Woody's Top 5 BCS Bowl Games of All-Time

26 teams, 13 games, 589 points, millions of fans, and 10 years in the making I have compiled my Top 5 BCS games of all-time. Within these pages you'll find potential prospects become superstars some as high as the NFL elite. Some became legendary because of a 80-yard touchdown run or maybe an interception at the goal line as time expired. Whatever the reason they all have become memories for the college sports fan for eternity.

This may have been one of the toughest assignments to pull-off and will definitely be debated as it is passed around the internet. Just as it's difficult for the committee choosing every team that will play in the BCS each year, it is also difficult contemplating the Top 5 BCS games of all-time. Then of course going from #5-#1 is a million times worse. Here are list of notable games that didn't quite make the top 5, but were good games just the same. Please note these games are not in any specific order.

2006-2007 Wisconsin 17 Arkansas 14~~ The Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl was nothing short of a good game, but it should have ended after Arkansas running back Felix Jones scored 56 seconds into the 4th quarter. After that both teams only got the ball into their opponents territory once, Wisconsin doing it with 3:55 left in the game, milking the clock down to single digits before Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick incompleted a pass to end the game. Not near worthy of making the top 5.

2000-2001 Oklahoma 13 Florida State 2~~ The Bowl Championship Orange Bowlwas a defensive struggle the entire game. If you forgot about this game it was the year Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke won the Heisman trophy and Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel was the runner-up but the offenses never really got going. I put it in the notables only because some of you I am sure love the defensive games more so then 100 points being scored. Tim Duncan kicked a couple field goals (no not that Tim Duncan) and Quentin Griffin scored a touchdown with about 7 minutes left to put the game away after Weinke fumbled. The 2 points for FSU came with 55 seconds left in the game with a bad snap where the punter was downed in the end zone.

1999-2000 Florida State 46 Virginia Tech 29~~ The Nokia Sugar Bowl was the home of the national championship game for 1999 that pitted 3 quarters of great football. It had a few future nfl players in Michael Vick, Andre Davis, Chris Weinke, Peter Warrick and Travis Minor to name a few. What it didn't have was a final quarter. At the end of the 3rd V-Tech had the lead 29-28, but a strong defensive 4th quarter stand by Florida State shutout the Hokies 18-0 to win the championship. Almost memorable enough for the top 5 but not quite.

2004-2005 Auburn 16 Virginia Tech 13~~ Ah yes the infamous undefeated season and a Sugar Bowl appearance, after playing in the SEC and winding up not making the national championship game. Tuberville campaigning for presidency errr a co-national championship to no avail. Things may had been different if the Tigers didn't give up two late, and I mean late touchdowns to make this game look closer then it actually was.

2003-2004 Ohio State 35 Kansas State 28~~ This Fiesta Bowl game was over quicker than it started with Ohio State reeling 21 points off by the middle of the second and still leading by 14 points going into the half. Mid-way through the third quarter K-State got within 7 before OSU busted out for a 35-14 lead by the end of the 3rd. Turned out to be a 7 point win but it was never the game the score indicated.

2003-2004 LSU 21 Oklahoma 14~~ This BCS Sugar Bowl Championship game was a little tougher because if you remember it was the year of the one-loss BCS debacle with USC, LSU, and Oklahoma. USC was left out despite Oklahoma losing by 28 points in the Big 12 Championship game. Considered by many as the year that began the backlash of the BCS. Then Oklahoma was given the gift to be in the title game only to lose like the majority of sports fans predicted. A touchdown by OU to cut the lead to 7 in the 4th was as farther as anyone got as Oklahoma and quarterback Jason White couldn't get past their own 49-yard-line with 2 minutes to go with 3 incomplete passes and a sack to turn the ball over on downs. You win the national championship game and are co-champs with USC, hmph, so wrong.

1998-1999 Tennessee 23 Florida State 16~~ The National Championship game was a disaster for Florida State who could only get 253 yards of total offense, 4 turnovers, and 12 penalties for a whopping 110 yards. After a sack by Darwin Walker the Vols got the ball back and 3 plays later Peerless Price caught a 79-yard touchdown pass to go up 23-9 and put the game away. It was more notable that the Vols were a year removed from having quarterback Peyton Manning at the helm who never won a national title while at Tennessee.

