Forget the Old Games! the Top Five BCS Bowl Games

I'm a young college football fan, legally able to drink for less than a year. So whenever I read about bowl games that were played over a decade ago, I tend to pay attention elsewhere.

It's not me, nor do I have a connection to it. "Wide Left" doesn't mean much to me, although I understand it's significane to many Florida State and Nebraska fans. I don't care about the Alabama-Penn State Sugar Bowl played in 1979, which was ESPN.com Page 2's top bowl game ever.

Call me Generation X or Y or whatever, but it's time for a list us young guns to pry our short memories and enjoy the best moments on the college gridiron. To keep it simple, here are the (always debatable) top five BCS bowl games from the past eleven years...

5b.) Tennessee 23, Florida State 16 - 1999 Fiesta Bowl/National Championship.

Just kidding. I'm a Tennessee fan. Where's my Kleenex...

...oh never mind.

5.) Penn State 26, Florida State 23 (3 OT)- 2003 Orange Bowl. Originally, I saw this and didn't remember a thing. Then I saw triple overtime, watched the highlights, and sat on the edge of my seat despite knowing the result. And besides, any game that sees Joe Paterno vs. Bobby Bowden has to immediately be a classic...right? Isn't that like an unwritten rule or in one of those BCS explanation guides or something?

Of course, having a missed PAT, a safety, twenty-one combined penalties, no lead larger than seven points for either side, and missed field goals in the first overtime to keep the game going may have something to do with it. Heck, the final field goal only came after a fake FG attempt by the Nittany Lions was changed after a timeout.

4.) Utah 31, Alabama 17 - 2009 Sugar Bowl. Utah had already "shocked the world" once back in 2005, but this time the nation was watching as the 'mid-major' movement was gaining traction; the Mountain West champs finished undefeated while two one-loss teams duked it out for the national title, bringing the BCS system under further scrutiny for fairness. The Utes also had to take down former #1 ranked 'Bama and coach Nick Saban, who angered fans by proclaiming before the game his team was the only team to go undefeated "in a real BCS conference." In the end, the Crimson Tide's 17 unanswered points couldn't fully wipe out Utah's early 21-0 lead, and the mid-majors took one giant leap forward towards equal standing.

3.) Ohio State 31, Miami 24 - 2003 Fiesta Bowl. Still heralded as one of the most exciting games in college football history, any BCS game that goes to double overtime has to be considered a great, right? Willis McGahee (now with the Baltimore Ravens) and Maurice Clarrett (...google him...hint: He's not with the Ravens) starred at tailback, and the famous "Was that pass interference or not?" debate will continue on forever in the minds of fans on either side.

2.) Texas 41, UC 38 - 2006 Rose Bowl/National Championship. Vince Young vs. Matt Leinart. Reggie Bush vs....well...Vince Young. Young's 200 yards on the ground and 3 TDs helped counter a 200+ yard rushing attack from the Trojans in this very back-and-forth affair. The teams combined for over one thousand yards of total offense in a game studded with NFL talent that wasn't decided until LenDale White was stuffed on fourth and short late in the fourth quarter in a game filled with dramatics.

But as great as the national title bout was, the top bowl game of the BCS era is...

1.) Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42 (OT)- 2007 Fiesta Bowl. It may not have had title implications, but it did shake the college football world to its core. Before Utah gave the non-Automatic Qualifier movement some power, Boise used trickery and guts to pull off the most memorable upset in recent history. Down a touchdown with seven seconds remaining, Broncos QB Jared Zabranksy hit Drisan James down the middle...who then lateraled it to Jared Rabb on a hook-and-ladder for the tying score as time expired.

But wait, there was more! After Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson (77 yards, 2 TD) blasted through the Boise defense for a quick score, the Broncos responded with a touchdown of their own...and then followed it with a statue of liberty play for the winning two point conversion. And then RB Ian Johnson proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend on the sidelines after the big win (c'mon, how could that NOT be the cherry on top?)

This didn't prove mid-majors could compete at the highest level consistently; by tying it and winning with through trick plays, the opposite argument could've been given credit. But with the win, Boise State really kicked down the BCS door...and the rest is history.

Disagree? Think you have a better list? Feel free to comment! I hope you've enjoyed reminiscing on some of the great college football moments of the past eleven years...and enjoy the bowl games this season!

Sources:

2006 Orange Bowl recap: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=260030052

2009 Fiesta Bowl recap: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/03/sports/ncaafootball/03sugar.html

2007 Fiesta Bowl box score: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=270010201

Top ten lists used as starting points for this article: http://cfn.scout.com/2/564658.html and http://espn.go.com/page2/s/list/bestbowls.html