The Greatest Games in College Football History

SI ^ | August 12, 2019 | Scooby Axson

[C19fan]

Whether it's a colossal upset, a shocking play or a historical result, the best games of all time will always stick in our minds. In honor of the 150th anniversary of college football, here is an all-time ranking of the best games in the history of the sport.

[Brilliant]

Yes.

[Burma Jones]

It’s hard to compare different eras and everyone has their personal favorites, but there’s no way you rank 66 ND-Mich St over 71 Neb-OU. Same era, both 1 vs. 2, one with lots of action, the other where one team played for a tie.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Cumberland University is only a couple of miles from my home.

[dakine]

Arrrrrrghhhhh...!!!!!

[BBB333]

Submitted for your approval:

The Play:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfebpLfAt8g

Stanford hosting the California Golden Bears 11/12/82.

John Elway’s final game at Stanford (his father was the football coach).

If ti was not for 50+ members of the Stanford Band being ON the field his last game at Stanford would have been a victory — he bitched about it like Fredo Cuomo...

[100American]

What Crap, many other games that are not mentioned here that were far better, SI and ESPN bias yet again

[Tallguy]

Kansas with too many men on the field for 4 plays (before the refs caught it and threw a flag). Penn State scores a touchdown against the illegal D. Then the refs wake the heck up and throw the flag after Kansas stops the 2-point conversion. PSU throws into the endzone successfully on the 2nd try to win by 1. Something that would never happen again in the day of “instant replay”.

[HangnJudge]

Jellico?

[Tallguy]

It wasn’t the fullback (Matt Suhey), it was the tailback, Mike Guman that got stopped by Barry Krause.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Lebanon, TN

[Tallguy]

The Bear was inside Paterno’s OODA loop the whole night, and that was the difference.

[Conan the Librarian]

Any game where UGA of Florida loses is the greatest game ever.

[Dilbert San Diego]

This reminds me of how the NFL ignores much history. The NFL is almost 100 years old, yet at the time of super bowl 50, all the advertising and promotions were about the NFL “Golden year” , as if super bowl 50 was the 50th anniversary of the NFL itself.

[kaehurowing]

Cal v. Stanford, the “Big Game” 1982.

The last play of the game, with seconds to go, Cal returned a squib kickoff using rugby laterals and ran the ball all the way into the end zone and won the game.

The managed to run over the Stanford Band in the process, which was already coming on the field thinking the game was over. A big bonus (if you’ve ever seen how obnoxious the Stanford Band is).

The Cal football players also were on the rugby team, so knew the drill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfebpLfAt8g

[Fiji Hill]

My top 5

1. USC vs. Notre Dame, 1931
   In the first game between USC and Notre Dame in Notre Dame Stadium, the Domers built up a 14-point lead, but the Trojans came back and trailed 14-13 when USC's Johnny Baker kicked a field goal to win the game 16-14. This was the most celebrated football game in Los Angeles history.

2. USC vs Duke, 1939 (1939 Rose Bowl)
   In a defensive battle, Duke which had been undefeated and un-scored upon in 1938 led 3-0 late in the game when Doyle Nave, a fourth-string quarterback threw a series of complete passes and led the Trojans to a 7-3 victory over the Blue Devils.

3. USC vs Notre Dame, 1974
   Notre Dame led at half time 24-0 when Anthony Davis fielded the kickoff that opened the second hall and returned it for a touchdown. Then the Trojans made score after score, winning 55-24.
   I was at that game, sitting in the student sectio--the happiest and most exciting place in the world that afternoon.

4. USC vs Ohio State, 1975 (1975 Rose Bowl)
   During the 1974 USC-Notre Dame game, Ohio State coach Woody Hayes was in the broadcast booth at the Coliseum doing commentary. The Trojans would be meeting his Buckeyes at the Rose Bowl in a month, so as the game drew to a close with Notre Dame trailing by 31 points, I and everyone else in the student section yelled, "Woody, you're next!"--probably the loudest yell I have ever heard in the Coliseum.
   And indeed, he was. For those of us in attendance, the game was an emotional roller coaster. The Buckeyes jumped off to an early lead, but they couldn't put the game away, and the Trojans kept the score close. As it drew to a close, an injured Shelton Diggs caught a pass for a two-point conversion to give the Trojans an 18-17 win.

5. USC vs Tulane, 1932 (1932 Rose Bowl)
   After beating Notre Dame, the Trojans headed to Pasadena to face an even tougher opponent, the Tulane Green Wave, which had gone undefeated in 1931, allowing only 35 points. But after a scoreless first quarter, the Trojans scored three touchdowns and won 21-12.

[Deplorable American1776]

The Greatest game in college history was the 1968 THE GAME, where Havard ‘beat’ Yale 28-28. Think about the people who were on the team...

[HangnJudge]

Ah, THAT Cumberland College
There is a University of the Cumberlands,
AKA Cumberland College, in Williamsburg, Ktky

[kaehurowing]

Hadn’t seen this at the time I posted mine—I wasn’t there, but I saw it on TV.

[MHGinTN]

Alabama’s Barry Krause’s, linebacker, epic stop of the Notre Dame runner at the goal line on fourth and a foot, for the win.

[Fiji Hill]

Stanford hosting the California Golden Bears 11/12/82.

John Elway’s final game at Stanford (his father was the football coach).

If it was not for 50+ members of the Stanford Band being ON the field his last game at Stanford would have been a victory — he bitched about it like Fredo Cuomo...

That play has gone down in history to be known simply as "The Play."

In 1983, when the USC Trojans played Stanford at the LA Memorial Coliseum, the Trojan Marching Band re-enacted The Play--with some members dressed in Cal and Stanford uniforms and others as the Stanford Band. The real Stanford Band then charged onto the field and for a moment, we thought they would try to disrupt the performance. But they merely ran to the other side of the field.

Incidentally, the Trojans won that day, 30-7.