List of historically significant college football games: Difference between revisions

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{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}

Here is a list of '''college football games of great historical significance'''. The games featured in this list are individual contests in the realm of [[college football]] that have left a lasting mark on the sport.

To be featured on this list, a game must boast notable historical "firsts" or have had a substantial influence on the sport. This influence might stem from significant rule alterations or the introduction of enduring traditions. Historically significant games should hold a prominent place in comprehensive historical narratives of college football. Games that might be significant exclusively to the fan base of a specific team should be excluded from this list.

Games are arranged in chronological order, with the name of the victorious team displayed in '''bold'''.

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! style="width: 180px;" | Game

! style="width: 110px;" | Home

! style="width: 110px;" | Visitor

! style="width: 180px;" | Location

! style="width: 40px;" | Final score

! Notes

|-

| [[1869 Princeton vs. Rutgers football game]]

| '''[[1869 Rutgers Queensmen football team|Rutgers]]'''

| [[1869 Princeton Tigers football team|Princeton]]

| [[College Avenue Gymnasium|College Avenue Field]], [[New Brunswick, New Jersey]]

| 6–4<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iaa/ivyleague/princeton/yearly_results.php?year=1869|publisher=[[College Football Data Warehouse]]|accessdate=April 4, 2011|first=David|last=DeLassus|title=Princeton Yearly Results (1869)|archive-date=February 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213111825/http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iaa/ivyleague/princeton/yearly_results.php?year=1869|url-status=dead}}</ref>

| First [[college football]] game played. The game was essentially soccer and was played with 25-man sides.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Birthplace of College Football |url=https://www.rutgers.edu/news/birthplace-college-football |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=www.rutgers.edu |language=en}}</ref>

|-

| 1872 Rutgers vs. Columbia football game

| ''Columbia''

| ''Rutgers''

| [[Union of Morrisania|Union Base Ball Club Grounds]], [[Tremont, Bronx|Tremont, New York]]

| 0–0

| First college football game to end with a [[Tie (draw)|tie]] score.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/rutgers/1872-schedule.html|publisher=Sports Reference.com|title=1872 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Schedule and Results|accessdate=April 12, 2011}}</ref> The game was essentially soccer, as a kick over the crossbar was not counted as a goal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Melvin |date=November 19, 2015 |title=When a goal is not a goal |url=https://www.ussoccerhistory.org/when-a-goal-is-not-a-goal/ }}</ref>

|-

|1873 VMI vs. Washington & Lee football game

|[[VMI Keydets football|VMI]]

|'''[[Washington and Lee Generals football|Washington & Lee]]'''

|[[Lexington, Virginia]]

|4-2

|First soccer-style college football game in the [[Southern United States|South]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Early Years (1873-1954) · DCI 201: Football · Washington and Lee University Library Special Collections |url=https://specialcollections.omeka.wlu.edu/s/dci-201-football/page/early-years-1873-1954#smith |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=specialcollections.omeka.wlu.edu}}</ref>

|-

| [[1874 Harvard vs. McGill football game]]

| Harvard

| [[McGill Redbirds football|McGill]]

| Jarvis Field, [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]

| 0–0

| First rugby football game in the United States.<ref name="PFRA1">{{cite web | title = No Christian End! | work = The Journey to Camp: The Origins of American Football to 1889 | publisher = Professional Football Researchers Association | url = http://www.profootballresearchers.com/articles/No_Christian_End.pdf | accessdate = January 26, 2010}}</ref> Harvard played three games against McGill in 1874.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 14, 2012 |title=THIS DATE IN HISTORY: First football game was May 14, 1874 |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/channels/news/date-history-first-football-game-was-may-14-1874-106694 |website=McGill University}}</ref>

* The first was May 14 and played under the Boston Rules, which were essentially modified soccer rules that allowed the circular rubber ball to be carried in some limited circumstances.

* The second, this game, was May 15 and played under rugby rules with a rugby-style ball.

* The third was October 23 and played under rugby rules in Montreal, and is the earliest known intercollegiate game in Canada.

|-

| 1875 Tufts vs. Harvard football game

| Harvard

| '''Tufts'''

| Jarvis Field, [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]

| 0–1g, 1td

| First rugby football game between US colleges.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gridiron gridlock: Citing research, Tufts claims football history is on its side |first=Kevin Paul |last=Dupont |date=September 23, 2004 |work=The Boston Globe |url=http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2004/09/23/gridiron_gridlock/?page=full}}</ref> May have been the first college game with 11-man sides.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1875-06-05 |title=Clipped From The Boston Globe |pages=1 |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98477683/the-boston-globe/ |access-date=2022-05-08}}</ref>

|-

|1879 Michigan vs. Racine football game

|'''Michigan'''

|[[Racine College]]

|[[Union Base-Ball Grounds|White-Stocking Park]], [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]]

