Game of the Century

[bluehenbillk]

Can't believe the game is tomorrow and no talk about it....


LSU @ Bama. Discuss.....

[TwinTownBisonFan]

given that this is an FCS borad - I'm always reluctant to talk about my love of FBS football...

but I'm more hyped for this game than I've been for any single game since Michigan/Ohio St in 2006...

gotta love a coin flip game - but my take? LSU wins on some crazy-ass mad-hatter fake punt or trick play... either that - or we get overtime. Hoping this one meets the hype.

[89Hen]

Bama in a snoozer.

[Skjellyfetti]

That was last week in Boone, NC.

[Grizalltheway]

Bama in a snoozer.

I can easily see this one ending 9-3.

[Grizalltheway]

That was two years ago in Missoula, MT.

[DSUrocks07]

That was two years ago in Missoula, MT.

[DSUrocks07]

Alabama is ranked #1 in pretty much EVERY SINGLE offensive and defensive category.

LSU ranges from #3 to #5.

Bama at home? I'll take Bama.

[Skjellyfetti]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The band at Galette's mashed up Werewolves of London with Sweet Home Alabama because, what the hell? Everything goes with Sweet Home Alabama. The blonde student outside the bar admitted her anxiety level had skyrocketed as the week barreled toward its conclusion. Not because of any test or paper, mind you, but for a reason she thought should be obvious to anyone.
"This is the biggest game of the season," she said.

The Game of the Year. The Game of the Century. The Game of the Millennium. The Game of the Year of the Century of the Millennium.

If you live above the Mason-Dixon Line or west of the Mississippi, you've gagged on hyperbole by now. You get it. LSU and Alabama will play a football game Saturday. LSU and Alabama have excellent football teams, so good that they are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, by just about anyone who puts college football teams in order. LSU's coach is a bit quirky. Alabama's coach is a bit stern. But at 11:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, most of you will click off the television and move on with your lives. Your world will keep spinning.

For the blonde outside the bar, the world will stop -- if only momentarily -- if Alabama loses. For the guy in purple who hoisted the LSU flag from his RV on Thursday, the drive home to Louisiana will feel months long if the Tigers lose.
These people have real problems. Most of them -- except possibly for a handful of the more frequent callers to Paul Finebaum's radio show -- do not lack perspective. (Anyone who needs more perspective can stand at the corner of McFarland Boulevard and 15th Street, look left and right, and see where the April tornado turned a half-mile wide swath of civilization into a giant field of nothing.) But for this weekend, they will voluntarily set aside their real-world concerns and disappear into a universe where only this game matters. The team that wins will have the inside track on the national title. The team that loses will be an utter failure -- unless it can somehow sneak back into the national title race.

For a significant portion of the populations of Alabama and Louisiana, this game will mean everything, even if only for a weekend. And that's OK.

Go ahead and laugh if you want at the Southerners making too much out of a football game again. That's fine.
We're used to getting laughed at. When I was seven, I moved from Columbia, S.C., to Key Largo, Fla. The other kids heard my twang and thought I'd arrived from another planet. In middle school, a classmate identified my dad, who taught at the school, as the teacher who "talked country." In college, a fellow staffer at the student newspaper informed me that "some hick lady" had called asking for me. I picked up the phone and heard the voice of my mother, who left this world holding twice as many college degrees as the guy who couldn't appreciate the native accent of Alabama's Dallas County.

You make fun of what we eat, but that's probably because you don't know the proper proportions of salt, pepper and butter that turn grits from flavorless mush into the breakfast of champions. You make fun of the fact that we lost the Civil War, even though none of us had a hand in fighting it. A popular refrain since the SEC took ownership of major college football's national title on Jan. 8, 2007 is that Southerners are attempting to retroactively vacate Union Army victories every time an SEC team whips someone in the BCS title game. That simply isn't true. When Southerners chant S-E-C, it has nothing to do with Robert E. Lee.

It has everything to do with the fact that Southerners care more about football than anyone else, and at the moment two teams from the South happen to be playing football better than anyone else. Don't believe people here care more? Ask yourself this: How many blondes will stand outside a Palo Alto bar next Thursday and fret about whether Stanford's linebackers can tackle Oregon tailback Kenjon Barner in space?

Sure, people here have more important things to worry about. But when an Alabaman gets angry at LSU tight end DeAngelo Peterson for calling Alabama's linebackers "kind of slow and big," it takes his mind off the heavier stuff for a few minutes. When people in Louisiana stop what they're doing to watch LSU coach Les Miles sit on a tiger print chair next to Erin Andrews and discuss how much caffeine he needs to properly plan to attack Alabama's defense, it gives them a break from the grind. The potential joy -- and even the potential pain -- of Saturday night somehow makes everything else easier to bear.

So it's all right if smart people with important jobs spent part of their week wondering whether Alabama tailback Trent Richardson can break through LSU's beastly defensive line and into the linebacker corps, which, had an Alabama player done some analogous trash-talking, would have been described as "kind of fast and small." It's OK if they wonder whether LSU receiver Reuben Randle can get open against an Alabama secondary that includes four potential first-round draft picks.

Maybe Alabama coach Nick Saban will design the perfect game plan, and the Crimson Tide, who have their own mental conditioning coach, will focus completely and execute that plan perfectly. Maybe LSU coach Les Miles will reach down, pinch a few blades of grass and stuff them in his mouth before the Tigers run a fourth-down trick play to win the game. Either way, the anticipation is half the thrill. The other half will come Saturday, when the voice of a dead man called Bear growls and Bryant-Denny Stadium roars and two teams storm the field to decide who rules college football.
By next week, it probably won't be The Game of the Year of the Century of the Millennium anymore. But at least until

11:30 Saturday night, it will be.

