• Bill ConnellyJan 28, 2025, 06:30 AM ET
    Close

      Bill Connelly is a staff writer for ESPN.com.
    Follow on X

It was the longest college football season on record, starting Aug. 24 and ending nearly five months later. But considering how difficult it was to cut my annual great games list to just 100 — my apologies to Penn State-Minnesota, Washington-USC, Western Kentucky-Toledo, Syracuse-Virginia Tech and so many others; I just assumed you’d make the list — this was also one of the richest seasons in recent memory.

The freshly expanded College Football Playoff gave us a few classics, Miami and BYU seemed to play heartstoppers every week, Arizona State gave us a double-field-stormer, Division II gave us maybe the biggest upset of all time and … then there were those two Bama games. What a year it was. Let’s write a love letter to the season by celebrating its 100 best games.

Jump to a section:
Smaller-school gems | Top 25 | Top 5 games

100. Oct. 12: Rice 29, UTSA 27

Mike Bloomgren’s final season as Rice head coach produced only a 4-8 season, but the Owls scored a couple of thrilling wins, including this wild win probability swing. With nine seconds left, UTSA’s win probability was 78.4%. Five seconds and one difficult catch later, Rice’s was 99.9%.

99. Oct. 5: UConn 29, Temple 20

UConn won nine games for the first time in 17 seasons, but the season might have gone off the rails if not for an incredible goal-line stand that prevented an upset loss in early October.

98. Aug. 31: Texas Tech 52, Abilene Christian 51

There’s nothing like a West Texas track meet. Texas Tech scored on its first five possessions and finished with 539 yards, but ACU gained 615 yards, scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and nearly won in regulation. The Red Raiders couldn’t finish off the Wildcats until they sacked former Tech QB Maverick McIvor on a potential game-winning 2-point conversion in OT.

97. No. 25 Dec. 17: Memphis 42, West Virginia 37 (Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl)
96. Dec. 30: No. 19 Missouri 27, Iowa 24 (TransPerfect Music City Bowl)
95. Dec. 26: Kansas State 44, Rutgers 41 (Rate Bowl)
94. Dec. 28: No. 18 Iowa State 42, No. 13 Miami 41 (Pop-Tarts Bowl)

Bowl season was strangely amazing this year. Ratings were good, and it felt like every game came down to the wire. By my count, we’ve got 14 bowls in the top 100. That’s a lot.

In this first batch, four current or former Big 12 teams attempted comeback bids, and three succeeded. In Frisco, Texas, on Dec. 17, West Virginia was down 35-17 midway through the third before charging back. CJ Donaldson Jr.’s two touchdowns in the fourth quarter cut Memphis’ lead to 42-37, and the Mountaineers worked the ball inside the Memphis 40 in the final 30 seconds before Elijah Herring‘s interception (complete with a near-fumble) sealed Memphis’ win.

Two weeks later in Nashville, Tennessee, Missouri trailed Iowa by 10 late in the third quarter, but Joshua Manning‘s short touchdown and a 51-yard field goal from Blake Craig tied the score. Then, Craig crushed a 56-yarder with 4:36 left to give Mizzou a lead that held up after a glorious fourth-and-short stop with 1:03 left.

In Phoenix, Rutgers gashed Kansas State’s defense for five long drives and took a 34-17 lead with 8:57 left in the third quarter, but K-State went on a 27-7 run keyed by TD runs of 65 and 36 yards from Dylan Edwards. Rutgers stalled at midfield, and the Wildcats had Win No. 9.

And in the most important bowl of the year, the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida, Iowa State and Miami traded blows Hagler-Hearns style in a manic first half that ended with Miami leading 31-28. The second half turned into a slog thanks in part to Cam Ward‘s decision to play only one half for Miami. But ISU capped a 15-play, 84-yard TD drive with a 1-yard Rocco Becht plunge with 56 seconds left, and Drew Surges‘ interception capped the comeback win.

93. Sept. 7: Pitt 28, Cincinnati 27

Pitt enjoyed a rousing 7-0 start to 2024. The less we focus on the Panthers’ 0-6 finish, the better, but it looked like they wouldn’t make it to 2-0 when they were down 27-6 late in the third quarter against former Big East rival Cincy. But Eli Holstein led touchdown drives of 75, 82 and 94 yards to bring the Panthers within 27-25, and after a late Cincinnati punt, Konata Mumpfield’s 34-yard catch set up Ben Sauls’ game winner from 35 yards.

play
0:39
Ben Sauls buries a 35-yard FG to give Pitt the lead

Ben Sauls drills a 35-yard go-ahead field goal to give Pitt a one-point lead over Cincinnati.

92. Sept. 20: Stanford 26, Syracuse 24

Stanford’s first ACC win was a wild one. The Cardinal visited Syracuse on a Friday night and took a 10-point lead after a 71-yard Mitch Leigber pick-six. Syracuse stormed back to take a 24-23 lead, but Ashton Daniels linked up with Elic Ayomanor for 27 yards to set up Emmet Kenney‘s 39-yard winning field goal.

91. Sept. 28: Duke 21, North Carolina 20

After a 70-50 loss to James Madison, it was fair to guess that UNC would either play its best or worst game in response. The Tar Heels did both. First, they bolted to a 20-0 lead. Then they allowed Duke to charge back and take a 21-20 lead with 5:42 remaining. Tre Freeman‘s interception sealed a ferocious comeback win for Duke.

90. Nov. 23: Cal 24, Stanford 21

Cal became one of college football’s main characters after a 3-0 start, but the Golden Bears were 5-5 and still needing one more win for bowl eligibility when Stanford visited for the first ACC edition of the Big Game. Stanford promptly took a 14-0 lead and still led 21-10 heading into the fourth quarter. But a pair of Fernando Mendoza-to-Jonathan Brady touchdowns gave the Bears their first lead with just 2:40 left, and a late stop sealed a thrilling win.

89. Nov. 21: Georgia Tech 30, NC State 29
88. Oct. 12: Georgia Tech 41, North Carolina 34

Our tour of the ACC continues. Georgia Tech went unbeaten against the state of North Carolina in 2024 but needed heroics (and opponent breakdowns) to pull it off against North Carolina in Week 7 and NC State in Week 13. First, North Carolina erased a 10-point deficit in the last four minutes of regulation, only to let Jamal Haynes race up the middle for a 68-yard touchdown with 16 seconds left.

Then, in a wild Thursday night affair, NC State turned a nine-point deficit into a 29-23 lead in the final seven minutes, only for Aaron Philo to score from 18 yards with 22 seconds left. NC State got close enough for Collin Smith to attempt a 58-yard field goal at the buzzer. It didn’t miss by much.

87. Nov. 16: Kansas 17, No. 6 BYU 13

Kansas, incredibly, lost five one-score games in 2024, but the Jayhawks finally scored a wild win in November and derailed BYU’s Big 12 hopes. All things considered, was this the greatest — or at least, most impactful — pooch punt of all time?

86. Nov. 9: No. 24 Missouri 30, Oklahoma 23

With Mizzou’s Brady Cook out due to injury, backup Drew Pyne engineered a 16-9 lead for the Tigers midway through the fourth quarter. Then things got weird. OU quarterback Jackson Arnold caught an 18-yard touchdown pass, then Billy Bowman Jr. returned a fumble 43 yards to give the Sooners a 23-16 lead. But Pyne quickly engineered a 75-yard TD drive, capped by a TD pass to former Sooner Theo Wease Jr., and then it was Mizzou’s turn to pull off a scoop-and-score: Zion Young gathered an Arnold fumble and took it 17 yards for the winning points with 19 seconds left.

