100 Greatest
Finishes - 11 to 20
The greatest endings in college football history from 1970 to the
present
Writeups by
Pete Fiutak
updated June 2007
1-5 |
6-10 |
21-30 |
31-40 |
41-50 |
51-60 |
61-70 |
71-80 | 81-90 | 91-100
No. 20 Virginia 33 ... Florida State 28,
November 2, 1995
At the time:
Florida
State was 7-0 and ranked second in the country coming into Virginia on a
Thursday night with a 29-0 conference record since joining the ACC. 24th
ranked Virginia overcame a heartbreaking 18-17 loss to Michigan to reel
off five straight wins before losing two of three games for a 6-3
record.
The setup: Virginia stunned the Noles by getting out to a 24-14
lead thanks to a 64-yard Tiki Barber touchdown run and a 72-yard Mike
Groh touchdown pass to Demetrius Allen. But Danny Kanell and FSU came
back on a 38-yard touchdown pass to E.G. Green to finish the first half
with 320 passing yards, three touchdowns and a 27-21 deficit. The party
had started in Charlottesville after Rafael Garcia's fourth field goal
with less than seven minutes to play for a 33-21 lead. FSU wasn't dead
yet going 80 yards in less than a minute getting a seven-yard Warrick
Dunn touchdown run to make it 33-28. Virginia ended up with the ball
with a few minutes to play, but the Seminole defense forced a three and
out giving it back to Kanell with 1:37 left.
The ending: Kanell and Andre Cooper hooked up three times before
Dunn caught a short pass to the Virginia 13 with nine seconds to play.
Virginia got nailed with an illegal participation penalty giving FSU the
ball on the six. Kanell had to throw it away on first down to allow for
one last shot with four seconds left. FSU lined up with four wide
receivers spreading the field with Kanell in the shotgun. But the snap
went directly to Dunn who weaved his way through the Cavalier defense
before being hit by two Virginia defenders. Just as Dunn was about to
cross the goal line, Virginia LB Melvin Jones made the stop inches
short. While it looked like it could've been ruled either way, the
officials signaled it wasn't a touchdown, giving Virginia the 33-28 win.
How they ended up: The two teams ended up tying for the ACC
title. Virginia closed out with a win over Maryland and a loss to
Virginia Tech before beating Georgia 34-27 in the Peach Bowl to finish
9-4 ranking 16th in the AP poll and 17th in the Coaches'. Florida State
won three of its final four games with a 35-24 loss to Florida before
beating Notre Dame 31-26 in the Orange Bowl finishing fourth in the AP
and fifth in the Coaches' Poll.
No. 19 Michigan State 16 ... Ohio State 13,
November 9, 1974
At the time:
No. 1 Ohio
State was 8-0 with a high-octane offense that was averaging 45 points
per game, while the defense failed to allow double-digit points in its
previous six games. Michigan State turned things around after a rough
patch to be 4-3-1.
The setup: The two teams pounded the ball with their running
games as Ohio State and Archie Griffin were marching without a problem,
but had a hard time scoring with only a 6-3 lead going into the fourth
quarter. The Buckeyes caught a break on a fumble from MSU QB Charlie
Baggett, which led to a Champ Henson touchdown run and 13-3 lead midway
through the fourth quarter. The Spartan offense came up with a bolt of
lightning as Baggett and Mike Jones hooked up for a 44-yard touchdown
pass, but missed on the two-point conversion to be down 13-9. The
defense held, giving the Spartan attack another chance with 3:30 to
play.
The ending: On its own 12-yard line, MSU called for a
conservative running play to fullback Levi Jackson to get out of
trouble. Instead, Jackson found himself past the line and in the clear,
cutting up the right sideline with OSU defenders diving and missing on
the way to an 88-yard touchdown run and a 16-13 lead. OSU started its
final march from its own 29, but it appeared to end before it began as
Cornelius Greene's first pass was intercepted by a diving Terry McClowry.
