Link: College football's top 10 games of the past 10 years

KrAzY3

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Also, I would include last year's OSU/UM game in my top 10 of the last decade.
That game came to mind for me as well. I mean, we're discussing Kick 6 a lot and what might be the top game, but it seems like a lot of people didn't spend much time looking over the list. There are games the author declared to be top 10 games in the past 10 years:

8. East Carolina 51, Tulsa 49 on Sept. 5, 2010

7. Texas A&M 52, Duke 48, Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31, 2013

6. Missouri 36, Kansas 28 on Nov. 24, 2007

5. TCU 47, Oregon 41 (3OT), Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2, 2016



I mean, just look at that list. What was so great about any of those games? It's absurd, but clearly the writer has a lot of bias when putting the list together. I laugh at the idea that those are the best though, those games might, might have been top ten in the year they were played, but put them against the top games in the decade? Come on, it's a joke.
 

81usaf92

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That game came to mind for me as well. I mean, we're discussing Kick 6 a lot and what might be the top game, but it seems like a lot of people didn't spend much time looking over the list. There are games the author declared to be top 10 games in the past 10 years:

8. East Carolina 51, Tulsa 49 on Sept. 5, 2010

7. Texas A&M 52, Duke 48, Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31, 2013

6. Missouri 36, Kansas 28 on Nov. 24, 2007

5. TCU 47, Oregon 41 (3OT), Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2, 2016



I mean, just look at that list. What was so great about any of those games? It's absurd, but clearly the writer has a lot of bias when putting the list together. I laugh at the idea that those are the best though, those games might, might have been top ten in the year they were played, but put them against the top games in the decade? Come on, it's a joke.
The Oregon- TCU game was pretty entertaining, the Mizzou-KU game was a huge deal (2 vs 3) but wasn't a game until the 4th, the other two are absurd.

The Kick Six is probably the biggest and most important game in the last 10 years. The rematch was probably the more entertaining game but the scale wasn't the same.
 

selmaborntidefan

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That game came to mind for me as well. I mean, we're discussing Kick 6 a lot and what might be the top game, but it seems like a lot of people didn't spend much time looking over the list. There are games the author declared to be top 10 games in the past 10 years:

8. East Carolina 51, Tulsa 49 on Sept. 5, 2010

7. Texas A&M 52, Duke 48, Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31, 2013

6. Missouri 36, Kansas 28 on Nov. 24, 2007

5. TCU 47, Oregon 41 (3OT), Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2, 2016



I mean, just look at that list. What was so great about any of those games?
I didn't see ECU/Tulsa.

But I DID see ATM/Duke, and it WAS a very entertaining game. Duke led by scores of 21-3 and were up 38-17 at the half. Manziel made a play where he went into the line, got back out without getting tackled, leaped a defender and then hit a short pass for a TD - this all on the same play. ATM took the winning lead on a 55-yard pick six.

I don't know where I'd rank it, but it was an exciting game. So, too, TCU-Oregon, with the huge comeback.



It's absurd, but clearly the writer has a lot of bias when putting the list together.
The problem with this is that EVERYONE has bias, it's just not equally biased.

I'm guessing she ATTENDED the Mizzou game as a freshman and has fond memories just fwiw.
 

LA4Bama

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She probably is young but then so is a lot of this board demographic.

In the last two years, I've had to explain:
a) Bartles and Jaymes
b) Howard Cosell
c) Jimmy the Greek ("who?")

There's a 1992 clip on You Tube of Johnny Carson making fun - in the same monologue - of last year's two candidates. I was sharing this with a person at work and after indulging me this person said, "Who's Johnny Carson?"

That same day, I was having lunch with a hottie young enough to be my daughter and was referencing a scene from "When Harry Met Sally," which is only on AMC like every single day. She'd never even HEARD of it.
Lol, I wonder which scene that could be? "I'll have what she's having."
 

RollTide_HTTR

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That game came to mind for me as well. I mean, we're discussing Kick 6 a lot and what might be the top game, but it seems like a lot of people didn't spend much time looking over the list. There are games the author declared to be top 10 games in the past 10 years:

8. East Carolina 51, Tulsa 49 on Sept. 5, 2010

7. Texas A&M 52, Duke 48, Chick-fil-A Bowl on Dec. 31, 2013

6. Missouri 36, Kansas 28 on Nov. 24, 2007

5. TCU 47, Oregon 41 (3OT), Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2, 2016



I mean, just look at that list. What was so great about any of those games? It's absurd, but clearly the writer has a lot of bias when putting the list together. I laugh at the idea that those are the best though, those games might, might have been top ten in the year they were played, but put them against the top games in the decade? Come on, it's a joke.
As I went through the article I could think of a bigger/better game for almost every team that had a game on the list. It's not that these games weren't good games, it's that they aren't close to the best games.

