ohio St. failed to snap the ball before time expired.  Woody Hayes would claim the Buckeyes were robbed to his dying day.  The Buckeyes fell to #4, while the Spartans jumped into the polls at #15.  Ohio St. won their next two games, including a dramatic win over #2 Michigan (see #126) to keep their national title hopes alive heading into the Rose Bowl against #5 USC.  However, they lost another thriller (see #60) to finish 10-2.  Meanwhile, Michigan St. won their final 5 games to finish 7-3-1. 

37. Nov. 16, 1991-#2 (1) Miami 17, #1 (4) Florida St. 16 (Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida)

The Build Up: This had “Game of the Century” hype with each team coming in #1 and #2 in the AP poll.  Unlike most UM/FSU meetings that usually take place early or midway through the year, this was a late season matchup with national title stakes for both teams.  Miami was 8-0 and #2, while Florida St. was 10-0 and #1. 

The Game: The Noles took a 16-7 lead before Miami answered with a FG to cut it to 16-10.  The Canes got the ball back with 7 minutes left.  Facing 2^nd & 16, Gino Torretta completed a 22-yard pass to a diving Coleman Bell.  Then after a series of Stephen McGuire runs, Miami faced 4^th & 6.  Torretta hooked up with Horace Copeland for his only catch of the game to keep the drive alive at the FSU 3.  After being stopped on the first 2 downs, Larry Jones finally got it for the TD to put Miami up 17-16 with 3:01 left. 

The Finish: The first play of the ensuing drive was a near interception, but one referee overruled another to call it incomplete.  Archie Griffin broke a huge gain into MSU territory on Ohio State’s way all the way to the Spartan 1-yard line with less than a minute left.  Henson tried to bull his way in, but he was marked down inches short despite Henson’s later insistence that he got in.  The clock read 13 seconds and continued ticking.  The Buckeyes scrambled to line up for a final play, while the Michigan St. defenders were in no hurry to get to their feet.  By the time the ball was snapped it was either right before or right after the clock hit zero.  The ball was snapped through QB Cornelius Greene’s legs and was picked up by Brian Baschnagel who dove into the end zone for the apparent GW score.  One official ruled TD, while another said no TD.  The officials discussed the call for a further 10 minutes when the ABC broadcast ended without a winner being declared. 

How they ended up: Miami went on to win their next 2 games to finish an 11-0 regular season and then shutout #11 Nebraska to claim a share of the national title.  Florida St. lost their next game to rival #5 Florida but won the Cotton Bowl against #9 Texas A&M to finish 11-2 and #4.

36. Nov. 27, 1943-(6) Great Lakes Navy 19, #1 (1) Notre Dame 14 (Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois)

The Build Up: Notre Dame came into this game 9-0 having run a gauntlet of a schedule that included a 35-12 win at #2 Michigan, a 33-6 win over #3 Navy, a 26-0 win over #3 Army, a 25-6 win over #8 Northwestern, and they just survived their only test of the season thus far by hanging on against #2 Iowa Pre-Flight 14-13.  They only had to beat Great Lakes Navy to be named not only national champions but perhaps the greatest team of all time.  If that were not enough they also beat a Georgia Tech team that would finish ranked #13 55-13.

The Game: Great Lakes Navy was coached by Naismith Basketball Hall-of-Famer Tony Hinkle who’s name now adorns Butler’s home for basketball.  It turns out Hinkle knew football too, as he put together a successful plan to stop QB Johnny Lujack who had replaced eventual Heisman winner Angelo Bertelli who left midseason to join the Marines.  Lujack scored Notre Dame’s first TD on a 1-yard TD run, but he had 2 passes intercepted in the 2^nd to make it a 7-0 Irish lead at halftime.  In the 3^rd quarter, though, Great Lakes Navy scored two TDs on a 26-yard score from Emil Sitko, and a 51-yard run from FB Dewey Proctor for a 12-7 lead when both PATs failed. 

The Finish: Late in the 4^th quarter, Notre Dame went on an 80-yard drive that featured mostly runs and two 4^th down conversions to claim a 14-12 lead with only 1:06 remaining.  However, Great Lakes Navy would only need 2 plays to reclaim the lead.  Steve Lach was put in at QB because of his throwing ability and completed a 15-yard pass to end Cecil Pirkey.  On the next play, Lach dropped back deep, then had to scramble to elude would-be tacklers before he launched a 46-yard TD pass to regular QB Paul Anderson who had moved to end, for the GW points in the final minute.  Sitko’s interception of Lujack ended the game to give Great Lakes Navy the shocking upset against one of the greatest college football teams of all time. 

How they ended up: Despite the loss, Notre Dame was still easily voted #1 in the final AP poll to be crowned national champions, their first of the poll era.  Meanwhile, Great Lakes Navy finished 10-2 and #6 in the final AP poll.  Purdue fans will point out that they beat this Great Lakes Navy team (although, Lach was not on the team at the time) and finished a perfect 9-0, which helped pave the way for regular meetings between in-state rivals Notre Dame and Purdue.

35. Sept. 20, 2014-(19) Arizona 49, Cal 45 (Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona)

The Build Up: Arizona came into this game 3-0, while Cal was 2-0.

The Finish: Cal took a 45-30 lead with 5:21 left to seemingly put the game away.  Terris Jones-Grigsby scored on a 6-yard touchdown run with 3:30 left to cut it to 45-37, and then Arizona recovered an onside kick after Cal was called for a batting penalty.  Anu Solomon threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Cayleb Jones to cut it to 45-43, but the 2-point try failed to leave them behind with 2:44 left.  Arizona got the ball back with less than a minute left and got in range for Solomon’s GW, walk-off 47-yard Hail Mary to Austin Hill, who caught the ball between 5 Cal defenders for the miraculous score. 

How they ended up: This is the one of only two examples I could find of both a successful onside kick and GW Hail Mary occurring in the same game (more on the other later).  The Wildcats improved to 4-0 and then upset #2 Oregon on the road to jump into the rankings where they remained for the rest of the season.  They got a rematch with Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship Game, but this time #2 Oregon blew the Wildcats out 51-13.  Arizona then lost the Fiesta Bowl to #20 Boise St. to finish 10-4.  Meanwhile, Cal went 5-7.

34. Oct. 6, 1990-#12 (1) Colorado 33, Missouri 31 (Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri)

The Build Up: Colorado had recovered from a 1-1-1 start by winning 2 straight against ranked non-conference opponents to take a 3-1-1 record into Columbia.  Mizzou was 2-2 coming off a 30-9 win over then #21 Arizona St.

The Game: The field was in terrible condition as both teams struggled to maintain their footing throughout the game.

The Finish: In a back-and-forth game, trailing 31-27, Colorado took possession deep in their own territory with less than 3 minutes left.  The Buffaloes were without usual starting QB Darian Hagan, who was replaced by Charles Johnson who led the desperation drive deep into Mizzou territory.  He completed a pass to TE Jon Boman who slipped just short of the goal line.   On 1^st down, Johnson spiked the ball to stop the clock.  On 2^nd down Eric Bieniemy was stopped short of the goal line.  Colorado then called their final timeout.  During the timeout, the field crew failed to flip the down marker to 3^rd down and instead it still read 2^nd down.  On the next down, Bieniemy was again held short of the end zone.  Seeing that the marker read 3^rd down, the Buffs quickly hurried to spike the ball again, but it should have been 4^th down to turn the ball over.  Instead, after the spike, the down markers now read 4^th down, giving Colorado an extra “5^th down.”  On that extra down, Johnson kept the ball and lunged just barely into the end zone as time expired to give the Buffs the 33-31 win. 

How they ended up: Missouri fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts thinking they had won. After the game had ended, the referees had realized their mistake and conferred for almost 20 minutes to decide what to do.  Ultimately, they ruled that the play counted, and Colorado won.  After the game, the press asked if Colorado coach Bill McCartney would forfeit the game as had happened in the case of Cornell vs. Dartmouth (see #260) in a similar 5^th down game in 1940.  McCartney said he considered it but wouldn’t forfeit because of the lousy field conditions (Miami vs. Tulane 1972 set the precedent of not forfeiting after a 5^th down, see #242).  Missouri chancellor Haskell Monroe appealed to the Big 8 arguing that the final score should be Missouri 31-27.  However, Big 8 commissioner Carl James stated that “the allowance of the 5^th down to Colorado is not a post-game correctable error,” and thus the Buffaloes’ win would stand.  The controversy saw Colorado fall to #14, but they would go on to win their remaining games, while higher ranked teams lost to take a #1 ranking into the Orange Bowl to face #5 Notre Dame, which had ended their national title hopes the year before.  This year, the Buffs held on, albeit with more controversy (see #195) to secure the AP national championship.  Missouri went just 4-7.

33. Nov. 21, 1885-Princeton 6, Yale 5 (Yale Field, New Haven, Connecticut) 

The Build Up: This is by far the earliest entry on this list and the only entry from the 19^th Century.  Just 20 years after the Civil War a new sport was being played on neutral sites and the campuses of a handful of colleges around the country, mostly in the east.  The two teams that seemed to be better at it than everyone else were Princeton and Yale.  In fact, the reason that there are so many Tiger and Bulldog mascots in college sports is largely due to these original Tigers and Bulldogs being so dominant at this new football.  The primordial version of the game being played during this time would not be recognizable today, but the seeds of a new American pastime were being planted.  This represents the first true great finish in American football history that has stood the test of time.  To add to the moment, each team came into the game unblemished with Princeton sitting at 7-0 and Yale at 6-0 with likely a national title on the line.  At least as much of a national title as you can get with only 15 schools fielding football teams at the time.

The Finish: Trailing 5-0, Princeton had 2 returners back to field a punt.  The ball bounced off the shoulder one returner and the other returner, Henry “Tillie” Lamar, caught it in a dead sprint.  He took off down the left sideline, maneuvered his way through two would-be tacklers on his way to a 90-yard punt return for a TD to cut it to 5-4.  Back in those days TDs were 4 points and PATs were 2 points, so they still needed the PAT to take the lead.  Back in those days PATs were anything but a gimmie, but it was sent through to give Princeton the 6-5 lead in the final minutes for the first spectacular ending in college football history, which also just happened to determine the mythical national championship. 

How they ended up: This was the first time the Princeton/Yale game was played on a campus site and helped popularize football games as social events that attracted not only men and students, but women as well.  The spectacular ending helped capture the nation’s attention as attendance to these football games grew eventually to the spectacle it is today with crowds of 100,000 gathered in cathedrals of the sport spread out over the entire country.  The win gave Princeton their only win over Yale from 1879-1888.  Princeton throttled Penn 76-10 on Thanksgiving to clinch the national title at 9-0, while Yale plastered Wesleyan 61-0 to finish 7-1.  Since then football and Thanksgiving have been inseparable.

32. Nov. 2, 1935-Notre Dame 18, Ohio St. 13 (Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio)

The Build Up: Fifty years after Princeton and Yale came up with the first spectacular finish in college football, Ohio St. and Notre Dame put on the first “Game of the Century” in college football.  Both teams came into this game with perfect records and a crowd of 81,018 showed up to 13-year-old Ohio Stadium to see it. 

The Game: Ohio St. had completely outplayed the Irish in the first 3 quarters, taking a 13-0 lead into the 4^th.  Notre Dame finally scored, but the PAT missed off the crossbar to trail 13-6.  After an interception, Notre Dame came within inches of the goal line before Wayne Milner fumbled the ball away. 

The Finish: Finally, with 90 seconds left, Andy Pilney threw a TD pass to Mike Layden, but the PAT missed again to leave the Irish still behind 13-12.  The onside kick did not work, but the Irish forced a fumble at midfield.  QB Andy Pilney, the star of the game, broke a 30-yard run down to the OSU 19 but was injured and would miss the rest of the year.  As they carried him off the field, a backup named Bill Shakespeare threw the GW 19-yard TD pass to Milner as time expired for the dramatic win. 

How they ended up: The loss was the only one for Ohio State all season as they went on to a 7-1 record.  The AP poll was still a year away.  Meanwhile, Notre Dame struggled without Pilney, losing their next game to Northwestern and settling for a tie against Army before salvaging a win against USC to finish 7-1-1.  Another “Game of the Century” took place just weeks later with higher national title stakes when TCU and SMU played each other while both were 10-0.  This remains the only season to claim two “Games of the Century” in the same year.

31. Nov. 20, 1993-#17 (13) Boston College 41, #1 (2) Notre Dame 39 (Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana)

The Build Up: After just winning the “Game of the Century,” (see #143) new #1 Notre Dame only needed to beat Boston College to complete a perfect regular season to retain their #1 ranking heading into bowl season for a chance to play for the national championship.  Last year, the Irish dominated the Eagles 54-7.  This year BC took a 7-GW streak into this game at 7-2 and #17.

