25 best college football bowl games in history
Bowl season has provided some of the most memorable games in college football history, including these 25 standouts.
The most wonderful time of the year in college football is right around the corner, as the 2016 bowl season is set to begin on December 17.
North Carolina Central and Grambling State will meet in the Celebration Bowl to begin the festivities, which last all the way until the National Championship Game on January 9. Overall, 80 teams will participate in 42 bowls over the three-week period.
The 2016 postseason has the chance to be a classic with a number of exciting matchups in major bowl games. Resurgent powerhouses USC and Penn State will meet in the Rose Bowl, Western Michigan will look to complete an undefeated run with an upset of Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl, and the national semifinal between Ohio State and Clemson looks like a potential classic.
While those look great on paper, the games in 2016 will be hard-pressed to match some of the bowl contests from previous years. Bowl season has provided some of the greatest games in college football history with matchups between storied programs year in and year out.
From wild comebacks in the Alamo Bowl to last-second national championship victories, these are the 25 greatest bowl games ever.
25. TCU vs. Oregon, 2016 Alamo Bowl
While certainly not the most well-played game on this list, last January’s matchup between the Horned Frogs and Ducks is hard to beat in terms of entertainment value.
Oregon failed to reach double-digit wins for the first time in a decade. but still featured a powerful offense led by star quarterback Vernon Adams. TCU was a touchdown underdog after quarterback Trevone Boykin was suspended for striking a police officer in a bar fight the night before the game, leaving them with fifth-year senior walk-on Bram Kolhausen under center.
Running back Royce Freeman helped the Ducks build a 31-0 lead by halftime, although Adams left the game in the second quarter with a concussion. Even so, a comeback looked impossible with Kolhausen making his first (and only) career start and All-American receiver Josh Doctson out with a wrist injury.
However, the injuries to Adams and center Matt Hegarty made a huge difference, as Oregon collapsed due to a number of botched snaps. Despite being crushed repeatedly by the Oregon defense, Kolhausen accounted for four total touchdowns, as TCU scored 11 points in the final 7:45 to tie the game at 31 by the end of regulation.
A Kolhausen eight-yard touchdown run in triple overtime and subsequent defensive stop sealed the 47-41 TCU win, matching the largest comeback in bowl history. Oregon has apparently not recovered from the epic collapse, as the Ducks went 4-8 this season and fired head coach Mark Helfrich.