I guess part of the problem here is that any list you try to "objectively" create won't be accurate because college football is about fandom more so than many sports. For Example: Texas A&M vs Duke might have been a really fun game to watch, but I would be shocked if a single A&M fan would rate that game over the 2012 game vs us. So, it's hard to make lists like this because part of what makes CFB so great is the bias of fandom.
 

RTR91

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2011 LSU @ Bama absolutely lived up to the hype. Hate the outcome, but a real heavyweight bout. it was the best.
I have to disagree. To a person that just likes the game of football and didn't care about the outcome, I can see how the game would have been boring.

No, I don't want every game to be 56-52, but I can see why someone would say the 2012 SECCG was a better game than the 2011 LSU game.
 

BamaMoon

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The common denominator:

1. Most were high scoring games (so our defensive battles with LSU aren't going to make the list).
2. Most ended with high drama (hard to get a more exciting ending that the 2013 Bama/barn ending - from a football perspective).
3. Bama is the team people like to see lose because we are at the top of the heap.
 

81usaf92

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I have to disagree. To a person that just likes the game of football and didn't care about the outcome, I can see how the game would have been boring.

No, I don't want every game to be 56-52, but I can see why someone would say the 2012 SECCG was a better game than the 2011 LSU game.
Here is my issue with the 2011 LSU -Bama game.... tell me where you heard this narrative going into a LSU-Bama game in the last 10 years... LSU comes in with an incredible finesse defense, Stud receivers and running backs, but a horrible qb. While Bama comes in with an incredibly physical defense, great running backs and receivers, and a very competent quarterback. Answer: every LSU-Bama game except 07,12, and 13. LSU won mostly because our AJ was limited in what he was allowed to do and our kicking game was just bad that night. The rematch was more or less the type of game that the first one should have been.

The 2012 game in Baton Rouge was a way better game than either of the games in the 2011 season. Granted a big reason it was a good game was because Nuss called a horrible game, but it is an ongoing tradition of Bama OCs calling horrible games in BR. I seriously don't know if it is the noise, late season look at me moments, or sneaking out to NOLA the night before because we have had the most brain dead moments from our OCs since 2008 when we go down there.
 
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TideEngineer08

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Here is my issue with the 2011 LSU -Bama game.... tell me where you heard this narrative going into a LSU-Bama game in the last 10 years... LSU comes in with an incredible finesse defense, Stud receivers and running backs, but a horrible qb. While Bama comes in with an incredibly physical defense, great running backs and receivers, and a very competent quarterback. Answer: every LSU-Bama game except 07,12, and 13. LSU won mostly because our AJ was limited in what he was allowed to do and our kicking game was just bad that night. The rematch was more or less the type of game that the first one should have been.

YouThe 2012 game in Baton Rouge was a way better game than either of the games in the 2011 season. Granted a big reason it was a good game was because Nuss called a horrible game, but it is an ongoing tradition of Bama OCs calling horrible games in BR. I seriously don't know if it is the noise, late season look at me moments, or sneaking out to NOLA the night before because we have had the most brain dead moments from our OCs since 2008 when we go down there.
I believe its simply overthinking, and frankly, something that may have hurt along the way is CNS's history there. I'm sure the mood is very different the week before that game, especially when it's at Baton Rouge. Yes, I know "The Process" dictates that not be the case. But reality dictates otherwise.

The last really good offensive game I remember us having down there was probably 2002. Although 2008 wasn't that bad.
 

selmaborntidefan

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2011 LSU @ Bama absolutely lived up to the hype. Hate the outcome, but a real heavyweight bout. it was the best.
This is difficult to say.

If by 'lived up to the hype' you mean "was expected to be a close, defensive struggle won on the last play" then you most certainly have a legitimate argument. It was an "okay" game, but I think proof it's not as 'magic' as the Kick Six is this:

Moments after the Kick Six, non-Alabama fans who weren't partisans of (say) Ohio State or FSU began fantasizing about how a rematch between Alabama and Auburn on a neutral field would be "the REAL national championship." In the days after LSU-Alabama 2011, there was a national "we don't wanna see that one again" even before Okie State lost in Ames.