85. Oct. 12: Georgia Southern 24, Marshall 23

With eight minutes to go at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, Marshall led 23-3. But in front of an increasingly delirious crowd, the Eagles forced a safety, scored in nine plays, recovered a fumble, scored again, recovered another fumble, scored the go-ahead touchdown with a minute left, then picked off a pass to seal the ultimate smash-and-grab win. Marshall recovered to win the Sun Belt, but wow, did this one get away from the Thundering Herd.

84. Oct. 31: Vanderbilt 34, Virginia Tech 27 (OT)

Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt wasted no time showing their potential in 2024. In maybe the best game of an otherwise lackluster opening weekend, the Commodores hosted a Virginia Tech team with dark-horse ACC title hopes and bolted to a 17-3 lead before the Hokies knew the season started. Tech seemingly seized control thanks to a 17-0 run, but Pavia tied the score with an 8-yard TD pass to Sedrick Alexander, then scored the game winner in overtime.

83. Dec. 23: Northern Illinois 28, Fresno State 20 (2OT) (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)
82. Dec. 26: Toledo 48, Pittsburgh 46 (6OT) (GameAbove Sports Bowl)
81. Dec. 24: USF 41, San Jose State 39 (5OT) (Hawaii Bowl)

These three bowls gave us 12 quarters, 13 overtimes and 222 points.

NIU capped just about the most memorable eight-win season imaginable by emptying the bag of tricks in Boise, Idaho. Freshman quarterback Josh Holst threw two touchdown passes, rushed for 65 yards and then caught the eventual game-winning 2-point conversion pass from freshman receiver George Dimopoulos, who had also just thrown a touchdown pass to Dane Pardridge. Fresno State’s poor Dylan Lynch missed three field goals, including a potential 35-yard game winner at the buzzer in regulation, and NIU coach Thomas Hammock ended the year with what he called the “best dump of my career.”

Fans in Detroit got their money’s worth in the GameAbove Sports Bowl, at least on a per-minute basis. Toledo and Pitt stretched this one more than 4½ hours when Toledo erased a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit, Pitt elected not to go for two points and the win at the end of the first overtime and, after seven consecutive successful 2-point conversions (and a couple of premature Toledo celebrations), the Rockets finally made a stop and celebrated an eighth win of the season.

Meanwhile in Hawaii, USF and SJSU gave us a great Christmas Eve distraction. SJSU overcame an early 21-7 deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead before John Cannon’s 41-yarder at the buzzer forced OT (after OT, after OT, after OT). Eventually, SJSU also paid for not going for two points and the win in the first OT. After both teams failed their 2-pointers in OT4, Bryce Archie’s successful strike to Keshaun Singleton gave the game to USF.

80. Oct. 19: Iowa State 38, UCF 35
79. Nov. 2: Texas Tech 23, No. 11 Iowa State 22

Iowa State started 7-0 for the first time since 1938, and both the seventh win and the first loss were incredible. UCF took a 28-14 lead in Ames, Iowa, in Week 8 thanks to a pick-six and runs of 67 and 80 yards. The Knights still led by eight early in the fourth quarter, but Rocco Becht‘s 1-yard plunge with 30 seconds left capped the comeback.

ISU almost did it again in the next game. Texas Tech led for more than 40 minutes until ISU charged back to take a 22-17 lead with 2:11 remaining. But the Cyclones scored too soon. Behren Morton completed a fourth-and-7 pass to Josh Kelly to set up Tahj Brooks‘ game winner with 20 seconds remaining.

78. Nov. 16: New Mexico 38, No. 18 Washington State 35
77. Sept. 20: Washington State 54, SJSU 52 (2OT)
76. Sept. 14: Washington State 24, Washington 19

Washington State didn’t lack for dramatics this season. A stirring 8-1 start folded after four straight late losses, but the Cougars maximized the entertainment dollar.

The season took a turn with New Mexico’s late track meet win. The Cougars led 28-14 at halftime but couldn’t shake Devon Dampier and the Lobos. Dampier’s second touchdown run triggered a comeback that his third touchdown run, with 21 seconds remaining, completed.

There were plenty of good vibes earlier in the season in Pullman, Washington, however. In Week 4, San Jose State outscored the Cougars 21-0 to take a 14-point lead, but Wazzu stormed back with three straight TDs. TreyShun Hurry scored to give the Spartans the lead with 26 seconds left, but Dean Janikowski‘s 52-yard field goal sent the game to OT where, after both teams threw interceptions on their first possessions, Wazzu prevailed in the second.

The week before was even more emotional. In the first Apple Cup after Washington left Wazzu and the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, the Cougars stuffed a late fourth-and-goal attempt, and head coach Jake Dickert got emotional.

75. Aug. 24: SMU 29, Nevada 24
74. Aug. 24: Georgia Tech 24, No. 10 Florida State 21

Week 0 classics are fun: They’re wild, and we have no idea what they’ll mean. Before SMU made a run to the ACC championship game and College Football Playoff, the Mustangs had to claw back against a feisty Nevada team. The Wolf Pack led 24-13 with nine minutes left, but Brashard Smith‘s touchdown, a 2-point conversion and a quick safety made it 24-23. A beautiful 34-yard Preston Stone lob to RJ Maryland with 1:18 left gave them their first lead.

Hours earlier (and thousands of miles away in Dublin, Ireland), Georgia Tech kick-started Florida State’s 2024 collapse with a heaping dose of Jamal Haynes and Haynes King. The Yellow Jackets scored on three drives of longer than six minutes, and Aidan Birr‘s 44-yard field goal at the buzzer gave Tech a shocking win that soon wouldn’t feel shocking.

73. Sept. 7: Iowa State 20, No. 21 Iowa 19

The first half of this reliably tight rivalry was all Iowa. The Hawkeyes got a TD run from Kaleb Johnson and led 13-0 at halftime. But ISU surged in the second half, gaining more than 250 yards, scoring twice in the third quarter and getting 46- and 54-yard field goals from Kyle Konrardy in the fourth. The second came with just five seconds left.

72. Sept. 28: Sam Houston 40, Texas State 39

After an 0-8 start to begin its life in the FBS, SHSU won three of its past four in 2023, then five of its first six to earn 10 wins in 2024. This was the wildest win of the bunch. TXST scored 22 points in the first 13 minutes and led 39-21 with 20 minutes left, but two scores brought the Bearkats to within 39-34, and two Christian Pavon field goals, the second with just six seconds left, finished the wild in-state win.

71. Sept. 20: No. 24 Illinois 31, No. 22 Nebraska 24 (OT)

Some games are destined for overtime. Neither team led by more than a TD, and when Nebraska had a chance to go ahead late, Dylan Raiola missed a wide-open Luke Lindenmeyer in the end zone, then John Hohl missed a 39-yard field goal. Illinois took advantage of the extra chance. The Illini scored on the second play of OT, then sacked Raiola three times in four plays to seal the win.

The best of the smaller school season

70. Sept. 28: No. 19 College of Idaho 45, No. 10 Montana Tech 37

We start the smaller school portion of the list with Coyotes over Orediggers! One of college football’s best mascot matchups was wild in 2024: In a 44-point fourth quarter in NAIA, College of Idaho flipped a 31-19 deficit into a 37-31 lead with 1:53 remaining. Montana Tech drove 85 yards in less than a minute to tie the score, but Tanner Steele blocked the PAT to force overtime, then the Coyotes sealed a homecoming win thanks to a short touchdown and Dee’Shon Swafford’s interception.

