The 5 Best College Bowl Games in My Lifetime

I like college football, but it isn't a religion for me. I live up here in the Northeast where college football just isn't as big as it is down South or even out West. I'll watch the big games on Saturdays and watch the bowl games that intrigue me. The very first college football game I can remember watching was the classic Miami Hurricanes and Boston College Eagles game from 1984. That was the game in which Doug Flutie threw the Hail Mary pass to Gerard Phelan. It was a great game, I was thrilled with the outcome, and I found I liked college football. Since then I have seen many hyped up games that have fallen flat and the few that have actually lived up to the billing. Here are the top five bowl games I have seen and two more that I wish I had tuned in for.

Honorable Mention #1: The 1980 Holiday Bowl between Brigham Young University and Southern Methodist University. BYU came back from a 20 point deficit with just four minutes on the clock. Quarterback Jim McMahon orchestrated the BYU comeback, capping it off with a Hail Mary pass as time expired. The extra point that followed gave BYU a 46-45 victory. I would have enjoyed watching BYU win because I never liked Eric Dickerson, who played for SMU.

Honorable Mention #2: Miami defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 31-30 in the 1984 Orange Bowl. The best part of this game is the fact that Nebraska could have tied the game with an extra point with just 48 seconds left on the clock. Instead Nebraska head coach, Tom Osborne, went for the win with a two point conversion. Well the conversion failed and Miami won it's first national championship. I like the guts that Osborne showed, but that had to be a bitter pill to swallow.

5.1994 Orange Bowl: The Florida State Seminoles took on Nebraska to decide the national champion. Florida State came into the game ranked number one and Nebraska was number two. Florida State won a defensive battle with a 22 yard field goal with just 21 seconds left, to make the score 18-16. Nebraska would miss a 45 yard field goal of their own with one second left. The Huskers Tommy Frazier threw two interceptions, the only turnovers of the game. The win gave the Seminoles their first national title.

4. 2007 Fiesta Bowl: The game was the proverbial David versus Goliath match-up. Playing the role of Goliath was the Oklahoma Sooners and David was the Boise State Broncos. Boise State needed overtime to pull off the 43-42 upset, and did so on the classic Statue of Liberty play to convert on a two point try. The Broncos decided to go for the win with the two point conversion instead of the tie, a gamble that paid off. BSU quarterback Jared Zabransky threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns. The Boise State defense also held running back Adrian Peterson to just 77 yards.

3. 1987 Fiesta Bowl: In another defensive battle the Penn State Nittany Lions defeated Miami 14-10. The Penn St. defense was able to pick off five of the 50 pass attempts made by Miami quarterback Vinnie Testaverede. Penn State linebackers Shane Conlan and Pete Giftopoulos each had two picks. The second Giftopoulos interception was at the goal line with 18 seconds left in the game. I liked this game because it was the toughness and blue collar Nittany Lions knocking off the brash Hurricanes.

2. 2003 Fiesta Bowl: A double overtime instant classic. The Ohio State Buckeyes were able to beat Miami 31-24. Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett capped off one of the best freshman seasons ever with a five yard touchdown run in the second overtime. The Hurricanes hurt themselves with three lost fumbles in the game. OSU quarterback Craig Krenzel did just enough to keep the Buckeyes in the ballgame. He ran or two touchdowns, and completed just seven passes for 122 yards. The referees played a huge role in this one. A pass interference call was made on the Hurricanes, in the end zone, during the first overtime on a fourth down incomplete pass that would have ended the game. That call gave Ohio State another chance and they capitalized on it.

1. 2006 Rose Bowl: Simply the most entertaining college football game I have ever watched. The Texas Longhorns upended the University of Southern California Trojans, 41-38. Texas quarterback Vince Young rushed 200 yards and threw for 267 more. Young scampered in with the winning touchdown with just 19 seconds left in the game. All night long both offenses marched up and down the field, combining for 1130 yards of offense. Texas came up with the big defensive stop of the game, when they kept running back LenDale White from converting a fourth down and two yards. Young's performance was probably the best individual display in bowl game history.

More form this contributor:

5 Most Disappointing NFL Teams in 2010

10 Losses Suffered by the Sports World in 2010

5 Best Baseball Announcers of All Time

Sources:

holidaybowl.com/game-history/1980

orangebowl.org/orange_bowl/1980s

fiestabowl.org/index

tournamentofroses.com/the-rose-bowl-game/history