I think the proof Alabama was literally light years better than LSU in 2011 is the fact that seven different things went wrong in the regular season and yet it still took them overtime to beat us. Indeed, the overtime had more to do with them winning than anything because they had a decent kicker and got to START on the 25-yard line. Go back and look at the stats for the game. LSU only had 222 yards in regulation.....we had nearly that many yards just PASSING the ball with a still new game manager QB. Seventy-four yards......fully 1/3 of their regulation yardage - came on ONE hurry-up drive at the end of the first half.

LSU played "your quarterback can't beat us" and it was more precise to say "we didn't even allow our quarterback to TRY to beat" them.


Make no mistake: LSU was far and away the number two team.
 

RollTide_HTTR

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This is difficult to say.

If by 'lived up to the hype' you mean "was expected to be a close, defensive struggle won on the last play" then you most certainly have a legitimate argument. It was an "okay" game, but I think proof it's not as 'magic' as the Kick Six is this:

Moments after the Kick Six, non-Alabama fans who weren't partisans of (say) Ohio State or FSU began fantasizing about how a rematch between Alabama and Auburn on a neutral field would be "the REAL national championship." In the days after LSU-Alabama 2011, there was a national "we don't wanna see that one again" even before Okie State lost in Ames.


I think the proof Alabama was literally light years better than LSU in 2011 is the fact that seven different things went wrong in the regular season and yet it still took them overtime to beat us. Indeed, the overtime had more to do with them winning than anything because they had a decent kicker and got to START on the 25-yard line. Go back and look at the stats for the game. LSU only had 222 yards in regulation.....we had nearly that many yards just PASSING the ball with a still new game manager QB. Seventy-four yards......fully 1/3 of their regulation yardage - came on ONE hurry-up drive at the end of the first half.

LSU played "your quarterback can't beat us" and it was more precise to say "we didn't even allow our quarterback to TRY to beat" them.


Make no mistake: LSU was far and away the number two team.
I think this is a fair assessment of that game. It was entertaining but I don't blame any non Bama/LSU fan for hating that game.

I still have nightmares about the Eric Reid INT though
 

KrAzY3

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One of the main issues I have, is that we're dealing with a Sports Illustrated top ten list. It's not just some person's 10 favorite games, this is a well respected sports media entity. To put together such a lousy list, with such overt bias is an example of why so many people are turned off by large media outlets and the journalists working for them. The issue is if you put together a slanted list, fine, just label it accordingly. Let it be know that you're not even trying to be objective. If she'd called it her 10 favorite games of the past 10 years I wouldn't complain. But top 10? That's a load of crap. As per usual, I'm not sure if it's slanted because they want to deceive the reader, or slanted because the journalist is really that blind to their own bias. Either way it's not acceptable, they're getting paid to do this, I expect more.

The Oregon- TCU game was pretty entertaining, the Mizzou-KU game was a huge deal (2 vs 3) but wasn't a game until the 4th, the other two are absurd.

The Kick Six is probably the biggest and most important game in the last 10 years. The rematch was probably the more entertaining game but the scale wasn't the same.
I key thing here is entertaining. She started off with that in mind I guess, but really the list broke down into two types and that just shows the overall ineptitude. The first 6 were all Big 12 style football games. Every single one included a team from that region (she did after all go to Missouri right?). Not only that, but of the 4 match-ups that included a team from outside the region, 3 of them were won by the Big 12 region team. So, basically she was putting together a top 10 list of Big 12 region games .

Then, she changed course. The top 4 were the big bad wolf gets beaten games. Every single one included a top 5 all-time program losing to a team with less prestige (stark contrast since up until then she's left elite programs out entirely). Though, to be fair these games are more what people have in mind when they think of the 10 best games. But, what is her list really? It is the most entertaining list? Not necessarily, if you accept the criteria of the Tulsa game, then how does the 2010 Alabama/Auburn game make it in? It wasn't a high scoring back and forth affair. She just made her favorite games list.

But I DID see ATM/Duke, and it WAS a very entertaining game. Duke led by scores of 21-3 and were up 38-17 at the half. Manziel made a play where he went into the line, got back out without getting tackled, leaped a defender and then hit a short pass for a TD - this all on the same play. ATM took the winning lead on a 55-yard pick six.

