With the College Football National Championship Game coming up, I thought it was time to give a list of what I think are the 25 best national championship games or games that decided the national championship, since it wasn’t until the 1992 season that college football try to match #1 and #2 in a bowl game to play for the national title.
Anyway, here we go:
25. 2000 Florida State-46 Virginia Tech-29
25. 2000 Florida State-46 Virginia Tech-29
After catching only one pass in the Seminoles’ loss to Tennessee in the previous year’s BCS national championship game, Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick strikes back with a vengeance as he catches six passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, plus returns a punt 59 yards for a touchdown, and catches a two-point conversion, to give head coach Bobby Bowden his second national championship, despite the efforts of Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick who accounts for 322 yards of total offense(225 passing, 97 rushing).
24. 1984 BYU-24 Michigan-17
BYU quarterback Robbie Bosco overcomes a sprained left ankle, strained ligaments in his left knee, a cracked rib, and throwing three interceptions, to lead #1 Cougars back from a 17-10 4th quarter deficit to defeat Michigan in the Holiday Bowl as Bosco throws two touchdown passes in the 4th quarter, including the game-winner, a 13-yarder to Kelly Smith with 1:23 remaining in the game, to give BYU their first and thus far only national championship.
23. 1981 Georgia-17 Notre Dame-10
After knocking into a Notre Dame defender on his second carry of the game, Georgia running back Herschel Walker dislocates his left shoulder, jeopardizing the #1 ranked Bulldogs' chances of claiming the national championship.
But Walker asks the team physician to pop the shoulder back in and the freshman running back goes back into the game and finishes with 150 yards on 36 carries as he scores the Bulldogs’ two touchdowns, which are set up by two Notre Dame fumbles, to lead Georgia to their first national championship.
22. 1975 USC-18 Ohio State-17
Just after Alan Carter gained a 1st down on 4th-and-1, Trojans quarterback Pat Haden throws a 38-yard touchdown pass to John McKay Jr, son of USC head coach John McKay, to bring the Trojans to within one point at 17-16 with 2:03 left.
The Trojans decided to go for the two-point conversion and get it when Haden connects with Sheldon Diggs to give USC a 18-17 lead.
The Buckeyes try a desperation 62-yard field goal at the end of the game, but Tom Sklanady’s attempt falls short, preserving the win for the Trojans and allowing them to claim a share of the national championship with Oklahoma.
21. 1980 USC-17 Ohio State-16
Four years later, USC and Ohio State meet again in the Rose Bowl, this time with the Buckeyes entering the game undefeated and #1 with a shot at a piece of the national championship.
But the Trojans, led by Heisman Trophy winner Charles White, drive 83 yards in eight plays, with White getting the ball on six of those plays and running for 71 yards, including the diving for a one-yard touchdown with 1:32 left that along with the extra point, deny the Buckeyes’ chances of a national title and paves way for Alabama to win the national title.
20. 1966 UCLA-14 Michigan State-12, LSU-14 Arkansas-7, Alabama-39 Nebraska-28
Since its inception in 1936, the Associated Press(AP) Poll had its final rankings after the regular season and not after the bowl games.
That changed for the 1965 season and led to a New Year’s Day as the top three teams(who were all undefeated)all lost in their respective bowl games.
First, #2 Arkansas had their 22-game winning streak snapped as they fell to unranked LSU in the Cotton Bowl.
Then, #1 Michigan State lost to two-touchdown underdog UCLA, as the Spartans almost came back from a 14-0 4th quarter deficit to cut the Bruins lead to 14-12 with 31 seconds left only to have fullback Bob Apisa be stopped on the potential game-tying two-point conversion by Bruins UCLA defensive back Bob Stiles, preserving the Bruins’ upset.
Finally, #3 Nebraska fell to #4 Alabama as Crimson Tide quarterback Steve Sloan threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns in the Tide’s victory.
After all the carnage, Alabama was voted #1, winning their third national championship in five years.
The decision to determine to the national champion after the bowl games was made permanent by the AP in 1968.
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| Alabama head coach Bear Bryant is carried off the field after his Crimson Tide won the 1966 Orange Bowl. |
19. 1998 Michigan-21 Washington State-16
#1 ranked Michigan was on the brink of claiming its first national title in nearly 50 years after driving 51 yards in 16 plays, taking 6:56 off the clock, before punting the ball back to the Cougars who took over at their own seven-yard-line with 29 seconds to go and no timeouts left as Wazzu needed a touchdown to win.
