Whether it’s the “Kick Six,” the “Bush Push” or “Mormons vs. Mullets,” the first 25 years of the 21st century have delivered a buffet of incredible college football games.
Every season is a little different. Every game is an opportunity to experience something new — a combination of runs, passes and tackles that lead to wonder, astonishment and disbelief.
As college football prepares to enter a new quarter-century, we have an opportunity to look all the way back to 2000 to remember some of the great games that have defined this century so far.
To do so, CBS Sports went back in time and selected the best regular-season game, including conference championships, of every college football season from 2000-24.
Obviously, best is incredibly subjective. A Pac-12 After Dark banger might be someone’s favorite from a given season while others may prefer an old school Big Ten West rock fight. But generally, the games selected feature a combination of incredible finishes and memorable moments in games that usually had an outsized role in determining the course of the national championship picture.
One caveat before looking back at the last 25 seasons: Playoff, bowl and national championship games were not considered for this piece. This is about the regular season games that shaped each season, not the fireworks seen at its conclusion.
Date: Oct. 12, 2024 | Ties or Lead Changes: 8
There were more exciting finishes (Colorado’s Hail Mary against Baylor or Alabama’s comeback against Georgia) and more exciting upsets (Vanderbilt over Alabama!) during the 2024 season. But the best football game happened in Eugene between arguably the season’s two best teams.
It was a massive matchup that lived up to the hype, including five second-half lead changes. There was plenty of drama late, too. Oregon kicked a go-ahead field goal with 1:47 remaining to take a 32-31 lead. The Buckeyes quickly advanced the ball to the Oregon 28, but a penalty, poor clock management and a rule loophole exposed by Ducks head coach Dan Lanning led to time running out on Ohio State before it could get its field goal unit on the field.
It was chaotic finish and an ultimately critical loss for the Buckeyes’ national title path. Afterward, the Buckeyes made major changes to their defense in response to what Oregon exposed. Ohio State did not allow more than 23 points in a game the rest of the way.
(Btw, a quick hat tip here: ESPN’s Bill Connelly does an almost annual list of the best games of the season that was a great resource for this piece. Though, he had this game at 13!)
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2023: No. 8 Alabama 27, Auburn 24
Date: Nov. 25, 2023 | Ties or Lead Changes: 7
Behind every great game is a great nickname or play. This dramatic finish featured “Gravedigger,” Alabama’s fourth-and-goal call from the 31-yard-line down 24-20 with 32 seconds remaining.
It looked like Alabama’s playoff hopes would come to a premature and surprising end against a 6-5 Auburn team fresh off an embarrassing loss to New Mexico State the week prior. Then Jalen Milroe found Isaiah Bond in the left corner of the end zone for one of the most famous touchdowns in Iron Bowl history.
Alabama would go on to end Georgia’s hopes for a three-peat in the following week’s SEC championship game. Then, in perhaps the most controversial moment in CFP selection history, the committee picked 12-1 Alabama over 13-0 Florida State for the final playoff spot in the four-team field.
The Tide went on to suffer a last-second loss to eventual national champion Michigan in the CFP semifinals. Nick Saban abruptly retired a few days later.
2022: No 6 Tennessee 52, No. 3 Alabama 49
Date: Oct. 15, 2022 | Ties of Lead Changes: 9
Since the two CFP semifinals aren’t eligible for consideration — New Year’s Eve 2022 featured back-to-back incredible games — let’s turn to the Third Saturday in October. Tennessee hadn’t beaten Alabama on that date in 16 years.
This was the Vols’ best shot. Quarterback Hendon Hooker looked like a Heisman Trophy candidate, fronting the most explosive passing attack in college football. The Vols stormed out to a 28-10 second quarter advantage only for Alabama to erase that early in the third quarter. From there the teams would trade the lead five times. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young put Alabama in position for a go-ahead field goal with 15 seconds left, but Will Reichard’s 50-yard attempt sailed outside the uprights. Hooker completed passes of 18 and 27 yards to put Tennessee in position for a game-winning 40-yard field goal as time expired.
Young finished with 455 yards and two touchdowns. But Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt stole the show with 207 yards and five touchdowns, including scores of 60 and 78 yards in the second half.