One official called it an interception, but the umpire waved it off
saying it hit the ground. Griffin tore off 31 yards on the next play
leading the Buckeyes eventually down to the one with :26 to play and no
time outs. OSU head coach Woody Hayes had no thoughts about a field goal
and the tie. Instead, he called for Henson to power it in, but the play
was stuffed with :14 left. The Spartan defenders hardly moved off the
Buckeyes making it nearly impossible to set up for another play. As the
OSU offense frantically got to the line, Greene missed the snap just as
the clock read 0:00 and the ball hit the turf. Brian Baschnagel picked
it up and ran for an apparent game-winning Buckeye score with one
official raised his hands for the touchdown signal. However, two other
officials were waving off the play saying time had run out. The Spartan
fans stormed the field and tried to tear down the goalposts as the
officials huddled to try to figure out what the correct call was. Both
teams were told to go to their locker rooms until chaos could be
restored. The officials had to leave the stadium, along with Big Ten
commissioner Wayne Duke, to try get a little bit of peace and to discuss
what to do. Duke spoke to the officials and then went to each locker
room to talk with the coaches. Meanwhile, the fans were still waiting to
find out exactly what happened. 45 minutes later, Duke went to the press
box to give the outcome. The famous words in MSU lore came out of the PA
system, "Ladies and gentlemen. Michigan State has been declared the
winner by the score of 16-13." It was determined that the back and field
judges, whose job it was to keep the time, had ruled that time had
expired. Replays later showed that the Buckeyes weren't set anyway and
should've been flagged for an illegal procedure penalty.
How they ended up: Ohio State beat Iowa and Michigan to finish
the regular season 10-1 before losing 18-17 to USC in a classic Rose
Bowl to end up fourth in the AP poll and third in the UPI. MSU, helped
by this classic victory, won its final five games to finish 7-3-1 to
finish 12th in the AP poll and 18th in the UPI.
No. 18 Northwestern 54 ... Michigan 51,
November 4, 2000
At the time:
No. 12, 6-2
Michigan was four points away from being perfect losing 23-20 to UCLA
and 32-31 to Purdue. Northwestern was blasted by TCU and Purdue, but was
still ranked 21st in the AP poll with a 6-2 record.
The setup: The statistics were mind-boggling as the two teams
finished with 1,189 yards of total offense. Michigan's Anthony Thomas
rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns, David Terrell caught nine
passes for 117 yards and three touchdowns, and Northwestern's Damian
Anderson rushing for 268 yards and two touchdowns. The two offenses
traded shot after shot until Michigan took the lead 51-46 late in the
fourth on a one-yard Thomas run.
The ending: Northwestern had the ball at the Michigan 12 with 1:38
to play when Zac Kustok found Anderson open in the end zone. Anderson
dropped the perfect pass, and the storyline for the game appeared to be
written. All Michigan had to do was run out the clock and it would
escape with a wild victory, and with Rose Bowl hopes still intact.
Thomas was running well, keeping the clock grinding, when he suddenly
got a huge hole to tear through and appeared to be off to the races.
Northwestern's Sean Wieber was able to slap at the ball, and Thomas
dropped it on the turf, losing it to the Wildcats on the Michigan 30
with :46 to play. Kustok was flawless with two quick completions to get
down to the 11 with :20 left. He ended his 322-yard passing day with a
strike to Sam Simmons for a touchdown and a 54-51 lead after a
successful two-point conversion. But Michigan wasn't done. A few quick
completions from Drew Henson allowed the Wolverines to try a 57-yard
field goal with confidence after Hayden Epstein had nailed a 52-yard
shot in the third quarter. The snap went through the holder's hands
forcing Epstein to throw a last gasp pass to Evan Coleman to the
Northwestern 33, but time ran out.
How they ended up: With a shot at the Rose Bowl in its grasp,
Northwestern blew it with a sloppy 27-17 loss to a horrible Iowa team.