After two incomplete passes quarterback Ryan Leaf fires a Hail Mary that is caught by Nian Taylor for 46 yards, who gets away with a push-off on Charles Woodson, to the Michigan 47-yard-line, which is followed by a delay-of-game penalty and then a hook-and-lateral that picks up 36 yards, that puts the Cougars at the Wolverines’ 16-yard-line with two seconds to play.
Leaf decides to spike the ball in order to get one more play enough and it appears that the ball hits the ground with one second left, but the timekeeper lets the clock out, ending the game and giving the Wolverines the victory, who end up sharing the national title with Nebraska.
18. 1995 Nebraska-24 Miami-17
In his 22nd season as Nebraska’s head coach, Tom Osborne finally wins the national championship as his Cornhuskers come back from a 17-9 4th quarter deficit in the Orange Bowl against the #3 Miami Hurricanes as fullback Cory Schlesinger runs for two touchdowns in the final 15 minutes, including what proves to be the game-winning touchdown, a 14-yarder with 2:46 to go in the game.
17. 1983 Penn State-27 Georgia-23
#2 Penn State knocks off #1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, giving head coach Joe Paterno his first national championship in his 17th season at the helm of the Nittany Lions, thanks in large part to a 47-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Todd Blackledge to Greg Garrity and the Lions defense limiting Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker to 103 yards on 28 carries.
16. 1993 Alabama-34 Miami-13
The #2 ranked Crimson Tide entered the Sugar Bowl as 8-point underdogs to the #1 ranked Miami Hurricanes in the first national championship game under the Bowl Coalition.
But the Crimson Tide defense holds the Hurricanes’ offense out of the end zone, their touchdown comes on a 78-yard punt return by Kevin Williams, and intercept Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta three times, including returning one for a touchdown as the Tide deny Miami a chance at back-to-back national titles.
But the most memorable play comes on a play that didn’t officially count as Alabama safety George Teague runs down Miami wide receiver Lamar Thomas after Thomas caught a deep pass and appeared to be on his way to a 89-yard touchdown, only to have Teague strip him of the ball at around the Miami 20-yard-line, though Bama was called for offsides, meaning the play never counted as Miami took the penalty.
Still, if Thomas had scored, Miami would have declined the penalty, so “The Strip” as it became to be known, was still a key play in the Tide’s victory.
15. 1970 Texas-21 Notre Dame-17
President Richard Nixon may have declared the Longhorns the national champions after defeating Arkansas 15-14 in the “Game of the Century”, but Texas still needed to defeat Notre Dame, who was making their first appearance in a bowl game since the 1925 Rose Bowl, as they faced off with the #1 ranked Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl.
The Irish take a 17-14 lead with 6:47 to go on quarterback Joe Theismann’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Jim Yoder, but the ‘Horns respond with a 17-play, 76-yard touchdown drive, which includes a 8-yard pass from quarterback James Street to Cotton Speyrer on 4th-and-2 from the 10-yard-line, which leads to Billy Dale’s game-winning one-yard touchdown run with 1:06 left, officially giving Texas the national championship.
14 2016 Alabama-45 Clemson-40
With the game tied 24-24 with 10:34 to go in the 4th quarter, Alabama head coach Nick Saban calls for a surprise onside kick, which is recovered by Marlon Humphrey, setting up quarterback Jake Coker’s 50-yard touchdown pass to OJ Howard that gives the Crimson Tide a 31-24 lead.
After Clemson kicks a 31-yard field goal to cut the Tide lead to 31-27, the Alabama special teams unit strikes again as Kenyon Drake returns the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for the touchdown.
The two big special teams plays allow for Alabama to hold off Clemson and quarterback Deshaun Watson’s 478 yards of total offense(405 passing,73 rushing) to win their fourth national title in seven years in a game that sees a combined 40 points in the fourth quarter.
13. 1996 Nebraska-62 Florida-24
#1 ranked Nebraska wins its second straight national championship by destroying #2 Florida, thanks to 29 points in the 2nd quarter and an offense that gains 629 yards, 524 of them in the ground.
75 of those yards come on the final play of the third quarter when quarterback Tommie Frazier is meet by a gang of Gator defenders at the Nebraska 36-yard-line, only to break through seven tackles on his way for his second touchdown of the game and an exclamation point to his stellar career.
12. 2011 Auburn-22 Oregon-19
After Oregon had tied the game with 2:33 left on a two-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Darron Thomas to LaMichael James and a two-point conversion pass from Thomas to Jeff Maehl, the Auburn Tigers take over at their own 25-yard-line with a chance to win the game.
