College Football 2020: I Need Some Cheering Up

I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that 2020 has been one of the worst years in generations. I don’t need to detail the reasons why. We all know what they are. Sadly, for college football fans it doesn’t appear we will be gifted with much of an escape. The Big Ten and Pac-12 are out, at least for the fall. So are the Mountain West and Mid-American conferences.

The other six FBS conferences plan to press on, for now, with delayed and abbreviated schedules that will likely deprive fans of any exciting inter-conference matchups. But as regular students return to campuses across the country, the challenges of keeping the coronavirus from infecting significant numbers of college athletes are coming into focus; and it’s not looking particularly promising right now. Playing even partial, conference-insulated schedules will likely be touch-and-go. Even under the best case scenario, the 2020 college football season is shaping up to be the least enjoyable in a long time, maybe ever.

So what to do when the present day outlook brings no joy? I say let’s reflect on past moments that remind us why we love this game. With that, I share my personal Top 10 favorite games of my viewing lifetime. The only rule is they must be games that I personally watched, whether in person or on TV. As I grew up a fan of the Maryland Terrapins, and the Miami Hurricanes as a close second, those biases will feature prominently.

Please feel free to share your own personal favorites in the message board thread….we need the diversion!

(in reverse order)

10. Maryland  26 – NC State 24: November 22, 2003

The Terps and Wolfpack staged three epic matchups from 2001-03, each going down to the final gun, and I had a tough time deciding which one would crack this list. I went with this one because it featured one of the top rags-to-riches moments for a kicker that I’ve witnessed. The Terps trailed by 14 halfway through the 4th Qtr, but two late touchdowns, the second coming with just 2:45 left, appeared to give MD at least a shot at overtime. Only Nick Novak missed the extra point. An unsuccessful onside kick gave NC State a golden opportunity to run out the clock and claim a 1-point win in Phillip Rivers’ final college home game. But NCSU tailback TA McLendon fumbled on a jarring hit by LB Leroy Ambush and MD recovered with 1:50 left. That set up Novak’s shot at redemption from 43-yards, and he exited Carter-Finley Stadium a hero.

9. Michigan 35 – Notre Dame 31: September 10, 2011

Ask a Wolverines fan if they have any fond memories of the Brady Hoke era and this game from his first season, and the day he was fired, might be all they’ll have. QB  Denard Robinson mostly struggled in what was the first ever night game at the Big House, but with Michigan trailing 24-7 headed into the 4th Qtr, he caught fire. He ran for a touchdown and threw for 2 more to give Michigan a 28-24 lead with 1:12 to go. But it would not last. The Irish struck fast and retook the lead with a TD and only 30 seconds remaining on the clock. But Robinson wasn’t finished. After a 64-yard pass completion the Wolverines had the ball at the Irish 16 with just 8 seconds left. Hoke eschewed the FG and possible overtime and rode the hot hand in Robinson. He delivered, completing his 4th TD pass of the night with 2 seconds remaining, and finishing a thrilling final quarter.

8. Appalachian State 34 – #5 Michigan 32: September 1, 2007

It’s the Wolverines turn again, but this time they’re on the wrong end. This was a game of several firsts. It was the first game ever broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network, the first time in name an FCS team beat an FBS team (as they were known as 1-AA and 1-A, respectively, prior to that season) and the first time a team ranked in the AP poll lost to a 1-AA/FCS team. It also foreshadowed what would go down as one of the most improbable college football seasons ever. Two late lead changes left App State ahead when they kicked a FG with 1:11 left. Michigan then drove and had a shot at a FG that would have at least saved face, if not that #5 ranking, but the kick was blocked as time expired and the Mountaineers secured what many say was the game’s biggest upset ever (though Vegas never set a line on the game to make it official).

7. #9 Boise State 43 – #7 Oklahoma 42 (OT): Fiesta Bowl, January 1, 2007

Another David vs Goliath makes the list. This one had it all. A pick-six with just over a minute left to give Oklahoma its first and only lead in regulation. A subsequent hook-and-lateral on the final play of regulation to tie it for Boise State. A pass by Boise St WR Vinny Perretta that gave the Broncos a chance to send it to a second OT with an extra point. A wise coach in Chris Petersen, who realized it was now-or-never for his underdog team, and went for two instead…on a Statue of Liberty play no less. And victorious RB Ian Johnson, who scored on the conversion, proposing to his girlfriend on national TV when all was said and done. Yup, this one had it all.