I don't know where I'd rank it, but it was an exciting game. So, too, TCU-Oregon, with the huge comeback.

The problem with this is that EVERYONE has bias, it's just not equally biased.
Ok, we have entertaining but now we have exciting to. I'd agree with the basic notion that those all were exciting and entertaining games. But remember, this is basically a the best game each year list. Not a top 10 for that year, not a top 100 for the past ten years. Even if you give her a break for some acceptable bias, her list just plain sucks. She did a terrible job and it was obviously governed by her bias.

A couple of years ago I was really critical of some article written claiming that Alabama was going to play a very soft schedule. It was just poorly done, a load of crap, based on nonsense. Once again, was the writer inept or trying to skew perspective? I can't say for sure, but I can say that Alabama finished with one of the top SoS that year, so it darn sure was wrong.

If we make a top ten list, we have to agree on some sort of a measure to selection. Now, hers was clearly a 10 favorite list, but she tried to pass it off as a "top" list. What would a top 10 list really look like though? Well, what are we aiming for? Entertainment? Exciting? Best? Memorable? Important? I think you have to go for a mix of all of the above. For instance, Missouri vs. Kansas was important at the time, but was it memorable? I haven't heard anything about that game in years. Was it important? Houston vs. Louisville? East Carolina vs. Tulsa? Not so much. I'm just giving examples, but I think you really get a feeling the games might not really belong there until you get to the top 4, when she completely changes gears.

It's the biggest, more memorable games she left out though that leave the list wanting. I am not arguing all of these games be included, but just look at Alabama games, and you get Alabama vs. Tennessee in 2009, Alabama vs. LSU in 2011 (regular season), Alabama vs. LSU in 2012, Alabama vs. Georgia in 2012, Alabama vs. Clemson in 2015, etc... you broaden that and get both some other huge games and some really entertaining ones. Does the 2015 Arkansas vs. Ole Miss game not meet the criteria she set forth in her first 6 games, a 53-52 OT game with a crazy ending? Come on, that's more entertaining and memorable than a few games on her list for sure. What about 2007 LSU vs. Florida? I'm not Selma so I can't recite a lot of games without looking them up, but you get the point, I could probably make a better top 10 list with just SEC programs.

But, it's not just the SEC of course. What about the Big 10. You guys realize she completely left out the Big 10? Her regional bias was so strong though that she only included one Pac-12 team as well. And, it's not like you have to look far for great games. How about Ohio St. vs. Michigan last year? Big implications, OT game, we still remember that one right? It was entertaining and exciting right? Just look at 2012 Notre Dame, they played in multiple exciting and memorable games. I could go on, but it's just a lousy list. I get it, it's her favorite games, but she'd have been better off posting her opinion on a message board than putting that on Sports Illustrated.
 