69. Oct. 12: Dartmouth 44, Yale 43

With eight minutes left in a game that had major Ivy League title stakes, Yale led 37-16. But Dartmouth scored, recovered an onside kick and scored again to make it 37-30 with 6:34 left. Yale’s Nick Conforti missed a game-clinching field goal, and Grayson Saunier raced 32 yards to tie the score. Conforti missed a long field goal at the buzzer, and after the teams traded TDs in overtime, the Bulldogs failed on what would have been the game-winning 2-pointer.

68. Aug. 31: No. 19 Benedictine 48, No. 10 Morningside 45

Benedictine eventually made a run to the NAIA semifinals, and this Week 1 thriller was a mission statement of sorts. The Ravens bolted to a 28-3 road lead barely 15 minutes into the game, but Morningside, an NAIA blueblood, went on a 42-13 run to take the lead with 3:31 remaining. We were only getting started. Jacob Gathright’s 29-yard touchdown catch pushed Benedictine back in front with 55 seconds left, and while Morningside quickly drove the length of the field, Lennx Brown was stuffed at the goal line as time expired.

67. Oct. 26: Youngstown State 41, No. 7 North Dakota 40 (OT)

Back and forth, back and forth: This game had nine lead changes, and neither team led by more than seven. Andrew Lastovka‘s 35-yard field goal forced overtime for YSU, and the Penguins scored first in OT. North Dakota responded with a Simon Romfo-to-Bo Belquist TD, UND went for two points and the win but was denied.

66. Sept. 28: Drake 30, San Diego 28

Drake won the Pioneer League by one game over San Diego, and the Bulldogs had to ride the win probability roller coaster to take the title.

San Diego went on a 19-0 run to take a 28-27 lead with 1:55 left, but Shane Dunning nailed a 48-yard field goal at the buzzer to save a chaotic win and eventually secure a conference title.

65. Nov. 23: Ashland 40, No. 6 Charleston 38

At the Division II level, we got this big early-playoff upset. Ashland took a sudden lead with late touchdowns of 45 and 77 yards, but Yves Bosmans‘ 44-yard touchdown catch gave unbeaten Charleston a 38-37 advantage with just 1:13 left. Upset bid quashed? Not so much! Despite a botched PAT earlier in the quarter, Ashland advanced with a 37-yard A.J. Rhodes field goal as time expired.

64. Dec. 7: No. 6 Susquehanna 41, No. 4 Saint John’s 38

With three tight wins, Susquehanna made a stirring run to the Division III semifinals in 2024, and this one was probably the most memorable of the bunch. The River Hawks went on a 31-7 run to turn a 10-point deficit into a 14-point lead midway through the fourth quarter before Aaron Syverson’s fourth and fifth TD passes of the day tied the score for the Johnnies. But a pair of third-down completions from Josh Ehrlich to Michael Robbins set up Dominic Bourgeois’ 37-yard field goal at the buzzer. Susquehanna pulled the road upset.

63. Oct. 5: No. 24 Wisconsin-Platteville 30, No. 3 Wisconsin-La Crosse 27 (OT)
62. Oct. 12: Wisconsin-Stout 29, No. 8 Wisconsin-Whitewater 27
61. Oct. 19: No. 11 Wisconsin-River Falls 40, Wisconsin-Stout 37 (OT)
60. Nov. 2: No. 21 Wisconsin-La Crosse 33, Wisconsin-Stout 31

The WIAC gave us one of the best title races in college football. Every week was a tight finish and plot twist. I somehow limited myself to four games from this race.

In Week 6, UW-Platteville trailed 24-9 with seven minutes left but charged back with a pair of long Michael Priami touchdown passes — 42 yards to Brandt Stare and 40 to Carter Olsen. And after catching two touchdown passes, it was time for Stare to throw the game winner.

This became the most important result in the race because Platteville held off La Crosse by one game.

In Week 7, UW-Stout ended a 21-game losing streak to mighty UW-Whitewater. The Blue Devils led 23-20 after a wild first half, but the second half was a war of attrition. Luke Cool’s fourth field goal gave Stout a 29-20 lead early in the fourth quarter, and when UWW got the ball back with a chance to win late, Braxton Munnikhuysen came up with a huge sack, and the Warhawks turned the ball over on downs.

In Week 8, UW-Stout nearly pulled off another stunner. The Blue Devils led 27-6 at halftime, but UWRF tied the score with a pick-six early in the fourth quarter, tied it again late and finally sealed a comeback win with Cade Fitzgerald’s 2-yard sneak in overtime.

In Week 10, Stout lost another heartbreaker. The lead changed hands four times in four fourth-quarter scores, but Maddox Pratt’s 25-yard field goal gave the Eagles the lead, and Carver Cram picked off a Hail Mary on the final play.

59. Nov. 23: No. 4 South Dakota 29, No. 1 NDSU 28

In the last week of FCS’ regular season, South Dakota proved itself before a nice run to the semifinals. The Coyotes took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter before the prototypical NDSU surge gave the Bison a 28-17 advantage with 4:10 left. But USD didn’t flinch: Aidan Bouman hit Jack Martens for a 40-yard touchdown, USD forced a punt with 1:20 left and Bouman found a shockingly open Javion Phelps for a 25-yard score for the win with just 12 seconds remaining.

58. Jan. 6: No. 2 North Dakota State 35, No. 1 Montana State 32
57. Dec. 21: No. 2 North Dakota State 28, No. 3 South Dakota State 21

A lot of NDSU’s national title runs have unfolded in rather dominant (and unmemorable) fashion. But the Bison had to work for Title No. 10. First, they had to defeat Dakota Marker rival (and two-time defending national champion) SDSU for the second time in about two months. In a back-and-forth contest, the teams traded TDs early in the fourth quarter before Bryce Lance continued his stellar playoff performance.

Lance’s outrageous one-handed catch, his third score of the day, gave the Bison a late lead, and they clinched the win with a fourth-down sack of SDSU’s Mark Gronowski with 1:16 left.

That win earned them a trip to Frisco, Texas, where the regular season’s best team, Montana State, awaited. Cam Miller‘s 64-yard, up-the-middle score gave NDSU an early 14-0 lead, and the Bison expanded it to 21-3 at halftime with another Lance TD. But MSU stormed back, as expected. The Bobcats closed the gap to three points on three occasions before Kaedin Steindorf did something awfully unique: A walk-off punt! MSU went for the block with seven seconds left but couldn’t get there, Steindorf’s effort rolled to a stop, and NDSU celebrated.

56. Sept. 14: No. 2 North Dakota State 38, ETSU 35

It took NDSU a little while to get rolling in 2024, and an early loss to ETSU might have had lasting repercussions on the Bison’s playoff seeding. But despite trailing 35-23 with under two minutes left, they saved themselves with a 3-yard TK Marshall run, an onside kick recovery (Kaedin Steindorf‘s second-most important kick of the season) and Cam Miller’s game-winning 11-yard run. Logan Kopp‘s interception with 17 seconds remaining sealed the deal.

55. Nov. 2: No. 12 Mid America Nazarene 48, No. 7 Benedictine 47

The first 52 minutes of this one had already been pretty wild, with four lead changes and neither team leading by more than a touchdown. But the last eight minutes were particularly memorable. MNU scored, recovered a chip-shot kickoff, and scored for a second time in 58 seconds to turn a four-point deficit into a 10-point lead. But Benedictine, an eventual NAIA semifinalist, tied the score with 1:53 left. Adrian Parsons’ 17-yard TD strike to Gaven Krans with 19 seconds left appeared to be MNU’s game winner, but JaShawn Todd returned the ensuing kickoff 79 yards for a score. The Ravens went for two points and the win but they came up short.