The Vols got to smoke victory cigars on the Third Saturday in October for the first time in 16 years. Alabama, for its part, would go on to miss the CFP for only the third time in nine seasons.
2021: No. 6 Oklahoma 55, No. 21 Texas 48
Date: Oct. 9, 2021 | Ties or Lead Changes: 4
The Red River Rivalry has produced some of the wildest games in recent college football history. But the 2021 iteration was crazy even by Red River standards.
Texas raced out to a 28-7 lead, which led to a critical moment in the lore of Oklahoma, USC and South Carolina history: Sooners coach Lincon Riley benched preseason Heisman Trophy favorite quarterback Spencer Rattler in favor of five-star freshman Caleb Williams.
Williams took the field down 35-17 midway through the second quarter. With 7 minutes remaining in the second half, Williams had helped the Sooners storm back for a 48-41 lead. Texas tied the game with 1:23 remaining thanks to a 31-yard pass from Casey Thompson to Xavier Worthy. But Williams would not be denied. He hit four straight passes to set up one of the wildest moments in the rivalry’s 120-year history — a game-winning 33-yard run by Kennedy Brooks with 10 seconds remaining.
The 103 points the team combined for were the most in Red River Rivalry history.
Date: Dec. 5, 2020 | Ties or Lead Changes: 5
2020 was a weird year, y’all. No game better represents that than “Mormons vs. Mullets,” a battle of Group of Five unbeatens that happened on two days’ notice after Liberty, due to a rash of positive Covid-19 tests, had to cancel its C-USA showdown with Coastal Carolina.
Both BYU (9-0) and Coastal Carolina (9-0) were looking for a strength of schedule boost during a season in which neither program was allowed to play a true non-conference slate, so Coastal Carolina hopped on a plane and agreed to play Zach Wilson on the Cougars.
The game was way better than it had any right to be, a back-and-forth affair that came down to the final second (and yard). Wilson hit Dax Milne for 17 yards as time expired. The only problem was the goal line was 18 yards away.
With apologies to Florida vs. LSU — the “shoe” game in the Swamp that may have cost the Gators a CFP berth — there’s no better and more representative game of the 2020 season than “Mormons vs. Mullets.”
2019: LSU 46, Alabama 42
Date: Nov. 9, 2019 | Ties or Lead Changes: 1
It’s appropriate the top game of the 2019 season featured LSU leading wire to wire.
The 2019 Tigers are the greatest college football team of the 21st century (fight me!). They tore through the regular season and the playoff with a quarterback on an all-time heater (Joe Burrow) and the most talented roster of the modern era.
But the 2019 Tide also have a case for that claim; Alabama’s 2020 team is also on the best team short list. Just check out the receivers who played in the 2019 matchup as an example of the combined talent:
- Ja’Marr Chase, LSU
- Justin Jefferson, LSU
- Terrace Marshall, LSU
- DeVonta Smith, Alabama
- Jerry Jeudy, Alabama
- Henry Ruggs, Alabama
- Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
Six of those seven were first-round draft picks. The other (Marshall) went in the second round.
Alabama found itself down 33-13 at halftime only to score four straight second-half touchdowns and cut the lead to four. It wasn’t enough. LSU ensured there would be no dramatic conclusion with a pair of clutch fourth quarter touchdown drives with it mattered most.
But damn it was fun. It was also the most consequential game of the 2019 season.
LSU won the battle of unbeatens — its first win over Alabama since 2011 — and would not play a game closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
2018: No. 22 Texas A&M 74, LSU 72
Date: Nov. 24, 2018 | Ties or Lead Changes: 7 prior to OT | 14 in OT
Jalen Hurts’ redemption in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia would get the nod almost any other year. But Texas A&M’s seven-overtime win over LSU is an all-timer that changed the college football rulebook.
This game had everything: A record-breaking seven overtimes, a premature Gatorade dump and a reported fight between Jimbo Fisher’s nephew and LSU analyst Steve Kragthorpe, who claimed he was punched in his pacemaker.
So, yeah … everything.
This game seemed like it would end in regulation, which led to Orgeron’s premature Gatorade bath. But the officials put a second back on the clock. The Aggies took advantage of the second chance with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Kellen Mond to Quartney Davis to tie the game at 31.