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RollTide_HTTR

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One of the main issues I have, is that we're dealing with a Sports Illustrated top ten list. It's not just some person's 10 favorite games, this is a well respected sports media entity. To put together such a lousy list, with such overt bias is an example of why so many people are turned off by large media outlets and the journalists working for them. The issue is if you put together a slanted list, fine, just label it accordingly. Let it be know that you're not even trying to be objective. If she'd called it her 10 favorite games of the past 10 years I wouldn't complain. But top 10? That's a load of crap. As per usual, I'm not sure if it's slanted because they want to deceive the reader, or slanted because the journalist is really that blind to their own bias. Either way it's not acceptable, they're getting paid to do this, I expect more.
I key thing here is entertaining. She started off with that in mind I guess, but really the list broke down into two types and that just shows the overall ineptitude. The first 6 were all Big 12 style football games. Every single one included a team from that region (she did after all go to Missouri right?). Not only that, but of the 4 match-ups that included a team from outside the region, 3 of them were won by the Big 12 region team. So, basically she was putting together a top 10 list of Big 12 region games.
Then, she changed course. The top 4 were the big bad wolf gets beaten games. Every single one included a top 5 all-time program losing to a team with less prestige. Though, to be fair these games are more what people have in mind when they think of the 10 best games. But, what is her list really? It is the most entertaining list? Not necessarily, if you accept the criteria of the Tulsa game, then how does the 2010 Alabama/Auburn game make it in? It wasn't a high scoring back and forth affair. She just made her favorite games list.
Ok, we have entertaining but now we have exciting to. I'd agree with the basic notion that those all were exciting and entertaining games. But remember, this is basically a the best game each year list. Not a top 10 for that year, not a top 100 for the past ten years. Even if you give her a break for some acceptable bias, her list just plain sucks. She did a terrible job and it was obviously governed by her bias.
A couple of years ago I was really critical of some article written claiming that Alabama was going to play a very soft schedule. It was just poorly done, a load of crap, based on nonsense. Once again, was the writer inept or trying to skew perspective? I can't say for sure, but I can say that Alabama finished with one of the top SoS that year, so it darn sure was wrong.
If we make a top ten list, we have to agree on some sort of a measure to selection. Now, hers was clearly a 10 favorite list, but she tried to pass it off as a "top" list. What would a top 10 list really look like though? Well, what are we aiming for? Entertainment? Exciting? Best? Memorable? Important? I think you have to go for a mix of all of the above. For instance, Missouri vs. Kansas was important at the time, but was it memorable? I haven't heard anything about that game in years. Was it important? Houston vs. Louisville? East Carolina vs. Tulsa? Not so much. I'm just giving examples, but I think you really get a feeling the games might not really belong there until you get to the top 4, when she completely changes gears.
It's the biggest, more memorable games she left out though that leave the list wanting. I am not arguing all of these games be included, but just look at Alabama games, and you get Alabama vs. Tennessee in 2009, Alabama vs. LSU in 2011 (regular season), Alabama vs. LSU in 2012, Alabama vs. Georgia in 2012, Alabama vs. Clemson in 2015, etc... you broaden that and get both some other huge games and some really entertaining ones. Does the 2015 Arkansas vs. Ole Miss game not meet the criteria she set forth in her first 6 games, a 53-52 OT game with a crazy ending? Come on, that's more entertaining and memorable than a few games on her list for sure. What about 2007 LSU vs. Florida? I'm not Selma so I can't recite a lot of games without looking them up, but you get the point, I could probably make a better top 10 list with just SEC programs.
But, it's not just the SEC of course. What about the Big 10. You guys realize she completely left out the Big 10? Her regional bias was so strong though that she only included one Pac-12 team as well. And, it's not like you have to look far for great games. How about Ohio St. vs. Michigan last year? Big implications, OT game, we still remember that one right? It was entertaining and exciting right? Just look at 2012 Notre Dame, they played in multiple exciting and memorable games. I could go on, but it's just a lousy list. I get it, it's her favorite games, but she'd have been better off posting her opinion on a message board than putting that on Sports Illustrated.
Thank you! This is exactly how I feel about this list. If you are going to make lists like this then you HAVE to be consistent in your criteria. And, like you said, it's not that all the games on her list are all bad, it's that a lot of them are in no way shape or form the "best" or "top" games of the past 10 years.
 

UntouchableCrew

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i mean at the end of the day what makes for an entertaining game is no different than what makes for an entertaining movie. People are going to have different tastes, different qualities they look for.
 

selmaborntidefan

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One of the main issues I have, is that we're dealing with a Sports Illustrated top ten list. It's not just some person's 10 favorite games, this is a well respected sports media entity. To put together such a lousy list, with such overt bias is an example of why so many people are turned off by large media outlets and the journalists working for them. The issue is if you put together a slanted list, fine, just label it accordingly. Let it be know that you're not even trying to be objective. If she'd called it her 10 favorite games of the past 10 years I wouldn't complain. But top 10? That's a load of crap. As per usual, I'm not sure if it's slanted because they want to deceive the reader, or slanted because the journalist is really that blind to their own bias. Either way it's not acceptable, they're getting paid to do this, I expect more.
This is a valid assessment. Let's be clear: the LIST as a whole is pretty awful. I can only see maybe 3 of those games being IN the top ten (to say nothing of their ranking) in the last decade - the Kick Six, last year's national title game, and (possibly) App St-Michigan.

Put another way: I don't for one second believe that the 2010 Iron Bowl is one of the ten best games in the last decade, and it has nothing to do with us losing, either. In fact, that was probably not even the best game played that day much less that year - Nevada knocking off Boise State was a better game even if fewer people saw it.



I key thing here is entertaining. She started off with that in mind I guess, but really the list broke down into two types and that just shows the overall ineptitude. The first 6 were all Big 12 style football games. Every single one included a team from that region (she did after all go to Missouri right?). Not only that, but of the 4 match-ups that included a team from outside the region, 3 of them were won by the Big 12 region team. So, basically she was putting together a top 10 list of Big 12 region games .
Another problem with this list is that unless she's been covering football for those years for SI (and she doesn't look old enough) then what this list REALLY is is "the top ten games I personally saw in the last ten years," which is VERY subjective and presupposes that no exciting games were missed by a particular person. I think your evaluation here bears out that this is precisely what she did.