54. Nov. 30: No. 11 Slippery Rock 25, No. 3 Kutztown 24

Kutztown had one of Division II’s best defenses in 2024, but on three occasions, the Bears needed a stop that never came. Slippery Rock forced overtime with a late score and scored again on a 28-yard Brayden Long-to-Logan Ramper strike on third-and-13 in OT. The Rock went for two points and the win by calling the hook and ladder. Nobody stops the hook and ladder!

53. Oct. 19: No. 11 Central Oklahoma 64, Northeastern State 57

Maybe the wildest, turn-your-brain-off popcorn flick of the 2024 season. Northeastern State took a 40-14 lead in the final minute of the first half, but UCO went on a 29-3 run to tie the score barely 10 minutes later. NSU went back up by 14, then UCO scored three touchdowns in the final 12 minutes. A late stop clinched the win for the Bronchos after 1,153 yards and eight total turnovers.

52. Dec. 14: No. 1 Keiser 42, No. 9 Benedictine 38

Benedictine lost only three games this season, but two of them were wild enough to make this list. The Ravens overcame an early deficit with a mid-game 25-0 burst against the defending NAIA national champs. But down 17, Keiser played a perfect final seven minutes. The Seahawks scored to make it 38-28, forced a three-and-out, drove 84 yards in two minutes to make it 38-35, forced another three-and-out and drove 75 yards in just 30 seconds. Shea Spencer‘s 25-yard TD pass to Elisha Edwards sent Keiser back to the title game (where they fell to Grand View).

51. Oct. 31: Southern Nazarene 18, No. 3 Ouachita Baptist 17

The biggest upset of the 2024 season and one of the biggest of all time. Ouachita Baptist was 8-0 and coming off a huge upset of rival (and defending Division II champion) Harding. Southern Nazarene, meanwhile, was 0-8 and lost to Harding 59-0 earlier in the season. My SP+ rankings projected OBU as a 45.9-point favorite. Instead …

After the SNU defense made stop after stop, the Storm drove 72 yards in nine plays to score the game-winning touchdown (Bryson Evans to Dalen Smith) with 24 seconds left.

50. Nov. 30: Duke 23, Wake Forest 17

How did Jordan Moore get this wide open on the last play of the game?

49. Sept. 14: UCF 35, TCU 34

The winning team overcomes a three-touchdown, second-half deficit and scores the game winner with 36 seconds left in a game that features almost 1,000 total yards and a 400-yard passing performance from the losing quarterback? Yep, that’s what you’re looking for from a UCF-TCU game.

48. Oct. 19: Maryland 29, USC 28

Did it make sense that Maryland and USC were playing in mid-October? Absolutely not. Was it a dynamite game anyway? Absolutely. USC took a 14-point lead late in the first half and still led by six with two minutes left, but Donnell Brown blocked what would have been a game-clinching 41-yard field goal. A 5-yard run from Billy Edwards Jr. gave the Terps a surprising lead with 53 seconds left, and USC’s last-gasp drive fell just short of field goal range.

47. Oct. 19: Eastern Michigan 38, Central Michigan 34
46. Nov. 2: Toledo 29, Eastern Michigan 28

EMU might have gone 5-7 in 2024, but the Eagles did so in the most memorable way. They beat Jacksonville State in a double-overtime thriller that nearly made this list, and then they split two classics in a three-week span. First, they overcame an 18-point deficit to CMU with 11 minutes left. Two long Cole Snyder-to-Terry Lockett Jr. touchdown passes, and then Snyder sneaked in from the 1 with under two minutes left. A late stop sealed the win.

Two weeks later, the Eagles blew a 12-point lead to Toledo but nearly won thanks to Hail! Mary! MACtion!

Going for two points and the win after a Hail Mary made perfect sense, but the 2-point pass fell incomplete. Oof.

45. Oct. 5: Arkansas 19, No. 4 Tennessee 14

It wasn’t even the biggest unranked-over-top-five upset of the day in the SEC (hello, Bama-Vandy), and it didn’t knock Tennessee out of the CFP, but it was still a thriller. Arkansas’ defense played its best game of the season, and despite some early blown opportunities, the Razorbacks trailed just 14-10 heading into the fourth quarter. When quarterback Taylen Green went down due to injury, backup Malachi Singleton led a late go-ahead drive, the Hogs’ D made one last stop and Arkansas celebrated a huge upset.

44. Oct. 19: No. 19 Missouri 21, Auburn 17

It will be known in Columbia, Missouri, as the Brady Cook Game. Missouri’s senior quarterback left his final homecoming game because of an ankle injury, and Auburn took a 17-3 lead early in the third quarter after a muffed punt return. But Cook returned from the hospital and led a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives. Jamal Roberts‘ 4-yard touchdown with 46 seconds left capped a game-winning 17-play, 95-yard drive and moved Mizzou to 6-1.

43. Nov. 23: Oregon State 41, Washington State 38

A 4-1 start turned into a dire, injury-plagued 5-7 finish for Oregon State in its first season following 2023’s Pac-12 divorce. But the Beavers did win the de facto conference championship by scoring 10 points in the last three minutes against Wazzu. Ben Gulbranson and Darrius Clemons connected for a 4-yard touchdown to tie the score with 2:45 left, and after a Cougars fumble near midfield, Everett Hayes bombed in a 55-yard field goal with 20 seconds left.

42. Oct. 4: Syracuse 44, No. 25 UNLV 41 (OT)

One of the highlights of Week 6 came on a Friday night with this ridiculous game of runs: 14-0 Syracuse, then 21-0 UNLV, then 17-0 Syracuse, then 17-0 UNLV. Syracuse forced overtime with a Jackson Meeks touchdown in the closing seconds, and after a UNLV field goal in the extra period, LeQuint Allen sealed the deal with a 1-yard plunge. It was a slight upset, but it felt less like one when Syracuse went on to finish 10-3.

41. Oct. 12: No. 13 LSU 29, No. 9 Ole Miss 26

Week 7 might have been the best week of the season. It landed 10 games on this list, including this classic in Death Valley. LSU didn’t lead for even one second of regulation, but Ole Miss couldn’t ever score the knockout blow. In just two plays — a 23-yard TD pass from Garrett Nussmeier to Aaron Anderson with 27 seconds left and a 25-yard OT strike from Nussmeier to Kyren Lacy — the Tigers stole the win.

40. Oct. 23: Kennesaw State 27, Liberty 24
39. Nov. 9: UTEP 43, Kennesaw State 35 (2OT)
38. Nov. 9: Jacksonville State 44, Louisiana Tech 37 (OT)

Conference USA carried its weight in the drama department this season, kicking into overdrive in Week 9 when Kennesaw State chose the best possible moment to score its first FBS win. A 13-3 run gave the Owls a shocking, late 27-17 lead over unbeaten Liberty, and after KSU fans rushed the field a second too soon and had to be cleared, they rushed the field a second time when the victory was finally sealed.

Two weeks later, KSU nearly won an even wilder game. UTEP’s Buzz Flabiano missed a pair of potential winning field goal attempts in the final minute, but the Miners eventually prevailed when Skyler Locklear and Kenny Odom connected for a pair of overtime touchdowns and KSU could match only one of them.