And that's all that matters.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... =hp_t11_a2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[clenz]

So....this is what, the second or third game of the century since 2000....holy shit talk about over hyping. Has the mothership talked about anything else this week...Every time I flip it to the mothership, mothership 2, U, or News they are only talking/showing LSU/Alabama or Tim Tebow...with the occasional nascar or soccer thrown in.


Jesus fucking christ, I knew there was a reason I stopped watching the mothership outside of actual live sporting events.

[Skjellyfetti]

this is what, the second or third game of the century since 2000....

Any of the other ones were overrated.

What were they, anyway? Texas - Ohio State? Notre Dame - USC?

This one isn't.

[clenz]

this is what, the second or third game of the century since 2000....

Any of the other ones were overrated.

What were they, anyway? Texas - Ohio State? Notre Dame - USC?

This one isn't.

2006: 1v2 Michigan/Ohio State to end the regular season....for the B10 title and the right to the national title.....

A quick search shows many "game's of the century" since it was first used


1935 Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
1946 Army vs. Notre Dame
1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
1967 USC vs. UCLA
1969 Texas vs. Arkansas
1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma
1987 Miami vs. Penn State
1991 Florida State vs. Miami
1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame
2006 Ohio State vs. Michigan
2011 LSU vs Alabama

[clenz]

