25 best college football bowl games in history

23. Kentucky vs. Oklahoma, 1951 Sugar Bowl

Led by legendary head coach Bear Bryant, the Wildcats ended Oklahoma’s 31-game winning streak in the 1951 Sugar Bowl in another classic bowl upset.

Kentucky enjoyed the best season in school history to date in 1950 with a 10-1 record and No. 7 ranking in the AP Poll. Led by a defense that allowed just 5.8 points per game in the regular season to rank second in the nation, the Wildcats destroyed all of their opponents other than Tennessee to stay in the top 10 of the AP Poll for nearly the entire year.

As great as that campaign was, few expected the Wildcats to have a chance against Bud Wilkinson and the mighty Sooners. Oklahoma had not lost a game since September of 1948, and was a national championship contender for much of 1950 after beating arch rival No. 4 Texas earlier in the year behind one of the top offenses in the country.

Kentucky’s defense proved to be up to the challenge with a dominating effort. Defensive tackle Walt Yowarsky recovered a fumble to set up a Kentucky touchdown near the end of the first quarter, and the Wildcats added another score on a long drive before half to go up 13-0.

Yowarsky made another key play on a goal line tackle in the third to preserve the Wildcats lead. Oklahoma made it a 13-7 game with seven minutes left on a Billy Vessels touchdown pass, but Kentucky was able to run the clock out.

The Wildcats have not reached 11 wins or won a major bowl game since the 1950 season. Oklahoma was still voted as the national champion despite the loss, the first of three titles under Wilkinson.