Then came seven overtimes and 84 additional points.
The game went on so long the NCAA changed how overtime works in college football. No longer do programs play an unlimited number of possessions starting from the 25-yard line until a tie is broken. Instead, teams trade 2-point plays following the conclusion of the second overtime period.
2017: No. 15 UCF 49, USF 42
Date: Nov. 24, 2017 | Ties of Lead Changes: 5
Frankly, you could pick any of UCF’s final three games from the 2017 season. They were all bangers. But the Knights’ regular season finale stands out because of the stakes and the sheer madness of the final minutes.
UCF — just two seasons removed from an 0-12 campaign — needed one more win to finish the regular season at 12-0. The Knights had CFP hopes, too. All that stood in their way was rival South Florida, which entered the week at 9-1 and hoping to earn an AAC title game berth.
The final minutes were crazy. McKenzie Milton gave UCF an eight-point lead with 2:21 remaining. Then South Florida hit an 82-yard bomb and converted a 2-point try to tie the game. That’s when Mike Hughes, with 88 seconds left on the clock, returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for the game-winning score.
UCF would go on to finish 13-0 and capped the season off with a 34-27 Peach Bowl win over Auburn. The Knights, the only unbeaten team in the FBS, proclaimed themselves national champions at season end after getting left out of the CFP.
Date: Oct. 2, 2016 | Ties or Lead Changes: 5
With apologies to a very famous rendition of The Game between Michigan and Ohio State — the Buckeyes won in overtime thanks to a controversial 4th-and-1 conversion — the clash between the Tigers and Cardinals was simply too electric to leave off this list.
It helps that it featured two of the best quarterbacks of the CFP era in Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson. The duo combined for 601 yards passing and 253 yards rushing. But the game itself lived up to every bit of the hype. Clemson led 28-10 at half only for Louisville to storm back and take a 36-28 lead with 7:52 remaining. That’s when Watson — with help from a 77-yard kickoff return from Artavis Scott — led back-to-back touchdown drives to snatch the lead back. Louisville reached Clemson’s 12-yard line with 1:19 remaining. But the Tigers held firm, stopping Louisville one-yard short of a conversion on fourth-and-12 with 33 seconds remaining.
Jackson would go on to win the Heisman Trophy. Clemson went on to win the national championship. Flip the result of this game and the Tigers, who lost to Pittsburgh later in the regular season, may never have reached the CFP.
2015: No. 7 Michigan State 27, No. 12 Michigan 23
Date: Oct. 18, 2015 | Ties or Lead Changes: 2
There were some fantastic games in 2015: a Trevone Boykin and Patrick Mahomes shootout in Lubbock, Clemson halting a Notre Dame rally in the final moments in a top 12 showdown and Chad Kelly’s heroics in an upset 25 years in the making for Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa.
But let’s talk about the punt. You know the one. A bungled snap, a desperate spinning right-footed flail and a would-be kick that landed in the hands of Jalen Watts-Jackson for the game-winning touchdown.
The Wolverines led 23-21 with 10 seconds remaining at their own 45-yard line. The Spartans had no timeouts. All Michigan had to do was punt the ball away and they’d win the game. It would have been a statement victory for Jim Harbaugh in Year 1, launching the Wolverines into the CFP mix.
But the snap went painfully — or gloriously(?) depending on your perspective — awry. Michigan State won and went on to reach the CFP after a 12-1 regular season. Flip this result and maybe it’s the Wolverines who reach the playoff instead.
2014: No. 5 Baylor 61, No. 9 TCU 58
Date: Oct. 12, 2014 | Ties or Lead Changes: 5
Baylor began the fourth quarter with a pick-six and fell into a 58-37 hole. Then things got weird in Waco. The Bears scored three touchdowns on drives that spanned less than a minute each. TCU punted twice and failed a fourth-and-3 attempt with 1:11 remaining to give Baylor the ball at its 45-yard line.
It took advantage with a 28-yard field goal to win the game.
Bears QB Bryce Petty threw for 510 yards and six touchdowns. Three Baylor receivers — Antwan Goodley (158 yards, two TDs), Corey Coleman (144 yards, two TDs), KD Cannon (124 yards, one TD) — cleared the 125-yard barrier in a game in which the two teams combined for 119 points and 1,267 yards.