This is all from the Game of the Century wiki page


1935 Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
November 2, 1935: A then Ohio Stadium record crowd of 81,018 witnessed what was billed as The Game of the Century, the first ever meeting between Ohio State and Notre Dame. And they saw a great one. Ohio State led 13-0 heading into the fourth, but ND rallied with three fourth-quarter touchdowns and fed off several OSU miscues to pull out the win. ND’s Bill Shakespeare, a Cincinnati native, threw the game-winning 19-yard pass to Wayne Millner with 32 seconds left.Tickets for this game sold for $50 each and there were widespread reports of counterfeit tickets. OSU officials said they could have sold 200,000 tickets for the game if they had room.[7]
[edit]1946 Army vs. Notre Dame
Main article: 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game
1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Irish 0 0 0 0 0
Cadets 0 0 0 0 0
November 9, 1946: Army (the football program of the United States Military Academy (Army) Cadets at West Point, New York), then ranked Number 1 in the Associated Press college football poll, played the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, of South Bend, Indiana, ranked Number 2, at Yankee Stadium in New York City.[8]
This matchup, with the national attention it got in the era before the service academies ceased to be major football powers, was usually played at a neutral site, often in New York City. The 1924 game between the schools, a Notre Dame victory at the Polo Grounds, was the game at which sportswriter Grantland Rice christened the Fighting Irish backfield—quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, halfbacks Jim Crowley and Don Miller, and fullback Elmer Layden -- the "Four Horsemen." The 1928 edition, with Notre Dame trailing Army at halftime at Yankee Stadium, was the game where Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne delivered his "Win one for the Gipper" speech, resulting in a comeback win for the Fighting Irish.
Both teams were undefeated going into the 1946 game at Yankee Stadium. Both teams averaged over 30 points per game. Army had a 25-game winning streak, last losing to Notre Dame in 1943 (26-0), but had won the last two contests between the schools by scores of 59-0 and 48-0. Army had the defending Heisman Trophy winner, Doc Blanchard, also known as "Mr. Inside", the man who would win it that year, Glenn Davis, also known as "Mr. Outside", and one of the nation's top quarterbacks in Arnold Tucker. Notre Dame had the quarterback who would win the Heisman the next year, Johnny Lujack. Both Tucker and Lujack were also outstanding defensive backs at a time when football players, college as well as professional, usually played both offense and defense. Just the previous year, in a game also labeled the "game of the century" before it was played, Army defeated a 7-0-1 Navy team 32-13. Navy's lone tie was against Notre Dame.[3]
Despite the high-scoring and much-hyped offenses, the game ended in a scoreless tie, with each school's best chance at a scoring drive coming back-to-back: Tucker intercepting Lujack, and Lujack then making a touchdown-saving tackle on Blanchard a few plays later. Notre Dame's defense did something no other team had ever done — it held the famous "Touchdown Twins", Blanchard and Davis, to a total of 79 yards. As an indication of how the defense of both teams dominated, seven linemen in that game were nominated for Lineman of the Week honors in the weekly Associated Press poll. Joe Steffy, an Army guard who helped shut down the Notre Dame running game, won the honor, followed closely by Notre Dame right tackle George Sullivan and freshman lineman Jim Martin who helped stifle Army's running attack and dropped Davis on consecutive plays for losses totalling 17 yards. Both Notre Dame coach Leahy and Army coach Blaik called the game "a terrific battle of defenses."
Both teams would finish the season undefeated with this one tie, but it was Notre Dame that was awarded the National Championship by the Associated Press, with Army coming in second. Neither school accepted bowl bids during that era, although a bowl loss would not have affected the national championship outcome since these were named before the postseason at the time. Army declined an invitation to play in the 1947 Rose Bowl. The Army Black Knights Football media guide lists the 1946 team as national champions.[9]
With Blanchard, Davis and Tucker having graduated, Army's winning streak would be broken the next year, by Columbia University. Notre Dame would not lose until early in the 1950 season. Sporting News named the 1944-45 Army Cadets and the 1946 Fighting Irish the second and fifth greatest teams of the Twentieth Century respectively.
[edit]1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
Main article: 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game
1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Irish 0 7 0 3 10
Spartans 7 3 0 0 10
November 19, 1966: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Michigan State Spartans, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. Notre Dame, which hadn't won a National Championship since 1953 (a long drought by their standards), was ranked #1 in one poll and #2 in the other. Defending National Champion Michigan State, who had finished the season #1 in the UPI poll, but was upset by UCLA in the Rose Bowl the previous year, entered the game ranked #2 in one poll and #1 in the other. Alabama - the two-time defending AP National Champion - was undefeated and untied but ranked #3. The Fighting Irish, whose bid for a National Championship two years earlier was snuffed out by USC, were hungry, while the Spartans had history and home-field advantage on their side. This was the first time in 20 years that a college football was given the "Game of the Century" tag by the national media, and ABC had the nation's viewers in its grip, with equal parts Notre Dame fans and Michigan State fans.
Interestingly enough, the game was not shown live on national TV. Each team was allotted one national television appearance and two regional television appearances each season. Notre Dame had used their national TV slot in the season opening game against Purdue. ABC executives did not even want to show the game anywhere but the regional area, but pressure from the West Coast and the South (to the tune of 50,000 letters) made ABC air the game on tape delay.
Irish quarterback Terry Hanratty was knocked out after getting sacked in the first quarter by Spartan defensive lineman Bubba Smith. Starting Notre Dame running back Nick Eddy was out entirely after hurting his shoulder getting off the train in East Lansing. And Michigan State held a 10-0 lead by early in the second quarter. But the Irish came back, scoring a touchdown right after Michigan State's field goal and tied the game on the first play of the fourth quarter. Notre Dame had the ball on its own 30-yard line with 1:10 to go, needing about 40 yards for a game-winning field goal. But Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian chose to run the clock out, not wanting to risk a turnover, preserving the tie and Notre Dame's #1 ranking. The game ended in a 10-10 tie.
For nearly 40 years, Parseghian has defended his end-of-the-game strategy, which left many fans feeling disappointed at the game not having some sort of resolution: Michigan State fans and others who wanted Michigan State to win calling him a coward, and college football expert Dan Jenkins leading off his article for Sports Illustrated by saying Parseghian chose to "Tie one for the Gipper." Others chided Notre Dame by calling them the "Tying Irish" instead of the "Fighting Irish." However, it was a road game, Notre Dame was without its starting quarterback, and one of its starting running backs was out of the game. Furthermore, the backup quarterback, Coley O'Brien, was a diabetic and was exhausted to the point where he couldn't throw. Thus, settling for a tie may have been in Notre Dame's best interest.
Notre Dame beat Rose Bowl bound USC 51-0 in Los Angeles the next week, completing an undefeated regular season and moving them to Number 1 in both polls. The Irish did not accept bowl bids until 1969, and Michigan State was the victim of a pair of Big Ten rules that would be rescinded a few years later: The same school could not represent the league in the Rose Bowl in back-to-back seasons, and only the league Champions could accept a bowl bid, unless they refused the Rose Bowl bid or, because it was on probation, were prohibited from accepting the bid, which, in either case, would then go to the second-place team. So despite being Big Ten Champions and undefeated in the regular season, in each case for two seasons in a row, the Spartans could not play in the Rose Bowl.
Alabama - the two-time defending AP National Champion - crushed Nebrasaka 34-7 in the Sugar Bowl to finish as the nation's only undefeated and untied team (11-0) but was shut out of the National Championship by the vote for the once-tied Irish team.
The Sporting news named the 1966 Fighting Irish and the 1965-66 Spartans the eleventh and thirteenth greatest teams of the Twentieth Century respectively.
[edit]1967 USC vs. UCLA
Main article: 1967 USC vs. UCLA football game
1 2 3 4 Total
Bruins 7 0 7 6 20
Trojans 7 7 0 7 21