The Wildcats ended up 8-4 after getting obliterated 66-17 to Nebraska in
the Alamo Bowl. Michigan won its final three games including a 31-28
victory over Auburn in the Citrus Bowl to finish 9-3 and 10th in the
Coaches' Poll and 11th in the AP.
No. 17 LSU 7 ... Auburn 6,
October 8, 1988
At the time:
Auburn was
4-0 after dominating its first four games by a total of 161 to 44. LSU
was 2-2, but had blown out Tennessee and Texas A&M before losing to Ohio
State and Florida.
The setup: It was the ultimate defensive battle with each offense
failing to do much of anything. Auburn's attack, which was averaging
over 40 points per game, could only manage two field goals for a 6-0
lead late in the game. The Tigers had a few chances with Eddie Fuller
dropping a touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. LSU QB Tommy Hodson
finally moved the ball enough to get down to the Auburn ten with 1:41 to
play.
The ending: Hodson was able to finally get the attack moving with
a key first down to Willie Williams and getting good protection from the
offensive line. On the Auburn 11, Fuller came up with a catch in the
back of the end zone, but he was out of bounds. Eventually faced with a
4th and nine, LSU didn't even think about the field goal and the onside
kick, considering the offense had struggled so much against the loaded
Auburn defense. Hodson dropped back and found Fuller in the seam. This
time, the Tiger receiver hung on to tie it 6-6 causing the Death Valley
crowd of 79,341 fans to go so ballistic that they caused a tremor that
was registered by the LSU Geology Departments seismograph. At precisely
9:32 p.m., the LSU fans literally rocked the world. David Browndyke
nailed the extra point for the 7-6 lead. Auburn had one final drive, but
the LSU defense came up with the stop.
How they ended up: LSU would finish the season a 8-4, but it won
the SEC title before losing 23-10 in Syracuse in the Hall of Fame Bowl
ending up 19th in the AP poll. The earthquake play might have prevented
Auburn from playing for the national title. Auburn won its remaining six
games giving up a total of 31 points in the process. If Auburn had
beaten LSU, it most likely would've faced Notre Dame for the national
championship. Instead, it played Florida State in the Sugar Bowl losing
13-7 as Deion Sanders picked off a late pass in the end zone to finish
8th in the AP and 7th in the UPI poll.
No. 16 Iowa 30 ... LSU 25,
Capital One Bowl, January 1, 2005
At the time:
No. 12 LSU
was 9-2 on a six-game winning streak going into the Capital One Bowl.
No. 11 Iowa was 9-2 and co-Big Ten champions coming in on a seven-game
winning streak.
The setup: It appeared to be the coming out party for LSU QB
JaMarcus Russell. The freshman came off the bench to complete 12 of 15
passes with two touchdown throws to Skyler Green to rally the Tigers
back from a 24-12 fourth-quarter deficit. Iowa had jumped out to the
lead highlighted by a 57-yard Drew Tate touchdown pass to Clinton
Solomon and a blocked punt for a score. LSU stayed alive on a 74-yard
Alley Broussard touchdown run, but it was Russell who was stealing the
show.
The ending: With 5:06 to play on its own 21, LSU drove the field
in 11 plays culminating in a three-yard Russell touchdown pass to Green
for a 25-24 lead with less than a minute remaining. Iowa was able to
return the kickoff to its 30, but there was only :26 left to play. Tate
was able to complete an 11-yard pass to Ed Hinkel and then hit Warren
Holloway for nine yards, but the drive wasn't going anywhere with a
penalty putting the ball on the Hawkeye 44 with only time left for one
more play. Tate was able to find Holloway, who broke free thanks to a
blown assignment by the Tiger secondary. Holloway, who hadn't caught a
touchdown pass in his Hawkeye career, got the perfectly thrown pass at
around the LSU ten and got in the end zone with no time left on the
clock for a 56-yard touchdown and the 30-25 win.