Then, she changed course. The top 4 were the big bad wolf gets beaten games. Every single one included a top 5 all-time program losing to a team with less prestige (stark contrast since up until then she's left elite programs out entirely). Though, to be fair these games are more what people have in mind when they think of the 10 best games. But, what is her list really? It is the most entertaining list? Not necessarily, if you accept the criteria of the Tulsa game, then how does the 2010 Alabama/Auburn game make it in? It wasn't a high scoring back and forth affair. She just made her favorite games list.
Let's face it: she's probably only watched two Iron Bowls and probably hates Alabama, too.

Ok, we have entertaining but now we have exciting to. I'd agree with the basic notion that those all were exciting and entertaining games. But remember, this is basically a the best game each year list. Not a top 10 for that year, not a top 100 for the past ten years. Even if you give her a break for some acceptable bias, her list just plain sucks. She did a terrible job and it was obviously governed by her bias.
No argument here buddy.

A couple of years ago I was really critical of some article written claiming that Alabama was going to play a very soft schedule. It was just poorly done, a load of crap, based on nonsense. Once again, was the writer inept or trying to skew perspective? I can't say for sure, but I can say that Alabama finished with one of the top SoS that year, so it darn sure was wrong.
I recall that quite well. I also recall making the point that NOBODY - not you nor me nor anyone - can REALLY say how 'soft' a schedule is until after the season is played. Many times a team looks to have a monster schedule and then four opponents on that schedule all have off years at the same time and suddenly it doesn't look so good. In 1984, people rip on BYU for their schedule and while the argument has a certain level of merit, it wasn't all their fault. BYU had scheduled the game with Pitt when a guy named Dan Marino was playing there and Pitt was a national power. How could BYU possibly know that Pitt would implode in 1984 given they were a nine or ten-win team (in 11-12 game schedules) almost every year from 1974 onward, including the 76 championship?

BYU played the Herschel Walker Georgia team in 1982 and only lost on the road by three. They beat the 1984 Rose Bowl champion UCLA team in LA in the regular season. They opened 1985 against BC, UCLA, and Washington in three straight games (combined 1984 record of 30-6 and all ranked in the top ten) and went 2-1 and STILL nobody respected them. Not their fault that Doug Flutie was gone or that Washington wasn't as good as 1984.

If we make a top ten list, we have to agree on some sort of a measure to selection. Now, hers was clearly a 10 favorite list, but she tried to pass it off as a "top" list. What would a top 10 list really look like though? Well, what are we aiming for? Entertainment? Exciting? Best? Memorable? Important? I think you have to go for a mix of all of the above. For instance, Missouri vs. Kansas was important at the time, but was it memorable? I haven't heard anything about that game in years. Was it important? Houston vs. Louisville? East Carolina vs. Tulsa? Not so much. I'm just giving examples, but I think you really get a feeling the games might not really belong there until you get to the top 4, when she completely changes gears.
That's really the issue, and you raise some good points here.

Let's take a GREAT example that nobody will dispute: 2005 Texas/USC. Nobody who loves the game will argue that that was NOT an all-time classic, regardless of where one would rank it (Keith Jackson put it ahead of the 79 Sugar Bowl he thought was the greatest before that).

We'd need a sort of sliding points scale like they used to evaluate Hall of Fame credentials of similar players. Here are some things:

was "everyone" talking about the game the next day?
was it exciting?
did it wring emotion out of people who had no specific rooting interest in the game?
was there a signature play that you could see a picture of years later and know what game it was?
was the final score close?
If the final score was NOT close then was the game close throughout until the end? (looks like a massacre on the scoreboard but was a great game)
were the stakes for the game high? (and what is meant by high stakes, is an SEC divisional title really important other than it gets you into the SEC title game?)

I'll list some in the next post for evaluation by folks.