November 18, 1967: The UCLA Bruins, ranked Number 1 in both polls, played the USC Trojans, ranked Number 2 in the coaches poll and 4 in the AP poll. The Bruins had senior quarterback Gary Beban as the leading Heisman Trophy candidate and the Trojans had junior running back O. J. Simpson also as a strong Heisman candidate in a showcase game for player of the year. This is widely regarded as the signature game in the UCLA-USC rivalry. The game would be broadcast live and in color in ABC's second season of covering college football.
At the time, both teams played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (until 1982 when UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl stadium). Both teams wore their home uniforms, as was their custom for this rivalry when they shared a common home field. This game was for the "championship of Los Angeles", for the championship of the AAWU conference (now the Pacific-12), and for Rose Bowl berth. This was also for the National Championship, since this was the last year where the final AP poll would be published before the bowl games.
With the game tied 14-14 early in the fourth quarter, an injured Beban gamely threw a touchdown pass, but the extra point attempt was blocked, resulting in a 20-14 UCLA lead. Trojan quarterback Toby Page called a pass play, then saw the Bruin linebackers drop back into pass coverage. He changed the signals before the snap, and handed off to Simpson, who ran 64 yards for a touchdown. USC kicked the extra point, and held on to win, 21-20.
As a result of this game, USC finished the season ranked #1 in both polls and would go on to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers in the 1968 Rose Bowl. UCLA would finish the season unranked in the AP poll (at the time, this poll only ranked the top ten teams) and #11 in the UPI poll. Despite the loss, Beban would win the Heisman; Simpson would win it the next season. Simpson would go on to a Hall of Fame professional career in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills. Beban was a bust as a pro; he was drafted by the Washington Redskins, who already had a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Sonny Jurgensen. The Redskins moved Beban to wide receiver, and he lasted only two seasons.
Keith Jackson, who covered the game for ABC, declared it many years later to be the greatest game he has ever seen.[10] So did Giles Pellerin, a USC graduate who attended every game USC played from 1926 until his death at the 1998 USC-UCLA game at the Rose Bowl, 797 straight games over 72 years. Both USC broadcasters Tom Kelly and Pete Arbogast also stated that it was the greatest win in Trojan Football history - the latter attended the game at the age of 12 and lost his voice that day.
The Sporting News named the 1967 Trojans one of the greatest team of the Twentieth Century.
[edit]1969 Texas vs. Arkansas
Main article: 1969 Texas vs. Arkansas football game
1 2 3 4 Total
Longhorns 0 0 0 15 15
Razorbacks 7 0 7 0 14
December 6, 1969: University of Texas at Austin vs. University of Arkansas. In a game between unbeatens played at Arkansas' Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, the Texas Longhorns were ranked Number 1 in the country, having won 18 straight games. The Arkansas Razorbacks were ranked Number 2, having won 15 straight.
This game would decide the Southwest Conference Championship, as well as its berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic, setting it up to win the National Championship. Sensing that the matchup might be a possible 1-vs.-2 showdown, ABC offered to move the game from October 18 to December 6 to give it more of a national audience to showcase the 100th year of college football, and the schools, enjoying the publicity, accepted. Thanks to a fortuitous upset of top-ranked Ohio State by Michigan, which elevated Texas and Arkansas to the top two spots, the move worked, making their game the focus of the entire American sporting scene. The game pulled a television rating of a 50 share, meaning half the TV sets in the country were tuned to this game.
President Richard Nixon attended the game along with several members of his staff and U.S. Representatives George H.W. Bush of Texas and John Paul Hammerschmidt of Arkansas, having announced that he would give a plaque to the winner, proclaiming it to be the National Champion — to the chagrin of observers who thought it premature to do so before the New Year's Day bowl games, and of fans of Pennsylvania State University, which would also end the season undefeated. Arkansas took a 14-0 lead, and held it into the fourth quarter, but Texas came from behind to win, 15-14, and accepted Nixon's plaque.
The signature play of the game came in the 4th quarter with Texas trailing 14-8. The Longhorns, normally a conservative, power running team, faced 4th and 3 and chose to gamble with a deep play action pass. Quarterback James Street was so surprised by the call that he asked head coach Darrell Royal "Are you sure?" before heading to the huddle. Despite double coverage, Street hit Randy Peschel with a 44 yard pass to keep the drive alive. Texas scored to take the lead 2 plays later.
Texas beat Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl Classic, and removed any doubt as to whether it deserved consideration as National Champion, although Penn State fans still insist that their team, also undefeated and winner of the Orange Bowl, was better. However, it is worth noting that the Cotton Bowl Classic first invited Penn State to play the Southwest Conference champions. The Nittany Lions declined the invitation, which would have resulted in them playing Texas and only one team ending the year undefeated, preferring to spend New Year's Day in warm Miami, where they defeated Big 8 champion Missouri. The 1969 Texas-Penn State conflict, never settled on the field, remains one of the lasting arguments in College Football history. Arkansas lost the Sugar Bowl to Ole Miss. The entire Texas-Penn State debate and Nixon's involvement led to a quote from Penn State coach Joe Paterno, a conservative Republican, during a commencement speech at Penn State in 1974 about Nixon, "How could Nixon know so much about college football in 1969 and so little about Watergate in 1974?"
This game has been nicknamed "Dixie's Last Stand", since it was the last major American sporting event played between two all-white teams, although two schools in the Southeastern Conference, LSU and Ole Miss, did not integrate their varsity football squads until 1972.
With the Vietnam War still raging and Nixon in attendance, protestors came to the game, and one of them got into a tree overlooking the stadium and held up an antiwar sign. The racial and political implications and the build-up to the game were the subject of a 2005 book, Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming, which paid special attention to the demonstrations by anti-war and anti-racist groups. An urban legend grew up around this game, claiming that this protestor was Arkansas native and future President Bill Clinton. Clinton, however, was not at the game, as he was then a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford in England, and was listening to the game on a shortwave radio with some American friends.
The two coaches in this game, Darrell Royal of Texas and Frank Broyles of Arkansas, both retired after the 1976 season and became athletic directors at their respective schools. Broyles, who retired as the Razorbacks' men's athletic director on December 31, 2007,[11] spearheaded Arkansas' move from the Southwest Conference to the SEC in 1990. Broyles was instrumental in the Razorbacks and Longhorns playing a two-year series in 2003 (at Austin) and 2004 (at Fayetteville).
The Sporting News named the 1969 Longhorns the seventh greatest team of the Twentieth Century.
[edit]1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma
Main article: 1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma football game
1 2 3 4 Total
Cornhuskers 7 7 14 7 35
Sooners 3 14 7 7 31
November 25, 1971: The best lead written about the '71 Game of the Century came from Dave Kindred, who back then wrote for the Louisville Courier-Journal. He wrote, "They can quit playing now, they have played the perfect game." - ESPN's Beano Cook[12]
The defending national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers, top-ranked with a 20-game winning streak, played the Oklahoma Sooners, ranked #2 with a national prominence dating back to the 1950s, when they won 3 national championships and an NCAA record 47 straight games.[13]
The teams combined for 17 of 22 first-team All-Big Eight players. Nebraska had the nation’s top-ranked defense. Oklahoma had the nation's most productive offense, with their Wishbone averaging over 472 rushing yards per game, an NCAA record.[14]
The cover of Sports Illustrated (Nov. 22, 1971) published the week of the game included photographs of Nebraska linebacker Bob Terrio and Oklahoma running back Greg Pruitt, nose-to-nose, beneath the headline: "Irresistible Oklahoma Meets Immovable Nebraska.’’[15] The cover story in that issue labeled it the "Game Of The Decade" and listed 25 of the greatest college football games played to that point.[16]