But JSU-Tech was the CUSA game of the year. Jax State rolled out to an easy 21-7 lead early, but the Bulldogs’ defense came alive and Tech went on a 23-0 run to take a two-score lead in the fourth quarter. But we were only getting started. It was 37-31 Tech when, on the final play of regulation, JSU completed a shockingly easy, 49-yard Hail Mary from Tyler Huff to Cam Vaughn. So … ballgame, right? Nope! JSU missed the PAT. And then won in OT anyway.

37. Sept. 14: No. 16 LSU 36, South Carolina 33
36. Oct. 12: No. 7 Alabama 27, South Carolina 25
35. Nov. 30: No. 15 South Carolina 17, No. 12 Clemson 14
34. Nov. 16: No. 21 South Carolina 34, No. 23 Missouri 30

South Carolina games were just so dramatic in 2024, enough so that the Gamecocks landed five games (and, unfortunately, only two wins) in the top 37.

We weren’t sure how good the Gamecocks were back in Week 3, but they played the ultimate game of runs against LSU. They bolted to a 17-0 lead just 20 minutes in, but a 29-7 Tigers run gave the visitors a five-point lead. We weren’t done. A pair of South Carolina scores made it 33-29 Gamecocks until Kyren Lacy‘s beautiful fourth-down catch set up Josh Williams‘ game winner and Alex Herrera missed a 49-yard field attempt at the buzzer.

A few weeks later, South Carolina nearly handed Alabama its second straight loss after the Tide’s shocker against Vandy. Bama held an easy 14-0 lead late in the first half in Tuscaloosa, but 19 points in 11 minutes gave the Gamecocks a sudden and shocking lead. A 34-yard Jalen Milroe-to-Germie Bernard score made it 27-19 Bama with 1:54 left, but SC bolted right back down the field, scored on LaNorris Sellers‘ 31-yard TD to Nyck Harbor with 43 seconds left … and failed on the two-point conversion.

Late in the season, the Gamecocks started winning the dramatic ones. It looked as if they would knock Clemson out of the CFP when, trailing 14-10 late, Sellers meandered his way past seemingly every Tigers defender to score from 20 yards and make it 17-14.

play
0:51
LaNorris Sellers scores incredible go-ahead TD for South Carolina

LaNorris Sellers uses his legs to convert on 3rd-and-16 and finds the end zone to put South Carolina up 17-14 late in the fourth quarter.

Clemson quickly charged back into field goal range, but Demetrius Knight Jr. picked off an ill-advised Cade Klubnik pass to seal the win.

Maybe no game lit Williams-Brice Stadium up in 2024 like Missouri’s visit in mid-November. With both teams still harboring faint conference title hopes and Mizzou’s Brady Cook returning from injury, South Carolina took a 21-6 lead into halftime. But Mizzou came back, and the teams traded the lead four times in the last nine minutes. Luther Burden III‘s incredible 37-yard, fourth-down touchdown with 1:10 looked as if it might win the game for the visitors, but Raheim Sanders bulled his way into the end zone with 15 seconds left instead.

33. Sept. 7: No. 7 Oregon 37, Boise State 34

After scoring six touchdowns in the season opener, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty scored three more against what would eventually become the top-ranked team in the country. BSU kept pulling its nose in front, leading by six at halftime and by seven with 10 minutes left. But Tez Johnson‘s 85-yard punt return in the third quarter, and Noah Whittington‘s 100-yard kick return in the fourth kept Oregon even, and after the Broncos’ offense stalled out late, Atticus Sappington‘s 25-yarder at the buzzer saved the Ducks.

32. Nov. 23: Florida 24, No. 9 Ole Miss 17

Florida coach Billy Napier began the season on the hot seat and made it even hotter with a dismal Week 1 performance against Miami. But his Gators went young on offense and rode an improving defense to a season-ending four-game winning streak that included this stunner that would eventually knock Ole Miss out of the playoff. A Montrell Johnson Jr. touchdown gave the Gators a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, and the defense took it from there, forcing a punt and then picking off Jaxson Dart passes in each of the Rebels’ last two drives.

31. Oct. 5: Arizona State 35, Kansas 31

Arizona State scored a number of tight, wild wins in its run to the Big 12 title, and tight, wild losses doomed a solid Kansas team to a 5-7 finish. This might have been the tightest, wildest game for either team. The fourth quarter alone had five lead changes. Jalon Daniels found Quentin Skinner for a 34-yard score with 2:04 left to give the Jayhawks a 31-28 lead, but while Cam Skattebo‘s 39-yard explosion set up ASU in field goal range, the Sun Devils went for the win and got it via Sam Leavitt‘s short TD pass to Jordyn Tyson with 16 seconds left.

30. Sept. 14: Pitt 38, West Virginia 34

Eli Holstein followed up on his late-game efforts against Cincinnati by doing it again late in the Backyard Brawl. Down 10 points, the Panthers got to within 34-31 on Holstein’s 40-yard bomb to Daejon Reynolds, got the ball back and drove 77 yards almost entirely on Holstein runs and passes. Derrick Davis Jr. plunged in from the 1 with 32 seconds left, and Kyle Louis clinched the rivalry win with an interception. Never take the Backyard Brawl away from us again. (They’re taking it away from us again after next season.)

29. Sept. 21: No. 18 Michigan 27, No. 11 USC 24
28. Oct. 12: No. 4 Penn State 33, USC 30

In the two biggest helmet games of USC’s first Big Ten season, the Trojans played well both times. After falling behind Michigan 14-0 after a couple of long TD runs, they took control in Ann Arbor, with three Miller Moss touchdown passes giving them a 24-20 lead heading into the home stretch. But a 63-yard burst from Kalel Mullings set up Mullings’ go-ahead score with 37 seconds remaining. Michigan won with 32 passing yards.

A few weeks later at home, USC enjoyed maybe its best half of the season, surging to an early 17-3 lead on eventual Big Ten runner-up Penn State and going into halftime up 20-6. Penn State quickly tied the score in the third quarter, setting up a back-and-forth home stretch. Tight end Tyler Warren caught 17 balls for 224 yards (and threw a pass out of the Wildcat formation) in his national breakout game, Nicholas Singleton‘s 14-yard catch-and-run score and Jaylen Reed‘s interception sent the game to overtime, where USC’s Michael Lantz, 3-for-3 on the day, missed a 45-yard field goal attempt. Ryan Barker nailed a 36-yarder, and PSU survived.

27. Dec. 7: No. 5 Georgia 22, No. 2 Texas 19 (OT) (SEC championship game)

Texas reached the CFP at 11-2 — 0-2 against Georgia and 11-0 against everyone else. After a humbling 30-15 home loss to the Dawgs in the regular season, the Longhorns looked primed for revenge in the SEC championship when they took a 6-3 lead into halftime and Georgia’s Carson Beck was knocked out of the game by an injury. But replacement Gunner Stockton twice gave the Dawgs the lead, and Texas needed a 37-yard field goal from Bert Auburn to force overtime. Auburn nailed another three-pointer to give the Horns an initial OT lead, but following a brutally physical first-down run from Stockton, Trevor Etienne scored from 4 yards to give Kirby Smart’s Dawgs their third SEC title in eight seasons.

26. Sept. 7: No. 16 Oklahoma State 39, Arkansas 31 (2OT)

Sometimes games are great in part because of the impact they have on the season as a whole. Sometimes they’re great because they’re just plain silly.