|1g, 1td–0

|First college football game in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]]. The ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' called it "the first rugby-football game to be played west of the [[Allegheny Mountains|Alleghenies]]."<ref name="Will Perry: The Wolverines: A Story of Michigan Football 1974">{{cite book|author=Will Perry|title=The Wolverines: A Story of Michigan Football|publisher=The Strode Publishers|year=1974|isbn=978-0873970556|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/wolverinesstoryo0000perr}}</ref>

|-

|1880 [[Transylvania University|Kentucky University]] vs. [[Centre Colonels football|Centre]] football game

|'''[[Transylvania University|Kentucky University]]'''

|[[Centre Colonels football|Centre]]

|[[Lexington, Kentucky]] ([[Stoll Field]])

|13¾–0

|First rugby-style game in the South.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kentucky New Era - Google News Archive Search |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=19710719&id=9_ErAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HAYGAAAAIBAJ&pg=873,1659996 |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=news.google.com}}</ref>

|-

|1881 Harvard vs. Michigan football game

|'''Harvard'''

|Michigan

|[[Boston|Boston, MA]]

|1t-0

|First intersectional game.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1881-11-01 |title=Clipped From The Boston Globe |pages=1 |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98685018/the-boston-globe/ |access-date=2022-05-21}}</ref>

|-

| 1884 Lafayette vs. Lehigh football game

| '''Lafayette'''

| [[1884 Lehigh Engineers football team|Lehigh]]

| [[Easton, Pennsylvania]]

| 56–0

| First game of the [[The Rivalry (Lafayette–Lehigh)|Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry]], the [[List of NCAA college football rivalry games#Longest continuous NCAA college football rivalries|most-played rivalry in American college football history]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Rivalry 150 – Lafayette vs. Lehigh|url=http://www.rivalry150.com/}}</ref>

|-

| 1884 Dartmouth vs. Yale football game

| Dartmouth

| '''Yale'''

| [[Hanover, New Hampshire]]

| 113–0

| First game where one team scored over 100 points; also the first time one team scored over 100 points and the opposing team was shut out.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iaa/ivyleague/yale/yearly_results.php?year=1880 |publisher=[[College Football Data Warehouse]] |accessdate=April 4, 2011 |first=David |last=DeLassus |title=Yale Yearly Results (1880–1884) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213154608/http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iaa/ivyleague/yale/yearly_results.php?year=1880 |archive-date=February 13, 2010 }}</ref> The next week, Princeton outscored Lafayette by 140 to 0.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iaa/ivyleague/princeton/yearly_results.php?year=1880 |publisher=[[College Football Data Warehouse]] |accessdate=April 4, 2011 |first=David |last=DeLassus |title=Princeton Yearly Results (1880–1884) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021084709/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_iaa/ivyleague/princeton/yearly_results.php?year=1880 |archive-date=October 21, 2012 }}</ref>

|-

|1889 Wofford vs Furman football game

|[[Wofford Terriers football|Wofford]]

|[[Furman Paladins football|Furman]]

| Spartanburg, South Carolina

|5-1

|First football game in the [[Deep South]].

|-

|1890 [[Army–Navy Game|Navy vs. Army football game]]

|Army

|'''Navy'''

| [[West Point, New York]]

|0–24

|First Army–Navy Game

|-

|1890 Virginia vs. Princeton game

|'''Princeton'''

|Virginia

|Baltimore, Maryland

|115&ndash;0

|The game signaled football's arrival in the South by playing a Northern school. It inspired several football programs to start in the [[Tidewater (region)|South Atlantic]] region.<ref name=war>{{cite web|url=http://virginia.sportswar.com/article/2013/06/07/lambeth-virginias-father-of-athletics/|title=Lambeth: Virginia's Father of Athletics|author=Kevin Edds|via=TheSabre.com|date=June 7, 2013|access-date=April 9, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Newman|first1=Zipp|title=Southern Football Notes|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19501204&id=ggUsAAAAIBAJ&pg=2741,5441535&hl=en|website=Times Daily - Google News Archive Search|access-date=January 17, 2018|date=December 4, 1950}}</ref><ref>Fuzzy Woodruff, A History of Southern Football 1890-1928</ref>

|-

| [[1892 Wyoming Seminary vs. Mansfield State Normal football game]]

| ''Wyoming Seminary (high school)''

| ''[[Mansfield Mountaineers|Mansfield State Normal]]''

| [[Mansfield, Pennsylvania]]

| 0–0

| First [[Night game|nighttime]] football game played under lights. Game ended at halftime.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/17/AR2006111701688.html|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|title=Good Night|date=November 18, 2006|accessdate=April 4, 2011}}</ref>

|-

| [[1892 Biddle vs. Livingstone football game]]<!--December 27-->

| [[Livingstone College|Livingstone]]

| '''[[Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls and Lady Golden Bulls|Biddle]]'''

| [[Salisbury, North Carolina]]

| 0–5

| First [[Historically black colleges and universities|black college]] football game. Played in two 45-minute halves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bet.com/news/sports/2012/12/27/this-day-in-black-history-dec-27-1892.html |title=This Day in Black History: Dec. 27, 1892 |publisher=[[BET]] |date=December 27, 2012 |accessdate=August 2, 2017}}</ref>