The Husker "Blackshirts" defense included seven first-team All-Big Eight selections, four players who would earn consensus All-America recognition during their careers and two Outland Trophy winners: tackle Larry Jacobson and middle guard Rich Glover. Glover would win both the Outland and Lombardi awards in 1972 and eventually be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. They were joined in the starting lineup by end Willie Harper, like Glover, a two-time All-American. John Dutton, an All-American in 1973, was a sophomore backup. This defense is still considered by many to be the greatest in college football history.[15]
The Sooner's record setting wishbone was led by all-American QB Jack Mildren, who rushed for over 1,000 yards, but was also a very good passer. His weapons were Heisman Trophy candidate HB Greg Pruitt who averaged a stunning 9.5 yards per carry and speedy split end Jon Harrison. Future College Football Hall of Famer Tom Brahaney was the anchor at center.[14]
The Husker offense was led by flanker, Johnny Rodgers, who would go on to win the Heisman the next season and bullish tailback Jeff Kinney, a future NFL first round draft pick. The Sooner defense was anchored by all-Big 8 defensive tackle Derland Moore, a future all-American and NFL Pro Bowler.
ABC-TV would broadcast the game nationally to an estimated 55 million viewers (at the time the largest television audience ever for a college football game) with Chris Schenkel doing the play-by-play. Joining him in the booth for color analysis was Oklahoma's legendary former coach, Bud Wilkinson, with Bill Flemming reporting from the sidelines. Before the game, Schenkel and Wilkinson emerged from the tunnel leading to the field, and when the Oklahoma crowd spotted Wilkinson, they erupted into applause. They came to their feet with admiration for the coach who had guided the Sooners to prominence with three national championships and an NCAA record 47-game winning streak in the 1950s.[14]
The game was played at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma, on Thanksgiving Day. Not only at stake was the Big Eight title, but also the #1 ranking in the polls. However, the bowl trips had already been determined before the game, with Nebraska going to the Orange Bowl in Miami and Oklahoma headed for the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Two days after Thanksgiving, #5 Auburn (9-0) would host #3 Alabama (10-0) for the SEC title, the two opponents that Oklahoma and Nebraska would play.[8]. Given the magnitude of the game, Devaney had his players' food flown in from Lincoln, in case gamblers attempted to induce a hotel chef to give the Huskers food poisoning.[14]
The game went back and forth. The Cornhuskers struck first, with Rodgers shocking the Sooners with a 72-yard punt return for a touchdown after the Sooners' first possession was stopped. The punt return remains one of college football's signature moments, though it remains controversial. Some observers and many Sooner fans claim Nebraska cornerback Joe Blahak appeared to clip Sooner receiver Jon Harrison as Rodgers stormed for the touchdown. No penalty was called, primarily because Blahak blocked Harrison at an angle, which was not a penalty. Referees for the game have continued to deny that there was a clip on the play, even after having studied film footage of it, which is inconclusive due to Blahak's trajectory.
The first half was atypical for both teams, as the Cornhuskers' potent offense was stymied by the underrated Sooner defense; meanwhile, Oklahoma's devastating Wishbone offense was blunted by the brutal Cornhusker defense, as the Sooners had several turnovers and were continually frustrated by Husker middle guard Rich Glover, who would end up with twenty-two tackles on the day, despite lining up across from Sooner all-American center Tom Brahaney.
Nebraska held a 14-3 lead, but Oklahoma came back, relying almost entirely on Jack Mildren's arm and legs, and the Sooners grabbed the lead at halftime, 17-14, on two long passes from Mildren to Harrison with just seconds left in the first half. For the first time all season, the Cornhuskers were trailing in a game.
Relying on a power running game, the Huskers retook the lead and led 28-17 going into the fourth quarter. Quarterback Jack Mildren led the Sooners back, and Oklahoma led 31-28 with 7:05 to play. The Huskers got the ball back on their own 26-yard line. Getting to the Oklahoma 48, Husker quarterback Jerry Tagge threw to Rodgers, who broke tackles and ran all the way to the 15. Jeff Kinney then carried four times, the last resulting in his fourth touchdown of the game, and Nebraska led 35-31 with 1:38 left to play. Sacks of Mildren on third and fourth down in Sooner territory finished the game off as a Nebraska win.
This game, much more than the previous year's national championship, made Nebraska a program with a national following. Already having sold every seat available at their Memorial Stadium since coach Bob Devaney arrived from Wyoming in 1962, they would be a perennial national championship contender and a frequent presence on national TV, with fans across the country seeing banners at Memorial Stadium reading "Californians for Nebraska", "Floridians for Nebraska", "Alaskans for Nebraska", and so on. Nebraska native Johnny Carson (an alumnus of NU) took pride in the Cornhuskers' accomplishments during his monologue as host of The Tonight Show on NBC, and fellow Nebraskan Dick Cavett also mentioned them on his talk show.
The Cornhuskers went on to soundly defeat the Alabama, by then ranked Number 2, 38-6 in the Orange Bowl, completing their back-to-back national championships. Devaney coached for one more year, going 9-2-1 and winning a third straight Orange Bowl, before becoming Nebraska's athletic director and handing the reins over to 36 year-old assistant Tom Osborne in 1973.
Pruitt did not win the Heisman, which went to Auburn quarterback Pat Sullivan in 1971. By a coincidence, Auburn met Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, and the Sooners won, 40-22. (By another coincidence, these two arch-rivals, Nebraska and Oklahoma, would end up playing each half of another nasty rivalry, Alabama and Auburn, and beat them both.)
Despite the defeat, Oklahoma's program was also relaunched by this game, and they would be a perennial national championship contender throughout the 1970s and much of the 1980s. Oklahoma coach Chuck Fairbanks left the Sooners following the 1972 season to become the head coach of the New England Patriots of the NFL. Offensive coordinator Barry Switzer succeeded Fairbanks and compiled a 157-29-4 record from 1973 through 1988, and guided the Sooners to national championships in 1974, 1975, and 1985.
The top three teams in the final AP poll for 1971 were from the Big Eight: Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Colorado. The fourth-ranked team was Alabama, Nebraska's bowl opponent, making the 1971 Nebraska team the only team ever to finish the season ranked #1 after beating the other three teams ranked in the top four. The Sporting News named the 1971 Cornhusker team the greatest team of the Twentieth Century in 1988.
ESPN.com has named the 1971 Nebraska Cornhusker team the greatest team of all time.[17]
[edit]1987 Miami vs. Penn State
Main article: 1987 Fiesta Bowl
1 2 3 4 Total
Hurricanes 0 7 0 3 10
Nittany Lions 0 7 0 7 14
January 2, 1987: In the next "Game of the Century", the largest television audience in college football history watches as the undefeated and #1 Miami Hurricanes battle the undefeated and #2 Penn State Nittany Lions in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship.[18] The game garnered a 25.1 television rating, with an average of 21,940,000 viewers watching the NBC telecast per minute.[19]
Of the two teams, Miami had the starpower, as it was led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Vinny Testaverde, running back Alonzo Highsmith, and defensive tackle Jerome Brown, all of whom would be selected within the first nine picks of that April's NFL Draft. Miami was seldom challenged during the regular season and was considered a prohibitive favorite over the gritty Nittany Lions. Tensions between the teams were heightened when Miami players attended a Fiesta Bowl barbecue held days before the game dressed in fatigues.
The game played out in surprising fashion. Miami's offense had little trouble moving the ball, yet the vaunted Penn State defense was able to pressure Testaverde enough (four sacks) that the Hurricanes committed a whopping seven turnovers (five interceptions, two fumbles). Miami scored first to take a 7-0 lead, but Penn State would answer with a touchdown of its own to tie it up at 7 at halftime. Miami added a field goal early in the fourth quarter to take a 10-7 lead, but momentum swung when Penn State linebacker Shane Conlan intercepted a pass from Testaverde and returned it 38 yards to the Miami 5. D.J. Dozier would then score on a six-yard run to give Penn State its first lead of the night at 14-10.
The score was still 14-10 when Miami took over at its own 23 with just over 3 minutes left. Testaverde was masterful on the drive, converting a key 4th-and-six pass from Miami's own 27 to Brian Blades for a 31-yard gain and at one point completing six straight passes to take the Canes all the way down to the Penn State 6 with just 18 seconds remaining in the game. But on the next play, Penn State fooled Testaverde when the Lions decided to drop eight men back in pass coverage and rushed just three. Testaverde failed to read the coverage and his pass was intercepted at the goal line by linebacker Pete Giftopoulos, sealing the upset win for Penn State.