Following a 15-yard pass from quarterback Cam Newton to Emory Blake, Newton hands off to Michael Dyer, who appears to run for a six-to-seven yard gain, as he is hit by Ducks linebacker Eddie Pleasant.
But after Dyer pops back up, he looks towards the sidelines where his coaches tell him to keep running, which he does until he is tackled at the Oregon 23-yard-line.
The play is reviewed and is revealed that Dyer’s knee never touched the ground, meaning the play stand, and allowing for Auburn to set up Wes Bynum’s game-winning 18-yard field goal as time expired to give the Tigers their first national title since 1957.
11. 1991 Colorado-10 Notre Dame-9
Clinging to a 10-9 lead with 43 seconds left in the Orange Bowl, #1 ranked Colorado is forced to punt the ball back to Notre Dame and their dangerous punt returner, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, who had returned six kicks back for touchdowns in his career.
It appears that the “Rocket” has done it again as he returns the punt 91 yards for the touchdown, only to have the score negated by a controversial clipping penalty on Irish safety Greg Lewis at the Notre Dame 37-yard-line, making the Irish start from their own 22-yard-line, where they could only move 16 yards before time ran out , giving the Buffaloes a share of the national championship with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
10. 1994 Florida State-18 Nebraska-16
Just after kicking a 27-yard field goal to give #2 ranked Cornhuskers a 16-15 lead with 1:16 to play, Byron Bennett kicks the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, giving the #1 ranked Seminoles the ball at their own 35-yard-line in the Orange Bowl.
Heisman Trophy Winner Charlie Ward leads the ‘Noles to the Nebraska five-yard-line where Scott Bentley kicks a 22-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to put Florida State back on top 18-16.
But an excessive celebration penalty after the field goal and a 24-yard return on the kickoff puts Nebraska at their own 43-yard-line with a chance to pull off a miracle.
In the final seconds, quarterback Tommie Frazier hits tight end Trumane Bell for a 29-yard gain to the Seminoles 28-yard-line as time runs out, apparently giving Florida State and head coach Bobby Bowden their first national championship.
But the referees confined and ruled that Bell’s knee touched the ground with one second left, giving the Huskers a chance to win the game with a 45-yard field goal attempt by Bennett.
The #1 ranked Crimson Tide appear in great position to get a chance to win the game if they can stop the #2 ranked Fighting Irish on 3rd-and-9 at the Irish two-yard-line, which would force Notre Dame to punt and give Alabama good field position in order to kick the game-winning field goal with 2:12 to play.
But Notre Dame head coach Ara Parseghian calls for his quarterback Tom Clements to run Power-I right, tackle-trap left, a run-pass option.
Clements takes the snap and rolls out to his left, where he fires a pass for tight end Robin Weber, who makes the catch at the Irish 38-yard-line, allowing for Notre Dame to run out the clock and claim the AP national title(Alabama would win the UPI national title as the UPI poll determined released its final rankings after the regular season until the 1975 season).
8. 1979 Alabama-14 Penn State-7
Down 14-7 with eight minutes to play, Penn State linebacker Matt Millen recovers an Alabama fumble at the Crimson Tide 19-yard-line, giving the #1 ranked Nittany Lions a chance to tie the game with a touchdown or take the lead if they decided to go for two points after a possible touchdown.
Following an 11-yard run by Matt Suhey that gives Penn State a 1st-and-goal at the eight-yard-line, the #2 ranked Crimson Tide put together perhaps the greatest goal line stand in college football history.
Mike Guman runs for two yards on 1st down, which is followed by a five yard pass from quarterback Chuck Fusina to Scott Fitzkee to the one-yard-line, where he is stopped by Alabama cornerback Don McNeal.
On 3rd down, Suhey is given the ball and tries to dive for the goal line, but is met by defensive tackle Curtis McGriff and middle linebacker Rich Wingo, forcing a 4th-and-goal, one foot away from the end zone.
As the two sides prepare for the 4th down play, Fusina asks how far Penn State needs, to which Alabama linebacker Marty Lyons responds “About a foot. You better pass”.
The Lions decide not to pass and try the dive again, but Guman is met at the line of scrimmage by Barry Krauss and Murray Legg, giving the Tide the ball back at the one-yard-line with 6:39 to play.
Penn State never threatens again as the Crimson Tide win the game but have to share the national championship with USC.