The Game: BC jumped out to a 10-0 lead and led 24-10 at halftime.  The Eagles added another TD on their opening possession of the 2^nd half for a 31-10, 21-point lead.  By the end of the 3^rd, Notre Dame had cut it to a 31-17 deficit, but BC added another TD for a 38-17 lead for another 21-point lead with 11 minutes left.  Then the Irish came storming back.   A Kevin McDougal 4^th down 4-yard TD pass to Lake Dawson gave Notre Dame a 39-38 lead with 1:09 left.

The Finish: A muffed kickoff return forced BC to start the ensuing drive from their own 10.  LB Pete Bercich dropped a potential game-sealing interception to open the ensuing drive.  BC QB Glenn Foley settled down after that and completed 4 passes including a 12-yarder to TE Pete Mitchell on 3^rd & 10.  He hit Mitchell 2 more times for 6 and 24 yards to move into Irish territory.  A 9-yard pass to Ivan Boyd put BC on the 24-yard line with 5 seconds left.  That sent out David Gordon, a walk-on kicker who had failed on 2 potential GW kicks in the last 2 years.  This one was from 41 yards.  The kick was a knuckleball that seemed to be destined to miss, but it straightened out and stayed up over the crossbar for the GW points to give BC the monumental upset. 

How they ended up: The loss cost Notre Dame the national championship.  The Irish dropped back to #4 heading into the Cotton Bowl, where they beat #7 Texas A&M 24-21, but they had to settle for a #2 ranking behind the team they beat in the “Game of the Century,” Florida St.  Meanwhile, the Eagles climbed to #11 with their 8^th straight win.  Their winning streak came to an end against #5 West Virginia 6 days later, but they won their bowl game to finish 9-3.

30. Oct. 31, 1959-#1 (3) LSU 7, #3 (2) Ole Miss 3 (Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

The Build Up: #1 LSU was coming off a national championship the previous year and took an 18-GW streak into this much-hyped matchup against #3 Ole Miss who took an 8-GW streak into this Halloween night matchup in Death Valley.

The Finish: Trailing 3-0 late in a game that was played in very wet conditions, eventual Heisman winner Billy Cannon broke 7 tackles on his way to an 89-yard punt return for a TD to give LSU the 7-3 lead.  Ole Miss drove down to the LSU 2-yard line where they faced 4^th down with 18 seconds left.  Rebel QB Doug Elmore was stopped at the LSU 1-yard line by none other than Cannon as the game ended to give the Tigers the monumental win in what is undoubtedly the most famous game in this rivalry’s history. 

How they ended up: The result most likely cost Ole Miss at least a share of a national championship with this representing their only blemish of the season.  LSU maintained their #1 ranking for another week before getting upset at #13 Tennessee.  The Tigers slipped to #3 on their way to a rematch with now #2 Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.  The Rebels got revenge and beat LSU 21-0 (another rematch in New Orleans doomed LSU in 2011/12 by the same scoreline).  Ole Miss finished 10-1, while the Tigers went 9-2.  Cannon won the Heisman trophy with the punt return being his signature play.

29. Oct. 15, 2005-#1 (2) USC 34, #9 (9) Notre Dame 31 (Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana)

The Build Up: This is the third and final game from this date to make the list.  USC came into this much hyped rivalry game on a 27-GW streak with back-to-back AP national titles including 3 straight wins over Notre Dame by 31 points each.  The Trojans were hoping to become the first team to win 3 straight AP national titles.  The Irish were 4-1 with their only loss coming in OT.  Notre Dame came out in their green jerseys much to the delight of the home crowd. 

The Game: A Keith Rivers interception set up Reggie Bush’s highlight reel 36-yard TD run where he hurdled a defender for an early 7-0 Trojan lead.  Notre Dame converted a 4^th down on their own half of the field on their next drive, which led to a 16-yard TD run from Travis Thomas to tie the game at 7.  However, less than a minute later a 52-yard pass from Matt Leinart to Dominique Byrd set up a LenDale White 3-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 Trojan lead.  A 32-yard touchdown pass from Brady Quinn to Jeff Samardzija tied the game at 14 in the 2^nd quarter.  After forcing a USC punt, Tom Zbikowski returned the punt 59 yards for a TD for a 21-14 Irish lead.  Leinart led the Trojans down the field, but then Chinedum Ndukwe intercepted a Leinart pass in the end zone to keep that 21-14 Irish lead at halftime.

A 45-yard TD run from Bush tied the game at 21 in the 2^nd half.  Quinn responded with a long pass to TE Anthony Fasano who ran it deep into Trojan territory, but Darnell Bing punched the ball loose and Rivers recovered it for USC at the Irish 6.  The 21-21 tie held heading into the 4^th quarter.  D.J. Fitzpatrick kicked a 32-yard FG to give Notre Dame a 24-21 lead, but on their next drive he missed a 34-yarder.  A Bush 9-yard TD run gave USC a 28-24 lead with about 5 minutes remaining.  However, Quinn responded with a TD drive where he completed 4 passes for 53 yards and ran in the 5-yard go-ahead touchdown for a 31-28 Irish lead with just over 2 minutes remaining.

The Finish: On USC’s do-or-die drive, Leinart threw an incompletion and then was sacked for a 10-yard loss with 1:44 left making it 3^rd & 20.  Leinart threw an 11-yard pass to Bush to set up 4^th & 9 with USC’s 27-GW streak and 3-peat hopes on the line.  Leinart signaled to Dwayne Jarrett that he was single covered and then threw a short fade to Jarrett down the sideline that was just out of reach of the defending CB Ambrose Wooden.  Jarrett caught it and then sprinted down the sideline until he was finally tackled at the Irish 13.  Two runs from Bush put the Trojans at the Irish 2-yard line.  Leinart scrambled towards the sideline before he was hit by Corey Mays who forced a fumble out of bounds.  The clock should’ve stopped, but the clock in the stadium kept ticking until it hit zero leading to fans rushing the field.  Replays showed that the ball went out of bounds around the 4-yard line, yet when the field was cleared, officials put USC at the 1 with 7 seconds left.  While Pete Carroll called for a fake spike of the ball, Leinart tried to clumsily sneak his way into the end zone and was stopped until he got an extra push from Bush which sent him into the end zone for the GW TD with 3 seconds left.  The push from Bush was technically illegal at the time, but the officials didn’t call it, so the play stood and became known as the “Bush Push.”  An excessive celebration penalty led to a missed PAT before Notre Dame’s last gasp kickoff return try ended harmlessly and the Trojans were able to celebrate their closest call yet in their now 28-GW streak.

How they ended up: The game was the most watched regular season game in 9 years with 10.1 million viewers and more than lived up to the hype on a day filled with fantastic finishes.  USC went on to increase their winning streak to 34 straight heading into the BCS National Championship Game against #2 Texas.  What took place was one of the great college football games to have ever taken place as the 34-GW streak came to an end and Texas won the national championship (more on that later).  Meanwhile, Notre Dame wouldn’t lose again until they lost the Fiesta Bowl to #4 Ohio State to finish 9-3.

28. Sept. 25, 1982-#8 (1) Penn St. 27, #2 (3) Nebraska 24 (Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania)

The Build Up: Nebraska came into the game ranked #2 having won their first two games by a combined margin of 110-7.  Meanwhile, Penn St. was 3-0 and ranked #8.

The Game: Penn St. took a 14-0 lead only for Nebraska to cut it to a 14-7 deficit at halftime.  The Nittany Lions reclaimed a 14-point lead with a TD pass from Todd Blackledge to Kenny Jackson for a 21-7 lead.  However, the Huskers answered again with a 15-play, 80-yard TD drive to cut it to 21-14 heading into the 4^th.  A Penn St. fumble led to a Nebraska FG to cut it to a 21-17 deficit.  After intercepting a Blackledge pass in the end zone, the Huskers went 80 yards for a TD to take their first lead at 24-21.

The Finish: Blackledge led the Nittany Lions from their own 35 to the Nebraska 28 where they faced 4^th & 11.  Blackledge threw a 1^st down pass to Kenny Jackson to keep the drive alive.  Then on 2^nd & 4 controversy struck.  Blackledge threw a 15-yard pass to TE Mike McCloskey, but replays showed that McCloskey clearly appeared to be out of bounds.  However, the linesman ruled it a catch, in-bounds to give Penn St. a 1^st down at the Nebraska 2-yard line with 9 seconds left.  With instant replay decades away, Nebraska had no choice but to accept the clearly erroneous decision.  Blackledge then threw the GW TD pass to TE Kirk Bowman with 4 seconds left, which Nebraska defenders again argued wasn’t a legal catch, but again there was nothing they could do about it. 

How they ended up: Penn St. moved up to #3 heading into a trip to #4 Alabama, but Bear Bryant, in his final season, led the Tide to the 42-21 win.  The Nittany Lions slipped back to #8 but won the remainder of their games to sneak up to a #2 ranking heading into the Sugar Bowl to face #1 Georgia.  Penn St. won 27-23 to claim their first consensus national championship.  The Huskers went on to win the remainder of their games, with this representing their only loss to finish 12-1 and #3.  They kept winning all the way to the 1984 Orange Bowl (more on that later).  This represented the only loss for Nebraska from Sept. 26, 1981 (which also came at the hands of Penn St.) to that Orange Bowl.

27. Sept. 10, 2016-Central Michigan 30, #22 (11) Oklahoma St. 27 (Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Oklahoma)

The Build Up: Both teams came into this early season matchup 1-0, but the MAC’s Central Michigan was not expected to be a threat to a ranked Cowboys squad.

The Game: CMU not only hung with the Pokes but led until James Washington caught a 2-yard TD pass from Dillon Stoner to give Oklahoma St. a 27-24 lead with 5:12 left. 

The Finish: OSU looked to put the game away by throwing the ball away on a 4^th down play that took up the rest of the clock, but the Cowboys were flagged for intentional grounding.  The referees incorrectly awarded CMU an untimed down, despite that they later admitted that in this situation the game could end on a penalty because OSU began the possession as the offensive team.  However, CMU was still wrongly given an untimed down where Cooper Rush threw a Hail Mary to Jesse Kroll who caught it and lateralled to teammate Corey Willis who took it the remaining 12 yards in a footrace to the goal line for the incredible GW, walk-off Hail Mary-and-lateral TD. 

How they ended up: This is the only instance of a GW Hail Mary-and-lateral I could find.  Oklahoma St. recovered to go 10-3, while Central Michigan went 6-7.

26. Oct. 31, 2015-Miami 30, #22 Duke 27 (Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, North Carolina)

The Build Up: Miami was having a tumultuous year, having just been blown out at home by #6 Clemson 58-0.  The result cost Al Golden his job, who was fired and replaced by Larry Scott who served as interim head coach the rest of the year.  This was his first game as interim head coach.  Meanwhile, Duke was having a good year by their football standards having won 4 straight to sit at 6-1 and ranked #22.

The Game: Thomas Sirk threw a 13-yard TD pass to Johnell Barnes to cut a Duke deficit to 24-19 with 2:40 left. 

The Finish: Sirk ran in the seeming GW 1-yard TD run with just 6 seconds left to give the Blue Devils a 27-24 lead with Sirk’s 2-point conversion.  Only a miracle could save the Canes now.  On the kickoff Dallas Crawford fielded the squib kick at the Miami 25.  They lateralled the ball several times but had to retreat to their own 3-yard line.  The 8^th lateral went to Corn Elder who received the ball at the 8 and took it up the left sideline finally cutting back across the Duke 40 and then ran all the way to the end zone for the miraculous GW TD.  A flag on the field for an illegal block in the back was reviewed and then waived off in a controversial finish. 

How they ended up: The ACC later admitted that this was a mistake, and the TD shouldn’t have counted (which is why this isn’t ranked higher).  Duke never recovered as this was the beginning of a 4-GL skid on their way to an 8-5 season.  Meanwhile, the Canes won 4 of their 6 games under Scott to finish 8-5.

25. Oct. 7, 2023-Georgia Tech 23, #17 Miami 20 (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida)

The Build Up: Miami was having hopes of a revival season at 4-0 and ranked #17.  Meanwhile, Georgia Tech was just 2-3.

The Game: Andres Borregales kicked a 39-yard field goal to give Miami a 20-17 lead with 6:23 left.  Later the Canes appeared to be set to run out the clock. 