Miami dominated the game statistically, racking up 445 total yards and 22 first downs to just 162 yards and 8 first downs for Penn State. But in the end, it was Penn State that walked away with the victory—and the national championship—in this "Game of the Century."
[edit]1991 Florida State vs. Miami
1 2 3 4 Total
Hurricanes 7 0 0 10 17
Seminoles 3 7 3 3 16
The November 16th No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown between Sunshine State rivals was described as "the most highly anticipated regular season clash" since the 1971 Nebraska-Oklahoma game.[3] Top-ranked Florida State entered the game with a 10-0 record and a quarterback, Casey Weldon, who was undefeated as a starter.[4] The Seminoles featured a high-flying offense that was averaging 41 points per game[2][5] (third in the nation in scoring) and had earlier in the season shocked the college football world by scoring 51 points in a blowout win over the then-No. 4 Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Meanwhile, second-ranked Miami had raced to an 8-0 record on the strength of a defense that was ranked first in the nation in scoring and had not allowed a first-half touchdown all season. The Hurricane defense had surrendered just 58 points all season, and Miami carried a 7-game winning streak against top-ranked opponents into the clash.[2] Miami was outscoring its opponents by an average of 28.9 points per game; Florida State, by 25.9. The Seminoles entered with a then-school record 16-game winning streak, while the Hurricanes had won 14 straight.[2] In the struggle between the proverbial unstoppable force and immovable object, host Florida State was installed as the favorite.
The game occurred before a record crowd of 63,442 at Doak Campbell Stadium.[2] Miami received the ball first and went on an impressive 74-yard opening drive that featured a 30-yard run by running back Stephen McGuire and a critical third-down scramble by quarterback Gino Torretta. McGuire capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Hurricanes the early lead, 7-0. Florida State answered with a 51-yard completion from Weldon to Amp Lee, the longest play Miami's vaunted defense had allowed that season. The play set up a first-and-goal from the Miami 1-yard line. The Hurricane defense stiffened and, after a pair of penalties, Florida State was forced to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Gerry Thomas. The rest of the quarter showed missed opportunities on both sides, with Miami receivers dropping three deep passes from Torretta while Florida State's offense short-circuited with penalties.
Momentum swung to Florida State in the second quarter thanks to three Miami turnovers. The first came early when the Seminole defense recovered a fumble by McGuire at the Hurricane 24-yard line. After Weldon completed a pass to Edgar Bennett to bring the 'Noles down to the 5-yard line, the Hurricane defense again toughened, forcing a fourth-and-goal from the 1. Florida State opted to play smashmouth and backup fullback Paul Moore powered his way into the end zone to give Florida State a 10-7 lead. Miami drove inside the Florida State 30-yard line twice more in the quarter, but Torretta was intercepted each time, first by Terrell Buckley and later by Marvin Jones. Miami got the ball back when Weldon, under pressure from All-American Rusty Medearis (2 sacks for the game), was intercepted by Charles Pharms. The Hurricanes could not convert the turnover into points, as Carlos Huerta's 41-yard field goal attempt was blocked, preserving a 10-7 halftime lead for Florida State.
Florida State dominated the third quarter statistically, racking up huge advantages in yardage (158 to 38) and time of possession (10:04 to 4:56), but was mostly unable to convert that dominance into points. After briefly getting the wind knocked out of him by Miami linebacker Corwin Francis, Weldon led the 'Noles 58 yards in 13 plays on their first drive of the second half. Florida State drove down to the Miami 9-yard line, but the Miami defense hardened once again and the Seminoles settled for a 31-yard field goal for the only points of the quarter, pushing their lead to 13-7. Later in the third, Florida State embarked on a time-consuming 11-play, 90-yard drive that culminated early in the fourth quarter with Thomas' third field goal of the day, extending the Seminoles' lead to 16-7.
Miami answered with a 10-play, 44-yard drive that ended with a 45-yard field goal by Huerta. Florida State punted on its next possession and Miami took over trailing by 6 with 7 minutes remaining. On second-and-16, Torretta completed a 22-yard pass to an outstretched Coleman Bell, bringing the Hurricanes to the Seminole 41-yard line. A series of runs by McGuire, who finished with 142 yards rushing, brought Miami inside the red zone, but the Hurricanes soon faced a crucial fourth-and-6.[2][5] Torretta found Horace Copeland for his only reception of the game, giving Miami a first down at the Florida State 3-yard line. The Florida State defense stopped Miami on first and second down, but backup fullback Larry Jones made the end zone on third down from 1 yard out to put the Hurricanes back in front, 17-16, with 3:01 left to play.
Florida State responded by promptly marching down to the Miami 46-yard line. There, Bennett bulled his way forward for 7 yards to convert a critical fourth-and-1. A pass interference call in the end zone against Miami's Ryan McNeil moved the Seminoles to the 18-yard line.[5] On first down, Lee ran wide to the left side for 1 yard. Out of timeouts, Weldon spiked the ball on second down, bringing up third-and-9 with 29 seconds remaining. Weldon had lost his shoe on the previous play and Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden elected to have Thomas, who was 3-for-3 on the day, attempt a field goal one down early, reasoning, "An interception, a bounced ball and you lose the ball game. You'd kick yourself in the rear for the rest of your life."[5] With both Miami's and Florida State's national championship aspirations riding on the outcome, Thomas came on to attempt a 34-yard, potential game-winning field goal.
[5] Miami players threw their helmets in the air and rushed the field to celebrate, while Bowden, hands on hips, gazed at the goalposts, stunned.[2]
After taking a knee to run off the remaining few seconds, Torretta tossed the ball skyward in triumph and Miami emerged from the contest with a 17-16 victory.[2]
[edit]1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame
Main article: 1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame football game
1 2 3 4 Total
Seminoles 7 0 7 10 24
Fighting Irish 7 14 3 7 31
November 13, 1993: In a matchup of unbeatens, Florida State University was ranked Number 1, and Notre Dame was ranked Number 2. The winner of this game, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, was certain to play Number 3 Nebraska (which would then move up to Number 2) in the Orange Bowl for the National Championship.
Florida State had quarterback Charlie Ward, who would win the Heisman Trophy. Notre Dame was an underdog, but had the home-field advantage.
It was a game between the most-hyped program of the era and the most-hyped program in college football history, and NBC, which had exclusive rights to Fighting Irish home games (and was thus mocked by some as the "Notre Dame Broadcasting Company", much as CBS was ripped as the "Cowboys Broadcasting System" by Dallas Cowboys-haters in the 1970s and 1980s), tried to market this matchup as the "Game of the Century." There was considerable media discussion as to whether the game would live up to the hype, and, if not, how bad NBC would look. ESPN would also hype the game, showing FSU players touring the Notre Dame campus that week wearing green hats with shamrocks and gold-embroidered FSU initials on the front, and having the first on-campus edition of College GameDay from South Bend. The Peacock Network did not have to worry, because they got the classic they hoped for.
The Irish appeared to be riding those mystiques the entire game, leading 31-17 as the Seminoles got the ball with 1:39 to play. But Ward drove the 'Noles down the field, and hit Kez McCorvey on 4th-and-20 for a touchdown that bounced off Irish safety Brian McGee. Notre Dame got the ball back, but went three-and-out, giving FSU one last shot. In just three plays, they got to the Irish 14 with three seconds to play. Ward rolled out and had a wide open receiver in the end zone, but did not see him, and his pass was batted down. Notre Dame won, 31-24, and a sellout crowd stormed the field.
The Irish were now Number 1, and set up to play Number 2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, leaving now-Number 3 Florida State in a lesser bowl. All Notre Dame had to do was beat Boston College the next week. But BC won on a last-second field goal, and the Irish were knocked out of the top spot. Nebraska advanced to Number 1 and Florida State to Number 2, and their National Championship showdown was set. Ironically, having blown potential National Championships by missing last-second field goals in their games against the University of Miami in each of the two previous seasons, Florida State won the game, 18-16, after hitting a last-minute field goal and Nebraska's miss of a last-second field goal try. The Seminoles earned their first National Championship. Cornhusker fans, having had several close calls since their last title in 1971, would have to wait one more year.