How they ended up: This was a sensational end to the Nick Saban
era at LSU. The head coach left to take over the Miami Dolphins closing
out his time at Baton Rouge with 9-3 season finishing 16th in both
polls. Iowa finished 10-2 and eighth in the polls.
No. 15 LSU 33 ... Kentucky 30,
November 9, 2002
At the time:
Kentucky
was having a strong 6-3 season under head coach Guy Morriss. LSU bounced
back after an opening day loss to Virginia Tech to crank out six
straight wins before losing to Auburn 31-7.
The setup: It was a game of big plays. Kentucky started off the
scoring with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Boone, but Devery
Henderson came up with touchdown grabs of 70 and 30 yards in the second
quarter for a 14-7 Tiger halftime lead. The haymakers kept on coming as
LSU's Joseph Addai tore off a 63-yard touchdown run on the first drive
of the second half, but UK's Jared Lorenzen led the Wildcats back with
three of his four touchdown passes in the second half including a
44-yard pass to Boone to tie the game at 27 with 2:24 to play.
The ending: On the ensuing kickoff, LSU got the ball on its own
19 and did nothing suffering a sack and two plays that didn't go
anywhere. A lousy Donnie Jones punt and an 18-yard return by Derek Abney
gave the Wildcats the ball on the LSU 39 with 1:07 to play. An LSU
penalty and a nine-yard Artose Pinner run put UK well into field goal
range, and a two-yard Lorenzen sneak set it up perfectly for a 29-yard
Taylor Begley field goal and a 30-27 lead with just :11 remaining. LSU
was dead with a penalty on the kickoff putting the ball on the Tiger
nine. QB Marcus Randall hit Michael Clayton for a 17-yard pass to get
out to its 26, but only two seconds remained. Wildcat fans were
celebrating, and Morriss was even doused with Gatorade while fireworks
popped from the scoreboard. LSU gave it a shot anyway. Randall faded
back and heaved a throw as far as he could. Meanwhile, UK fans stormed
one end zone and jumped on the goalposts. It looked like the Wildcats
were in a position to intercept the pass, but the ball was tipped, and
then tipped again into the arms of Henderson at the 20. The Wildcats had
one last chance, but Derrick Tatum missed on a diving attempt. Henderson
got to the end zone completing one of the most miraculous plays in
college football history. On the day, Henderson caught five passes for
201 yards and three touchdowns.
How they ended up: LSU couldn't sustain the momentum, getting
blasted 31-0 by Alabama the following week and lost three of its final
four games including a 35-20 loss to Texas in the Cotton Bowl to finish
8-5. Kentucky alternated a win with a loss the rest of the way out to
finish 7-5.
No. 14 Colorado 33 ... Missouri 31,
October 6, 1990
At the time:
3-1-1
Colorado was ranked 12th after starting the season with a tie against
Tennessee and a 23-22 loss to Illinois. Missouri was 2-2 coming off a
win over Arizona State before hosting the Buffs in the Big 8 Conference
opener.
The setup: Missouri battled hard with Kent Kiefer throwing
touchdown passes of 19 and 49 yards to offset a 29-yard Eric Bienemy
touchdown run and a 68-yard dash from Mike Pritchard. With starting
quarterback Darian Hagan hurt, Colorado's Charles Johnson had to run the
offense and came up with a 70-yard touchdown pass to Pritchard. But
Kiefer came back giving Mizzou a 31-27 lead on a 38-yard touchdown pass
to Damon Mays with just over two minutes to play.