|-

|1893 Army vs. Navy football game

|'''[[1893 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]]'''

|[[1893 Army Cadets football team|Army]]

|[[Annapolis, Maryland]]

|6–4

|First documented use of a [[History of the football helmet|football helmet]] by a player in a game. Midshipman [[Joseph M. Reeves]] had a crude leather helmet made by a local shoemaker/blacksmith and wore it in this game after being warned by doctors that he risked death if he continued to play football after suffering a kick to the head in an earlier game.{{citation needed|date=July 2013}}

|-

|[[1894 Chicago vs. Stanford football game]]

|[[1894 Stanford football team|Stanford]]

|'''[[Chicago Maroons football|Chicago]]'''

|[[Haight Street Grounds]], [[San Francisco|San Francisco, California]]

|4–24

|First postseason intersectional game and a forerunner of modern bowl games.<ref name=pope/>

|-

|[[1895 Georgia vs. North Carolina football game]]

|Georgia

|'''[[1895 North Carolina Tar Heels football team|North Carolina]]'''

|[[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]]

|0–6

|The first forward pass, though years before the legal forward pass of 1906.

|-

|1897 Virginia vs. Georgia

|Georgia

|'''Virginia'''

|Atlanta, Georgia

|4–17

|The game in which [[Richard Von Albade Gammon]] sustained the injuries which killed him, and nearly caused the banning of the sport in Georgia.

|-

|[[1897 École des Beaux-Arts vs. Académie Julian football game]]

|?

|?

|[[Paris]], [[France]]

|?

|Considered the first [[American football]] game played in [[Europe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k284207p/f4.zoom.r=Football%20am%C3%A9ricain.langEN|publisher=[[Gallica]]|accessdate=August 2, 2015|title=Football|date=November 24, 1897}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2842082/f2.zoom.r=Football%20am%C3%A9ricain.langEN|publisher=[[Gallica]]|accessdate=August 2, 2015|title=Match de Football américain|date=November 25, 1897}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5486336/f3.zoom.r=Football%20am%C3%A9ricain.langEN|publisher=[[Gallica]]|accessdate=August 2, 2015|title=Le Football américain|date=November 23, 1897}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k548635z/f3.zoom.r=Football%20am%C3%A9ricain.langEN|publisher=[[Gallica]]|accessdate=August 2, 2015|title=Football|date=November 25, 1897}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k548637q/f3.zoom.r=Football%20am%C3%A9ricain.langEN|publisher=[[Gallica]]|accessdate=August 2, 2015|title=Football américain|date=November 27, 1897}}</ref>

|-

|1902 Georgetown vs. Navy football game

|[[1902 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]]

|'''[[Georgetown Hoyas football|Georgetown]]'''

|[[Annapolis, Maryland]]

|0–4

|Claimed by Georgetown authorities as the game with the first "roving center" or [[linebacker]] when [[Percy Given]] stood up, in contrast to the usual tale of [[Germany Schulz]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ck3AAAAIAAJ&q=percy+given|page=128|year=1962|title=Football Immortals|author=Alexander M. Weyand}}</ref>

|-

| [[1902 Rose Bowl|1902 Tournament East-West football game]]

| [[1902 Stanford football team|Stanford]]

| '''[[1902 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]]'''

| [[Pasadena, California]]

| 0–49

| First [[bowl game]]<ref>{{cite web|first=Dan|last=O'Sullivan|url=http://espn.go.com/abcsports/bcs/rose/s/1902.html|title=Bowl Championship Series – 1902 – Michigan 49, Stanford 0|publisher=[[ESPN|ESPN.com/BCSfootball.com]]|date=December 13, 2002|accessdate=April 4, 2011}}</ref> The name of the game was changed to the [[Rose Bowl Game]] starting with the [[1923 Rose Bowl]] when it moved to the newly constructed [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Rose Bowl Stadium]].

|-

|1905 Michigan vs. Chicago football game

|'''Chicago'''

|[[1905 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]]

|[[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]]

|2–0

|Dubbed "The First Greatest Game of the Century,"<ref name=LA84>{{cite news|author=Robin Lester |title=Michigan-Chicago 1905: The First Greatest Game of the Century |publisher=Journal of Sport History, Vol. 18, No. 2 |date=Summer 1991 |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1991/JSH1802/jsh1802f.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212105445/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1991/JSH1802/jsh1802f.pdf |archive-date=February 12, 2012 }}</ref> broke Michigan's 56-game unbeaten streak and marked the end of the "Point-a-Minute" years.