[edit]2006 Ohio State vs. Michigan
Main article: 2006 Michigan vs. Ohio State football game
1 2 3 4 Total
Wolverines 7 7 10 15 39
Buckeyes 7 21 7 7 42
On November 18, 2006, Ohio State and Michigan met for their annual showdown, each carrying an 11–0 record. For the first time in the history of the rivalry, the two rivals faced off while holding the top two spots in the Bowl Championship Series rankings. Ohio State won the game by a score of 42–39 and became the outright Big Ten champion, earning the right to play for a national championship at the BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona. Michigan struck first blood with a touchdown run by junior running back Mike Hart, but the Buckeyes then scored 21 unanswered points, and at halftime, they were up 28–14. However, the Wolverines weren't ready to back down. Thanks to an interception and a fumble recovery by junior defensive tackle Alan Branch, Michigan made it 35-31 Ohio State with 14 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. But after appearing to have forced Ohio State into a fourth down situation with six minutes to go, junior outside linebacker Shawn Crable was called for roughing the QB, giving the Buckeyes a fresh set of downs. Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith then passed to Brian Robiskie for a touchdown, increasing the Buckeyes' lead to 42-31 with five minutes remaining in the game. The Wolverines still had fight in them, and after Ohio State was called for pass interference on a failed 4th down attempt, giving Michigan an automatic 1st down, junior quarterback Chad Henne found senior tight end Tyler Ecker for a 16-yard touchdown with two minutes to go to cut the OSU lead to 42-37. Senior wide receiver Steve Breaston caught the two point conversion to bring the Wolverines within a field goal. Michigan needed to recover the ensuing onside kick, and they failed to do so. The Buckeyes ran out the clock for the victory, and a trip to the BCS national championship game. Troy Smith completed 71% of his passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns, essentially clinching the Heisman trophy. Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn caught eight passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman ran for 139 yards on 18 carries for a 7.7 yards-per-carry average. Michigan running back Mike Hart carried the ball 23 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns against a stout Buckeye defense. Chad Henne also turned in an excellent performance with 267 yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers on a 60% completion percentage. Neither performance was, however, sufficient to turn the tide in favor of the Wolverines. The game was highly touted by ESPN/ABC (there was even a game countdown clock for a week before kickoff) and was viewed by the largest television audience for a regular season college football game since 1993, averaging 21.8 million viewers.[20] The victory marked the first time in 43 years that the Buckeyes had won three consecutive games in the series. The game gained even more significance when, on the eve of the meeting, legendary Michigan head coach and former Ohio State assistant coach Bo Schembechler died. Schembechler was honored with a video tribute at Ohio Stadium as well as a moment of silence before kickoff.[21] Half an hour after the game ended, the Ohio Lottery PICK 4 evening drawing was 4-2-3-9, matching the final score of the game and paying out up to $5,000 per winner, for a total payout of $2.2 million.[22]
Following the game, there was a chance of a rematch in the BCS title game, but Florida was chosen over Michigan to be Ohio State's opponent. Ohio State would go on to lose the 2007 BCS Championship Game to Florida 41–14. Michigan went on to lose the Rose Bowl to Southern California 32-18.