OSU’s Week 2 comeback win over Arkansas was a portend of nothing to come — OSU would win only once the rest of the season, and Arkansas would battle back to a decent 7-6 — but it was nonsense in the most glorious way. The Cowboys spotted the Hogs a 14-point lead, got outgained by 263 yards, got very little from star running back Ollie Gordon II, didn’t score their first offensive touchdown until the fourth quarter, had their seventh-year veteran quarterback get called for taunting late in regulation, missed a last-second field goal try, missed another field goal try in overtime … and still won because Arkansas’ Taylen Green turned the ball over twice and linebacker Xavian Sorey Jr. committed a silly personal foul in the second OT.

25. Dec. 31: Louisville 35, Washington 34 (Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl)
24. Dec. 27: Navy 21, Oklahoma 20 (Armed Forces Bowl)
23. Dec. 27: USC 35, Texas A&M 31 (SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl)
22. Dec. 28: East Carolina 26, NC State 21 (Go Bowling Military Bowl)
21. Dec. 31: No. 20 Illinois 21, No. 15 South Carolina 17 (Cheez-It Citrus Bowl)

The first 12-team CFP was increasingly fun to follow but gave us only a couple of genuine classics. But that’s fine because bowl season absolutely ruled. In addition to the seven we’ve already covered, five more bowls deserved spots in the top 25.

In both El Paso and Fort Worth, we saw late comeback attempts foiled by failed two-point conversions. Louisville got 182 combined rushing yards from Isaac Brown and Duke Watson and two touchdown catches from Caullin Lacy and led by 14 with four minutes left, but freshman Demond Williams Jr. brought UW back with a pair of touchdown passes to Giles Jackson, the second with nine seconds remaining. With the game on the line, linebacker Antonio Watts brilliantly batted away Williams’ two-point pass, and the Cardinals survived.

Four days earlier, we had seen something similar in the Armed Forces Bowl. Oklahoma went up 14-0 on Navy in the first quarter, but the Midshipmen slowly took the advantage. Blake Horvath‘s 95-yard touchdown run made it 14-14 in the third quarter, and his more conventional 6-yard score made it 21-14. Michael Hawkins Jr. found Jake Roberts for a 10-yard score with six seconds remaining, but Hawkins couldn’t find anyone open before Justin Reed sacked him to clinch Navy’s first win over an SEC team since a 2004 victory over Vanderbilt.

In Vegas on Dec. 27, we got a rarity: A game between two quarterbacks who actually started for much of the season and should return to their same teams next year. And they put on a show. Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed drove a 17-0 third-quarter run to put A&M up 24-7, but a pair of Jayden Maiava TD passes drove a 21-0 USC run in response. Reed’s 19-yard score gave A&M a 31-28 lead with 1:49 left, but Maiava found Kyle Ford for a 7-yard score with eight seconds left, and USC prevailed. This one gave us one of the season’s most delightful win probability charts as well.

The two most hostile bowls got pretty high marks. Any ECU-NC State game is going to be personal, as ECU fans look forward to no matchup more than this one. And after a couple of wild swings — ECU went up 20-7 heading into the fourth quarter, but two Wolfpack TDs in four minutes gave them a sudden lead — we got one of the season’s wildest endings. First, ECU’s Rahjai Harris took a simple handoff on third-and-10 and took it 86 yards for the go-ahead score.

play
0:32
Rahjai Harris takes it to the house for an 86-yard ECU TD

Rahjai Harris clutches up for ECU, running and dodging defenses to recapture the lead.

Then, after Dontavius Nash‘s interception sealed an ECU win, we got ourselves a brawl. Eight players were ejected, a ref was bloodied, and we got a pretty clear reminder of how bitter this rivalry really is.

Then there was the entirely unexpected hostility of Illinois-South Carolina. The first meeting between the programs was ultra-tight — neither team ever led by more than four — and before Josh McCray‘s second touchdown gave the Illini a fun win, Illinois coach Bret Bielema baited South Carolina’s Shane Beamer into a strange fit of rage that doubled the game’s intensity.

When I’m in charge of all football scheduling, I will maximize the effects of sudden and unexpected bowl blood feuds by immediately scheduling these teams to meet in the same stadium in Week 0 of the following season.

20. Sept. 7: Northern Illinois 16, No. 5 Notre Dame 14

If Notre Dame had gotten a few more bounces against Ohio State in Atlanta, we might have ended up with a situation in which the only team to beat the national champion was Thomas Hammock’s NIU Huskies. NIU certainly needed some breaks to win as a 28.5-point underdog, but damned if everything didn’t fall into place. Notre Dame scored on its first drive to take an easy 7-0 lead, but the rest of the game was like one hornet’s nest after another. Antario Brown caught an absolute BB from Ethan Hampton — the ball seemed to teleport between two Irish defenders — and raced 83 yards for the tying touchdown. Notre Dame quaterback Riley Leonard threw two picks that resulted in Huskies field goals, and NIU blocked field goal attempts at the end of each half.

Jeremiyah Love‘s 34-yard touchdown run gave Notre Dame a 14-13 lead, but NIU converted a late fourth down, Kanon Woodill drilled a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds left, and Cade Haberman‘s second blocked field goal of the afternoon, on a last-gasp Irish 62-yarder, sealed the deal. It was the first time since Texas fell to Kansas in 2021 that a favorite of four touchdowns or more lost. It forced Notre Dame to be perfect the rest of the season to reach the CFP, but the Irish pulled it off.

19. Nov. 23: No. 25 Illinois 38, Rutgers 31

It has never been proved that icing a kicker has any effect. I’d like to think that Greg Schiano will think twice about deploying the tactic. Illinois was about to attempt a 58-yard field goal into the wind late in a 31-31 tie in Piscataway, but Schiano called timeout, giving Bret Bielema a chance to second-guess himself. That worked out pretty well for the Illini.

18. Nov. 30: Michigan 13, No. 2 Ohio State 10

Let me try to put a stop to something right now. I’ve noticed a string of commentary that’s popped up since Ohio State’s national title win over Notre Dame: Basically, since the Buckeyes bounced back and won the national title, this amazing Rivalry Week upset officially meant nothing, and we’ve therefore ruined the best regular season in sports. This is a real thing I’ve seen from a few corners of the internet.

Now, teams have suffered devastating rivalry losses before and have still come back to get a shot at the title — Ohio State in 2022 (Michigan), Alabama and Georgia in 2017 (Auburn), Alabama in 2011 (LSU), even Florida in 1996 (Florida State) — so this wasn’t a new thing even if, granted, none of those teams got those chances after suffering two regular season losses. But so be it. We elected to hand out a few more mulligans to create a national playoff that is actually representative of the entire nation. And the playoff was super fun! And Michigan fans sure seemed to be enjoying their win over Ohio State just as much during the title game as they did right after it first happened.

Retroactively deciding something was meaningless is such a strange exercise. It meant everything in both Ann Arbor and Columbus for days after, it evidently made life in Columbus absolute hell for head coach Ryan Day and his family, and it potentially gave Ohio State a much more difficult national title path than it would have otherwise had. That the Buckeyes stormed back to win the title anyway was a hell of a redemption story and gave us a chance to enjoy two different things: Both the downfall and the rebound. Live in the present and enjoy enjoyable things. Stop going back and deciding that a fun thing wasn’t fun after all because of 17 other things that happened. It’s not healthy. (And if the playoff’s expansion made it so that a coach and his family are less likely to receive death threats after a rivalry loss moving forward, maybe that’s a good thing?)