7. 2014 Florida State-34 Auburn-31
In the final BCS national championship game, played at the Rose Bowl, the Seminoles deny the Cinderella Auburn Tigers of a chance of a second national championship in four years.
Florida State comes back from a 21-3 1st half deficit to take a 27-24 lead with 4:31 left in the fourth quarter when Levonte Whitfield returns a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, only to have the Tigers come back down the field and drive 75 yards in nine plays, culminating with Tre Mason’s 37-yard touchdown run that puts Auburn back on top 31-27 with 1:19 to play.
The Seminoles take over at their own 20-yard-line and are able to drive to the Auburn two-yard-line, thanks to a 49-yard pass from Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston to Rashad Greene and then a pass interference penalty on Auburn’s Chris Davis, the man who returned the “Kick-Six” against Alabama in the Iron Bowl, on a 3rd-and-8 at the Tigers’ 10-yard-line, to give FSU a 1st-and-goal at the two-yard-line.
That is when Winston throws the game-winning touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin to give the Seminoles their third national championship in school history.
6. 1987 Penn State-14 Miami-10
The Fiesta Bowl was not known as one of the big-time bowl games until they were able to invite #1 Miami and #2 Penn State to play for the national championship following the 1986 season, as the game was moved to January 2nd to separate itself from the other New Year’s Day bowl games.
The result was the most-watched college football game ever in a game that was seen by the public as good vs evil, with Penn State playing the part of the good guy, and Miami playing the villain as they wore Army-style figures as they arrived in Arizona, indicating the game was going to be a war.
Miami dominated the game as they outgained Penn State 445-162 on yards of total offense and had 22 1st downs compared to the Nittany Lions’ 8.
But the Hurricanes had six turnovers in the game, including four interceptions by Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde, that had the ‘Canes down 14-10 with 3:07 left in the game and the ball at their own 23-yard-line.
Testaverde led Miami to the Penn State five-yard-line with 45 seconds to go until he was sacked by Penn State linebacker Tim Johnson, dropping the Hurricanes back to the 13-yard-line and an incomplete pass lead to a 4th-and-goal with 18 seconds left when Testaverde threw his fifth interception of the game, as linebacker Pete Giftopoulos made his second pick of the game, to give the Nittany Lions its second national championship in five years.
5. 2017 Clemson-35 Alabama-31
One year after their epic title game(see number 14), Clemson and Alabama met again for the national championship.
The Crimson Tide jump out to a 14-0 but the Tigers come back and eventually take a 28-24 lead on Wayne Gallman’s one-yard touchdown run with 4:48 left in the 4th quarter, only to have Alabama retake the lead when quarterback Jalen Hurts runs for a 30-yard touchdown to put the Tide back in front 31-28 with 2:07 to go.
That is when Deshaun Watson leads the Tigers down the field on a nine-play, 68-yard drive that culiminates with a two-yard touchdown pass from Watson to Hunter Renfrow with one second left to give Clemson its first national championship in 35 years.
4. 2018 Alabama-26 Georgia-23 (OT)
Down 13-0 at halftime, Alabama head coach pulls starting quarterback Jalen Hurts in favor of true freshman Tua Tagovailoa.
All Tagovailoa does is lead the Crimson Tide to outscore the Georgia Bulldogs 20-7 in the second half, forcing the game to go into overtime where after a quarterback sack forces Alabama into a 2nd-and-26, Tagovailoa fires the game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Smith to give the Tide its fifth national championship in nine years.
3. 2003 Ohio State-31 Miami-24 (20T)
Down 13-0 at halftime, Alabama head coach pulls starting quarterback Jalen Hurts in favor of true freshman Tua Tagovailoa.
All Tagovailoa does is lead the Crimson Tide to outscore the Georgia Bulldogs 20-7 in the second half, forcing the game to go into overtime where after a quarterback sack forces Alabama into a 2nd-and-26, Tagovailoa fires the game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Smith to give the Tide its fifth national championship in nine years.
3. 2003 Ohio State-31 Miami-24 (20T)
The Hurricanes entered their Fiesta Bowl matchup with the Buckeyes as defending national champions and 11 ½ point favorites as Miami was expected to win its 35th consecutive game.
However, the ‘Canes fell behind 17-7 midway through the third quarter and it took them to the final play of regulation to tie the game as Todd Sievers’ 40-yard field goal sent the game into overtime, which was adopted for college football in 1996.
Miami scored on its overtime possession as quarterback Ken Dorsey hit tight end Kellen Winslow II for a 7-yard touchdown pass and a 24-17 lead, forcing Ohio State to have a score touchdown in order to keep the game going.