It's the biggest, more memorable games she left out though that leave the list wanting. I am not arguing all of these games be included, but just look at Alabama games, and you get Alabama vs. Tennessee in 2009, Alabama vs. LSU in 2011 (regular season), Alabama vs. LSU in 2012, Alabama vs. Georgia in 2012, Alabama vs. Clemson in 2015, etc... you broaden that and get both some other huge games and some really entertaining ones. Does the 2015 Arkansas vs. Ole Miss game not meet the criteria she set forth in her first 6 games, a 53-52 OT game with a crazy ending? Come on, that's more entertaining and memorable than a few games on her list for sure. What about 2007 LSU vs. Florida? I'm not Selma so I can't recite a lot of games without looking them up, but you get the point, I could probably make a better top 10 list with just SEC programs.
The funny thing is I agree with everything here EXCEPT I don't think 2009 Alabama-Tenn was by any means an exciting game. It was an exciting (and even frightening) ending, a great last three minutes but the game as a whole was pretty damned boring. Yes, Cody's first block was important but most fans don't even remember it.

Seriously - how many folks here can recite more than 2-3 plays from any time in that game other than the fourth quarter and those are the same three plays: the two blocked FGs and the completion to set it up.

But, it's not just the SEC of course. What about the Big 10. You guys realize she completely left out the Big 10? Her regional bias was so strong though that she only included one Pac-12 team as well. And, it's not like you have to look far for great games. How about Ohio St. vs. Michigan last year? Big implications, OT game, we still remember that one right? It was entertaining and exciting right? Just look at 2012 Notre Dame, they played in multiple exciting and memorable games. I could go on, but it's just a lousy list. I get it, it's her favorite games, but she'd have been better off posting her opinion on a message board than putting that on Sports Illustrated.

Let me build on one of your points here.

How exactly can we decide some of this stuff even setting aside our biases as much as possible?

Consider this: the 1999 Alabama-Florida regular season game was an absolute classic in every sense of the word. The scrappy underdog with a coach on the hot seat against the high octane attack on the road in a place they'd not lost in five years......and the game turns on a botched punt play and a kicker missing the PAT followed by the OTHER kicker first missing and then making the PAT.

But the SEC title game between the same two teams was REALLY just as exciting until the final minutes. Remember, Alabama only led by one score (8 points) with 12 minutes left. Then Milons hit the corner and was gone and Grimes picked off the pass and returned it for a TD - all in about 20 seconds or less of game time. All of a sudden a 15-7 struggle is a 28-7 rout. But that was an exciting game, an important game, and a great game. By contrast, the LSU game with the Marvin Constant injury a month earlier was a BORING game that we merely survived even though the final score was closer.

So what role does the final score play in how great a game was?

My Dad and I used to talk this all the time. You go back and look at the early Super Bowls, almost all of which were total duds. In fact, in the first 30 Super Bowls, there were only SIX decent games: III (mostly historic), X, XIII, XIV, XVII, XXIII, and XXV. You look at SB V ending on a game-winning field goal with a 16-13 score and think, "Wow, that must have been a great game." But Dad said it was absolutely a boring snooze-fest save for the controversial Mackey TD. The Colts had seven turnovers and still won!!! Super Bowl VII - where Miami moved to 17-0 - was another boring game save for Garo Yepremian's gaffe that made it a contest for about three minutes or so.

Even III, famous for Namath's guarantee was NOT a well-played or exciting game, it was just important because it was a shocking upset and flipped the apple cart. I have that game via original broadcast, and it's just.....boring (except for the cigarette commercials which were legal back then).

A lot of fans remember Sid Bream sliding home with the pennant for the Braves 25 years ago and how exciting that was. And it was. But the game BEFORE the bottom of the ninth was absolutely boring. After the first inning, the Pirates only got two runners to third the rest of the game and one scored from second anyway. The Braves only got one runner as far as third base until the ninth - and he got picked off on a double play to end the inning. In fact, in the ninth inning when the Braves scored three runs to win the pennant, they did it on only TWO hits - being helped along by an error and two walks. I'm a Braves fan and enjoyed the win immensely - but the GAME as a whole was not worth seeing again.

But folks remember the moment and so it turns the game into something it wasn't.

The final score of the 1991 Orange Bowl was 10-9. Sounds boring. It was phenomenally interesting and riveting, though.

We can apply this to so many cases and I don't think we'll ever come up with anything resembling her top ten.
 

selmaborntidefan

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To further this discussion, here is the USA Today College Football Encyclopedia's List of the "game of the year" from 1979-2008 (when my edition ends). An asterisk after the game means I saw it.