The Finish: After Georgia Tech used their last timeout, Miami just needed to kneel on the ball as the clock ticked under 40 seconds, but inexplicably they ran the ball and Donald Chaney Jr. fumbled to give Georgia Tech the ball with 33 seconds remaining.  The fumble was reviewed and controversially stood as a fumble.  Haynes King threw a pass up for grabs that got over a Canes defender and found Malik Rutherford for a 30-yard gain.  They spiked the ball with 10 seconds left.  Then King found Christian Leary behind the defense for the GW 44-yard TD with just 1 second left to stun Miami and give the Yellow Jackets a miraculous win. 

How they ended up: The Canes never recovered and only won 3 of their final 9 games to finish 7-6.  Meanwhile, Georgia Tech won 5 of their last 8 games to also finish 7-6.

24. Nov. 23, 1968-Harvard & Yale tie at 29 (Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, Massachusetts)

The Build Up: Both teams came into this game with perfect 8-0 records with the Ivy League title on the line.  It was the first Game where both teams came in undefeated and untied since 1909.  Yale came into The Game riding a 16-GW streak, and their QB Brian Dowling had only 1 loss when he was in the starting lineup since 6^th grade. 

The Finish: Yale took a seemingly insurmountable 29-13 lead late into the game.  However, a Bulldog fumble led to a Harvard 82-yard drive.  Frank Champi hit Bruce Freeman for a TD with 42 seconds left, and after a Yale fumble gave the Crimson another chance they punched in the 2-point conversion to cut it to a 29-21 deficit.  Despite that the game was still basically over, the Harvard fans added some energy now that there was at least a glimmer of hope.  Then everything that had to go Harvard’s way did, as they recovered an onside kick.  Facing 3^rd & 10, Harvard surprised the Bulldogs with a draw play to move down to the 6.  However, they were running out of time, and when Champi was tackled while trying to scramble, they called timeout with only 3 seconds left and now at the 8.  With time for only one more play, Champi scrambled and found Victor Gatto for a TD to give them a chance at a tie.  Then Champi found Peter Varney for the game-tying 2-point conversion to pull off perhaps the most improbable tie in college football history (Florida St. fans will invoke the “Choke at Doak”).

How they ended up: The Yale fans that had been unrolling toilet paper in preparations for a celebration suddenly felt like they had lost, while the Harvard fans were besides themselves in jubilation.  Thus, the next day’s Harvard Crimson student newspaper printed the headline “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29.”

23. Oct. 3, 1970-#2 (3) Texas 20, #13 UCLA 17 (Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas)

The Build Up: Texas came into this game on a 22-GW streak, while UCLA was 3-0 and ranked #13. 

The Game: This game, along with Texas’ “Game of the Century” win over Arkansas the year before represents the toughest tests of the Longhorns’ 30-GW streak.  Tommy Prothro used a “mirror” man-to-man defense to try to slow down the wishbone offense, which worked to an extent, yet the Longhorns still led 13-3 at halftime.  However, UCLA came back behind the throwing of QB Dennis Dummit who completed 19 of 30 passes for 340 yards and 2 TDs.  Those 2 TDs came in the 3^rd on drives of 90 and 95 yards as the Bruins took a 17-13 lead into the 4^th quarter.  The wishbone was shut down for most of the 2^nd half, and Texas would have one last chance with only 52 seconds left.

The Finish: Facing 3^rd & 19, Darrell Royal called a play called “86 pass, Ted crossing, Sam post.”  Eddie Phillips fired a pass just over the TE Tommy Woodard that split a couple of UCLA defenders going for an interception, and was caught by Cotton Speyrer at the Bruin 25 who had the angle against the only UCLA defender that could catch him, and Speyrer beat him to the end zone for the GW 45-yard TD pass with just 12 seconds left for the dramatic win to increase the Longhorns’ winning streak to 23 straight games. 

How they ended up: Texas maintained their #2 ranking and extended their winning streak to 30 games to finish ranked #1 in the pre bowl final Coaches poll.  However, they went on to lose the Cotton Bowl to #6 Notre Dame to end their hopes of a consensus national championship to end the 30-GW streak and finish 10-1.

22. Oct. 1, 2016-#11 (22) Tennessee 34, #25 Georgia 31 (Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia)

The Build Up: Tennessee came in 4-0 with their highest ranking in 10 years.  Meanwhile, the Dawgs were 3-1 coming off a 45-14 drubbing at #23 Ole Miss. 

The Game: Georgia led 17-0 early and took a 24-14 lead into the 4^th quarter, but Tennessee cut it to 24-21 with a 16-yard TD pass from Joshua Dobbs to Alvin Kamara on the first play of the 4^th quarter.  Then Jacob Eason was hit in the end zone by Derek Barnett and Cortez McDowell and fumbled and Corey Vereen recovered for a defensive TD to give Tennessee their first lead at 28-24 with 2:56 left. 

The Finish: Eason threw an interception, but Georgia got the ball back after using 2 timeouts and getting a stop.  That’s when Eason found Riley Ridley behind 2 defenders for the seeming GW 47-yard TD with only 10 seconds left.  However, an excessive celebration penalty forced the Dawgs to kickoff from their own 20.  Evan Berry’s 20-yard kickoff return set up the Vols at the Georgia 43 with time for only one play.  Dobbs threw up a Hail Mary and Jauan Jennings came down with it for the miraculous 43-yard GW, walk-off TD to give Tennessee one of the most remarkable wins of the year. 

How they ended up: The Vols improved to 5-0 and #9 heading into a trip to #8 Texas A&M only to lose 3 straight on their way to a 9-4 season.  Meanwhile Georgia fell to 3-2 and out of the polls for good on their way to an 8-5 season.

21. Jan. 3, 2003-#2 (1) Ohio St. 31, #1 (2) Miami 24 (((2OT))) (Fiesta Bowl, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona)

The Build Up: Miami took a 34-GW streak into this game and were looking for back-to-back national championships.  Ohio St. were 11.5 point underdogs after surviving a number of close calls on their way to a 13-0 record coming into this game.

The Game: Miami took a 1^st quarter lead when they faced 3^rd & 12 and Ken Dorsey evaded a blitz and threw a 25-yard TD to Roscoe Parrish for an early Canes’ 7-0 lead.  Later, an Ohio St. interception set up the Buckeyes with great field position, which they finally converted into a TD with a 4^th & goal QB sneak from Craig Krenzel to tie the game at 7 with 2:28 left in the 1^st half.  Then an Ohio St. sack and fumble recovery set them up deep in Miami territory, which led to a Maurice Clarett TD run to give the Buckeyes a 14-7 lead with 1:10 left in the 1^st half.

Ohio St. stretched their lead to 17-7 with a 3^rd quarter FG, but Miami answered with a 9-yard Willis McGahee TD run to cut it to a 17-14 deficit heading into the 4^th.  The Buckeyes had a chance to add to their lead, but they missed a FG wide right midway through the 4^th.  Miami was driving, and Dorsey completed a pass to Parrish inside the Ohio St. 25, but Parrish fumbled to give the ball back to the Buckeyes with 5:08 left.  Krenzel scrambled for one 1^st down, but then the Buckeyes had to punt, and Parrish returned the ball all the way to the OSU 26 with 2:02 left. 

The Finish: A Buckeye sack put Miami in a 3^rd & 14 hole, and Dorsey took the safe check-down to set up Todd Sievers game-tying 40-yard FG as time expired to send the game to OT.

On the first possession of OT, Kellen Winslow Jr. made a great grab on a 7-yard TD pass from Dorsey to put the Canes up 24-17.  On Ohio State’s possession, they faced 4^th & 14 when Krenzel completed a 16-yard pass to Michael Jenkins to keep the Buckeyes alive.  Ohio St. again faced 4^th & 3 when Krenzel’s pass for Jenkins in the end zone fell incomplete to set off fireworks and a national championship celebration from the Hurricanes, but a penalty flag brought that to a halt.  The call was pass interference on Miami in one of the most controversial calls in college football history to keep the Buckeyes alive once again.  Miami’s defense held for 2 downs before Krenzel snuck in on 3^rd down for the game-tying TD to send the game to a 2^nd OT.

Ohio St. had the ball first in the 2^nd OT and scored when Clarett broke a tackle and dove in for a 5-yard TD run to give the Buckeyes the 31-24 lead.  Dorsey was knocked loopy early in Miami’s possession, sending Derrick Crudup into the game for a play.  On 4^th & 3 Dorsey came back out and completed a pass to Winslow for the 1^st down to this time keep Miami alive.  Then a pass interference penalty on the Buckeyes gave Miami 1^st & goal on the 2.  Without their playmaker RB Willis McGahee in the game, who left earlier with a gruesome knee injury, the Canes handed off to Walter Payton’s son Jarrett Payton who was stopped a yard short, and then Dorsey missed a throw to the backup TE Eric Winston that would’ve been a sure TD.  A handoff to the FB was dropped short of the goal line to set up 4^th & goal from the 1.  The Buckeyes brought a blitz that forced Dorsey to throw up a prayer that fell incomplete to give Ohio St. the national championship.

How they ended up: The Buckeyes claimed their first national title since 1968, while Miami’s 34-GW streak came to an end.  The U has never quite been the same since and has yet to reach the dominance they had during this stretch and during their heyday in the 80s and early 90s.  Meanwhile, Ohio St. has maintained their status as the cream of the crop in not only the Big Ten, but among the most dominant programs in the country.

20. Jan. 8, 2018-#4 (1) Alabama 26, #3 (2) Georgia 23 (((OT))) (CFP National Championship Game, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia)

The Build Up: Both of these teams came into the national championship game with only one loss, both to rival Auburn.  Georgia got revenge against the Tigers in the SEC Championship Game to clinch their spot in the playoff, while Bama’s regular season finale loss to Auburn dropped them to #4 for the last playoff spot.  However, the Tide beat #1 Clemson 24-6 in the Sugar Bowl, while the Dawgs beat #2 Oklahoma in a 54-48 2OT thriller in the Rose Bowl (see #235).

The Game: Mecole Hardman took a direct snap, faked a handoff, and ran in for a 1-yard touchdown to give Georgia a 13-0 lead at halftime.  After Jalen Hurts had been ineffective in the 1^st half, Nick Saban opted to put freshman Tua Tagovailoa in at QB to start the 2^nd half.  The move paid off as Tagovailoa threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs to cut the Tide deficit to 13-7.  An 80-yard touchdown pass from Jake Fromm to Hardman gave the Dawgs a 20-7 lead, but Tua kept the ball moving to set up 2 Andy Pappanastos FGs to cut it to 20-13 with 9:24 left.  Tua’s 7-yard TD pass to Calvin Ridley with 3:49 left tied the game at 20. 

The Finish: Alabama had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Pappanastos missed a 36-yard FG attempt wide left as time expired to send this game into OT.  A sack on Fromm forced Georgia to kick a 51-yard FG to open OT and Rodrigo Blankenship sent it through to give the Dawgs a 23-20 lead.  On Alabama’s first play, Tua was sacked for a 16-yard loss to make things look bleak for the Tide.  However, on the next play, Tua launched the GW, 41-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith to give Alabama the walk-off national championship win. 

How they ended up: The play went on to be known as “2^nd and 26” in Alabama lore.  The win gave Saban his 6^th national championship to tie him with Bear Bryant for the most ever.  It was his 5^th at Alabama after one at LSU.  Tua’s performance led to a QB controversy over the next year at Alabama between Tua and Hurts.  The role of Tua and Hurts would be reversed in the following year’s SEC Championship Game (see #298).

19. Jan. 6, 2014-#1 (1) Florida St. 34, #2 (2) Auburn 31 (BCS National Championship Game, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California)

The Build Up: Florida St. had been dominant all year and had yet to be tested on their way to a 13-0 record coming into this game.  Meanwhile, Auburn finished their regular season with back-to-back miracle wins over their main two rivals to clinch the SEC West (more on both later).  People forget that they had a last second win over Mississippi St. as well (see #300).  The Tigers won the SEC Championship Game, and with an Ohio St. loss in the Big Ten title game, Auburn to snuck into the final BCS National Championship Game.

The Game: Auburn took a 21-3 lead on a 4-yard TD run from Nick Marshall.  Just when the Tigers looked to be in complete control, and forced a 4^th & 4, FSU went for a fake punt from their own 40 and converted on Karlos Williams’ 7-yard run.  Six plays later, the Noles faced 3^rd & 7 when Jameis Winston ran 21 yards for the 1^st down.  Devonte Freeman ran in a TD on the next play to cut it to a 21-10 Florida St. deficit at halftime.  The only score of the 3^rd quarter was a Florida St. FG to cut it to 21-13.  A P.J. Williams interception and fumble recovery on the return from teammate Lamarcus Joyner set up Winston’s 11-yard TD pass to Chad Abram.  However, Freeman was called for a taunting penalty to prevent the Noles from going for a game-tying 2-point try and instead kicked the PAT to cut it to 21-20.  Auburn responded with a FG drive to take a 24-20 lead with 4:42 left.  Levonte Whitfield returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a TD to give Florida St. their first lead since it was 3-0 early, with FSU now up 27-24. 