|-

| [[1905 Washburn vs. Fairmount football game]]

| ''[[Wichita State Shockers football|Fairmount]]''

| ''[[Washburn Ichabods football|Washburn]]''

| [[Wichita, Kansas]]

| 0–0

| Game using several "experimental rules" that were tested before implementing major nationwide rules changes and the formation of the [[NCAA]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/12/26/101375075.pdf|newspaper=[[New York Times]]|title=Ten Yard Rule a Failure|date=December 26, 1905}}</ref> This game had the first "legal" forward pass for a college team, but only because of the new experimental rules created just for this game.

|-

| 1906 Saint Louis vs. Carroll football game

| [[Carroll University|Carroll (Wisconsin)]]

| '''[[Saint Louis Billikens|Saint Louis]]'''

| [[Waukesha, Wisconsin]]

| 0–22

| First regular season game with the first legal [[forward pass]].<ref>Boyles, Bob and Guido, Paul, ''50 Years of College Football'', page 23, 2007</ref>

|-

| [[1906 Carlisle vs. Vanderbilt football game]]

| '''[[Vanderbilt Commodores football|Vanderbilt]]'''

| [[Carlisle Indians football|Carlisle]]

| [[Nashville, Tennessee]]

| 4–0

| The south's first great intersectional triumph; by a single drop kick.<ref name=pope>{{cite book|title=Football's Greatest Coaches|author=Edwin Pope}}</ref>

|-

| 1907 Chicago vs. Illinois football game

| [[1907 Illinois Fighting Illini football team|Illinois]]

| '''Chicago'''

| [[Champaign, Illinois]]

| 6–42

| First game to have a halftime show featuring a [[marching band]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bands.illinois.edu/history |accessdate=April 6, 2011 |publisher=[[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign]] |title=Marching Band History |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512015409/http://bands.illinois.edu/history |archive-date=May 12, 2011 }}</ref>

|-

| [[1910 Vanderbilt vs. Yale football game]]

| ''[[Yale Bulldogs football|Yale]]''

| ''[[Vanderbilt Commodores football|Vanderbilt]]''

| [[New Haven, Connecticut]]

| 0–0

| Vanderbilt battles defending national champion Yale to a scoreless tie. The south's first triumph against one of the 'big four' Eastern powers.<ref name=pope/>

|-

| [[1911 Kansas vs. Missouri football game]]

| ''[[Missouri Tigers football|Missouri]]''

| ''[[Kansas Jayhawks football|Kansas]]''

| [[Columbia, Missouri]]

| 3–3

| First [[homecoming]] football game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.active.com/football/Articles/The_History_of_Homecoming.htm|title=The History of Homecoming|work=ACTIVE.com|access-date=April 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019180352/http://www.active.com/football/Articles/The_History_of_Homecoming.htm|archive-date=October 19, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The game was "broadcast" play-by-play over telegraph to at least 1,000 fans in [[Lawrence, Kansas]].<ref name="mech">{{cite news|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/nov/27/100-years-ago-football-fans-enjoy-mechanized-repro/?print|newspaper=[[Lawrence Journal-World]]|accessdate=December 27, 2011|title=100 years ago: Football fans enjoy mechanized reproduction of KU-MU game|date=November 27, 2011}}</ref>

|-

|1913 Notre Dame vs. Army

|Army

|'''Notre Dame'''

|West Point, New York

|13–35

|Notre Dame's first national prominence after upsetting Army, and one of the first games to regularly use the forward pass, with passes from [[Gus Dorais]] to [[Knute Rockne]].<ref>https://und.com/notre-dame-vs-army-1913-the-game/

</ref>

|-

| [[1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game]]

| '''[[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football|Georgia Tech]]'''

| [[Cumberland Phoenix football|Cumberland]]

| [[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]]

| 222–0

| Most lopsided victory in college football history and most lopsided American football game that has a well documented result.<ref name="pbp">{{cite news| title=Yellow Jackets-Cumberland Score Was Record One; Tops the List According to Statistics Compiled Showing All Scores Past the Century Mark| last=Davis| first=Parke H.| newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution| date=October 15, 1916| pages=A3}}</ref>

|-

| [[1921 West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh football game]]

| '''[[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Pittsburgh]]'''

| [[West Virginia Mountaineers football|West Virginia]]

| [[Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]

| 21–13

| First live radio broadcast of a college football game when Harold W. Arlin announced that year's [[Backyard Brawl]] played at [[Forbes Field]] on [[KDKA (AM)|KDKA]] on October 8, 1921.<ref>{{Cite book| editor1-last=Sciullo Jr| editor1-first=Sam| title = 1991 Pitt Football: University of Pittsburgh Football Media Guide | publisher = University of Pittsburgh Sports Information Office | year = 1991 | location = Pittsburgh, PA | page = 116 }}</ref>

|-

| [[1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game]]

| [[Harvard Crimson football|Harvard]]

| '''[[1921 Centre Praying Colonels football team|Centre]]'''

| [[Harvard Stadium|Boston, Massachusetts]]

| 0–6

| Widely considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history.<ref name=reference1>{{cite web | url=http://www.amnews.com/public_html/?module=displaystory&story_id=22929&format=html | title=ESPN ranks 1921 Centre-Harvard game among college football's greatest upsets | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041217070838/http://www.amnews.com/public_html/?module=displaystory | archive-date=December 17, 2004 }}</ref>