6. #4 Auburn 34 – #1 Alabama 28: November 30, 2013

Be careful what you wish for, Nick Saban. After Auburn tied the Iron Bowl at 28 with 32 seconds left, Alabama hoped for a shot at a game-winning FG that would send them to the SEC Championship and, if they won, the BCS Championship game. That goal seemingly came up short when RB TJ Yeldon ran out-of-bounds at the Auburn 39 with the game clock showing all zeroes. But instant replay correctly put 1 second back on the clock, giving the Tide their chance. K Cade Foster, who had already missed 2 FGs that day, lined up for a shot at redemption, but it was short. Short enough that it was fielded by Chris Davis (no, not that one, the CB for Auburn) deep in the end zone, who then outran a kicker, a holder, and 9 linemen for an improbable game-winning kick-six. It was Auburn who won the SEC West, and would go on to win the SEC Championship to play for the BCS title…but would come up just short in what was another great matchup against Florida State.

5. #4 Notre Dame 31 – #1 Miami 30: October 15, 1988

This one certainly didn’t feature the result I wanted, but I can overlook that and appreciate this game for what it was; classic college football. A crisp fall Saturday in South Bend, and two top teams (and bitter rivals to boot) in an absolute slugfest. I still say Miami RB Cleveland Gary was down or had crossed the end zone before he fumbled, take your pick, and that likely would have propelled Miami to a win. But there was no replay back then, and the Hurricanes sure didn’t help themselves with the other six turnovers they committed that day. Still, it came down to a batted-down 2-point conversion pass for the Irish to hang on.

4. Tie:

#2 Alabama 45 – #1 Clemson 40: CFP Championship Game, January 11, 2016

#2 Clemson 35 – #1 Alabama 31: CFP Championship Game, January 9, 2017

I couldn’t pick the better of these two games, so I guess it’s an 11 game list. Sue me. These were the first and second of what would be four straight Playoff matchups between these two dynasties of the 2010’s. The first matchup featured 40 points scored in the 4th Qtr. While Clemson got the final score, the Tide were the ones who held on for the title. Clemson made the final score count the second time around, with just 1 second remaining, in a game that featured three lead changes in the last five minutes. Gotta love this game.

3. #2 Texas 41 – #1 USC 38: Rose Bowl & BCS Championship Game, January 4, 2006

Vince Young must have been really mad that Reggie Bush beat him out for the Heisman Trophy that season. Young threw for 267 yards, and ran for 200 on the vaunted Trojan D that night. His heroics included leading the Horns to two TDs in the final 6:42, the last one coming on a 4th-and-5 run to the end zone with 19 seconds left. That last touchdown was set up when USC failed to pick up a 1st on a 4th-and-2 run. Perhaps the most shocking part was that is was Lendale White who made the attempt, while the Heisman winning Bush was on the bench.

2. #2 Miami 31 – #1 Nebraska 30: Orange Bowl, January 2, 1984

The first college football game I ever attended in-person. I liked college football before then. I LOVED it after this game. It was the night the University of Miami became The U. Nebraska was the #1 team and an 11-point favorite. Their reward? They had to play the Hurricanes in their place, in heat and humidity they hadn’t felt since August, and in front of a raucous crowd that was at least 2/3 Canes fans. The Canes actually never trailed in this game, but they fought back and scored a TD with less than a minute left to cut the deficit to a point. Decision time for Tom Osborne. An extra point would mean a tie, and almost certainly a national title for Nebraska. But Osborne wanted to cap a championship season off on a winning note, and went for two. Turner Gill’s pass attempt was tipped away by Miami DB Ken Calhoun, and a dynasty was born.

1. Maryland 42 – #6 Miami 40, November 10, 1984

A couple things about this game.

One, while it was pretty epic it probably doesn’t make anyone else’s #1. But these are my favorite games that I have seen. And like any true Marylander, I put away my Hurricane Love for one afternoon and pulled for my Terps.

Two, I actually only saw half of this game. Fortunately, it was the half that mattered. To this day I do not know why the voice in my head said, “give this one a chance” when I got home and turned on the TV at halftime and saw Miami was up 31-0. I’m sure there were probably other things I could have done that day. All I know is that since then I have trusted the voices in my head….for better and for worse.

Frank Reich. What sort of charmed life must one have to have spent both a college and pro career as a backup QB, and somehow this is only the second most famous comeback he engineered?

While it was the Terps who made what was, at the time, college football’s biggest comeback, it was Miami who made the final score of the game with about a minute left. But just like in my #2 game above, it ended with a missed 2-point conversion attempt, as the Terps and Frank Reich secured a place in history (and on my Best Games I’ve Ever Seen list).