The Finish: Auburn responded with a drive that set up Tre Mason’s 37-yard TD run for a 31-27 lead with 1:19 left.  Needing to drive 80 yards, Winston completed 5 of his first 6 passes, including a 49-yarder to Rashad Greene to get to the Tiger 5-yard line.  A delay of game penalty pushed the Noles back to the 10 where they faced 3^rd & 8.  Winston’s next pass fell incomplete, but Iron Bowl hero Chris Davis was flagged for pass interference to give FSU a 1^st down at the 2.  On the next play Winston threw the GW 2-yard TD pass to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left to give Florida St. the national championship.  Auburn ran out of miracles and had to settle for a 2^nd place finish in one of the most remarkable seasons in college football history. 

How they ended up: FSU won their first national title since 1999 for their 3^rd overall.  Florida State’s comeback from an 18-point deficit was the most overcome in a BCS National Championship Game.  This ended a 7-year streak of SEC national champions.  This also brought an end to the BCS era in college football and the 4-team playoff was implemented.

18. Nov. 16, 2013-#7 (2) Auburn 43, #25 Georgia 38 (Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama)

The Build Up: Auburn took a 6-GW streak into this game to sit at 9-1 with their SEC title hopes and faint national title hopes still intact.  Meanwhile, Georgia began the season ranked #5, but they lost 3 games on their way to a 6-3 record coming into the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.

The Game: Auburn raced out to a 37-17 lead until Aaron Murray threw a 5-yard TD pass to Rantavious Wooten to cut it to 37-24.  Georgia scored another TD to cut it to 37-31 and after forcing a short punt, the Dawgs got the ball back at the Auburn 45.  They drove to the Tiger 7 where the drive stalled, and they faced 4^th & goal at the 11.  Murray ran 11 yards for a controversial TD that appeared to show Murray’s knee down prior to the ball crossing the goal line, but the play stood, and Georgia took a 38-37 lead with 1:49 left.

The Finish: Auburn’s offense had been stagnant for over a quarter and gained only a first down before a Jordan Jenkins sack put the Tigers in a 4^th & 18 hole with 36 seconds left.  Gus Malzhan called timeout and dialed up a play called “Little Rock.”  Normally Ricardo Louis is not on the field for this play, but Malzhan put him on the field for the deep route on a play designed for the short route that would be just enough for the 1^st down.  However, Louis lobbied QB Nick Marshall to throw him the ball.  Marshall took the snap and made a 5-step drop.  Sammie Coates was open on the short route for the 1^st down, but Marshall threw deep to Louis in double coverage.  Georgia teammates Tray Matthews and Josh Harvey-Clemons both went for the interception, but instead the ball deflected off both of them and over Louis’ head who initially didn’t see the ball, but then saw it in his periphery and made a juggling catch and went into the end zone for the miraculous 73-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left for the 43-38 lead.

The ensuing 2-point attempt failed, and Georgia had the ball at their own 25 with 25 seconds left.  In two passes, Murray had moved the Dawgs 50 yards to the Auburn 25 with 3 seconds left.  An offside call on Dee Ford moved the Dawgs to the 20 with still 3 seconds left.  On the final play, Ford hit Murray as he threw it and it fell incomplete to end an absolute thriller to not only win this rivalry game but keep Auburn alive in the SEC and national title picture. 

How they ended up: The winning play went on to be known as the “Prayer at Jordan-Hare.”  The Tigers improved to 10-1 and #5 for their off week, and by the time they faced rival #1 Alabama, they had moved up to #4 for a heavyweight showdown with the SEC West on the line.  As incredible as this game was, the 2013 Iron Bowl would even surpass this masterpiece.  Meanwhile, Georgia fell to 6-4 and back out of the polls on their way to an 8-5 season.

17. Jan. 9, 2017-#3 (1) Clemson 35, #1 (2) Alabama 31 (CFP National Championship Game, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida)

The Build Up: Alabama came into this game on a 26-GW streak, while Clemson was seeking their first national championship since 1981.  This game lived up to and even surpassed the hype of their meeting the previous year for the national title.  The game featured 15 eventual 1^st Round picks in the NFL draft. 

The Game: The Tide stuffed a 4^th & 1 attempt from Clemson and drove downfield to set up Bo Scarbrough’s 25-yard TD run for an early Tide 7-0 lead.  Later Scarbrough broke a 37-yard TD run to put Bama up 14-0 still early in the 2nd quarter.  After an exchange of punts, Clemson started a drive from their own 13 when a screen pass to Deon Cain broke for a 43-yard gain.  Then Deshaun Watson converted a 3^rd & 10 with a 26-yard pass to Jordan Leggett to set up Watson’s 8-yard touchdown run to cut it to 14-7 midway through the 2^nd quarter.  That held as the score heading into halftime.

Clemson fumbled the ball away on the opening possession of the 2^nd half, and Alabama returned it to the Tiger 16, but they would have to settle for a FG and a 17-7 lead.  Clemson won the field position battle in an exchange of punts, and on a 3^rd & 6, Watson found Hunter Renfrow who broke for a 24-yard TD to cut it to 17-14 midway through the 3^rd quarter.  However, just like last year, O.J. Howard took advantage of a busted coverage to go 68 yards for a TD on a pass from freshman Jalen Hurts to give Bama a 24-14 lead heading into the 4^th.

Coming into this game, Nick Saban had been 97-0 when coaching Alabama with a double-digit lead heading into the 4^th quarter.  However, it didn’t take Clemson long to cash in a 9-play, 72-yard drive with Watson’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams, who had left early in the game with a head injury but came back to cut it to a 24-21 deficit.  On the play, Clemson ran a “pick” route that would come into play later and was argued by Alabama to be a penalty.

After an exchange of punts, Clemson got the ball back at their own 12 with 6:33 left.  A 26-yard pass from Watson to Williams, plus an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Bama after the play moved the Tigers to the Tide 16.  Watson broke a 15-yard run where he was just pushed out of bounds at the 1 as he dove towards the pylon.  Wayne Gallman punched it in on the next play to give Clemson their first lead at 28-24 with 4:38 left.

Alabama got the ball back at their own 32 when a pooch kick was fair caught.  The Tide lost yards on a screen pass that was dropped for a 6-yard loss to set up 3^rd & 16.  Hurts scrambled and then found ArDarius Stewart for 15 yards to set up 4^th & 1.  Saban opted to go for it and Damien Harris, who had replaced an injured Scarborough, converted.  Then Hurts threw a backward pass to Stewart, who then threw a 24-yard completion to Howard to move Bama all the way to the Clemson 30.  On the next play, Hurts dropped back to pass and then took off and ran all the way to the end zone, breaking a tackle along the way for the go-ahead TD with 2:07 left for a 31-28 Tide lead.

The Finish: Clemson also started their drive at their own 32-yard line.  A 24-yard pass from Watson to Williams moved the Tigers to Tide 39.  Clemson ran a hook-and-lateral for a 6-yard gain but soon faced 3^rd & 3.  A 6-yard pass to Renfrow moved them to the Tide 26 where they spiked the ball, but now only 19 seconds remained.  A 17-yard pass to a diving Jordan Leggett moved the Tigers to the 9-yard line with 14 seconds left.  A Watson incompletion left 9 seconds left.  A pass interference penalty on Bama in the end zone put Clemson at the 2 with only 6 seconds left.  On the next play, Renfrow broke open in the flat on another “pick” route and Watson found him for not only the GW TD, but the national title winning TD with only 1-second left to give the Tigers their first national title since 1981. 

How they ended up: It also ended a 13-GL streak to the Tide, giving Clemson their first win over Bama since 1905.  Both teams finished 14-1 as Alabama’s 26-GW streak came to an end.

16. Oct. 3, 1987-#3 (1) Miami 26, #4 (2) Florida St. 25 (Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida)

The Build Up: Both teams came into this early meeting undefeated and with national title hopes.

The Game: Sammie Smith ran 30 times for 189 yards for the Seminoles in helping them to a 19-3 lead in the 3^rd quarter.  However, they botched a snap on a FG, missed 2 FGs, and missed a PAT.  Miami got things going with a 49-yard TD pass from Steve Walsh to Melvin Bratton and a 2-point conversion to cut it to a 19-11 game late in the 3^rd.  Then Walsh found Michael Irvin for a TD and another 2-point conversion to suddenly tie the game at 19 with 11:39 left.  Florida St. drove only to fumble at the Miami 17.  Four plays later, Walsh called an audible and hit Irvin for a 73-yard TD pass to put the Canes up 26-19 with 2:22 left.

The Finish: Danny McManus led a Florida St. drive ended with an 18-yard TD pass to Ronald Lewis with 42 seconds left to pull the Noles within a point: 26-25.  Bobby Bowden said before the game that he would kick for a tie if he had to.  But when McManus and other teammates pleaded with their coach to go for 2 and the win, Bowden gave in.  McManus tried to throw a pass to TE Pat Carter, but the pressure forced him to underthrow it, and Bubba McDowell knocked it down to allow Miami to escape Tallahassee with a 1-point win. 

How they ended up: This game ended up being for the national championship.  Both teams won their remaining games and finished #1 and #2 in the final AP poll.

15. Oct. 15, 1988-#4 (1) Notre Dame 31, #1 (2) Miami 30 (Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana)

The Build Up: Both teams came into this game with national title hopes.  Miami was hoping for back-to-back national titles, while the Irish had not won the natty since 1977 when Joe Montana played for them.  This game became colloquially known as the Catholics vs. Convicts based on a T-shirt that was being sold on campus referring to the Notre Dame Catholic image and the off-field troubles of Miami players heading into the season.  The game would later be voted the greatest victory in Notre Dame Stadium history.

The Game: Miami trailed 31-24 and faced a crucial 4^th & 7 deep in Notre Dame territory.  Steve Walsh hit Cleveland Gary across the middle past the 1^st down markers, inside the Irish 5 where he was tackled, and the ball came loose after he hit the ground at the 1-yard line.  However, the referees ruled it a fumble and Notre Dame recovered to leave it a 31-24 game. 

The Finish: The Canes would eventually get the ball back and score a TD to pull within a point with 45 seconds left.  Coach Jimmy Johnson opted to go for 2 and the win, but Walsh’s pass was batted down by Pat Terrell to give Notre Dame the huge upset win. 

How they ended up: The loss was Miami’s first in the regular season since Sept. 7, 1985.  The win sent the Irish up to 6-0 and #2, while the Canes fell to 4-1 and #4. These teams won their remaining games and finished ranked #1 and #2 in the final AP poll, so this was essentially a national championship game.

14. Jan. 2, 1984-#5 (1) Miami 31, #1 (2) Nebraska 30 (Orange Bowl, Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida)

The Build Up: Nebraska came in as a 2 TD favorite having averaged an unbelievable 52 points per game.  They had only been tested twice during the regular season by Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but they survived both to not only take national title hopes into this game, but they were being considered one of the greatest teams ever.  Meanwhile, Miami had won 10 straight since they lost their opener 28-3 at rival Florida, but they were not expected to be a threat.

The Game: It looked like another route was on when reigning Heisman winner Mike Rozier broke off two big runs on back-to-back plays, but then the Miami defense stood their ground and forced Nebraska to try a FG.  The Canes blocked the kick to keep Nebraska scoreless.  Miami drove down the field quickly with 2 long pass plays from Bernie Kosar to Stanley Shakespeare to get down to the Nebraska 2.  Nebraska stuffed 2 runs, but on 3^rd down, Kosar just got a pass by a Husker defender to TE Glenn Dennison for a TD to put Miami up 7-0 early.

Miami’s defense forced a stop and quickly faced a 3^rd & long only for Kosar to find Eddie Brown for a 1^st down.  Miami picked up 2 big plays on the next 2 snaps only for the Husker defense to shut the door forcing Miami to settle for a 45-yard Jeff Davis FG to take a 10-0 lead.

Nebraska drove into Miami territory only for Turner Gill to throw a 3^rd down interception right into the waiting arms of Jack Fernandez.  The Canes drove down the field and finished the drive with a 21-yard TD pass from Kosar to Dennison to suddenly put Miami up 17-0 over the heavily favored Huskers still in the 1^st quarter.

