Each college football season’s biggest ‘what if’ of the last 25 years

Every college football season has a ‘what if’ that could have changed the course of the season. Here is one for the each of the last 25 seasons.

Over the last 25 seasons of college football, there have been some incredible moments. However, for every great moment that has happened, there are also those ‘what if’ scenarios. Whether it is a must-win game, or a huge missed field goal, there are just some instances that will last a lifetime.

Starting with the 1992 college football season, we take a look at one ‘what if’ from each season. Some of these moments are fresh in the minds of college football fans, while some might bring up some old memories that fans are trying to forget. For most of these seasons, the ‘what if’ meant the difference between winning or losing a championship, which forever immortalizes the players, or teams it affected.

Here is a look at the biggest ‘what if’ moments from each of the last 25 college football seasons.

1992: What if Dan Mowrey didn’t miss wide right?

During the early 1990s, the rivalry between the Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles reached a tipping point. In two games during the 1991 and 1992 seasons, the Seminoles would miss game-winning field goals against the Hurricanes, crushing national  title hopes in the process. In 1992, the Seminoles went into the game as the better team, but a rowdy home crowd helped Miami come away with the victory.

The Florida State Seminoles went into their 1992 game against the Miami Hurricanes once again with national title implications on the line. The year before, kicker Gerry Thomas missed a kick wide right that would have given the Seminoles a 19-17 win over the Hurricanes, in a classic No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup. In 1992, the teams met earlier in the year, but both came into the game undefeated, and favorites to win a national title.

During the game, kicker Dan Mowrey actually made three field goals, as it was mostly his leg that did all of the scoring for Florida State. Star quarterback Charlie Ward led the Seminoles down the field using his arm, and his legs, as his scramble to the 22-yard line would set up Mowrey to be a hero.

Down 17-16 late in the fourth quarter, Mowrey lined up facing the open end of the Orange Bowl, with a rowdy Miami crowd doing their best to make him miss the 39-yard attempt. The crowd did their job, and as the kick sailed wide right again, Mowrey fell to the turf, as the Seminoles national title hopes were essentially crushed by their in-state rival.

If that kick had sailed through the uprights, the Seminoles would have moved to 5-0 on the season, and have been in the driver’s seat for a title run. The loss to the Hurricanes would be the Seminoles only loss of the season, as they would beat six top-25 teams throughout the year.