Things looked bleak for the Buckeyes as they faced a 4th-and-14 at the 29-yard-line until quarterback Craig Krenzel found Michael Jenkins for a 17-yard gain and a 1st down.
A few plays later, the Buckeyes were faced with another 4th down, this time at the five-yard-line and needing three yards for a 1st down.
That is when Krenzel fired a pass toward the right corner of the end zone, intended for Chris Gamble, where the ball bounced off his hands and fell incomplete, to apparently give Miami the win.
But as the Miami players started to celebrating, a flag was thrown as pass interference was called on Miami’s Glenn Sharpe, giving the Buckeyes a fresh set of downs at the two-yard-line.
Krenzel would sneak in for a one-yard touchdown that along with Mike Nugent’s extra point tied the game and sent into a second overtime period where Ohio State retook the lead when Maurice Clarett scored on a five-yard touchdown run.
Miami drove to the two-yard-line on its overtime possession, but after three plays gained only one yard, the Canes were faced with a 4th-and-goal.
2. 1984 Miami-31 Nebraska-30
#1 ranked Nebraska entered the Orange Bowl as 10 ½ point favorites as they expected to roll over the Miami Hurricanes because of their high-powered offense which had averaged 52 points per game during the 1983 season.
But the Huskers fell behind 17-0 in the first half, and had to use a trick play called the “fumblerooski” which offensive lineman Dean Steinkuhler ran for a 19-yard touchdown on the play, to help Nebraska come back and tie the game early in the third quarter, only to have Miami score the next 14 points to take a 31-17 lead into the fourth quarter.
It appeared the Hurricanes were on the verge of the upset as they held a 31-24 with a chance to make to ice the game with under two minutes to play, but Jeff Davis’ 42-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, giving the Cornhuskers the ball at their own 26-yard-line with 1:47 to play.
Nebraska drove to the Miami 24-yard-line in five plays where they faced a do-or-die 4th-and-8, when quarterback Turner Gill ran to his right and pitched it to Jeff Smith who ran in for the 24-yard touchdown to make it 31-30 with 48 seconds left.
With no overtime in college football at that time, all Nebraska had to do was kick the extra point to secure the national championship.
But head coach Tom Osborne decided to go for the two-point conversion and the win.
However, Gill’s two point pass for Smith was broken up by Miami’s Kenny Calhoun, preserving the 31-30 victory for the ‘Canes as they recovered the onside kick.
Thanks to the upset of Nebraska and #2 Texas and #4 Illinois losing their respective bowl games, plus a lackluster win by #3 Auburn in its bowl game, #5 Miami jumped all the way to #1 the following day, claiming the first of the school’s four national championships in nine years.
1.2006 Texas-41 USC-38
The hype for the this title game was incredible as USC entered the game on a 34-game winning streak and a chance to win its third straight national championship as they faced off with the Longhorns as the game featured the top three finishes in the Heisman Trophy race: USC running back Reggie Bush, Texas quarterback Vince Young, and USC quarterback Matt Leinart in that order, with Leinart having won the award the year before.
The game did not disappoint as both teams went back and forth through three-and-half quarters until it finally appeared that the Trojans had put enough distance between them and the Longhorns as Leinart connected with Dwayne Jarrett for a 22-yard touchdown to make it 38-26 in favor of USC with 6:42 to go in the game.
However, Young would lead the Longhorns on an eight-play, 69-yard drive as Young would account for all the yards on the drive, including the final 17 on a touchdown run that brought Texas back to within five points at 38-33 with over four minutes to go.
The Trojans took over at their 34-yard-line and drove to the Texas 45-yard-line where they faced a 4th-and-2 with 2:13 to play.
Instead of punting the ball and trying to pin the Longhorns back toward their goal line, USC head coach Pete Carroll decided to go for the 1st down.
The gamble backfired as LenDale White was stopped one yard short of the 1st down, giving the ball to Texas at their own 44-yard-line with 2:09 to go.
Young guided the Longhorns to the USC eight-yard-line when Texas faced a 4th-and-goal with 26 seconds left.
That is when Young took the snap and ran toward his right, going in for the go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds to play and then running in for the two-point conversion to give Texas a 41-38 lead.
Leinart drove the Trojans to the Texas 42-yard-line but his last pass to Jarrett fell incomplete as time expired, giving the Longhorns their first national title in 35 years, thanks to Young’s performance in which he accounted for 467 yards of total offense(267 passing, 200 rushing) and three touchdown runs.
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