Miami got another stop and got a great punt return from Eddie Brown to give them the ball in Husker territory to start the drive, but Kosar threw an interception to give Nebraska a spark.  Nebraska drove to the Miami 19 and faced 3^rd & 5 when Tom Osbourne called a play that would turn the tide in the game.  The call was the ole “fumblerooskie” as Gill intentionally fumbled the snap and took off to his right along with the backs in what appeared to be an option play, but instead, G Dean Steinkuhler picked up the fumbled ball and took off to the left and rumbled all the way to the end zone for a Nebraska TD to cut it to a 17-7 deficit now in the 2^nd quarter.

Nebraska got a stop and drove right down the field and faced a 3^rd & goal at the Miami 1 before Gill took it over the top for a TD to suddenly cut it to a 17-14 deficit.  That would hold as the score heading into halftime.

On the first play of the 2^nd half, Keith Griffin broke a good run for Miami but fumbled the ball and Nebraska recovered deep in Miami territory.  However, the Huskers couldn’t manage a 1^st down and had to settle for a game-tying FG to knot the game at 17.  So, after trailing 17-0 Nebraska came back to tie the game.

Miami answered right back by driving down the field with little resistance, finishing the drive with a 2-yard TD run from Alonzo Highsmith.  The extra point notably bounced off the left upright and in for what turned out to be a very important point as they took a 24-17 lead.

Nebraska went 3-and-out and had to punt back to Miami which drove down field with a big gain on a screen pass from Kosar to Griffin.  Another key play was a 3^rd & 9 conversion from Kosar to Brown to move down to the Nebraska 7.  On the next play, Albert Bentley ran in for the TD to put Miami up 31-17 still in the 3^rd quarter.

Later, Heisman Trophy winner Rozier went out with an ankle injury when he was tackled while scrambling across the field after a screen pass, which would keep Nebraska without their best player for the rest of the game and trailing by 2 scores.  Soon after, Rozier’s backup Jeff Smith took a pitch from Gill, who got leveled, and Smith appeared to be running for a huge gain, but he fumbled inside the 5-yard line to give Miami the ball instead of giving the Huskers 1^st & goal.

Miami couldn’t do anything having been pinned against their own goal line and had to punt from their own end zone to give Nebraska great field position at the Miami 36-yard line.  Scott Kimble broke up a potential TD pass and then Miami sacked Gill on the next play to force the Huskers to settle for a FG, but it missed to keep Miami ahead 31-17 with the game now early in the 4^th quarter.

Miami went 3-and-out to give Nebraska the ball right back, and the Huskers nearly gave it right back when Irving Fryar muffed the punt, but Nebraska recovered it to maintain possession.  The Huskers fumbled an attempted reverse, but again they recovered it, and they drove down field, fumbling again on a 3^rd & 2, but again recovering it for a 1^st down.  They finished off the drive with a 1-yard TD dive from Smith over the top to cut it to a 31-24 deficit with 6:55 left.

Nebraska’s kickoff team forced Miami to start the next drive from their own 6.  Miami got a big play when Brown broke 2 tackles turned up field, made a cut, and was finally tackled in Nebraska territory.  The ‘black shirts’ of Nebraska forced a 4^th down after that, but Miami had a chance to put the game away with a long FG, only for Davis to miss to give Nebraska life with 1:47 left.

The Finish: On the first play, Nebraska picked up a huge gain with a 29-yard pass from Gill to Fryar to move to the Miami 45.  After an incompletion, Gill threw a 19-yard pass to Ricky Simmons to move to the Miami 26.  After a 2-yard run from Smith, Gill fired a perfect pass to a wide-open Fryar streaking into the end zone, but he inexplicably dropped the ball.  On 3^rd down, Gill was strip sacked, but it was ruled that Gill’s arm was going forward for an incompletion (Nebraska recovered the ball anyway).  Facing 4^th & 8 with their season on the line, Gill initially looked to throw, then took off to his right.  Just as Gill was hit, he flipped it to Smith who took off down the right sideline, avoided a tackle, and dove inside the pylon for a TD to cut it to a 31-30 game with 48 seconds left and the PAT pending.  Considering Nebraska’s dominance all season long, there wasn’t a single sportswriter in the country that wouldn’t have voted Nebraska #1 in the event of a tie, but unlike Ara Parseghian and Notre Dame in 1966, Tom Osbourne wasn’t content to play for a tie and immediately decided to go for 2 and the win.  On the 2-point try, Gill rolled to his right and threw to a receiver, but the ball was deflected by a diving Miami DB and fell incomplete to keep the score 31-30 Miami.  Miami recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock to celebrate their huge upset win.

How they ended up: As a result of their win, Miami jumped from #5 to #1, over #3 Auburn which had a better overall resume, to claim Miami’s first national championship, which kickstarted 2 decades of dominance for the Hurricanes.  Meanwhile, Tom Osbourne would have to continue waiting for his first national championship as head coach of Nebraska (they had won back-to-back titles with Osbourne as an assistant in ’70 and ’71).

13. Nov. 13, 1982-#2 (2) SMU 34, Texas Tech 27 (Jones Stadium, Lubbock, Texas)

The Build Up: SMU was having one of their best seasons ever behind the vaunted “Pony Express,” coming into this game 9-0.  Meanwhile, Texas Tech was 4-5. 

The Finish: Texas Tech kicked a FG with 17 seconds left to tie the game at 27, making it look like SMU was going to have to settle for a tie.  However, on the ensuing kickoff, Blane Smith bobbled the ball before he picked it up with the Red Raider kickoff team bearing down on him.  Then he threw a bouncing lateral across the field to the speedy track sprinter Bobby Leach who raced 91 yards untouched for the GW TD to allow SMU to remain perfect.  Eric Dickerson ran for 115 yards in the win. 

How they ended up: SMU remained #2 but a win over #9 Arkansas the next week would do a lot to boost their national championship resume.  However, Mustangs head coach Bobby Collins controversially decided to kick a tying FG instead of going for a win to give SMU their only blemish of the season.  The tie dropped them to #4 heading into the Cotton Bowl where the Mustangs beat #6 Pitt 7-3 to finish their season 11-0-1.  However, they had to settle for a #2 finish behind 1-loss Penn St. due to the Nittany Lions’ superior resume and win over #1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.  Meanwhile, Texas Tech finished 4-7.

12. Dec. 19, 1980-#14 (12) BYU 46, #19 (20) SMU 45 (Holiday Bowl, San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California)

The Build Up: SMU was riding their sophomore RB tandem of Eric Dickerson and Craig James to an 8-3 record coming into this game.  Meanwhile, BYU had won 11 straight since their opening loss to New Mexico to sit at 11-1.

The Game: The “Pony Express” was running wild all over BYU with Craig James running for 225 yards and Eric Dickerson adding 110 on their way to a 45-25 lead with just 4 minutes left. 

The Finish: Jim McMahon had to convince coach LaVell Edwards to go for a long 4^th down in their own territory, and it worked on their way to a TD pass to Matt Braga.  Then the Cougars recovered an onside kick and marched downfield for a 1-yard Scott Phillips TD run to cut it to a 45-39 deficit.  BYU forced a Mustangs punt and Bill Schoepflin partially blocked it to give the Cougars the ball at the 41-yard line with 13 seconds left.  After an incompletion, McMahon threw a Hail Mary into the end zone as time expired.  BYU TE Clay Brown somehow managed to leap and catch the ball between 4 SMU defenders and haul in one of the first great Hail Mary plays in college football history.  The PAT gave BYU the miracle 46-45 win.  BYU scored 3 TDs in the last 2:33.  McMahon completed 32 of 49 passes for 446 yards to share MVP honors with James.

How they ended up: BYU finished 12-1, extending their winning streak to 12 games.  Meanwhile, SMU had to settle for an 8-4 finish. 

11. Nov. 8, 1997-#1 (2) Nebraska 45, (23) Missouri 38 (((OT))) (Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri)

The Build Up: Nebraska came into the game 8-0 and had climbed up the rankings up to #1.  Meanwhile, Mizzou was 6-3.

The Game: Missouri QB Corby Jones threw a TD pass to Eddie Brooks to give the Tigers a 38-31 lead to put them on the verge of beating Nebraska for the first time since 1978. 

The Finish: The Huskers had their last chance from their own 33 with 1:02 left.  They drove to the Missouri 12 with 7 seconds left where Scott Frost threw a pass to Shevin Wiggins.  The pass was deflected down from Wiggins’ chest and then kicked up in the air by Wiggins just before it could hit the ground and stayed up in the air just long enough for Matt Davison to make a diving catch in the end zone as time expired.  Missouri fans had to be told to leave the field as they were ready to celebrate a win.  Instead, the game went into OT.  Scott Frost ran for a TD on the first possession of OT, and then Grant Wistrom sacked Jones on 4^th down of the Tigers’ possession to end the game to give Nebraska the miracle win to remain undefeated at 9-0. 

How they ended up: The play to force OT has since gone onto be known as the “Flea Kicker.”  The close call cost the Huskers the #1 spot as they fell to #3.  However, they won their next 4 games including a 54-15 blowout over #14 Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship Game and a 42-17 win over #3 Tennessee in the Orange Bowl in Peyton Manning’s final college game to end Nebraska’s season 13-0.  They ended up ranked #1 in the Coaches poll but finished #2 in the AP behind also undefeated Michigan.  Meanwhile, despite the loss, Missouri entered the rankings the next week and finished ranked on their way to a 7-5 season. Without this result Michigan wins a consensus national championship.

10. Jan. 4, 2006-#2 (1) Texas 41, #1 (2) USC 38 (Rose Bowl, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California)

The Build Up: This had “Game of the Century” hype as each team came into the game ranked #1 and #2 for the entire season.  This was the 2^nd year in a row where this has happened, but unlike last year, the game more than lived up to the hype and even surpassed it.  USC came into this game on a 34-GW streak, and Texas on a 19-GW streak.  This was also a star-studded game filled with All-Americans and 34 of the 44 starters would play in the NFL.  Not to mention that all 3 of the leading Heisman vote getters in 2005 were all playing in this game including last year’s Heisman winner, and the newly crowned Heisman winner both playing for the same team.  Fittingly, this was the last game to be called by the legendary Keith Jackson. 

The Game: USC had to punt on the opening possession of the game, but Texas fumbled the punt return to give the ball right back to the Trojans.  That led to a LenDale White 4-yard touchdown run for an early 7-0 USC lead.  The Trojans had a chance to take a 2-possession lead when they stuffed Texas on 4^th & 1 near midfield, but after Reggie Bush took a screen pass for a long gain, he tried to lateral it, and his teammate wasn’t ready, and Texas recovered the fumble to end the threat.  It was only Bush’s 2^nd fumble all year.  That turned into David Pino’s career-long 46-yard FG to cut it to a 7-3 Texas deficit.  USC proceeded to drive deep only for Michael Griffin to come up with a great interception of Matt Leinart in the end zone on a play that replay review had to overturn.  Texas took the ensuing drive all the way to the Trojan 22 where Vince Young ran to the 11 and then flipped it to Selvin Young who took it the rest of the way for a TD.  However, replays showed that Vince Young’s knee was down before he lateraled to Selvin Young, so he should’ve been ruled down at the 11, but the booth never replayed the play before Pino sent the PAT wide right to leave Texas ahead 9-7.  Later, a 30-yard TD run from Ramonce Taylor put Texas up 16-7 with just under 5 minutes remaining in the 1^st half.  Again, USC drove deep into Longhorn territory, but Frank Okam came up with 2 sacks to force USC to settle for Mario Danelo’s 43-yard FG to cut it to a 16-10 Texas lead at halftime.

LenDale White came up big on USC’s first drive of the 2^nd half, and he took a run 4 yards for a TD to give the Trojans the lead at 17-16.  Vince Young responded with a drive leading to his own 14-yard TD run where he broke a tackle and dove past the pylon to give Texas a 23-17 lead midway through the 3^rd.  USC responded with a drive down to the Longhorn 11 where they faced 4^th & 1 when White broke through the line and took it all the way in for a TD for a 24-23 Trojan lead, the 4^th lead change of the game.  A long Vince Young run set up a 31-yard Pino FG attempt, but like the PAT, he sent it wide right to keep the Trojans ahead after the first play of the 4^th quarter.  Then the strong running of White set up Bush’s highlight reel 26-yard TD run where he leapt and dove past the pylon to give the Trojans a 31-23 lead with 11:19 left to play.  Young again led Texas into FG range, and this time Pino sent the 34-yarder through to cut it to a 31-26 Trojan lead with 8:46 left.  USC drove for Matt Leinart’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Jarrett who caught it between 2 Texas defenders before lunging into the end zone for a 38-26 lead with 6:42 left to play.  To make matters worse for Texas both DBs who hit Jarrett were injured on the play including Tarell Brown who broke his arm on the play and was done for the day.