|-

|[[1922 Michigan vs. Vanderbilt football game]]

| ''Vanderbilt''

| ''[[1922 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]]''

| [[Nashville, Tennessee]]

| 0–0

| Michigan coach [[Fielding Yost]] and Vanderbilt coach [[Dan McGugin]] were brothers-in-law, and the latter the protege of the former. The inaugural game at [[FirstBank Stadium|Dudley Field]] featured the season's two best defenses. Michigan was a heavy favorite to win but Vandy managed a goal line stand to preserve a tie. The game's result was "a great surprise to the sporting world."<ref>{{cite news|title=Football Squads Begin practice|newspaper=The Kingsport Times|date=September 14, 1923}}</ref> It features prominently in Vanderbilt's history.<ref name=":0">cf. {{cite web|url=http://www.vucommodores.com/ot/history-corner-083006.html |title=CHC- Vandy Ties Michigan in 1922 |author=Bill Traughber |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201232953/http://www.vucommodores.com/ot/history-corner-083006.html |archive-date=February 1, 2016 }}</ref> Commodore fans celebrated by throwing some 3,000 seat cushions onto the field.

|-

|[[1922 Princeton vs. Chicago football game]]

|Chicago

|'''Princeton'''

|[[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]]

|18–21

|First game to be nationally broadcast on radio and considered a hotly contested game. Had Princeton dubbed the "Team of Destiny."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/princeton-chicago-football-game-is-broadcast-across-the-country|title=Princeton-Chicago football game is broadcast across the country}}</ref>

|-

|[[1922 Alabama vs. Penn football game]]

|[[1922 Penn Quakers football team|Penn]]

|'''[[1922 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]]'''

|[[Franklin Field|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]

|7–9

|Alabama, a southern school, upset an Eastern power, one of the 'big four', in Penn.

|-

| [[1926 Rose Bowl]]

| [[1925 Washington Huskies football team|Washington]]

| '''[[1925 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]]'''

| [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Pasadena, California]]

| 19–20

| The game is commonly referred to as "the game that changed the south." Many historians recognize it as the most important game in southern football history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/01/a_look_back_at_the_game_that_c.html|title=A look back at 'the game that changed the South,' as Alabama altered perception with 1st national title|work=AL.com|date=January 2015}}</ref>

|-

|[[1929 Rose Bowl]]

|California

|'''Georgia Tech'''

| [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Pasadena, California]]

|7–8

|The decisive moment in the game came when Cal's All-American center [[Roy Riegels]] scooped up a Georgia Tech fumble and ran in the wrong direction towards his own goal line, earning him the dubious nickname, "Wrong Way".

|-

| [[1939 Waynesburg vs. Fordham football game]]

| '''[[Fordham Rams football|Fordham]]'''

| Waynesburg

| [[Manhattan|New York, New York]]<!--"New York, New York" is the US postal designation for Manhattan, and ONLY Manhattan. The stadium where this game was played was on Randall's Island, which was and still is part of Manhattan.-->

| 34–7

| First televised football game.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WzQbAAAAIBAJ&pg=1658,2909223&dq=fordham+football+waynesburg&hl=en|newspaper=[[The Pittsburgh Press]]|date=October 3, 1939|accessdate=February 12, 2011|title=Tech, Pitt, Dukes in Good Condition for Next Test|first=Eddie|last=Beachler}}</ref>

|-

| [[Fifth Down Game (1940)|1940 Cornell–Dartmouth football game]]

| '''[[Dartmouth Big Green football|Dartmouth]]'''

| [[1940 Cornell Big Red football team|Cornell]]

| [[Hanover, New Hampshire]]

| 3–0 (3–7)

| Game is known for an officiating error that resulted in a rare postgame reversal of the outcome. Cornell threw an incomplete pass on 4th and goal in the game's final seconds, seemingly ensuring a 3–0 shutout victory by Dartmouth. However, the referees inadvertently allowed Cornell to attempt a "fifth down" play on which Cornell scored an apparent game-winning touchdown. After the error was discovered during postgame film review, Cornell offered to forfeit the game. Dartmouth accepted, marking the only time that the outcome of a college football game was decided off the field.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2615391&type=story|publisher=[[ESPN]]|title=Beano Cook's top 10 moments in college football|date=October 6, 2006|accessdate=July 1, 2013|first=Beano|last=Cook|author-link=Beano Cook}}</ref>

|-

| [[1941 Oklahoma City vs. Youngstown football game]]

| '''[[Youngstown State Penguins football|Youngstown State]]'''

| [[Oklahoma City Chiefs football|Oklahoma City]]

| [[Youngstown, Ohio]]

| 48–7

| First use of the [[penalty flag]] by game officials.<ref name="vindy-08-01-1999">

