Your Turn (and Mine): The Best CFB Games of the Quarter Century
Alex and Richard picked 26 this week. Which games are your top three?
Welcome to the College Football Newsletter, where we are looking back before going forward. In that spirit, I have a question for you on this Friday:
If you could pick a trio of classic games from the century so far to watch as a triple feature, which ones would they be? You may be reading this in your inbox, but we’d love your comments on the web version of this story.
The games don’t have to be universally beloved. (This might be more fun if they’re not, actually.) You just need to distinctly remember being on the edge of your seat while watching them play out. There are no wrong answers, and your selections might reveal a little about the types of games you prefer.
Here are my quick picks:
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 2024: I think I might have a soft spot for overtime games that last for so long that you convince yourself you’ve become suspended in time. This was the eight-overtime game where both coaches were so spent that they shared an embrace afterward.
Colorado vs. Colorado State, 2023: This was the Colorado hype at its peak. College GameDay was in town and even The Rock was there for some reason. You had that colliding with Colorado State’s Jay Norvell as the heel. And from the Shilo Sanders 80-yard interception to start the game to Shedeur and Jimmy Horn leading a wild late comeback, this game was sick. This was also one of the last vestiges of Pac-12 After Dark, before CU and many others split for the Big 12. I distinctly remember everyone staying up and being online for this one.
USC vs. Texas, 2005, otherwise known as the night the sport got me: This was my first proper introduction to college football. In Los Angeles, where I grew up, Trojan hype reached almost everyone at that point. I remember the hubris from one of my teachers during a school day, when they talked about how USC was going to make light work of the Longhorns. I tuned in and experienced an incredible moment and a ton of heartbreak courtesy of Vince Young.
We’re picking only three games here, but Richard and Alex drafted 26 of their favorite games from this century, with a slight twist in one of this week’s episodes. Subscribers can find that right now in their feeds.
Here’s what Alex and Richard dropped into your podcast feeds this week:
● For subscribers, Richard and Alex held the aforementioned Best Games of the Century draft. While we are able to pick games without any limitation, they had two big caveats: if one person picked a game from a season, then that whole season’s slate of games was off the board. Plus, nobody could use two games involving the same team. Our two hosts got very strategic in picking their favorite games while blocking the other from creating their preferred slate. It gets intense. After you listen to the episode, head to our Instagram to vote for the person with the best collection of games.
● Matt Brown joined the show for the Sports Business Hour. There’s so much to talk about, from the Big 12’s jersey sponsorship with Monster Energy, to the blowback from EA Sports adding microtransactions to certain game modes, to the potential shakeup coming up at the University of Michigan. You can watch the video version over on our YouTube channel.
Some recommended reading
● Over at Slate, Alex took a look back at Graham Platner’s campaign, its demise, and the online platforms that made this campaign feel like such an internet war. Alex also reviewed the new Will Ferrell golf show on Netflix. Yikes.
● For every Michigan scandal that Alex and Richard have talked about on the podcast, athletic director Warde Manuel’s job security typically has come up. Just this week, CBS Sports reported that Manuel’s job is in jeopardy. Richard provided an update to that earlier in the week, explaining that while Manuel’s future could be up in the air, Michigan brass won’t make the final decision just yet.
● Matt examined the Big 12 Monster Energy patch deal in detail over at Extra Points.
● For The Athletic, Chris Vannini talked to Rhett Lashlee about SMU and why he stuck around with the Mustangs despite some enticing job openings in the SEC.
Relaunch Week is coming up
Next week is our SZD Relaunch Week, when we officially kick off the upcoming season with conference previews and a lot more. See you soon, ACC.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and we’ll talk to you next week.
2002 Ohio State vs. Miami (FL) I was a Buckeye before this game but this game turned my into an addict.
2006 Ohio State vs. Michigan the best game of my life and one of the most important personally.
2014 Ohio State vs. Alabama A decade later the Buckeyes were back
The three games that most clearly show my trajectory as a college football fan
My three favorite games of the century so far:
1. Louisville 44, Boise State 40 — 2004 Liberty Bowl
This was one of the first games that made Boise State feel like Boise State. Louisville came in after absolutely destroying almost everyone it played: Kentucky, North Carolina, East Carolina, South Florida, TCU, Houston, Cincinnati, Tulane, and others. Boise was undefeated and still a couple years away from the Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl game, but you could already see what that program was becoming. It was a great back-and-forth New Year’s Eve afternoon game that has always stuck with me.
https://youtu.be/34v6LnU0IJ0?is=IXEJ1wrVh5BrA8eX
2. Auburn 7, LSU 3 — 2006
Peak mid-2000s SEC football. Both defenses were ferocious, every yard felt difficult, and neither offense could do much of anything. On the final play, JaMarcus Russell hit Craig Davis inside the five, and Davis was immediately met by a. Auburn defensive backbefore he could get into the end zone. One of the best pure defensive games I can remember.
https://youtu.be/jwRGwyI5Gx4?is=qH0zshDHEFFOTOA4
3. Texas 45, Oklahoma 35 — 2008 Red River
This felt like the Big 12 offensive boom arriving in full. Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, elite skill talent everywhere, explosive plays, and constant momentum swings in the Cotton Bowl. Texas really announced itself as a national-title-level team that day, and the game still stands out to me as one of the best examples of what late-2000s Big 12 football looked like.
https://youtu.be/qIouIlhh4jY?is=WqefEYCL3mOS9Cjq