25 best college football bowl games in history

22. Nebraska vs. Michigan, 2005 Alamo Bowl

There may have been more dramatic endings in college football bowl history, but the 2005 Alamo Bowl is tough to top in terms of controversy.

Both powerhouse programs were going through down years, as each had a record of 7-4 entering the 2005 bowl season. Nebraska was looking for some sort of momentum under second-year head coach Bill Callahan, while the Lloyd Carr era was winding down at Michigan.

After a back-and-forth affair throughout the first three quarters, Michigan finally got some separation just after the start of the fourth quarter on Chad Henne’s seven-yard touchdown run. Down 28-17, Nebraska scored on its next drive and went up 32-28 with 4:29 remaining on a 13-yard pass from Zac Taylor to Terrence Nunn.

The final play of the game will live in college football history as one of the craziest and most poorly refereed sequences ever. With Michigan attempting a last-second win via a series of laterals, a number of Nebraska coaches, players from both teams and media members rushed the field believing the game to be over. Meanwhile, Michigan’s Tyler Ecker brought the ball all the way down to the Nebraska 16, where he was tackled by cornerback Zackary Bowman.

Inexplicably, no flags were thrown on the play despite Nebraska coaches entering the field of play. Callahan summed up the ending perfectly in a postgame game interview just moments after, telling reporters “we won, I guess.”

Both coaches would be gone after the 2007 season, as Carr retired and Callahan was dismissed. It was far from the biggest game for either storied program, but fans will never forget the wild ending to the 2005 Alamo Bowl.