2005-2006 W.Virginia 38 Georgia Tech 35~~ The last of the notables goes to this Gator Bowl where for 3 quarters the scoreboard looked like a video game as both teams were scoring at will. G-Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson (now with the Detroit Lions) was having a field day with the Mountaineer's secondary with nine catches for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns. W-Virg. running back errrr quarterback Pat White just wasn't catchable on this day running for 145 yards on 22 carries and a score, while throwing for 2 more. This game was on the verge of making the top 5, but with all the excitement all game long and then no scoring for almost a quarter and a half it quickly came although the YellowJackets missed a 54-yard field goal with 6 minutes to go. They were also intercepted at the W.V. 2 yard line with about 8 minutes to go. So there was at least some drama, but one game was going to miss the list.

So here we are. If you remember the games just mentioned then there is no way you are going to have forgotten about the ones I am about to talk about!

#5 2005-2006 BCS FedEx Orange Bowl Penn State 26 Florida State 23 (3OT)~~ All the hype before this game took place surrounding coaches Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden because of the #1 and #2 rankings for all-time college football wins. The first half was a back and forth battle and with just under three minutes left in the first half running back Lorenzo Booker caught a 57 yard touchdown pass to give Florida State what looked like a six point lead going into halftime. Until Penn State wide receiver Ethan Kilmer caught a 24 yard touchdown pass with :06 seconds left to take a 14-13 lead going into the locker room.

The second half was much like watching a golf tournament on television. Back n' forth with nothing really going on especially when no points were scored the entire 3rd quarter. A minute and a half into the 4th Penn State took a commanding 3 point lead after a safety was called against Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford for intentional grounding while in the endzone. For the next 8 minutes it looked like the 16-13 lead was going to hold up, but with 4:08 left in the contest FSU kicker Gary Cimesia made a 48 yard field goal to tie the game at 16 a piece. I want to personally thank former Nittany Lion kicker Kevin Kelly for missing a chip shot with :35 seconds left in the game to give us the overtime display of "How to miss a field goal and not win a bowl game in less than 4 hours".

1st Overtime~~ FSU gets the ball first can't do anything with it and give Gary Cimesia a chance to kick a 44-yarder to take a 3 point lead. LACES OUT FINKLE! Wide right was the call and it looked as though PSU would be handed the Orange Bowl and Bowden would lose once again because of a missed field goal. Then Ray Finkle decided to inhabit Kelly's leg as he missed a 38-yarder wide left.

2nd Overtime~~ Penn State took 5 plays to drive in and score a touchdown and hold a 23-16 lead, but Florida State took only 3 before B.J. Dean rushed in for the score to put them down by one on the fourth play. Cimesia had missed an extra point in the first half so everyone was still on the edge of their seats, but this PAT was good.

3rd Overtime~~ The Seminoles got the ball first but again Weathford and company could only muster 4 yards of offense before another Cimesia field goal attempt. It was a 38 yard attempt and the only thing FSU's field goal kicker was proving to the world on this night was that he was getting closer to actually making one. The attempt hit the right upright, and was a sign that FSU had been given too many chances to actually win this game and had finally run out. Penn State got down to the FSU 12 and on 2nd down Kevin Kelly kicked a 29 yard game winning field goal to lift the Nittany Lions to 11-1 on the season.

#4 2002-2003 BCS Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Ohio State 31 Miami 24 (2OT)~~ Yep this is where things are definitely going to start differing between fans. Why exactly does the first overtime national championship game only make it as high as #4 on my list? ***scratching head, wondering myself*** No really, this game is in the four slot to me because #1 Miami's huge loss of Willis McGahee early in the fourth completely changed the offensive scheme for the Hurricanes. #2 being that while it was definitely an exciting game to watch the long delayed pass interference call on Glenn Sharpe when the game was seemingly over completely turned this into a controversial game, forever. The only people I've ever spoken with that think it was pass interference are Ohio State fans, and the people that don't are Michigan fans. Which is pointless. I myself am a Florida Gators fan and I personally don't like either team, but my opinion is the game should have been over and the refs got it wrong. For that it gets my #4 vote.

It took 9 minutes before either one of these offenses could get on the board with the Hurricanes striking first on a 25 yard touchdown pass from Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey to Roscoe Parrish (Buffalo Bills). Miami's defense was on its game as Ohio State wasn't getting anywhere until Dorsey was intercepted by Mike Doss (Minnesota Vikings) which he returned to the Miami 17 yard line. 7 plays later OSU quarterback Craig Krenzel ran a qb sneak for a 1 yard touchdown and Mike Nugent's extra point made it a 7-7 game with 2:30 left in the second quarter. The Hurricanes got the ball back just in time for Dorsey to fumble the ball and give Ohio State :15 seconds before they scored again with a Maurice Clarett rushing touchdown up the middle for 7 yards. OSU led 14-7 at the half.