The ending: Despite his inexperience, Johnson marched the offense
on a 15-play, 85-yard drive down to the Tiger three with :30 left. On
first down, Johnson spiked the ball. One second down, Bienemy rumbled
down to the two causing CU to call its final timeout. The official on
the sidelines failed to flip the down marker as it still showed second
down even though it was third down. Bienemy was stuffed, causing a mad
scramble with time ticking away. On what was supposed to be fourth down,
Johnson, who had seen the 3 on the sideline marker, spiked the ball to
stop the clock at two seconds. Missouri fans, thinking the game was
over, stormed the field and tore down one of the goalposts. Even so,
Colorado lined up and quickly ran another play with Johnson running to
his right and diving for the end zone just as he was hit. He barely got
the ball over the goal line causing even more confusion among the
officials. Finally, the official signaled touchdown making it a 33-31
Colorado lead with no time left on the clock. Meanwhile, Tiger coaches
and fans were screaming that the play was run on fifth down. After
nearly a half an hour of discussion, Missouri had to come back out on
the field for the extra point, but Johnson simply took the snap and fell
down. After the game, Colorado head coach Bill McCartney never even
hinted that his team won unfairly and refused to suggest that Missouri
should've been given the win, whining about the field being in bad
condition. Even if Colorado had tried to do the right thing, it wouldn't
have mattered as a rule was put in place several years earlier stating
that once a game had concluded, that was it, and the outcome couldn't be
changed.
How they ended up: Missouri's season didn't get much better with
four losses in its final six games to finish 4-7. Colorado won the rest
of its games, including a thrilling 10-9 victory over Notre Dame in the
Orange Bowl, to finish 11-1-1 and first in the AP poll, but second in
the Coaches' Poll.
No. 13 Notre Dame 31 ... Miami 30, October 15, 1988
At the time:
It was
billed as the Catholics vs. the Convicts. Defending national champion
and top-ranked Miami had won 36 straight regular season games, but was
pushed early in 1988 needing a miracle comeback to beat Michigan 31-30.
In its other three games, Miami beat Florida State, Wisconsin and
Missouri by a combined score of 109 to three. No. 4 Notre Dame also beat
Michigan in thrilling fashion opening up with a 19-17 win before blowing
out Michigan State, Purdue and Stanford on the way to a 5-0 start.
The setup: It was literally a fight from the start with the two
teams getting into a pre-game scuffle. On the field, Miami moved the
ball without much of a problem only to turn it over seven times with a
60-yard interception return by Pat Terrell giving Notre Dame a 21-7
lead. But Hurricane QB Steve Walsh, who finished with 424 passing yards,
fought back throwing two touchdown passes, including a 15-yard throw to
Cleveland Gary, to tie it at 21 before halftime. The Irish weren't
intimidated scoring all ten points of the third quarter for a 31-21
lead. Miami wouldn't go quietly getting a 23-yard Carlos Huerta field
goal before one of the most controversial moments of the 1988 season.
With over seven minutes to play and the ball 4th and seven at the Irish
11, Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson chose to go for it. The gamble paid
almost paid off as Gary caught a Walsh pass and spun stretching his arm
for the goal line, but appeared to be down at the one. As he fell, the
ball came loose and Irish LB Michael Stonebreaker recovered for what the
officials ruled was a fumble. Johnson went ballistic on the sidelines,
but Miami had one more shot thanks to a forced fumble of its own.
The ending: On the Irish 14, Miami's offense had a hard time
moving and was stuck with a 4th and 11 with less than a minute to play.
Walsh threw a perfect pass to Andre Brown in the corner of the end zone
for a touchdown to pull the Canes to within one. Without hesitating,
Johnson went for two and the win. Walsh went back to pass and had time
to throw, but couldn't find anyone open. Finally pressured, he forced a
high pass into the end zone, but Irish DB Pat Terrell was there to jump
in front and bat it down to save a 31-30 Irish lead. Notre Dame’s
Anthony Johnson recovered the onside kick to seal the win.
How they ended up: Notre Dame was never threatened the rest of
the season, plowing through the final six games with ease to finish No.
1 after beating West Virginia 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl. Miami won its
final seven games including a 23-3 victory over Nebraska in the Orange
Bowl to finish second.