This Bears win created a massive ripple effect. TCU and Baylor finished the regular season 11-1, tying atop the Big 12 standings in a league that did not hold a conference championship game. Ohio State, also 11-1, did have another chance to play. The Buckeyes bludgeoned Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten title game, a statement victory the committee very much noticed. The Buckeyes jumped from fifth to fourth in the CFP Rankings after their win. Meanwhile, the committee dropped idle TCU from third to SIXTH behind both the Buckeyes and Bears, who had entered the week ranked fifth.
Ohio State went on to win the national championship. The Big 12 quickly added a conference championship game. Two major events in college football history that likely don’t occur if TCU just holds onto a three-touchdown lead against Baylor.
2013: No. 4 Auburn 34, No. 1 Alabama 28
Date: Dec. 1, 2013 | Ties or Lead Changes: 7
It’s the Kick Six. That’s really all you need to know. That play is so memorable you can hear it:
“There goes Davis!”
“Davis is going to run it all the way back!”
“Auburn is going to win the football game! Auburn is going to win the football game!”
That call from Auburn play-by-play announcer Rod Bramblett covered 109 yards of Chris Davis’ improbable, impossible, field goal return (!!!) that swung the 2013 season. Auburn won the Iron Bowl, went to the SEC championship and played Florida State for a national title. The top-ranked Tide? They went home, any chance at a three-peat crumbling as Davis crossed into the end zone.
It took a very specific set of circumstances for the Kick Six to occur. Alabama running back TJ Yeldon stepped of bounds with one second remaining, which gave Nick Saban the opportunity to try a 57-yard field goal. That decision is baffling in retrospect when you consider he benched starting kicker Cade Foster — after three missed field goals — and instead pivoted to freshman Adam Griffith for the most important kick of the season. Auburn had the wherewithal to place Davis deep, giving him the opportunity to make one of the most famous plays in college football history.
2012: No. 15 Texas A&M 29, No. 1 Alabama 24
Date: Nov. 11, 2012 | Ties or Lead Changes: 1
Other than perhaps Tim Tebow, there is no bigger college football crossover star this century than Johnny Manziel. The Aggies’ party-hard, scramble-out-of-anything QB burst onto the national scene in November of 2012 when he led a wire-to-wire road upset of No. 1 Alabama.
The Tide were the reigning national champs. They’d won 13 straight. Texas A&M was just entering the SEC for the first time. It didn’t matter. Manziel couldn’t be stopped. There’s no one moment from this game that stands out above all. Texas A&M never needed an epic comeback or last-second drive. Instead, it was Manziel’s ability to extend almost every play and get out of any would-be sack. He was practically Houdini that Saturday, only he had a cannon strapped his right arm.
Manziel finished the day 24-for-31 with 253 yards passing and two touchdowns to go along with 92 yards rushing.
It’s a win that spurred Manziel to the Heisman and created a legend.
Date: Nov. 18, 2011 | Ties or lead changes: 3
Oklahoma State entered the week at 10-0 and controlled its destiny to make the BCS National Championship game. Led by eventual first-round quarterback Brandon Weeden the Cowboys were averaging more than 50 points per game.
But the game felt secondary because Oklahoma State’s women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda died in a tragic plane crash the day prior to kickoff. A few years later Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy said of the matchup: “Honestly, the last thing that anybody wants to do, really, is play a game.”
The Cowboys raced out to a 24-7 lead early in the third quarter but could not keep the momentum. Oklahoma State had an opportunity to win the game late, but Quinn Sharp missed a 37-yard field goal, pushing the game into overtime. Both teams scored quickly to push the game to a second overtime, but Weeden threw an interception on the first pass of the second extra period. The Cyclones won three plays later.
Oklahoma State rebounded the next week with a 34-point win over No. 14 Oklahoma, but the BCS formula chose Alabama-LSU rematch in controversial fashion; several coaches, including Saban, voted Oklahoma State 4th in the final coaches’ poll, which was part of the BCS formula.
The national title game — won by the Tide — was so contentious it helped spark the CFP system we know today with discussions about a playoff formula beginning shortly afterward.