The third quarter took on a life of its own after Miami was forced to punt and the Buckeyes drove down to the Hurricane 6 yard line before the the late Sean Taylor (Washington Redskins) intercepted a Krenzel pass, but fumbled the ball and OSU running back Maurice Clarett recovered. Nugent made a 44 yard field goal to give the Nutz a 17-7 lead. As Miami's offense kept sputtering they finally opened up the passing game going to Kellen Winslow Jr. (Cleveland Browns) 3 times during the drive for 35 yards and McGahee rushing for 25 yards on the drive while 9 came from the touchdown run to cut the lead to 17-14.

The complexity of the game changed early in the 4th when McGahee suffered a leg/knee injury and was done. The Hurricanes drove down to put themselves in a situation to tie the game, but Todd Sievers missed a 54 yarder to keep the Canes' down by 3. When Ohio State got the ball back they ran eleven plays, six of them rushing and took almost 5 minutes off the clock and gave Mike Nugent a 42 yard field goal try which if good Miami would need a touchdown and PAT to win the game. However, Nugent missed and gave life to the Canes'. Again Miami drove down the field only to see another mishap as Roscoe Parrish fumbled at the OSU 31 losing another chance to take the lead or tie the game. Parrish made up for it on the Hurricanes next possession as he returned a punt 50 yards to the Ohio State 25. With :03 seconds left on the clock Sievers made a 40 yard field goal to make it the first National Championship game to ever go into overtime.

1st Overtime~~ Dorsey threw passes to Andre Johnson (Houston Texans), Jarrett Payton, and finally one for 7 yards over the middle to Kellen Winslow Jr.. Then the PAT by Sievers gave the Canes' a 24-17 lead. When OSU got the ball Krenzel was sacked on 2nd down to force a 3rd and 14, and after an incomplete pass made the game look virtually over, but Krenzel completed a pass to Michael Jenkins for 17 yards and new life. Krenzel rushed 7 yards down to the Miami 5, but again faced a 4th and 3. This time his pass was incomplete and Miami players and fans started celebrating their championship. As the smoke cleared a late flag was thrown in the endzone calling pass interference against the Hurricanes and an automatic first down on the 1 was given to the Bucks. Krenzel snuck it in for the touchdown and Nugent's PAT sent the game to double overtime.

2nd Overtime~~ With new life the Bucks were pumped and in the 2nd OT wasted no time taking only 5 plays to reach the endzone and out to a 31-24 game. Dorsey came in for Miami and on 2nd down took a shot that knocked him out for a play and backup Derrick Crudup (who?) came in to throw an 8 yard pass, but the Canes' still were facing a 4th and 3. Two timeouts later, Winslow caught a 7 yard pass for a first down on the OSU 11. Two consecutive Ohio State penalties gave the ball to Dorsey's squad at the 2 yard line, but after 3 plays for no gain it was again 4th down when a batted down prayer pass ended the game and gave the Nutz and coach Jim Tressel the championship.

#3 2004-2005 BCS Rose Bowl Texas 38 Michigan 37~~ If you missed this one, it was a dandy. Vince Young, Braylon Edwards, Steve Breaston, Cedric Benson all played in this epic battle of college football powerhouses who somehow had never played each other, ever. Yet they ranked #1 (Michigan 842) and #3 (Texas 786) in all-time wins over each school's history at the time this game took place. For as much offensive power that was brought into this game it didn't look like the hype it had been built up to be as both teams were held scoreless through most of the first quarter. 12 plays, 42 passing yards, and 21 rushing, Vince Young took off for a 20 yard touchdown run with around 1:30 left in the first quarter to give the Longhorns a 7-0 lead.

Thats all it took for the floodgates to open as the defenses looked as though they put in the second stringers the rest of the game. Less than 2 minutes into the second quarter the Wolverines tied the game at 7-7 when Henne threw a 39 yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards. Good field position for Texas starting at their own 42 was all Vince Young needed as he dinked and dunked his team down the field not gaining more than 8 yards on any play until his 11 yard touchdown pass to David Thomas for a 14-7 lead with a little over 4 minutes to play in the half. The UT defense forced Michigan to punt, but on first down running back Raymonce Taylor fumbled and Michigan's Anton Campbell recovered to give the Wolverines the ball with 2:40 remaining. Thats all the time quarterback Chad Henne would need as he spread the ball around to 4 different receivers enroute to another Braylon Edwards touchdown pass this time for 8 yards. By halftime the score was tied at 14-14.