No. 12 BYU 46 ... SMU 45, Holiday Bowl, December 19, 1980
At the time:
BYU had one
of the nation's most explosive offenses averaging 47 points per game led
by star Jim McMahon. Coming into the Holiday Bowl on an 11-game winning
streak after losing the opener 25-21 to New Mexico, the Cougars were
looking for their first ever bowl win. SMU, led by the running back
tandem of Eric Dickerson and Craig James, was 8-3 with its young team.
The setup: SMU ran amok, getting out to a 29-7 lead and up 38-19
in the fourth quarter. After James scored SMUs fifth rushing touchdown
to take a 45-25 lead with less than four minutes to play, McMahon led
the Cougar offense to what seemed to be an oh-by-the-way touchdown on a
15-yard pass. The two-point conversion failed. BYU got the ball back at
midfield after recovering the onside kick and McMahon went back to work
marching the offense down to the one finishing with a one-yard Scott
Phillips touchdown run and a two-point conversion to get within six with
less than two minutes to play. The onside kick didn't work and SMU
appeared ready to run out the clock needing just one first down.
The ending: The Pony Express wasn't able to get the job done as
Dickerson was stuffed on third down forcing a Mustang punt. SMU punter
Eric Kaifes couldn't get his kick off as BYU's Bill Schoepflin came in
untouched for the block putting the ball on the SMU 41 with:13 left.
McMahon's first two passes fell incomplete, but he had one final shot
with just three seconds to play. McMahon dropped back and launched a
high-arching pass that made its way down in between a mass of Mustang
defenders, and into the hands of tight end Clay Brown. SMU's Wes Hopkins
also had the ball, but the catch goes to the receiver when two players
have it at the same time. The official signaled touchdown BYU to tie it
at 45. BYU kicker Kurt Gunther hit the game-winning extra point for the
46-45 win. Dickerson ran 23 carries for 110 yards and two TDs while
James carried it 23 times for 225 yards and three touchdowns. McMahon
threw for 446 yards and four touchdowns.
How they
ended up:
SMU finished 8-4 and 20th in both polls. As painful as this loss
was, it helped motivate SMU for the following year going 10-1 with only
a 9-7 to Texas. BYU finished 12-1 ending up 11th in the UPI poll and
12th in the AP.
No. 11 Texas 41 … USC 38,
Rose Bowl, January 4, 2006
At the time:
Arguably
the greatest national title matchup ever, USC and Texas had been ranked
1-2 all season long with the excitement for the game building from the
summer. USC was on a 34-game winning streak and had won 46 of its last
47 games, while Texas was on a 20-game winning streak having won 30 of
its last 32 games. The star power was of the highest magnitude with the
three Heisman finalists, winner Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Vince
Young, all on the game’s biggest stage.
The setup: USC held a 38-26 lead with under seven minutes to
play, but Texas pulled within five on a six-yard Young run with under
four minutes remaining. USC tried to run out the clock by going for it
on fourth and two from the Texas 45, but LenDale White was stopped for
the first time all game long giving Texas one final shot.
The ending: This would be the drive that made Young a legend.
Things started off slowly, but Texas was helped by a face mask call on
third and 12 to move the ball into USC territory. Two passes to Brian
Carter and a seven-yard Young run helped give Texas a first down on the
USC 13. Young threw two incomplete passes and ran for five yards setting
up fourth and five from the USC eight, but he was up to the task tearing
through the Trojan defense for an eight-yard touchdown with 19 seconds
to play. Following another Young run for the two point conversion and a
41-38 lead, USC had one final shot. Mario Danelo was one of the nation’s
most accurate field goal kickers, but he didn’t have a huge leg meaning
the Trojans had to get down to at least the Texas 35 to have a prayer of
tying it. On his own 31, Bush took a shovel pass for a 26-yard gain, but
time was quickly running out. Leinart held on to the ball on the final
play a bit too long trying to make something happen, but his final pass
fell incomplete and time ran out.
How they ended up: Texas won the national title and USC finished
the year number two.