2010: No. 2 Auburn 28, No. 11 Alabama 27
Date: Nov. 26, 2010 | Ties or Lead Changes: 2
Nothing stopped Cam Newton during the 2010 season, including a 24-point first half deficit against reigning national champion Alabama.
The Tigers fell behind 24-0 midway through the second quarter. From that point on Newton completed 11 of 14 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 54 sack-adjusted yards and a touchdown.
It was hardly the most dominant performance of Newton’s Heisman season. But given the swaths of NFL players on the other sideline and the stakes — Auburn likely doesn’t make the national championship game with a loss — the comeback Newton led against the Tide is one of the most consequential in college football history.
Shoutout to the No. 19 Nevada vs. No. 4 Boise State showdown that same day, however. Led by Kellen Moore, the Broncos saw their 24-game win streak snapped by Colin Kaepernick and the Wolf Pack in a 34-31 overtime loss. Boise State kicker Kyle Brotzman missed a 26-yard field goal at the buzzer in regulation.
2009: No. 3 Texas 13, No. 22 Nebraska 12
Date: Dec. 5, 2009 | Ties or Lead Changes: 4
You’ll remember this as the day single-handedly Ndamukong Suh wrecked Texas’ offense and nearly cost the Longhorns a spot in the BCS title game.
Texas came into the week averaging 43 points per game. Suh ensured the Longhorns got nowhere close to that total. He logged 4.5 sacks and helped limit Texas to 18 rushing yards on 38 attempts.
The game came down to the final second. Literally. McCoy, chased by Suh (of course), threw a pass out of bounds as the clock expired, leading to a massive Huskers celebration. But the officials put one second back on the clock after a review.
Texas kicker Hunter Lawrence then hit a 46-yarder to secure a a Big 12 championship and national title bid.
2008: No. 7 Texas Tech 39, No. 1 Texas 33
Date: Nov. 1, 2008 | Ties or Lead Changes: 3
With apologies to Tim Tebow’s post-Ole Miss promise, this is THE Michael Crabtree catch — one of the most famous moments in college football history. There was plenty at stake, too, with both teams entering the week at 8-0 with national title aspirations.
Scoring opened with a safety as Texas Tech stuffed Texas on its goal line. Led by quarterback Graham Harrell, the Red Raiders raced out to 22-3 lead. Texas would storm back, scoring a go-ahead touchdown with 89 seconds left.
Texas Tech made it to Texas’ 28-yard line with 21 seconds remaining. Then Harrell’s pass bounced off receiver Edward Britton and into the hands of Texas freshman safety Blake Gideon.
“Deflected. Interception, Texas!” said ABC announcer Brent Musburger.
But …
Gideon dropped it, leaving eight seconds left on the clock.
Harrell threw deep, finding Crabtree along the right sideline at around the 5-yard line. Crabtree turned, spun out of a would-be tackle and walked in for the biggest touchdown in Red Raiders history.
One play that completely changed the 2008 national championship race. Texas had the pole position but was jumped by Oklahoma in the BCS standings — despite the Longhorns’ 45-35 head-to-head win earlier in the year — for the right to play Florida in the national title game. Florida beat the Sooners 24-14, giving Tebow a second national championship and ensuring his status as a college football legend.
Date: Sept. 1, 2007 | Ties or Lead Changes: 7
It’s the most famous upset in college football history.
Well, I guess it’s an upset? Can an upset really be the case if Vegas didn’t even bother to set a betting line? We’ll still go with it. The Wolverines, fresh off an 11-2 season, were a preseason top-five team. The Mountaineers weren’t even a member of the FBS at the time.
But something often lost in the lore of this game is App State’s resume. The Mountaineers were the top-ranked FCS team in the country entering the 2007 season and coming off back-to-back national championships under head coach Jerry Moore.
There were two lead changes in the final minutes of this classic. The Wolverines were down 11 late in the third quarter but retook the lead with 4:31 remaining. From there, the Mountaineers threw an interception, Michigan missed a 43-yard field goal, App State went 69 yards in 1:11 to kick a go-ahead field goal and the Mountaineers capped it off by blocking a 37-yard field goal attempt as time expired to secure the upset.