{{cite news

| first = John

| last = Bassetti

| title = First penalty flag has its roots in YSU football

| work = The Youngstown Vindicator

| date =August 1, 1999}}</ref>

|-

| 1943 Notre Dame vs. Michigan football game

| [[1943 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]]

| '''[[1943 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]]'''

| [[Michigan Stadium|Ann Arbor, Michigan]]

| 12–35

| First college football game between the #1 (Notre Dame) and #2 (Michigan) teams in the nation, as determined by the [[AP Poll]] (since its inception in 1936).<ref name=AP_1v2>{{cite web|url=http://www.kiko13.com/cflrankings/aponevstwo.htm|title=Games Where #1 Faced #2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828203249/http://kiko13.com/cflrankings/aponevstwo.htm|archive-date=August 28, 2008}}</ref>

|-

| 1947 Harvard vs. Virginia football game

| '''[[Virginia Cavaliers football|Virginia]]'''

| [[Harvard Crimson football|Harvard]]

| [[Scott Stadium|Charlottesville, Virginia]]

| 47–0

| Harvard tackle Chester Pierce became the first African-American player to play against an all-white team in a game south of the [[Mason–Dixon line]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Chester M. Pierce made history on the field and in the classroom|url=http://gocrimson.com/sports/fball/2010-11/releases/101007_Chester_Pierce_NCAA|website=GoCrimson.com}}</ref>

|-

| [[1948 Cotton Bowl Classic]]

| [[SMU Mustangs football|SMU]]

| [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State]]

| [[Dallas|Dallas, Texas]] ([[Cotton Bowl (stadium)|Cotton Bowl]])

| 13–13

| The first interracial bowl game played in the United States (January 1, 1948).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bodani |first1=Frank |title=Penn State in the Cotton Bowl: How the most important game still resonates |url=https://www.ydr.com/story/sports/college/penn-state/football/2019/12/27/penn-state-football-1948-cotton-bowl-still-resonates-racial-desegregation/2706676001/ |website=York Daily Record |access-date=30 July 2023|date=December 27, 2019}}</ref>

|-

| 1951 Duke vs. Pittsburgh football game

| [[1951 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]]

| '''[[1951 Duke Blue Devils football team|Duke]]'''

| [[Pitt Stadium|Pittsburgh, PA]]

| 14–19

| The [[College football on television#History|first nationally televised college football game]] and [[Broadcasting of sports events#History|the first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MqLdmm6zT8YC&pg=PA50 | editor-first=Paul M. | editor-last=Pedersen | editor2-first=Janet B. | editor2-last=Parks | editor3-first=Jerome | editor3-last=Quarterman | editor4-first=Lucie | editor4-last=Thibault | title=Contemporary Sport Management | edition=4th | publisher=Human Kinetics | location=Champaign, IL | year=2011 | page=50 | isbn=978-0-7360-8167-2 | access-date=25 March 2012}}</ref>

|-

| [[1952 Rose Bowl]]

| [[1951 Stanford Indians football team|Stanford]]

| '''[[1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football team|Illinois]]'''

| [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Pasadena, California]]

| 7–40

| The [[College football on television#History|first nationally televised college football bowl game]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tournamentofroses.com/history/rose-bowl-game|title=History of the Rose Bowl Game|work=Tournament of Roses}}</ref>

|-

| [[1956 Sugar Bowl]]

| '''Georgia Tech'''

| Pittsburgh

| [[Tulane Stadium|New Orleans, Louisiana]]

| 7–0

| First African American player, Pitt's [[Bobby Grier (Pittsburgh Panthers)|Bobby Grier]], to break the color barrier in the [[Racial segregation|segregated]] [[Deep South]].<ref>{{Cite news | last = Thamel | first = Pete |author-link=Pete Thamel | title = Grier Integrated a Game and Earned the World's Respect | newspaper = New York Times | date = January 1, 2006 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/01/sports/ncaafootball/01grier.html | accessdate=April 10, 2011 }}</ref>

|-

| 1957 Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma football game

| [[1957 Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma]]

| '''[[1957 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]]'''

| [[Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium|Norman, Oklahoma]]

| 0–7

| Notre Dame's victory ended Oklahoma's 47-game winning streak, which remains the longest winning streak in NCAA Division I-A/FBS history.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ending The Streak (1957 vs. Oklahoma)|url=http://125.nd.edu/moments/ending-the-streak-1957-vs-oklahoma/|website=University of Notre Dame}}</ref>

|-

| [[1962 Rose Bowl]]

| [[1961 UCLA Bruins football team|UCLA]]

| '''[[1961 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]]'''

| [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Pasadena, California]]

| 3–21

| First nationally televised college football game in [[color television|color]].<ref>[http://www.rosebowlstadium.com/RoseBowl_history_154_facts.htm Historic Facts about the Rose Bowl Stadium] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326093214/http://www.rosebowlstadium.com/RoseBowl_history_154_facts.htm |date=March 26, 2010 }}</ref>

|-

| [[1963 Rose Bowl]]

| '''[[1962 USC Trojans football team|USC]]'''

| [[1962 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin]]

| [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Pasadena, California]]

| 42–37

| First college football [[bowl game]] between the #1 (USC) and #2 (Wisconsin) teams in the nation, as determined by the [[AP Poll|AP]]<ref name=AP_1v2 /> and [[Coaches' Poll|UPI]] polls.

