Best college football games of all time

Even without something like the College Football Playoff implemented, the final hurrah from the EA Sports college football series has a dedicated fanbase online, and not simply because it is the last of its subject matter.

The natural response to Madden was Madden , with Ray Lewis poetically draped on the cover as the series introduced its signature defensive feature. The game was well received with a 91 score on Metacritic. And no wonder—EA Sports did the unthinkable by making defense fun to play.

Even better, the hit stick took the animation-driven tackles of yesteryear and put in a player-controlled gamble. Miss the hit stick, pay the price. Given its defensive slant, innovations and how it still holds up rather well, Madden is easily the best entry in the series. And NFL Blitz wasn't shy about what it wanted: over-the-top action. Player proportions, realism—none of it mattered. Big hits—before and after the whistle—and downright fun did.

The game is notable, though, for looping in a four-player option, the ability to create plays and other refined features. While the NFL Blitz series was revived in the mids for two releases and later one in , the at-home classic is a nostalgic powerhouse and still fun two decades later. The NES classic is still wildly relevant.

It has a cult following due to its style, accessibility in various formats and via the recreation of modern events within its bit style. Indeed, Tecmo Super Bowl laid the foundation. Preseason, regular-season and Pro Bowl modes were in, and so was the capability to control multiple teams. There was a semblance of roster editing. Players could ask the computer to handle certain on-field responsibilities. Oh, and the game was as fun as it got for the time period.

Many would argue it is fun today as a pick-up-and-play romp too—understandably. Vince Young delivered a performance for the ages in a back-and-forth thriller at the Rose Bowl, capping an unbeaten season for the Longhorns and giving them their first undisputed national championship in 36 years.

Young passed for yards, ran for more yards and scored three touchdowns, including the game winner with 19 seconds to play, when he darted into the end zone from 8 yards out on fourth down. The game produced more than 1, yards of total offense, but it was a fourth-down stop by Texas that set up the winning drive. The Trojans, boasting both the Heisman Trophy winner, Reggie Bush, and the Heisman winner, Matt Leinart, had their game win streak snapped and were denied a third straight national title.

Miami opened the floodgates on its spree of national championships with its first in the season. The Howard Schnellenberger-led Hurricanes were playing in only their second bowl game since , and they looked right at home on their home turf with the upset of the No. Nebraska battled back from a deficit, pulled within with 48 seconds left and could have tied the score with the extra point.

That was before overtime was introduced in college football, and the Huskers could have been voted national champions in the polls had the game ended in a tie. But coach Tom Osborne elected to go for a two-point conversion and the win. A controversial pass-interference call in the end zone is what a lot of people remember about how the season ended, but the title game featured one twist after another, dramatic turnovers, a bunch of lead changes and a true freshman, Maurice Clarett, scoring the game-winning touchdown.

The Hurricanes, They thought they had won it in the first overtime, when Craig Krenzel 's fourth-down pass from the 5-yard line fell incomplete. The Miami players had already spilled onto the field to celebrate, but a late pass-interference flag came flying out from the back of the end zone on Glenn Sharpe, who was covering Chris Gamble on the play.

The Buckeyes had new life and took advantage to win their first national title since the Woody Hayes era. The first time these teams met for the national championship to cap the season was a thriller. The rematch was even better. Clemson junior quarterback Deshaun Watson engineered a game-winning drive for the ages after Alabama freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts put the Crimson Tide ahead with a spectacular yard touchdown run of his own with to play.

Fittingly, the game winner came on the final offensive play. Watson hit former walk-on Hunter Renfrow with a 2-yard touchdown pass with one second left in the game.

The game had enough storylines surrounding it, with Lane Kiffin stepping away as Alabama's offensive coordinator the week before the game and being replaced by Steve Sarkisian. It was Clemson's first national championship in 35 years, and the Tigers snapped the Tide's game win streak.

The fact that it was Nick Saban's fifth national championship in the last nine years makes it monumental enough, but the ending was the clincher.

True freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa , who had just taken a seemingly crippling yard sack to push the Crimson Tide out of field-goal range, connected with true freshman receiver DeVonta Smith on a yard touchdown pass in overtime for the walk-off win over Kirby Smart's Dawgs.

The fact that Tagovailoa was even in the game was a story unto itself. With Alabama trailing at the half and the offense firing blanks, Saban decided to bench Jalen Hurts who was as the starter and go with Tagovailoa, who had not played any meaningful snaps up until that point.

It was a gutsy move, but one that paid off and added some life to a stagnant Alabama passing game. Tagovailoa threw three touchdown passes in the second half and helped Saban go to against his former assistants.

Boise State, a mid-major upstart, was a touchdown underdog against Oklahoma, a member of college football royalty. The two teams scored 22 points in the final 90 seconds of regulation, with Boise blowing an point lead along the way before using a yard hook-and-lateral play on 4th-and in the final seconds of regulation to tie the game.

Down by a point in overtime, Boise continued its trickery, using a Statue of Liberty play to win the game, setting off a wild celebration, complete with a marriage proposal. New York is reportedly acquiring the swingman in a deal with Atlanta in exchange for Kevin Knox and a first-round pick.

The 49ers enter Sunday's game as an underdog, but one former 49ers legend remains confident in the team's chances. New York's former coach seemed to be in good spirits despite his dismissal Tuesday. Alabama fans were not happy with Joel Klatt after his recent Kayvon Thibodeaux interview. Analysis and a best bet for Sunday's throwback Wild-Card matchup featuring the Cowboys welcoming the 49ers.

Home College College Football. SI Recommends. By Michael Shapiro. By Dan Lyons. By Ben Pickman. By Rohan Nadkarni.