App State went on to win its third-straight FCS national championship.
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2006: No. 1 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Michigan 39
Date: Nov. 18, 2006 | Ties or Lead Changes: 3
The first regular-season “Game of the Century” of the 21st century — the phrase is always amusing given how often these games occur — this matchup pitted the two top-ranked teams in the country in a regular season finale that would determine at least one spot in the BCS national title game.
The Game also took on additional meaning as it was played a day after legendary Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler died.
Troy Smith’s monster performance essentially ended all Heisman Trophy debate. He finished with 316 yards and four touchdowns through the air and led the Buckeyes on a critical 83-yard fourth quarter touchdown drive that put them up 42-31 with 5:27 remaining. Michigan responded with a touchdown, but Ohio State iced the game three plays later with a game-winning third-down conversion.
This game was so big that ABC moved it off its traditional noon starting time to 3:30 p.m. ET. Nearly 22 million tuned in to watch, making it the most-viewed regular season college football game in 16 years.
Michigan argued, even with a loss, it should make the BCS national title game. Instead, the Buckeyes went on to play Florida, losing in a 41-14 rout.
2005: No. 1 USC 34, No. 9 Notre Dame 31
Date: Oct. 15, 2005 | Ties or Lead Changes: 10
This is where I remind you that postseason games aren’t eligible, thus the 2005 national championship classic between USC and Texas cannot be selected.
So, we turn to the “Bush Push.”
The play would look very normal by today’s “Brotherly Shove” standards. But back then it was an illegal maneuver when Reggie Bush pushed Matt Leinart into the end zone for a game-winning touchdown as time expired. The penalty wasn’t called, leading to one of the most controversial plays in college football history and USC’s 28th consecutive win.
This game had plenty going for it outside of the ending. Leinart and Brady Quinn were two of the top quarterbacks in the country and the fourth quarter included four lead changes.
Notre Dame finished the regular season at 10-2 while USC went 12-0 and reached the national title game. Flip the result and the Irish, who finished No. 6 in the final BCS poll, likely play Texas for the national title instead of USC.
2004: No. 2 Oklahoma 42, No. 22 Texas A&M 35
Date: Nov. 6, 2004 | Ties or Lead Changes: 5
Week 11 was the most dramatic of the 2004 season. Vince Young helped No. 6 Texas storm back from 28 down to beat No. 19 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Cal needed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat Oregon and even top-ranked USC needed a comeback, erasing a 13-point Oregon State lead for a 28-20 win.
But arguably the best game of the day (and season) happened at Kyle Field where the No. 2 Sooners twice faced a 14-point deficit. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jason White tied a Sooners school record with five passing touchdowns while freshman superstar running back Adrian Peterson cleared the 100-yard barrier for the ninth straight game. Aggies fans wonder “what if” in this one given that A&M starting QB Reggie McNeal was forced out of the game with an injury midway through the third quarter. The Aggies would put together a 50-yard drive to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but it stalled at OU’s 38-yard line.
There were other entertaining games from the 2004 season that could have fit. But given the controversy that came with Oklahoma’s selection to the BCS national title game over fellow unbeaten Auburn, this game gets the nod due to its overall importance.
This is the year the BCS really began to bust. Not only did Auburn get left out at 12-0, but so did Utah and Boise State.
2003: Cal 34, USC 31 in 3OT
Date: Sept. 27, 2003 | Ties or Lead Changes: 9
USC’s 34-game win streak from 2003-05 is one of the most impressive in college football history. But that streak would be considerably longer (46 games!) if not for Cal’s 2003 upset.
For a JUCO QB making his just his second career start, Cal’s Aaron Rodgers had a pretty good day. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 203 yards and two scores in the first half before exiting with a knee injury early in the third quarter. Rodgers led Cal to a 21-7 halftime lead, but his last pass of the game — a tipped INT that turned into a pick-six — made it 21-21 with 7:26 left in the third quarter. There wouldn’t be a ton of scoring from there. Cal hit a 51-yard-field goal early in the fourth quarter. Then the Bears attempted another with five minutes remaining only for it to be blocked. USC would kick a 33-yarder to send it to overtime.