|-

| 1963 Maryland vs. North Carolina State football game

| [[1963 Maryland Terrapins football team|Maryland]]

| '''[[1963 North Carolina State Wolfpack football team|North Carolina State]]'''

| [[SECU Stadium|College Park, Maryland]]

| 14–36

| Maryland receiver [[Darryl Hill (American football)|Darryl Hill]] became the first African-American to play in the [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] and the first to play in any of the "big" Southern conferences (ACC, [[Southeastern Conference|SEC]], [[Southwest Conference]]).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Greenya|first1=John|title=Black Man on a White Field|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/2004/02/01/black-man-on-a-white-field/55688ca2-fd64-4d93-9936-00445967b78f/|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref>

|-

| 1963 Army vs. Navy football game

| [[1963 Army Cadets football team|Army]]

| '''[[1963 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]]'''

| [[John F. Kennedy Stadium (Philadelphia)|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]

| 21–15

| First time any sports broadcast used [[instant replay]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/archives/2008/12/army-navy-insta.html |title=Army-Navy, Instant Replay, Tony Verna, 45 Years Later ... |accessdate=December 24, 2009 |date=n.d. |author=Gelston, Dan |work=[[Associated Press|The Associated Press]] |via=[[Los Angeles Daily News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100805142206/http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/archives/2008/12/army-navy-insta.html |archive-date=August 5, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

|-

| 1967 Kentucky vs. Indiana football game<!--September 23-->

| '''[[1967 Indiana Hoosiers football team|Indiana]]'''

| [[1967 Kentucky Wildcats football team|Kentucky]]

| [[Memorial Stadium (Indiana University)|Bloomington, Indiana]]

| 12–10

| Kentucky running back [[Nate Northington|Nathaniel "Nate" Northington]] became the first [[African Americans|African-American]] scholarship athlete to play any sport in the [[Southeastern Conference]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukathletics.com/documents/2018/7/17/2018_KentuckyFBRecord_Book_WEB.pdf |title=Pioneers of Integration in the SEC |work=2018 UK Football Record Book |publisher=[[Kentucky Wildcats]] |accessdate=September 12, 2018}}</ref><ref name=Maraniaa>{{cite book|last=Maraniss |first=Andrew |date=2014 |title=Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South |location=[[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville, TN]] |publisher=[[Vanderbilt University Press]] |page=221 |isbn=9780826520241 |author-link=Andrew Maraniss}}</ref>{{efn|The "scholarship" distinction is important here because Northington was not the first African-American athlete to play in the SEC. In March 1966, more than a year before Northington's Kentucky football debut (and also nearly six months before Northington initially enrolled at Kentucky), [[Tulane Green Wave baseball|Tulane baseball]] player Stephen Martin had become the first African American to play any sport in the SEC. However, Martin was then a [[Walk-on (sports)|walk-on]] who was attending Tulane on an academic scholarship. Another reason why Martin has been overlooked as an SEC integration pioneer is that Tulane left the conference immediately after Martin's first baseball season of 1966.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/2013/05/tulane_community_mourns_passin.html |title=Tulane community mourns death of SEC pioneer Stephen Martin |first=Tammy |last=Nunez |newspaper=[[The Times-Picayune]] |date=May 15, 2013 |accessdate=July 13, 2013}}</ref> It should also be noted that Northington was not the only African-American SEC scholarship athlete to make his debut in the 1967–68 school year; [[Perry Wallace]] made his varsity debut for [[Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball|Vanderbilt basketball]] later in 1967.}}

|-

| 1967 Ole Miss vs. Kentucky football game<!--September 30-->

| [[1967 Kentucky Wildcats football team|Kentucky]]

| '''[[Ole Miss Rebels football|Ole Miss]]'''

| [[Stoll Field/McLean Stadium|Lexington, Kentucky]]

| 13–26

| A week after Northington made his overall debut, he became the first African-American scholarship athlete to play in a game involving two SEC teams.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kindred|first1=Dave|title=The Forgotten Trailblazer|url=http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/63673094/nate-northington-sec-segregation-university-of-kentucky-ole-miss|website=Sports on Earth|accessdate=November 5, 2013}}</ref>

|-

| [[1967 UCLA vs. USC football game]]

| '''[[1967 USC Trojans football team|USC]]'''

| [[1967 UCLA Bruins football team|UCLA]]

| [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum|Los Angeles, California]]

| 21–20

| National live network color television broadcast of a conference championship for a [[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowl]] appearance, the two top candidates for the [[Heisman Trophy]] (UCLA's [[Gary Beban]] and USC's [[O. J. Simpson]]) facing each other in a conference rivalry game, which also was the de facto college national championship.<ref name="coachoftheyear.com">[http://www.coachoftheyear.com/award-tv.aspx Coach of the Year (2007) – hosted by Keith Jackson] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061130202939/http://www.coachoftheyear.com/award-tv.aspx |date=November 30, 2006 }} "Keith Jackson has been broadcasting college football since 1952 and has reported games like the “Game of the Century” between UCLA and USC in 1967."</ref><ref>{{cite book

| last = Hofstetter

| first = Adam B.