Again, Young led Texas on a drive, this one kept alive by a dropped interception.  Young cut into the deficit on a play where he rolled left, and then not seeing an open receiver, cut back to his right and went 17 yards for a touchdown to cut the Trojan lead to 38-33 with 4:03 left.  Leinart drove USC to the Texas 45 where they faced 4^th & 2 with 2:13 left where Pete Carroll chose to go for it.  However, White was stopped short of the 1^st down by several Longhorn defenders to give Texas the ball back at their own 44 with 2:09 left. 

The Finish: The Longhorns promptly faced 3^rd & 12 with two USC blitzes hurrying Young’s throws.  Young completed a pass to Quan Cosby short of the 1^st down, but a facemask penalty gave the Longhorns the 1^st down.  A 9-yard completion left the clock running before the officials stopped the clock at 1:04 to review if the ball had been stripped before or after the receiver was down.  The strip clearly came after the receiver was down, but it provided for a crucial stoppage of the clock and allowed Texas to keep their 2 timeouts.  On the next play, Young ran for a 1^st down and crucially broke a tackle on his way to getting out of bounds to stop the clock.  A completion to Brian Carter gave Texas another 1^st down and got them all the way to the USC 14 with 45 seconds left.  After an incompletion to Limas Sweed in the end zone, Young scrambled for 5 yards before Mack Brown called timeout to stop the clock.  Another incompletion to Sweed in the end zone set up 4^th & 5 with 26 seconds left and the national championship on the line.  Young dropped back to pass and then took off running.  He had a step on the nearest Trojan defender and outraced the rest of the USC defense to the right corner of the end zone for the GW and national championship winning 9-yard TD run with just 19 seconds left for one of the most iconic TD runs in college football history.  The score gave Texas a 39-38 lead and then Young ran in the ensuing 2-pointer to give the Longhorns the 41-38 lead.  Texas had been kicking off to Bush, but this time they squibbed it, and USC had the ball at their own 31 with 16 seconds left.  A short pass to Bush went for a big gain with Bush getting out of bounds at the Longhorn 43 with 8 seconds left.  USC still had a chance, but on the next play, Leinart spent too much time scrambling around, and by the time his pass fell incomplete, the last second had just ticked off and Texas won their first national championship since 1970 and first consensus national championship since 1969.

How they ended up: This immediately went down as one of the great college football games of all time.  The aura of this game has only grown with time as many pundits still consider this game the greatest college football game ever played.  Just like Miami 3 years earlier, USC’s winning streak ended at 34 games in the national championship game, while Texas’ winning streak continued to 20 games.  Young’s performance went down as one of the greatest ever as he threw for 267 yards and ran for another 200 yards and 3 touchdowns, not to mention a 2-pointer.  Young topped his own Rose Bowl performance from the previous year where he had 372 yards of offense by putting up an absurd 467 yards of offense.  Young’s record for total yards in a Rose Bowl stood until 2017 (broken by USC QB Sam Darnold with 473, 453 passing) and his 200 rushing yards by a QB still stands.  Surprisingly, TE David Thomas was the leading receiver for Texas with 10 catches for 88 yards.  For the Trojans, Leinart threw for 365 yards, a TD, and a pick, while White led the rushing attack with 124 yards and 3 TDs.  Many felt that reigning Heisman winner Bush failed to deliver on the big stage, yet he still had 177 yards of offense behind 82 rushing yards and a TD and 95 receiving yards.  Jarrett led the Trojan receiving with 10 catches for 121 yards and a TD.

9. Nov. 25, 2023-#8 (5) Alabama 27, Auburn 24 (Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama)

The Build Up: Alabama had won 9 straight since an early loss to Texas to come into the Iron Bowl 10-1 and #8.  The Tide had already clinched the SEC West, but they needed a win to keep their faint national title hopes alive.  Meanwhile, Auburn was 6-5 having just been stunned at home by New Mexico St. 31-10.  It seemed like a Bama victory was a sure thing, but the Tide struggled at Jordan-Hare 2 years ago with each team coming in with similar circumstances and resumes (see #139).

The Game: This was a fitting 10^th anniversary of the “Kick-Six.”  Jalen Milroe threw a 68-yard touchdown to Jermaine Burton to give Alabama a 17-14 lead at halftime.  Will Reichard added a 22-yard FG to make it a 20-14 lead until Payton Thorne threw a 27-yard TD to Ja’Varrius Johnson to give Auburn a 21-20 lead midway through the 3^rd.  Alex McPherson added a 21-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 24-20 lead with 10:15 left.  A muffed punt gave Alabama the ball at the Auburn 30 with 4:48 left. 

The Finish: What ensued was one of the wildest 30-yard drives in the history of the sport.  The Tide faced 3^rd & 20 before Milroe scrambled for 19 yards to set up 4^th & 1.  Roydell Williams converted with a 3-yard run.  After that, Bama only moved backwards as a huge loss on a run and an illegal forward pass put Alabama in a seemingly impossible 4^th & goal situation at the 31-yard line with 43 seconds left.  Milroe dropped back to pass and had an eternity to throw before he finally threw it up and Isaiah Bond came down with the miraculous GW 31-yard TD with just 32 seconds left to keep Alabama’s playoff hopes alive. 

How they ended up: This fittingly ended up being the final Iron Bowl coached by Nick Saban.  Alabama improved to 11-1 and remained #8 heading into the SEC Championship Game against #1 Georgia.  The Tide went on to stun the top ranked Dawgs in the SEC title game to throw the CFP into chaos.  Georgia went from being ranked #1 almost the entire year to not even making the playoff.  Also left out of the playoff was undefeated Florida State, the only team hurt worse by this result than Auburn.  Instead, 1-loss Texas, which had beaten Alabama earlier in the year, and the Tide got the final 2 spots in the playoff.  Bama lost the Rose Bowl 27-20 in OT to eventual national champion Michigan in what turned out to be Saban’s final game.  Meanwhile, Auburn went on to lose the Music City Bowl to Maryland to finish their season on a 3-GL skid to finish 6-7.

8. Nov. 8, 1980-#2 (1) Georgia 26, #20 (UPI #19) Florida 21 (Gator Bowl Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida)

The Build Up: Georgia came into this game 8-0 riding freshman sensation RB Herschel Walker.  They had just beaten #14 South Carolina and eventual Heisman winner George Rogers with Walker outrushing Rogers 219 to 168.  Meanwhile, Florida came into the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” 6-1 and just jumped back into the rankings at #20.

The Game: On the opening drive of the game, superstar freshman Walker took a pitch and went 72 yards for a TD to put Georgia up 7-0 early.  Two plays into the ensuing drive, a pass deflected off a receiver and was intercepted to give Georgia a chance to take a quick 2 possession lead, but soon Georgia fumbled it right back to Florida.  The Gators drove down field, aided by a 4^th & 1 conversion to set up an ugly knuckleball FG from Brian Clark that just barely snuck inside the right upright to cut it to a 7-3 Georgia lead.

After an exchange of punts, Georgia drove down field aided by a long completion from Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott to move into Florida territory.  A late hit penalty on a Belue scramble added another 15 yards, and then facing 3^rd & 3 from the 14, Belue found Ronnie Stewart for a TD pass to put Georgia up 14-3.

Later, Florida got a drive going, finished off with a perfect fade connection from freshman QB Wayne Peace to Cris Collinsworth for a 9-yard TD to cut it to a 14-10 Georgia lead.  Later, the Dawgs put together a drive deep into Florida territory, mostly behind great running from Walker, but Belue missed an open Scott in the end zone on 2^nd down, and after nearly throwing an interception, Vince Dooley decided to settle for a chip-shot FG from Rex Robinson to put Georgia up 17-10 now in the 3^rd quarter.

Later, a short Florida punt, plus a personal foul penalty on the Gators gave Georgia the ball inside Florida territory.  Georgia drove inside the Florida 5 mostly behind the running of Walker, but from there the Gator defense stiffened and forced Georgia to settle for another chip-shot Robinson FG to put the Dawgs up 20-10.

With the game in the 4^th quarter, Florida faced 3^rd & 5 when Peace threw a quick pass to Tyrone Young who broke 2 tackles and raced upfield, broke another tackle, and was finally taken down at the Georgia 11-yard line for a 54-yard gain.  On the next play, James Jones took a handoff, broke a tackle that spun him around, and then dove into the end zone for a TD.  Florida coach Charley Pell opted to go for 2 to avoid a potential tie.  Peace rolled to his right and barely avoided a sack before he found Young who fell into the end zone for 2 points to cut it to a 20-18 Georgia lead.

Florida forced a Georgia punt to give them a chance to take their first lead.  A big play occurred when Peace barely avoided a sack, which would’ve been a huge loss, scrambled and found Collinsworth across the field near the 1^st down markers.  Peace took it himself on the ensuing 3^rd & 1 to keep the drive alive at their own 49.  Two plays later, Peace avoided another sack and hit Young for a 19-yard pass to get to the Georgia 30.  From there the drive stalled, but Clark nailed a 40-yard FG to give the Gators their first lead at 21-20 with 6:52 left to play.

Georgia again couldn’t do anything on offense and went 3-and-out with Walker getting stuffed and Belue missing on two deep balls.  Florida drove near midfield when Peace rolled out and avoided yet another sack and hit Young who appeared to drop the ball, but the officials ruled that he caught the ball and fumbled, with the ball rolling out of bounds to keep Florida with possession while also giving them a 1^st down.  The Gators played conservatively for 2 downs, and on 3^rd down, the Georgia pass rush was finally able to get to Peace to drop him at the Georgia 40 to move them out of FG range.  The punt from Mark Dickert pinned Georgia at their own 8-yard line with 1:35 left.

The Finish: By this point, Walker had done almost everything for the Georgia offense, having run the ball 37 times for 238 yards, but backed up at their own 8, Georgia would have to come out passing and unable to utilize their most potent offensive weapon.  QB Belue at this point had only thrown 6 completions for 52 yards and had 2 interceptions.  After 2 incompletions, facing 3^rd & 10, Belue dropped back into his own end zone, rolled to his right to avoid a sack, and found a leaping Scott at the 25.  Scott came down and out-ran 2 linebackers coming from behind him, while a man in the Florida secondary, who had the best angle on him, fell down.  From there, Scott out-ran the rest of the Gator defense and went all the way for a 92-yard TD with 1:03 left.  Georgia coach Dooley went for 2, but Belue’s pass to Scott was too high and went into the stands.  Also, Georgia was charged with an excessive celebration penalty after the TD, forcing them to kickoff from their own 20, giving Florida good field position starting at their own 36.  However, on the first play, Peace, who had outplayed Belue all day, throwing for over 250 yards, overthrew his intended receiver for an interception to Mike Fisher to seal the game and keep Georgia’s national title hopes alive.

How they ended up: The win propelled the Dawgs up to #1 where they remained for the rest of the season, capped with a 17-10 win over #7 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl for their first claimed national title since 1942 and their first ever consensus national title.  The Gators struggled to recover after the heart wrenching loss, barely beating Kentucky and then losing their final two games of the regular season to their 2 in-state rivals.  Florida recovered enough to win the Tangerine Bowl over Maryland to finish 8-4.  As always during his 42-year career as Georgia announcer from 1966 to 2008, Larry Munson provided a memorable call with his famous “Run Lindsay!” line.

7. Nov. 9, 2002-#16 LSU 33, Kentucky 30 (Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, Kentucky)

The Build Up: LSU had just gotten blown out by rival Auburn to end a 6-GW streak to put the Tigers at 6-2 coming into this game.  Meanwhile, Kentucky was 6-3.

The Game: Kentucky took a 7-0 lead on a 43-yard TD pass from QB Jared Lorenzen.  Another early highlight of this game was an LSU record 86-yard punt from Donnie Jones that pinned Kentucky at their own 2.  That set up field position in favor of LSU, but they had a 45-yard FG attempt blocked.  However, later in the 2^nd, LSU tied the game when a shovel pass went 70 yards for a TD.  Then LSU took a 14-7 lead with a 30-yard TD pass with 5 seconds left in the 1^st half.  The Tigers extended their lead to 21-7 early in the 3^rd with a 63-yard TD run from redshirt freshman Joseph Addai.  Kentucky eventually responded with a blocked punt that set them up inside the Tiger 10-yard line, which led to another Lorenzen TD pass to cut it to a 21-14 game.  LSU added a FG for a 24-14 lead, but Kentucky answered back with a Lorenzen TD pass to Aaron Boone to cut it to a 24-20 deficit when the PAT was botched with 10:05 left to play.  A Kentucky muffed punt set up another LSU FG for a 27-20 lead with 6:02 left.  LSU penalties moved the ensuing Kentucky drive into positive field position where Lorenzen hit Boone for a 44-yard TD pass with 2:24 left to tie the game at 27. 