[edit]2011 LSU vs Alabama
On November 5th, BCS ranked #1 LSU will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on #2 Alabama. Both teams have an 8-0 undefeated record. Fans have dubbed this game "Armageddon."

[clenz]

A 1 v 2 match up has happened over 30 times as well....not including championship games....So really, there could be 40 "game of the century"



First of all, for those unfamiliar with the concept, it's completely normal for there to be two Games of the Century within the first 12 years of a century. According to Wikipedia (and most college football historians), eight Games of the Century were played between 1935 (Notre Dame-Ohio State) and 1993 (Florida State-Notre Dame), for an average of one every 7.3 years. So long as we don't get another one before 2015, we're right on schedule.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... z1cl81lylC" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Skjellyfetti]

1935 Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
1946 Army vs. Notre Dame
1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
1967 USC vs. UCLA
1969 Texas vs. Arkansas
1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma
1987 Miami vs. Penn State
1991 Florida State vs. Miami
1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame
2006 Ohio State vs. Michigan
2011 LSU vs Alabama

So only one other this century.

2006: 1v2 Michigan/Ohio State to end the regular season....for the B10 title and a trip to the the national title to be pummeled by an SEC team.....

FIFY

and is also shows why this game is bigger than any other. this is the biggest SEC game this decade. and the winner WILL win the national title... likely in dominating fashion.

[BlueHen86]

given that this is an FCS borad - I'm always reluctant to talk about my love of FBS football...
but I'm more hyped for this game than I've been for any single game since Michigan/Ohio St in 2006...

gotta love a coin flip game - but my take? LSU wins on some crazy-ass mad-hatter fake punt or trick play... either that - or we get overtime. Hoping this one meets the hype.

Don't be. I love FBS football too. Just not as much as FCS.

[89Hen]

FIFY

and is also shows why this game is bigger than any other. this is the biggest SEC game this decade. and the winner WILL win the national title... likely in dominating fashion.

AND there you have it.... why non-SEC fans can't stand SEC fans.

[dal4018]

Can't believe the game is tomorrow and no talk about it....


LSU @ Bama. Discuss.....

ROLL TIDE LAST TIME I PICKED AGAINST THEM WHEN THEY PLAYED FLORIDA I PAYED FOR IT NOT THIS TIME

[Skjellyfetti]

AND there you have it.... why non-SEC fans can't stand SEC fans.

It's true. Sorry if you don't like it.

[89Hen]

AND there you have it.... why non-SEC fans can't stand SEC fans.

It's true. Sorry if you don't like it.

It's a prediction... and an arrogant one at that. That's what is not to like.

[Skjellyfetti]

It's true. Sorry if you don't like it.

It's a prediction... and an arrogant one at that. That's what is not to like.

It's not arrogant. I hate both those teams. But, they're BY FAR the best two teams in college football this year. They are absolutely loaded with NFL talent.

Who do you think is better?

If my prediction is that laughable-- you want to wager? I'll take Alabama and LSU-- you can take the field on the national championship. I'll give you 14 points.

[89Hen]

It's a prediction... and an arrogant one at that. That's what is not to like.

It's not arrogant. I hate both those teams. But, they're BY FAR the best two teams in college football this year. They are absolutely loaded with NFL talent.

Who do you think is better?

If my prediction is that laughable-- you want to wager? I'll take Alabama and LSU-- you can take the field on the national championship. I'll give you 14 points.

It was arrogant in my opinion. I don't know if anyone is better (they are #1 and #2 for a reason), but there are teams out there than can beat either one.

[SuperHornet]

Meh.

Whoever gets to the Chipper, THAT will be a MUCH better game, IMO.

[93henfan]

Man, Tide rolling but not denting the scoreboard after two great drives. Gotta think that'll bite 'em in the ass.

[BlueHen86]

It's a prediction... and an arrogant one at that. That's what is not to like.

It's not arrogant. I hate both those teams. But, they're BY FAR the best two teams in college football this year. They are absolutely loaded with NFL talent.

Who do you think is better?

If my prediction is that laughable-- you want to wager? I'll take Alabama and LSU-- you can take the field on the national championship. I'll give you 14 points.

You are probably right, but the BCS system is so stupid it's not out of the question that the NC game doesn't have any SEC team. The loser of tonights game is in obvious trouble, the winner is in great shape, but they could still lose a game before the season ends.

What a travesty it would be if the NC game is Stanford-Oklahoma State, but it could happen.