College football’s 150th anniversary: The 150 best moments that stood the test of time

36. The Tall Grass Game (1928)

Entering Knute Rockne’s eighth season at the helm of the Notre Dame program, the Fighting Irish had hopes of returning to the top of the college football world. Instead, a showdown in Madison against the Wisconsin Badgers sent Notre Dame spiraling toward the worst season of Rockne’s storied career in South Bend.

Notre Dame showed up in Madison already having knocked off Loyola 12-6. When they arrived at Camp Randall Stadium, the grass had gone unmowed over the past week. Rockne confronted Wisconsin head coach Glenn Thistlethwaite, demanding the grass be cut. The Badgers leader refused, likely hoping the conditions would slow the faster Irish players.

The tactic worked, as the Fighting Irish were thrown off their game plan and the Badgers ran away with a 22-6 victory before a record crowd of 40,000 in attendance. Notre Dame went on to finish the year 5-4, while Wisconsin finished second behind Illinois in the Big Ten standings. The game is still remembered fondly in Madison and with consternation in South Bend.

35. Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 (1968)

The 1968 college football season saw a renaissance at two of the schools that pioneered the sport in the 1800s. For more than a half-century, Yale and Harvard had not squared off in a game against one another where both teams were undefeated and untied. Both the Bulldogs and Crimson were 8-0 heading into the contest at Harvard Stadium.

Up 22-6 at halftime, it appeared that Yale was going to emerge with their winning streak intact after winning the previous 16 games over the past two seasons. Brian Dowling, the standout quarterback that had piloted Yale to victory after victory, was dismantling the Crimson defense.

Deep into the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs remained ahead 29-13. But Harvard, pulling a rabbit out of its hat, scored twice in the final 42 seconds — converting two-point tries on both occasions — to snap their rival’s winning streak and secure undefeated seasons for both teams. With the split of Division I a decade later, it is the last time that Harvard and Yale were relevant on a national level.

34. The Miracle at Michigan (1994)

Michigan and Colorado met early in the 1994 season with dreams of scoring a statement win out of conference to burnish credentials for a national championship run. The battle in Ann Arbor on September 24 came down to the wire, ending on one of the most dramatic plays in college football history.

Colorado built up a 14-9 lead in the first half, but their offense went cold at the break. Michigan, on the other hand, stormed out of the gate in the second half and poured on 17 points in the third quarter. The Buffaloes reawakened, pulling within five points with 2:16 left on the clock.

With six seconds left, Colorado found itself still behind 26-21. Sitting at their own 36-yard line, the Buffaloes had one play left. Buffaloes quarterback Kordell Stewart took the handoff and set himself to throw a Hail Mary. The play, one worked on weekly in practice, was designed for Michael Westbrook to tip the ball to a teammate. Instead, Blake Anderson knocked the ball to Westbrook to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.