The Finish: Kentucky forced a quick stop to get the ball back with great field position.  A PI penalty put the Wildcats in FG range where they ran the ball to set up the FG only to call timeout with still 15 seconds left in a move that would come back to haunt them.  They got the 29-yard FG with 11 seconds left for a 30-27 lead to seemingly win the game.  LSU was more concerned about time than field position on the kickoff and immediately ran it out of bounds to their own 14 with 9 seconds left, but a penalty put them at their own 9.  Marcus Randall completed a quick pass to the 25 and called timeout with 2 seconds left, which set off a Gatorade bath for Kentucky coach Guy Morriss.  Seventy-five yards away from the end zone, it was as good as over.  Randall rolled out to his right and lofted a pass to about the opposite 20-yard line where it deflected off several Kentucky defenders and into the waiting hands of Devery Henderson at the 15 who ran by the only Kentucky defenders left near him and into the end zone for perhaps the most improbable Hail Mary of all time.  Replays showed Kentucky fans streaming onto the field in celebration thinking they had won. 

How they ended up: The play has since been known as the “Bluegrass Miracle.”  The win prevented a losing streak for the Tigers, which improved to 7-2 and #12.  However, they lost 3 of their last 4 games to finish 8-5, while Kentucky went 7-5.

6. Nov. 23, 1984-#10 (5) Boston College 47, #12 (18) Miami 45 (Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida)

The Build Up: This was a CBS nationally televised game the day after Thanksgiving and would go down as one of the great moments in sports history (according to FOX Sports writer Kevin Hench).  Miami’s last game was a 42-40 loss to Maryland where the Canes blew a 31-0 halftime lead.  Meanwhile, Boston College was 7-2 led by Heisman contender Doug Flutie. 

The Game: Miami QB Bernie Kosar threw for a school-record 447 yards and 2 TDs only to be surpassed by Flutie’s 472 passing yards and 3 TDs on his way to becoming the first major college QB to surpass 10,000 passing yards in a career.  The game was a back-and-forth shootout with Boston College jumping out to a 14-0 lead only for Miami to tie it right back up and then the game seesawed from there.  The Eagles held a 41-38 lead with just under 4 minutes left when Miami seemingly pulled off the perfect GW drive.  Melvin Bratton scored what appeared to be the GW 1-yard TD run with just 28 seconds left for a 45-41 Canes lead. 

The Finish: However, Boston College still had Flutie.  He fired quick passes of 19 and 13 yards to move to the Miami 48-yard line with 6 seconds left.  The play was “55 Flood Tip.”  Flutie dropped back and avoided a sack by scrambling to his right.  However, he had to retreat, which took him back to his own 37-yard line, requiring him to throw the ball 63 yards against a heavy wind after already having thrown the ball 45 times.  The Miami DBs doubted that Flutie could pass the ball all the way to the end zone, so they let Gerald Phelan get behind them and the ball sailed just over the Miami DBs heads and into the breadbasket of Phelan in the end zone for one of the most incredible GW TD passes in college football history. 

How they ended up: The win was the 3^rd of 5 straight to close out the Eagles’ season 10-2 and with a Cotton Bowl win to finish ranked #5 in the AP.  This was the signature moment on Flutie’s way to the Heisman trophy.  Meanwhile Miami dropped a spot to #13 for their Fiesta Bowl matchup with #14 UCLA where they lost another heartbreaker to finish 8-5.

5. Sept. 24, 1994-#7 (3) Colorado 27, #4 (12) Michigan 26 (Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan)

The Build Up: Michigan was riding high after beating #3 Notre Dame on a last second FG in South Bend to climb up to #4.  Meanwhile, Colorado was coming off a 55-14 win over then #10 Wisconsin to come into this game ranked #7.

The Finish: Colorado trailed 26-21 with 6 seconds left and the ball 64 yards away from the end zone.  On a play called “Rocket Left,” Kordell Stewart rolled out and heaved the ball more than 70 yards through the air where it looked to be coming up just short of the end zone until it deflected back into the end zone and was caught by a diving Michael Westbrook in the end zone for the GW Hail Mary as time expired for the miracle Colorado win.

How they ended up: Not only was this one of the most dramatic plays in college football history, but this play may also have had an impact on the national title race.  Colorado went on to take a 7-0 record and #2 ranking into a matchup at #3 Nebraska.  The Huskers won 24-7 in what ended up being the Buffs’ only loss of the entire season on their way to an 11-1 record and #3 finish.  Had Colorado lost this game, it would have made Nebraska’s win over them seem less impressive, while Michigan went on to lose to Penn State.  Had the Wolverines gone into that game 5-0 the Nittany Lions would have handed them their first loss.  Penn St. finished 12-0 but was voted #2 in both the AP and Coaches polls behind Nebraska due to their perceived weaker schedule than the Huskers.  Had Michigan won this game it would’ve strengthened Penn State’s resume and weakened Nebraska’s and could have tipped the scales enough for Penn St. to get one of the polls to pick them #1.  However, we will never know due in part to this miracle finish tipping the scales in favor of the Huskers.

4. Oct. 17, 2015-#7 (6) Michigan St. 27, #12 (12) Michigan 23 (Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan)

The Build Up: Michigan St. was 6-0 coming into this rivalry game having climbed as high as #2 before close calls against Purdue and Rutgers moved them down to #7.  Meanwhile, Michigan, in their first year under Jim Harbaugh, had won 5 straight since losing their opener to climb back up in the rankings to #12.

The Game: Blake O’Neill’s day started great with an 80-yard punt on his first attempt.  However, his night would end in complete disaster.  After a scoreless 1^st quarter, Sione Houma had a 2-yard TD run to give Michigan a 7-0 lead early in the 2^nd.  LJ Scott evened the game with an 11-yard touchdown run just over 6 minutes later.  The Wolverines added a Kenny Allen 38-yard FG shortly afterwards with the help of a 49-yard kickoff return for a 10-7 lead which held into halftime. 

A failed Michigan St. fake punt set up a short field that, with the help of a long Jabrill Peppers run, set up a 1-yard Houma TD run for a 17-7 Michigan lead.  The Spartans answered with a 30-yard TD pass from Connor Cook to Macgarrett Kings to cut it to 17-14 midway through the 3^rd.  Allen added a 21-yard FG for a 20-14 Wolverines lead heading into the 4^th.  Michigan St. went for it on 4^th & 10 in Michigan territory, but Kings dropped what would have been a 1^st down to end a promising scoring chance.  Allen added a 38-yard FG for a 23-14 Wolverines lead, but on the next play from scrimmage, Cook found FB Trevon Pendleton wide open who went 74 yards down to the 1-yard line.  Soon Scott punched it in to cut it to a 23-21 Michigan lead with 8:56 left.  Michigan St. drove to the Michigan 36 late in the game, but Willie Henry came up with a sack to put the Spartans in a 2^nd & 19 situation at the Wolverines 45.  Cook then threw 3 straight incompletions to seemingly end the game as Michigan took over with 1:47 left. 

The Finish: The Wolverines ran the clock down to 10 seconds when they had to punt.  So sure of the outcome, Michigan St. had already given the Paul Bunyan trophy back to Michigan, and a TV station based in Grand Rapids already began their post-game report declaring Michigan the winner.

Michigan St. sold out on a punt block and had nobody back to return it.  The snap to O’Neill was low and he bobbled it as a swarm of Spartans rushed at him.  By the time he picked it up, he was hit by the Spartan swarm and the ball popped up in the air and into the hands of Michigan State’s Jalen Watts-Jackson who ran downfield, avoided the last tackler who could have gotten him and was dragged into the end zone as time expired to give Michigan St. the miraculous win.  Watts-Jackson suffered a broken hip as he was dragged down and the ensuing celebratory dogpile immediately after the play didn’t help and he would require surgery.  A fan in the stands also suffered a heart attack during the final play and had to be hospitalized but would recover.

How they ended up: This result would end up having a huge impact on the Big Ten East standings.  Without this miraculous win, Michigan St. doesn’t win the Big Ten East and doesn’t go on to win the Big Ten title and go to the playoff.  Three weeks later Nebraska stunned MSU (see #145) meaning that in order to win the Big Ten East, they would need to beat #3 Ohio St. in Columbus without their starting QB Cook who had been injured.  Still the Spartans pulled off the upset with a last second FG (just missed the list) on their way to the Big Ten East title.  Michigan St. went on to the Big Ten Championship Game to face #4 and undefeated Iowa.  The Spartans won on a last-minute TD after a 22-play drive where they converted 6 3^rd downs and a 4^th down to win the Big Ten championship (also just missed out on the list), their last Big Ten title to date.  The win over Iowa was enough to propel Michigan St. into the playoff where they were dismantled by eventual national champion Alabama 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl to finish a wild 12-2 season.  Meanwhile, the Wolverines won their next 4 games before getting blown out by rival #8 Ohio St.  They blew out #19 Florida in the Citrus Bowl to finish 10-3.

3. Jan. 1, 2007-#9 (5) Boise St. 43, #7 (11) Oklahoma 42 (((OT))) (Fiesta Bowl, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona)

The Build Up: Oklahoma overcame a controversial loss at Oregon (see #182) and a loss to rival Texas and went on to win the Big 12 Championship Game against old rival Nebraska to take an 11-2 record into this game.  Meanwhile, Boise St. was the latest BCS buster having completed a perfect 12-0 regular season.  They only played one team from a BCS conference, but that one win was against an Oregon St. team that would end up going 10-4 and ranked #21 in the final AP poll.  Still many doubted that a small school could hang with the big boys, especially a true blue blood program like OU.

The Game: This went down as one of the great bowl games, great upsets, and great finishes in the history of college football.  Despite coming into this game as decided underdogs, Boise St. went out to a 21-10 halftime lead.  Then a Bronco pick-six gave them a 28-10 lead midway through the 3^rd quarter.  Things started to turn Oklahoma’s way when they recovered a punt that went off a Bronco players leg deep in Boise St. territory.  A few plays later, Adrian Peterson scored his first TD of the game to cut it to a 28-17 Boise St. lead.  A Garrett Harley FG cut it to 28-20.  This set the stage for a final 2 minutes that would become legendary. 

The Finish: Paul Thompson threw a 5-yard TD pass that was tipped and caught by WR Quentin Chaney with 1:26 left to pull OU to within 28-26.  In a prelude to the madness to come, the Sooners would need 3 attempts at the 2-point conversion after Boise St. was called for pass interference on the first attempt, a successful attempt was called back for an illegal shift, before finally Thompson found Juaquin Iglesias to tie the game at 28.  On the first play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff, Marcus Walker intercepted Jared Zabransky and returned it 34 yards for a seeming incredible GW TD with 1:02 left.  It put Oklahoma up 35-28 for their first lead of the game.  Boise State’s ensuing drive got to the OU 42 before Zabransky was dropped for a sack and 8-yard loss to the 50-yard line.  Zabransky’s next 2 passes fell incomplete to set up 4^th & 18 with only 18 seconds left.  Zabransky threw 15 yards to Drisan James who appeared to have a chance at gaining the 1^st down, but instead James flipped the ball back to Jerard Rabb, in-stride, who then took off and outraced the Sooner defenders the remaining 35 yards for a miraculous 50-yard game-tying hook and lateral TD to tie the game at 35 with only 7 seconds left to send the game to OT.  The game was already legendary, and the drama wasn’t over yet.

On the first play of OT, Peterson broke a 25-yard TD run, in what would turn out to be his last play as a collegiate athlete to give OU a 42-35 lead.  Boise St. drove to the OU 5 before they faced another 4^th down, this time 4^th & 2.  In a trick play that Zabransky later expressed discontent towards, he sent him in motion and instead backup WR Vinny Perretta took the snap and rolled to his right before he threw a TD pass to Derek Schouman to cut it to a 42-41 deficit with the PAT pending.  Boise St. coach Chris Petersen opted to go for 2 and the win.  He dialed up their 3^rd trick play of the night, all in do-or-die situations, this one a Statue of Liberty play where Zabransky quickly faked a throw to one of the 3 receivers lined up to the right, while actually putting the ball in his left hand, behind his back, where RB Ian Johnson took the ball and outran the Sooner defense to the corner of the end zone for the GW, walk-off 2-point conversion for the 43-42 win that instantly went down as a classic of college football.  As if that weren’t drama enough, Johnson proceeded to propose to his girlfriend, Boise St. cheerleader Chrissy Popadics, on live TV.  She said yes.