Anyway, this game was fascinating. Ohio State had been the best team in the country to date but seemed to think it had to beat Michigan playing Michigan ball; the Buckeyes couldn’t run but kept trying, and as anxiety settled in at the Horseshoe — you could almost hear it on television — kicker Jayden Fielding, mostly automatic for the rest of the season, missed field goals of 38 and 34 yards. Ohio State’s last four drives produced an interception, a missed field goal, a three-and-out, and a four-and-out. Michigan scored an upset almost as shocking as NIU over Notre Dame.

17. Nov. 9: Georgia Tech 28, No. 4 Miami 23
16. Nov. 30: Syracuse 42, No. 6 Miami 38

Thanks to quarterback Cam Ward and a flashy offense, Miami looked like a genuine national title contender in September, but after allowing just 41 points in four games, the Hurricanes’ defense no-showed from there. Miami continued to get by with track meet wins (including a couple further up on this list), but a faulty defense always catches up with you.

Against Georgia Tech in Week 11, Miami allowed touchdown drives of 17, nine and eight plays (combined time of possession in these drives: 19:46). The Canes trailed 28-16 in the fourth quarter, and while Ward’s 38-yard TD pass to Xavier Restrepo got them to within five, Romello Height sacked and stripped Ward with 1:36 left, and Jordan van den Berg recovered to seal the upset.

Three weeks later, needing only to win at Syracuse to clinch a spot in the ACC championship (and a likely CFP bid), the Canes faltered again. They charged to a quick 21-0 lead, but Syracuse scored TDs on four of five drives to tie the game at 28-28, then took the lead on a Devin Grant fumble return. Down seven with 3:42 left, Mario Cristobal elected to settle for a 27-yard field goal and trust his defense to make a stop. To no one’s surprise, it didn’t happen. Syracuse moved the chains three times, and Ward didn’t get a shot at a heroic comeback.

15. Dec. 7: No. 17 Clemson 34, No. 8 SMU 31

Clemson became the first bid thief of the 12-team playoff era — call it another playoff victory for Dabo Swinney’s Tigers over Alabama — by surging to an early lead in the ACC championship and holding on for dear life. Thanks to a Kevin Jennings fumble and two quick Cade Klubnik touchdown passes, they led 14-0 after just five minutes and eventually expanded that to 24-7 at halftime. But Jennings threw three touchdown passes in the second half, the last of which went to Roderick Daniels Jr. to tie the game with 16 seconds remaining.

Instead of going for two points and the win, SMU’s Rhett Lashlee elected to take momentum into overtime. That backfired when Adam Randall returned the kickoff near midfield, Antonio Williams caught a 17-yard pass and Nolan Hauser nailed a 56-yard field goal at the buzzer to send the Tigers into the CFP.

14. Nov. 23: Auburn 43, No. 15 Texas A&M 41 (4OT)

Jordan-Hare Stadium gave us every possible emotion in this wild Week 13 affair, from early glee (Auburn goes up 21-0 in the first 17 minutes) to spectacular anxiety (A&M storms back to take a 31-28 lead) to sheer relief (walk-on kicker Ian Vachon, plucked from the student body not long ago, sends the game to OT with a 29-yard field goal), to the pingpong action of a college overtime and, finally, to the almost obligatory field rush that now seems to follow every exciting win in SEC country. This was basically a four-hour advertisement for college football in all its glory and imperfection.

13. Oct. 12: No. 3 Oregon 32, No. 2 Ohio State 31

There really are few things in this sport more thrilling than a big game that lives up to its billing. That remains true in the 12-team playoff era. While Ohio State was able to get revenge on Oregon in the CFP quarterfinals, this one was still just dynamite from start to finish. Oregon’s offense found more success against the Buckeyes’ defense than anyone all season, but the Ducks still needed a spot of fortune (and poor clock management) to see out the win.

12. Oct. 12: No. 23 Illinois 50, Purdue 49 (OT)

Illinois won 10 games in 2024, and Purdue lost 11. You almost couldn’t blame the Illini for taking the proverbial foot off the gas after going up 24-3 on a bad team. But Purdue put together maybe the most unexpected half of the season, scoring 40 points in the final 30 minutes and taking a 43-40 lead with 46 seconds left. It was a sudden and shocking rebirth — it was also too much time. Illinois forced overtime with a last-second field goal, then scored to start OT. Purdue got a touchdown from Arhmad Branch but couldn’t nail its third 2-point conversion of the day.

11. Nov. 9: No. 9 BYU 22, Utah 21
10. Oct. 18: No. 13 BYU 38, Oklahoma State 35

BYU got a pair of wins and losses on this list, and both of these wins came during a 9-0 start that made the Cougars feel like a team of destiny. Their ninth win came in the first Big 12 edition of the Holy War; BYU scored only once on its first six drives, and a burst of offensive competence from the Utes gave them a surprising 21-10 halftime lead. But it was 21-19 when a controversial defensive holding penalty gave BYU extra life on the final drive of the game. Will Ferrin’s 44-yard field goal with three seconds left kept the Cougars unbeaten for one more week and sent Utah’s athletic director into hysterics.

That one somehow paled in comparison to the finish in Provo a few weeks earlier. Oklahoma State came to town with a three-game losing streak and a banged-up defense, and starting quarterback Garret Rangel was lost to injury during the game as well. But somehow the Cowboys kept clawing away, taking the lead on a Brennan Presley touchdown with 1:13 left. 63 seconds later, Darius Lassiter happened.

A strangely easy 35-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining, but glorious all the same.

9. Nov. 23: No. 21 Arizona State 28, No. 14 BYU 23

Oh, you know, just a double-field-rush sort of game. Nothing special. ASU stormed to an early 21-0 lead but watched it slowly vanish. A late interception seemed to seal the win, but after a premature field rush, the field was cleared and BYU damn near stole the show with a Hail Mary. But ASU moved into a prime Big 12 contention spot, and the crowd rushed the field all over again.

8. Sept. 21: Colorado 38, Baylor 31 (OT)

The Amazing Big 12 Finishes portion of the countdown continues with the most amazing finish. You rarely get a second chance at a Hail Mary win of sorts, but Colorado got one and took full advantage. In these teams’ first conference matchup since 2010, Baylor led 31-24 thanks to three rushing and passing TDs from quarterback Sawyer Robertson, but after Shedeur Sanders ran for a fourth-down conversion, he found Will Sheppard shockingly open in the end zone with eight seconds left. And Sheppard dropped it.

No worries! On the final snap, Sanders simply found LaJohntay Wester wide open for a TD as time expired.

Colorado quickly scored in OT, and as Baylor was about to do the same thing, eventual Heisman winner Travis Hunter forced a Dominic Richardson fumble into the end zone, and the Buffs survived. I’m still not entirely sure how.

7. Sept. 27: No. 7 Miami 38, Virginia Tech 34
6. Oct. 5: No. 8 Miami 39, California 38

Miami’s decision to basically stop playing defense was eventually costly, but it created a pair of otherworldly track meets early in the season.

On a Friday night in Week 5, quarterback cousins Cam Ward (Miami) and Kyron Drones (Virginia Tech) combined for six passing touchdowns, and Tech held a 10-point lead with nine minutes left. Miami scored one touchdown, then scored another thanks in part to a pair of shocking plays: Xavier Restrepo made a desperate fourth-down catch while having slipped onto his back, then Ward, under pressure, chest-passed a ball to Riley Williams for a big gain. Down four, Virginia Tech got a shot at the end zone on the final play and initially seemed to have completed a Hail Mary before replay reversed the call. Whew.

