We’ve seen some fantastic games with the college football season winding down.
And as remarkable as they have been, they don’t hold a candle to the greatest college football games ever played.
Ohio State v. Miami (2003)
Miami was amid a historic run in the early 2000s with a roster full of future NFL superstars. So, when the Ohio State Buckeyes battled the Hurricanes in the 2003 BCS National Championship, no one gave them much chance against the defending champions. Surprisingly, on the back of Maurice Clarett, the Buckeyes took the game to overtime.
After Miami scored on their initial possession, Ohio State had one more chance to extend the game. Craig Krenzel’s pass was incomplete to the Buckeyes’ two-way stud, Chris Gamble, but there was a penalty for pass interference. To this day, this penalty remains one of the most controversial calls in college football history.
However, Ohio State capitalized on its fortune, winning the game during the second overtime period.
Notre Dame v. Houston (1979)
Before Joe Montana made his mark in the NFL by going 4-0 in the Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers, he was doing his thing for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame had their hands full with the Houston Cougars at the 1979 Cotton Bowl.
The game was all but decided when the Irish were trailing 34-12 going into the fourth quarter, but Montana had other ideas. Thanks to the best chicken soup in the world, Montana’s flu symptoms subsided to lead a comeback 35-34 victory on that cold and icy Dallas day.
Boise State v. Oklahoma (2007)
The Bowl Championship Series era of college football was contentious, as the team’s fate was at the mercy of a mathematical formula. This system favored the country’s most prestigious programs while spitting on little guys like Boise State.
Although it wasn’t in the national championship, the Boise State Broncos got their chance to prove that you don’t need to be a brand name to have a dominant football team.
In a Fiesta Bowl that saw Boise blow an early 18-point lead, they emerged victorious 43-42 over Adrian Peterson’s Oklahoma Sooners, including a hook-and-ladder, halfback pass, and Statue of Liberty we will remember forever.
Auburn v. Alabama (2013)
The Iron Bowl is always a good time, even if one of the programs (currently Auburn) is trending down. That wasn’t the case in 2013, considering whoever won the game would most likely be in the championship game against Florida State.
In a season full of miracle wins, Auburn had one more in the tank, as Chris Davis returned Alabama’s game-winner field goal attempt the other way in a walk-off winner.
Texas v. USC (2006)
It’s nice to have one Heisman Trophy winner leading your team to the championship game, but it almost feels like cheating when you have two of them as the 2005 USC Trojans did. With Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush a part of one of the greatest offensive teams ever, it felt the Texas Longhorns didn’t have a chance against the vaunted Trojans.
Fortunately for the Longhorn faithful, no one told Vince Young they should roll over and die. Young had a game for the ages, accounting for 467 total ends, ending USC’s 34-game winning streak with a 41-38 win.
If you watched the greatest college football games ever played live, you’d never forget where you were when you witnessed history before your eyes. Here’s to hoping an extended playoff can add another to this list.