How they ended up: Boise St. finished the season a perfect 13-0, the only undefeated team left standing after #2 Florida upset #1 Ohio St. in the national championship game, which immediately sparked debate as to whether or not non-BCS automatic qualifiers deserve a shot at a national championship.  The debate has never ended and continues to this day and may have played a part in the eventual introduction of a college football playoff and later expanded college football playoff.  Oklahoma finished 11-3 with 2 of their losses coming in classic finishes.

2. Nov. 20, 1982-Cal 25, Stanford 20 (Cal Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California)

The Build Up: Despite being guaranteed a winning record, Cal was not expected to play in a bowl game.  The implications of this game were much more important for Stanford, which was playing for a winning record and a bowl game for QB John Elway playing his final regular season game.  The Cardinal had a roller coaster year thus far, losing to Elway’s dad Jack Elway’s San Jose St. team and then upsetting #13 Ohio St. in Columbus (see #199).  Stanford went on to upset #2 Washington as well, but they lost their next 2 games to come into the Big Game 5-5.

The Game: Cal took a 10-0 lead into halftime, and after Cal had their 2^nd missed FG of the afternoon, Elway led Stanford 80 yards for a TD to cut it to a 10-7 deficit.  The drive included a controversial catch by Mike Tolliver who appeared to be out of bounds.  The Cardinal took a 14-10 lead on a 2^nd TD pass from Elway to RB Vincent White, but Cal came back and took a 19-14 lead with a FG and a TD and a failed 2-point try.  Stanford cut it to a 19-17 deficit with a FG to give themselves a chance to win the game with another FG.

The Finish: Stanford got the ball back at their own 20 with 1:27 left.  However, they moved backwards from there, facing a 4^th & 17 from their own 13 before Elway completed a 29-yard pass to Emile Harry for a crucial 1^st down to keep the game going.  Elway led the Cardinal into FG range after that and called timeout with 8 seconds left under the instruction of coach Paul Wiggin.  Had they called timeout with 4 seconds left, “The Play” never would’ve happened.  Wiggin would later explain that they called timeout with 8 seconds left to allow time for a second FG attempt in the case that Stanford drew a penalty on their first attempt.  Mark Harmon kicked the go-ahead 35-yard FG to seemingly give the Cardinal a 20-19 win with 4 seconds left.  However, Stanford was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty due to the celebration after the successful FG.  Still it was as good as over.  Cal radio announcer Joe Starkey praised Elway and the Stanford effort, adding that “Only a miracle can save the Bears now!”

Cal took the field with only 10-men on the ensuing squib kick.  Kevin Moen received the ball at the Cal 45.  After scrambling, he lateraled to Richard Rodgers.  Quickly surrounded he found Dwight Garner behind him and flipped him the ball back again at the Cal 45.  Garner ran 5 yards but was surrounded and tackled, flipping the ball back to Rodgers as he was being tackled.  At this point, believing Garner was down and the game over, Stanford players on the sideline began joining the field of play as well as the entire Stanford band.  Rodgers evaded a tackler and ran towards the middle of the field.  Around the Stanford 45, Rodgers pitched the ball to Mariet Ford.  Ford avoided a tackler and ran towards the Stanford band which was streaming onto the field.  Around the Stanford 27, 3 Cardinal players smothered Ford who threw a blind lateral over his shoulder.  By this point there was not only the Stanford band, but several Stanford cheerleaders, assorted spectators, 3 members of the Stanford Axe Committee, and at least 11 illegal players who had wandered onto the field.  Ford’s pitch was caught by Moen who had initially received the kick who took it towards the end zone.  He evaded one tackler, weaved his way through the Stanford band, and jumped into the end zone where he wiped out an unaware Stanford trombone player Gary Tyrrell.

Cal started celebrating, but the officials had not signaled a TD.  Wiggin and several Stanford players argued with the refs that Garner’s knee was down.  The officials huddled, some of which hadn’t even seen that Moen had scored due to the Stanford band limiting visibility.  They judged that the penalty was on Stanford for having players enter the field of play.  When the line judge confirmed that Moen had scored, head official Charles Moffett left the huddle and raised his arms to signal TD and a wild celebration ensued.

How they ended up: This ended up being the last college game of Elway’s career.  Some believe that it cost him not only a winning record and a bowl game, but also the Heisman trophy.  Elway remained bitter about it for years before eventually coming to terms with it.  He went on to a Hall of Fame NFL career.  Wiggin believed that “The Play” had a negative impact on recruitment and caused a downward spiral for the Stanford football program.  The Cardinal went 1-10 the next year and Wiggin was fired.  The most infamous participant in the play was Ford who is serving 45 years to life for murdering his pregnant wife and 3-year-old son in 1997.  Starkey’s emotional and oftentimes hysterical call of “The Play” has gone down as one of the greatest calls in the history of American sports.

1.       Nov. 30, 2013-#4 (2) Auburn 34, #1 (7) Alabama 28 (Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama)

The Build Up: The previous two Iron Bowls were Alabama blowouts on their way to back-to-back national titles.  The last Iron Bowl Auburn won was the 2010 “Cam-back” where Cam Newton led the Tigers back from a 24-point deficit to beat the Tide 28-27 on their way to the national championship.  Thus, the last 3 national titles were won by the team that won the Iron Bowl.  The Tide came into this game 11-0 and on a 15-GW streak hoping for the first ever 3-peat in the poll era (since 1936).  In 2012, Auburn went just 3-9 without a win in SEC play, leading to the ouster of Gene Chizik.  In 2013, now under Gus Mahlzahn, Auburn was in the midst of one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in college football history.  After a late TD gave them a win against Mississippi St. (see #300) the Tigers lost to LSU in Death Valley, but that was their only loss coming into this game.  They won 7 straight since including a miracle win over rival Georgia in their previous game (see #18) to make this Iron Bowl for the SEC West title.  A national title was not only on the line for Bama, but possibly for the Tigers as well who could sneak into the BCS National Championship Game with a win here, a win in the SEC Championship Game, and a little help. 

The Game: In a sign of the kicking woes to come, Cade Foster missed a 44-yard attempt just barely wide left early in the game.  Eventually, Nick Marshall broke a 45-yard TD run to give Auburn an early 7-0 lead.  It was the Tigers’ first offensive TD in the Iron Bowl since that 2010 Cam-back.  Alabama eventually answered back with an 11-play, 67-yard drive capped with AJ McCarron’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Jalston Fowler to tie the game at 7.  On the ensuing drive, Auburn’s Heisman contender, Tre Mason, fumbled to give Bama good field position.  They cashed in with McCarron’s 20-yard TD pass to Kevin Norwood for a 14-7 Tide lead.  After a quick 3-and-out from Auburn, Alabama got the ball back and only needed 5 plays to drive 56 yards and scored on T.J. Yeldon’s 1-yard touchdown run for a 21-7 Tide lead.  Auburn finally got things going again, sparked by a 40-yard run by Mason, which led to his own TD run to cut it to 21-14 heading into halftime. 

Alabama had been 73-3 when leading at halftime under Nick Saban, but they quickly surrendered a game-tying 13-yard TD pass from Marshall to C.J. Uzomah to knot the game at 21.  After an exchange of punts, Alabama was pinned at their own 1-yard line.  Facing 3^rd & 9, McCarron threw a 54-yard pass to Amari Cooper to extend the drive.  They drove all the way to the Auburn 22 before Cooper dropped what would have been a TD pass.  They would end up being held to a FG where it appeared that Foster made his 28-yarder, but a false start penalty forced him to try again from 33 yards.  This time he hooked it wide left to leave the game tied at 21 early in the 4^th.  Auburn was forced to punt again, but for the 2^nd straight punt, Steven Clark pinned the Tide at their own 1-yard line.  However, this time the Tide didn’t waste any time as McCarron hooked up with Cooper on a 99-yard TD to give Alabama a 28-21 lead with 10:28 left.  Little did anyone know that this would not be the last time a play went the entire length of the field in this game.  Auburn faced 4^th & 1 on their own 35 on the ensuing drive, and Malzahn opted to go for it.  However, Marshall was stopped short of the line to gain to give Bama great field position.  The Tide drove to the Tiger 13-yard line where they faced a 4^th & 1 of their own.  Instead of kicking a FG, considering Foster’s struggles, Saban opted to go for it, and Yeldon was stopped short by freshman DE Carl Lawson.  A sack put Auburn in a 3^rd & 19 situation, but Marshall appeared to find Ricardo Louis, the hero of the “Prayer at Jordan-Hare,” but Marshall just barely overthrew him to force the Tigers to punt again.  A short punt and good return gave Bama the ball at the Auburn 25-yard line.  However, they were again held to a Foster FG, and this time Auburn blocked the kick and a 15-yard penalty on the Tide gave the Tigers the ball at their own 35 with 2:32 left trailing 28-21. 

The Finish: Auburn took their time running the ball with Mason converting two 3^rd & shorts on the ground.  Then Marshall faked the handoff to Mason and appeared to be taking off to run, but at the last second, he passed downfield to a now wide-open Sammie Coates who went untouched for the 39-yard game-tying touchdown with 32 seconds left.  After a short kickoff, Alabama had the ball at their own 29 with 25 seconds left.  McCarron scrambled and threw the ball away to leave just 16 seconds left without any yardage gained.  A draw play to Yeldon made it 3^rd & 1 with 7 seconds left.  Another draw play to Yeldon saw him step out of bounds at the Tiger 39 with time appearing to expire.  However, Saban challenged the call that time ran out.  After review, it was ruled that Yeldon was out of bounds with 1-second left to give the Tide a chance to win in regulation.  Instead of the struggling Foster, Saban sent out redshirt freshman Adam Griffith for the 57-yard FG attempt to send Alabama to the SEC Championship and keep their hopes of a 3-peat alive.  The kick appeared to be on target, but it was left short, and Chris Davis fielded the ball in the back of the end zone and started heading up field.  He got help with a wall of blocks to get past one line of would-be tacklers and headed left towards the sideline.  He tiptoed his way up the sideline as he slipped past the last line of Tide players that could catch him and raced 109 yards for the GW TD after time had long since expired to not only give Auburn one of the most improbable wins over their arch-nemesis, but to send them to the SEC Championship Game with a shot at a national championship still a possibility.  Meanwhile, Alabama’s perfect season and hopes of a 3^rd straight national title came to an end in a matter of seconds.  Fans stormed the field like they hadn’t for the “Prayer at Jordan-Hare.” 

How they ended up: The game has gone on to earn several nicknames such as “Kick, Bama, Kick,” a reference to kicking woes the tied suffered and the “Punt, Bama, Punt” Iron Bowl (see #51).  The name “Kick-Six” has been the most commonly used name to refer to this game and especially the final play.  The crowd reaction from the final play registered on seismographs across the state of Alabama.  Both teams moved to 11-1, but Auburn went up to #3 heading into the SEC Championship Game against #5 Missouri.  Auburn won 59-42 to improve to 12-1, but with the CFP still a year away, they needed some help to make the BCS National Championship Game.  They got it when #10 Michigan St. upset #2 and previously undefeated Ohio St. in the Big Ten Championship Game to improbably send the Tigers to Pasadena for a chance to win a national title.  In the Rose Bowl they met #1 Florida St. for another classic encounter (see #19), but this time Auburn finally ran out of miracles to finish #2.  However, their unbelievable run to the national championship game was perhaps consolation enough.  Tiger season ticket holders in 2013 got to experience a season that no other fanbase could ever hope to see (#300, #18, and #1 all took place at Jordan-Hare in 2013).  Meanwhile, Alabama couldn’t recover from the “Kick-Six” and lost the Sugar Bowl 45-31 to Oklahoma to finish 11-2.

By the Numbers:

Most Rivalry appearances:

7-Alabama vs. Auburn (Iron Bowl)

6-Miami vs. Florida St.

5-Michigan vs. Ohio St.

             USC vs. UCLA

Alabama vs. Georgia

4-Notre Dame vs. USC

               Arkansas vs. Texas

3-Michigan vs. Michigan St.

               Georgia vs. Auburn (Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry)

               LSU vs. Ole Miss (Magnolia Bowl)

               Notre Dame vs. Michigan St.

Major Bowl Games:

13-Rose Bowl

5-Cotton Bowl

5-Orange Bowl

4-Fiesta Bowl

1-Sugar Bowl

Dates with most appearances:

3-Oct. 28, 2000 (#186, #151, & #133) and Oct. 15, 2005 (#140, #81, #29)

Years with most appearances:

9-1990, 2015

8-2009

7-1965, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2017

6-1986, 1988, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2006