1978 - Alabama vs Penn State*
1979 - USC vs Ohio State
1980 - Florida vs Georgia* (93 yard Lindsey Scott catch and run in final minute, which I missed)
1981 - Penn State 48 Pitt 14* (played morning of Bryant's 315th win - and it was a great game)
1982 - Stanford vs Cal (the weakest part of the Cardinal D is the woodwinds)
1983 - Miami vs Nebraska (84 Orange, Miami 31-30 upset)
1984 - BC vs Miami (Flutie to Phelan for the Heisman)
1985 - Iowa vs Michigan* (12-10, Harbaugh was the Michigan QB)
1986 - Penn St vs Miami* (the Fiesta Bowl, complete with fatigues and an upset)
1987 - Miami vs Florida St* (Noles come back from 19-3 in fourth but lose - saw but missed the end)
1988 - Miami vs Notre Dame (Catholics vs Convicts)
1989 - Colorado 27 Nebraska 21 (Buffs win Big 8 for their dead QB Sal Aunese in a 2 vs 3 match)
1990 - Ga Tech 41 #1 Virginia 38* (I saw this and it WAS the best game of the year that year)
1991 - #2 Miami 17 #1 FSU 16 (the first Wide Right)
1992 - Alabama 34 Miami 13* (no words necessary)
1993 - #2 N Dame 31 #1 Florida St 24* (the biggest game even BEFORE season began)
1994 - Nebraska 24 Miami 17* (Osborne finally wins a title - saw a few minutes deployed in Cuba)
1995 - Virginia stuns #2 Florida State on a Thursday night......Danny Kanell blew it (only saw last play)
1996 - Ohio State vs Arizona St* (Rose Bowl featuring the late Pat Tillman)
1997 - Nebraska 45 Mizzou 38* (OT - the infamous kicked ball game)
1998 - Miami 49 UCLA 45 (the make-up game from September ends UCLA's BCS title hopes)
1999 - Michigan 35 Alabama 34* (Orange Bowl, Tom Brady)
2000 - Oklahoma 31 Nebraska 14 (I was too busy listening to us lose to Central Florida on radio)
2001 - Arkansas 58 Ole Miss 56 (the seven overtimes thriller)
2002 - Ohio State vs Miami* (the Fiesta Bowl and controversial pass interference play)
2003 - K State 35 Oklahoma 7* (Big 12 title game)
2004 - Iowa 30 LSU 25* (Saban's last game at LSU, Capitol One Bowl)
2005 - Texas vs USC (no need to elaborate)
2006 - Ohio State vs Michigan (was at a wedding for a couple that divorced less than 2 years later)
2007 - App St vs Michigan
2008 - Texas Tech 39 Texas 33* (Harrell to Crabtree)


OK, now find some things in common here:

1) A LOT of the games involve Miami, usually losing
2) MOST of the games have some sort of national title implications (several are title games)
3) the years with outliers (2001, 2007) tend to be years where the entire season was an outlier (2001 seeing several contenders needing one win to make it and losing and 2007 seeing the argument advanced that LSU was "unbeaten in regulation")

For example, if Buck Belue doesn't hit Lindsey Scott in 1980, Georgia does NOT win the title.

MOST of these I agree with. I would dispute the selections for 1982 (uh, most people never saw that game, they've just seen the five laterals and the trombone player getting whacked - it was only regionally televised and they chose it because of reactions years later), 2003, and MAYBE 1981. But even the latter two were important. OU did not win the Big 12 title in 2003 and if Pitt hadn't collapsed in the second quarter while up 14-0 and had won, the bowl setup would have been VERY interesting since Clemson (who was #2) was not obligated to any bowl for the ACC. Clemson was not respected at the time, and the ACC was considered a "basketball conference" only. The Sugar Bowl likely gets the Pitt-Georgia matchup, which would have been 1 vs 3, and unbeaten Clemson gets Nebraska (as happened)....and given that Georgia's only loss was to Clemson, the Tigers are probably hosed on the basis of reputation and game match.

After all....if Pitt wins their champs, but if UGA wins......they're probably champs even if Clemson wins.
 

theballguy

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The only *great* games I enjoy watching are two teams that I don't have much interest in. Last second finishes and offensive pileups are what people who are not committed to either team will always love. It's going to always be this way. Great teams (dynasties if you want to use that term) do not win many games at the last second. They may even lose more close games at the last second but won't win many in that fashion. I wouldn't get too upset about us not being at the top of this type of list. Bama vs Clemson 1 was as close as I will ever like to watch us play.
 

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