Things got weird from there. USC fumbled on the goal line during its first possession. Cal had a chance to win it with a 29-yarder, which was again blocked. The next overtime saw both teams scored touchdowns. USC opened the third overtime with a missed 39-yard field goal. Then Bears kicker Tyler Fredrickson won it — after two straight misses — with a 38-yarder.
USC’s loss mattered quite a bit to the national championship race.
At season’s end Oklahoma (which had just lost 35-7 in the Big 12 championship game), LSU and USC each finished with a single loss. While USC finished No. 1 in the AP and Coaches Poll, it ranked behind LSU and Oklahoma in the BCS formula. Thus, the Sooners played the Tigers for a national title.
LSU won. But USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and the AP voters left the Trojans at No. 1 in their poll, which resulted in the only split national championship of the BCS and CFP era.
2002: No. 16 LSU 33, Kentucky 30
Date: Nov. 9, 2002 | Ties or Lead Changes: 6
We love a premature Gatorade bath around these parts, and Kentucky gave coach Guy Morriss one of the most famous in history. The Wildcats were down 10 points early in the fourth quarter but rallied to hit a go-ahead field goal with 11 seconds remaining.
That’s when Morriss got soaked in celebration.
But LSU had time for two plays. The first was a 17-yard pass from Tigers QB Marcus Randall to receiver Michael Clayton. That gave the Tigers two seconds to go 74 yards. Head coach Nick Saban helped dial up “Dah Right 93 Berlin.” Randall scrambled to his right and heaved the ball some 60 yards. Several Kentucky players had a chance to bat the ball down. Instead, it deflected off a Wildcats defender and found its way into the hands of LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson just shy of the 15-yard line. Henderson broke through an attempted tackle and completed what is now known as the “Bluegrass Miracle.”
2001: Stanford 49, No. 5 Oregon 42
Date: Oct. 20, 2001 | Ties or Lead Changes: 8
Joey Harrington and Oregon looked like a legit national title threat through six weeks of the regular season. The Ducks raced out to 6-0, including early season wins over Wisconsin and USC.
The Ducks were well on their way to 7-0 entering the fourth quarter. They led 42-28 then, in the words of an AP story from that day, “the Ducks came back to Earth with a spectacular thud.”
And the collapse, which snapped Oregon’s FBS-best 23-game home win streak, was spectacular. Stanford outscored Oregon 21-0 in the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of blocked punts and a Harrington interception, all of which turned into touchdowns.
The QB known as “Captain Comeback” had an opportunity to give Oregon the lead back down 49-42 with 1:05 remaining. But the Ducks’ drive halted at Stanford’s 37-yard line after four straight incompletions.
Oregon finished the season at 10-1. Nebraska, at 11-1, got a national title bid instead.
2000: No. 7 Miami 27, No. 1 Florida State 24
Date: Oct. 7, 2000 | Ties or Lead Changes: 3
Wide Right III.
That’s how this clash between two late-90s and early-2000s juggernauts will always be remembered. The top-ranked Seminoles were unbeaten and coming off a national title. Miami, also unbeaten, was just hitting its stride ahead of a dominant 2001 national championship run.
Outside of Norman, Oklahoma, these were the two best teams in the country with a combined 26 eventual NFL draft picks in their starting lineups, per The Athletic.
Miami raced out to a 17-0 halftime lead. But Florida State clawed back thanks to the play of eventual 2000 Heisman winner Chris Weinke, who finished the day with a career-high 496 yards passing and three scores. His final touchdown throw came with 1:37 remaining, giving FSU a 24-21 lead. Miami and QB Ken Dorsey responded quickly, going 6-for-7 on the next drive, dropping dimes to eventual NFL stars Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne and Jeremy Shockey, who caught the go-ahead touchdown with 46 seconds remaining.
That left just enough time for another Bobby Bowden field-goal-caused heartbreak. Florida State pushed the ball into position for a potential game-winning 49-yard attempt. But the ball sailed wide right off Matt Munyon’s leg, snapping FSU’s 26-game regular season win streak.
As fans filed out of the Orange Bowl the words “WIDE RIGHT III” flashed across the screen, a reminder of previous kicking-related heartbreaks for Bowden against Miami from the 1991 and 1992 seasons that likely cost the Seminoles a pair of national titles.