Usually the beginning of the third is a slower developing time for the crowd to get back in the game, but in this case it took all of about two minutes. On 3rd and 10 at their own 40 Vince Young broke out and caught the Michigan defense off-guard as he worked his way in and out of tackles and players for a 60 yard touchdown run and back out in front for a 21-14 lead. On the ensuing kickoff wide receiver/kick and punt returner Steve Breaston gave Michigan fantastic field position with returning it 43 yards to the 50. For this he was almost instantly rewarded when the Wolverines were faced with a 3rd and 10, Henne threw a 50 yard TD pass to none other than, Steve Breaston. Again the game was tied 21-21.

UM's defense put the clamps down on Young and company the rest of the third, but the Wolverine offense unleashed its running game with both Max Martin and Mike Hart to move the ball down the field before Henne hooked up with Edwards again for the 3rd time in the contest and for the first time the Texas Longhorns were behind at 28-21. Young was intercepted by Prescott Burgess giving Michigan excellent field position again which turned into another 3 points after Garrett Rivas's 45 yard field goal for a 31-21 lead by the end of the 3rd quarter. People started wondering at this point whether Texas actually belonged here with the controversy surrounding it in the first place.

The 4th quarter started with a punt from both teams and when the Longhorns got the ball back with 13:00 minutes left the game was just crazy from then on. To the point that if you blinked at all you had already missed something. 7 plays along with a Wolverine penalty gave Texas a 9 yard rushing touchdown for Vince Young (his 3rd of the night) and pulled his team within 3 while the Wolverines still held the lead 31-28. Michigan marched right back down the field with a couple passes to Edwards and Breaston, an end around and 15 rushing yards from Hart, but could only come away with a Rivas chip shot of 32 yards to take a 34-28 lead with 6:00 minutes left.

Thats all the time Young had to pull off some college bowl magic, but he didn't need it. All he needed was about a minute and 20 seconds to throw passes to Tony Jeffery (19 yards) and David Thomas (27 yards) then run 23 yards himself for the score. Just like the Longhorns were back on top 35-34 with 4:48 to play. Breaston again showed why he was returning kicks, this one for 52 yards. With Michigan starting in Texas territory it then became the Mike Hart show as he would rush 3 times for 18 yards and another Rivas field goal (this time a 42 yarder) put the Wolverines back on top 37-35 with just under 3 minutes left.

Starting at their own 35 yard line, the Longhorns took no time staying with what worked best all game long, letting Young run whether he pleased. He started with a nice 9 yard jaunt then handed it off to Benson which gave Texas a first down. A 7 yard completion to wideout Bo Scaife put them in Michigan territory with about two minutes to play. After that all that can be said is Vince Young was the man as he rushed four consecutive times moving down to the Michigan 21 yard line before handing the ball off to Benson a couple times and running the clock down to :02 seconds. It was a cat and mouse game with timeouts as the Wolverines called two in a row trying to ice kicker Dusty Magnum, but it didn't matter. Magnum's kicked was good and this game became an instant classic sending these kids into an everlasting historic game for people to watch years down the road.

#2 2006-2007 BCS Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Boise State 43 Oklahoma 42 (OT)~~This one was for all the little people. No not those kinds of little people, the little schools, the mid-majors, the teams that until the last few years were never even thought about when playing the BCS bowl games. It also became the face of why college football needs an actual single elimination playoff system to rightfully say who is the real #1 and if a smaller school goes undefeated, then they should have a chance to do just the same. The Broncos escalated an argument that had already been taking place throughout the country and this wild thriller was the reason why.

If you didn't want to watch it because someone like Boise State was playing in a BCS bowl then most likely it was because Oklahoma running back and now Minnesota Viking NFL star Adrian Peterson was playing in his final collegiate game before hitting the NFL Draft. The Sooners wasted no time handing him the ball as the first drive he accumulated 14 yards, but a couple incomplete passes by quarterback Paul Thompson left Oklahoma punting and giving the Broncos the ball at their own 29. Seven plays later Boise State found themselves with a early 7-0 lead after quarterback Jared Zabransky threw a 49 yard touchdown pass to Drisan James and it was the beginning of a potential blowout. Oklahoma's quarterback fumbled on the very first play of their second possession and not only did the Broncos recover, but running back Ian Johnson rushed twice with the second time scoring on a 2-yard run. If you went to get a drink and came back you realized Boise State was already up 14-0 not even halfway through the first quarter.

Coach Bob Stoops held a group meeting on the sidelines with his team basically to calm them down and let them realize it was extremely early in the contest. It seemed to help as Oklahoma kept the ball for the rest of the first quarter, drove down the field and an 8 yard touchdown pass to Manuel Johnson from Thompson left the Sooners down only 14-7 to start the second quarter. There wasn't much scoring going on until about halfway into the second when Oklahoma managed a field goal, a 31 yarder by Garrett Hartley put Oklahoma within 4. It looked as though the score at the half would stay 14-10 as Boise State got the ball back with only 1:25 left , but a big 18 yard gain from Zabransky to Jerard Rabb the Broncos took a timeout with just over a minute left and already in Oklahoma territory. After a jumbled array of false starts,12 men on the field, and a couple of first downs, Zabransky threw a touchdown pass to Drisan James this time for 32 yards and a 21-10 lead at the half.