The very next week, after a wild Berkeley crowd had welcomed College GameDay to town for the first time, Miami and Cal somehow gave us an even better game with an even wilder comeback. Thanks to scorching defensive play and a pair of Jaydn Ott touchdowns, the host Golden Bears took a 35-10 lead midway through the third quarter, and it was still 38-18 with about 10 minutes left. But Ward engineered drives of 75, 70 and 90 yards, the last drive starting with just 1:42 left after a controversial targeting no-call that could have prolonged a Cal drive. Ward and Elijah Arroyo connected for a 5-yard score with 26 seconds left, and somehow Miami prevailed.

5. Nov. 29: No. 7 Georgia 44, Georgia Tech 42 (8OT)

Most of the time of late, Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate has been a pretty straightforward rivalry: Both teams hate each other, and then Georgia wins comfortably. But with a spot in the CFP potentially on the line for Georgia — the Dawgs would wrap up a spot with a win, but a loss might require them to beat Texas the next week in the SEC Championship — Tech landed some haymakers and all but knocked the Dawgs out.

Tech took a 17-0 lead into halftime, and it legitimately should have been bigger: The Yellow Jackets finished each of their first three drives of the game inside the UGA 30 but came away with just three points. But even with Georgia’s offense building some second-half success, the Jackets took a 27-13 lead with under six minutes remaining. Their in-game win probability, per ESPN Analytics, rose as high as 98.5%. But Carson Beck engineered a quick UGA touchdown drive, and on a third-and-1 with 2:10 left, Dan Jackson hit Tech quarterback Haynes King as hard as he possibly could and knocked the ball loose. Chaz Chambliss recovered, and five plays later Beck found Dominic Lovett for a short, game-tying touchdown.

Then came the strangest overtime you’ll ever see. The teams traded touchdowns on each of their first two possessions, but despite loads of overall offensive success on the day — the teams combined for 1,168 total yards — neither could hit a two-point conversion. They missed 11 of the first 13 in overtime until Nate Frazier‘s plunge finally won the game for the Dawgs. This game roped you in with wild swings and drama, then held you hostage for what felt like days as Kirby Smart insisted on using every overtime timeout available to him and offenses kept coming up short. All in all, a weird day at the office. A delightfully weird day, but weird all the same.

4. Jan. 9: No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 6 Penn State 24 (Capital One Orange Bowl)

Like so many great games, this national semifinal game was a slow burn. The first six drives of this game produced only three points, and it seemed Penn State might take control after a 90-yard drive finished with a five-yard Nicholas Singleton touchdown. But despite two sacks and a brief injury to Riley Leonard, Notre Dame dinked and dunked its way to a field goal right before halftime, then tied the game on the opening drive of the second half. The Irish took the lead for the first time early in the fourth quarter with Jeremiyah Love‘s rugged 2-yard score, but Singleton tied the game four minutes later.

Now we were off and running. Dani Dennis-Sutton picked off Leonard, and Singleton scored yet again to make it 24-17 PSU. Then Jaden Greathouse took advantage of a defender who fell down to catch a short pass and race 54 yards to tie the game again. Penn State went three-and-out, but Coziah Izzard came up with a huge third-down sack with 52 seconds left to force an Irish punt. It seemed like we were headed to overtime. Nope! Looking to make a heroic play, Drew Allar threw an ill-conceived interception to Christian Gray (who, it must be said, made a spectacular play) over the middle. Notre Dame moved the chains once, and with seven seconds left Mitch Jeter nailed a 41-yarder to send the Irish to the national title game.

3. Jan. 1: No. 5 Texas 39, No. 4 Arizona State 31 (Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl)

This year’s best playoff game came in the first-ever quarterfinal round. Texas, having seen off ACC champion Clemson with relative ease, looked like it was going to advance pretty comfortably past Big 12 champ Arizona State in Atlanta. The Horns bolted to an early 14-3 lead after a DeAndre Moore Jr. touchdown catch and Silas Bolden punt return score. They led 17-3 at halftime after ASU went scoreless on a trio of second-quarter trips into Texas territory.

A safety and a field goal bought ASU some time, but the Sun Devils still trailed 24-8 with 10 minutes left. And finally the ASU offense kicked into gear. Cam Skattebo’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Malik McClain (and a two-point conversion) made it 24-16. Then Javan Robinson picked off a Quinn Ewers pass, and a 62-yard reception by Skattebo — who was reported to be “vomiting profusely” on the sideline earlier in the quarter — set up Skattebo’s game-tying touchdown and two-pointer. Texas drove into field goal range, but Bert Auburn missed a 48-yard field goal with 1:39 left, and after a controversial targeting no-call on ASU’s ensuing drive, Ewers again drove Texas into position for a game-winning field goal, but Auburn missed again at the buzzer.

In overtime, ASU suddenly had the dagger in its hand. Skattebo scored from three yards out — he would finish with 143 rushing yards, 99 receiving yards and 42 passing yards — and ASU quickly forced a fourth-and-13 on Texas’ OT possession. But Ewers fired perfectly to Matthew Golden for a 28-yard score, then rang in the second OT with an immediate TD pass to Gunnar Helm and a successful two-point conversion. Andrew Mukuba picked off a third-down pass on ASU’s possession, and somehow, after both teams had the game all but won, Texas got to advance.

2. Sept. 28: No. 4 Alabama 41, No. 2 Georgia 34
1. Oct. 5: Vanderbilt 40, No. 1 Alabama 35

The two best games of the season happened in an eight-day span, and they worked out very, very differently for Alabama. First, the Crimson Tide won the first marquee game of the season. Then they suffered the upset of the season.

In the first full-crowd Bama-Georgia game in Tuscaloosa since 2007, the home crowd witnessed just about the best single half any team played all season. Thanks in part to two Jalen Milroe runs and a Milroe TD pass, Bama raced to a 28-0 lead in under 20 minutes. The lead was still 33-15 with 10 minutes remaining, but Georgia scored twice in four minutes to make it 33-28. Bama punted, and Carson Beck hit Dillon Bell for a 67-yard score. After trailing by four touchdowns, Georgia suddenly led … for 13 seconds.

play
1:09
Georgia, Alabama trade huge TDs on consecutive plays from scrimmage

Georgia and Alabama trade leads on roller-coaster plays, trading 60+ yard touchdowns on consecutive plays late in the fourth quarter.

After the most exciting 30 seconds imaginable, Georgia still had one more chance to make a comeback. But Zabien Brown picked off Beck in the end zone with 43 seconds left, and Alabama kneeled out a wild win.

The best moment (to date) of the post-Saban era in Tuscaloosa was quickly followed by the worst.

Vanderbilt followed the upset script as well as any underdog ever has. The offense scored TDs on two early drives before stalling out for a bit, the defense contributed a pick-six on the perfectly deflected ball of all time, and special teams contributed a 51-yard Brock Taylor field goal in the second quarter. The Commodores led 23-7, and every time the Tide would charge back, Vandy would respond. Ryan Williams‘ 58-yard touchdown catch made it 30-28 Vandy late in the third quarter, but the Commodores responded with a field goal, a sack-and-strip fumble recovery, and a Diego Pavia-to-Kamrean Johnson touchdown with 5:07 left. Williams scored again to bring Bama within five points, but an eight-yard Pavia run on second-and-7 allowed Vandy to kneel out the game and trigger an incredible celebration.

The goalposts were walked miles, down Broadway and into the Cumberland River. Vandy: Turnt indeed.