Down by 11 to start the third quarter Oklahoma needed to get a stop and use some clock to do what they had done all year with their playbook. Thompson wouldn't let that happen as he was intercepted on both of their first 2 possessions with the second one run back by Marty Tadman for a touchdown and a Boise State 18 point lead with only a quarter and a half to play 28-10. However, Oklahoma got back into their game plan as Thompson had two big plays to put the Sooners at midfield as he had consecutive passes to Juaquin Iglesias for 15 and 25 yards. Then once again they were stopped with no other choice then to punt, but a fumble by punt returner Aiona Key gave the ball back to the Sooners on Boise State's 11 yard line. Two plays later Adrian Peterson ran it in from 8 yards out to cut the lead to 28-17. Oklahoma got the ball back with all the momentum and about 3 minutes left in the third as Thompson once again had a big pass play to Iglesias, this time for 32 yards to put the Sooners at the Boise 28 and all the way down to the 5 yard line before the end of the quarter.

After a sack on third down they had to settle for a 28 yard Hartley field goal and a 28-20 deficit. For the next 12 1/2 minutes both teams faultered as field position was becoming an issue although Boise State did move the ball down to the Oklahoma 35, but a fumble by Ian Johnson saved the Sooners from being put away for good. With 2:27 left Paul Thompson looked like an NFL quarterback spreading the ball around with 4 consecutive passes, 3 different receivers, and a 8 yard rush to put Oklahoma down on the Boise State 15. A defensive pass interference call gave the Sooners the ball on the 5, and which Thompson finished off with a TD pass to Quentin Chaney who had accumulated 25 yards in all on the drive. Down 28-26 and only 1:26 left on the clock Oklahoma tied the ball game after a crazy two point conversion was made to put the game at 28 a piece.

Boise State had given up an 18 point lead, and looked as though they were about to give up the game when on the first play Zabransky was intercepted by Marcus Walker and it was returned 34 yards for a touchdown putting Oklahoma up 35-28 with 1:02 play. Just as the Broncos had scored two quick at the beginning of the game it took the Sooners all of a minute and a half to do the same. The game looked like it was over when Boise State got the ball back, got down to the Oklahoma 42, but Zabransky got sacked to leave the Broncos at the 50 yard line with only :30 seconds to play. A couple incomplete passes left Zabransky and company with a long 4th and 18 to go and the end of the line of an exciting game. Then it happened.

The football gods were looking down upon the Broncos as Zabransky threw a pass to Drisan James then James tossed a lateral to Jerard Rabb (the ol' hook n' ladder) who ran the rest of the way for a Broncos touchdown and a tie game at 35-35 with only seconds left in the game. It was one of the best college plays ever and will be remembered forever by many. However it only got the game to overtime which was never a disappointment.

Overtime~~ Adrian Peterson rushed for 77 yards, but none were more important than his 25 yard dash on the first play of overtime which gave Oklahoma the 42-35 lead and deflated the Bronco squad. The crowd erupted and it looked night and day as the sea of maroon was going crazy while the blue Broncos fans were just and in complete silence. The Broncos came out with magic up their sleeves as wideout Vinny Perretta started it off with a rush for no yards, then a Zabransky pass to Derek Schouman that netted only 2 yards. With Boise staring down a 3rd and 8, another pass to Schouman this time for 9 yards gave the Broncos a new life and a new set of downs. After another rush by Perretta and 2 more by Ian Johnson, Boise State was left with a 4th down and 2. Calling a timeout to figure out what to do.

When it finally came it was an unlikely pass from Vinny Perretta to Derek Schouman to set up a PAT for the tie. This however was like something out of a movie, the offense stayed out on the field and Zabransky stayed under center he looked as though he was going to pass to one of his 3 receivers, but then handed off to Ian Johnson who ran into the endzone for the 2pt conversion and a Broncos victory 43-42 in one of the most exciting bowl games let alone BCS bowl games. I got so excited writing about it, I can't believe how long this is already!

So, we've gone over almost 10 years worth of sweat n' tears and narrowed it down to the 5 best BCS games ever. Hopefully the 2007-2008 list will knock one of these off the list. I hope you enjoyed this and all the recaps to jog your sports history knowledge and I know you've waited a long time to find out so here it is the #1 BCS Game of All Time.