| title = Football in the Pac-10

| url = https://archive.org/details/footballinpac100000hofs

| url-access = registration

| publisher = The Rosen Publishing Group

| year = 2007

| isbn = 978-1-4042-1922-9 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/usc/la-sp-usc-ucla1939-2006-pg,0,1348672.photogallery?index=6 Crosstown rivalry over the years – USC-UCLA, 1967]. Los Angeles Times. ''In 1967, the L.A. rivals played what was billed as the Game of the Century''</ref>

|-

| 1968 Alabama vs. Miami (Fla.) football game

| [[Miami Hurricanes football|Miami (Fla.)]]

| '''[[1968 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]]'''

| [[Miami Orange Bowl|Miami, Florida]]

| 6–14

| First regular-season college football game nationally televised in [[prime time]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7099289/college-football-first-televised-primetime-game-stands-out |title=Ole Miss-Alabama game still legendary |first=Ivan |last=Maisel |author-link=Ivan Maisel |work=[[ESPN.com]] |date=October 14, 2011 |accessdate=October 15, 2011}}</ref>

|-

| [[1968 Yale vs. Harvard football game]]

| ''Harvard''

| ''Yale''

| [[Harvard Stadium|Allston, Massachusetts]]

| 29–29

| Both teams entered their season-ending rivalry game undefeated and untied, with the [[Ivy League]] championship on the line. Down 22–0 in the first half, Harvard made an improbable comeback and tied the game — including 16 unanswered points in the final minute. The game is the subject of the documentary film ''[[Harvard Beats Yale 29-29]]'', a reference to the ''[[The Harvard Crimson|Harvard Crimson]]'' headline.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dargis|first1=Manohla|title=Back in 1968, When a Tie Was No Tie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/movies/19harv.html|website=New York Times|accessdate=August 28, 2015|date=November 18, 2008|quote=Take another look at the coyly, cleverly enigmatic title, borrowed from the famous headline in The Harvard Crimson.}}</ref>

|-

| 1969 Florida A&M vs. Tampa football game

| [[Tampa Spartans football|Tampa]]

| '''[[Florida A&M Rattlers football|Florida A&M]]'''

| [[Tampa, Florida]]

| 28–34

| The first interracial football game in the South. It was the pivotal game in the desegregation of college football. Before a sellout crowd of 46,000, A&M won the game, in what may well have been the largest mass act of desegregation since emancipation. It pitted the Florida A&M Rattlers, long one of the dominant teams among black colleges, against the Tampa Spartans, a rising power that was overwhelmingly white.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theroot.com/college-footballs-real-racial-breakthrough-was-famu-vs-1790898863|title=College Football's Real Racial Breakthrough Was FAMU vs. Tampa|last=Freedman|first=Samuel G.|work=The Root|access-date=July 18, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/hooper-tampa-deserves-praise-for-historic-1969-game-between-famu-and-ut/2149932|title=Hooper: Tampa deserves praise for historic 1969 game between FAMU and UT|date=October 30, 2013|access-date=July 18, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/us/26florida.html|title=Southern White Teams Just Didn't Play Black Ones, but One Game Ended All That|last=Freedman|first=Samuel G.|access-date=July 18, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

|-

| 1970 USC vs. Alabama football game

| [[1970 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]]

| '''[[1970 USC Trojans football team|USC]]'''

| [[Legion Field|Birmingham, Alabama]]

| 21–42

| USC opened the season visiting the University of Alabama under legendary coach [[Bear Bryant|Paul "Bear" Bryant]] and became the first fully integrated team to play in the state of Alabama.<ref>{{cite book|last=Yaeger|first=Don; Sam Cunningham, John Papadakis|title=Turning of the Tide: How One Game Changed the South|url=https://archive.org/details/turningoftidehow0000yaeg|url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=Center Street|isbn=1-931722-94-3}}</ref> The game, scheduled by Bryant, resulted in a domineering 42–21 win by the Trojans. More importantly, all five touchdowns scored by USC team were by African-American players, two by USC running back [[Sam Cunningham|Sam "Bam" Cunningham]], against an all-white Crimson Tide team.<ref>{{cite news|last=Robbins|first=Lenn|title=Trojans Have Horses|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/08262007/sports/trojans_have_the_horses.htm?page=0|newspaper=[[New York Post]] |accessdate=August 26, 2007}}</ref> The game hastened the racial integration of football at Alabama and in the South.<ref>{{cite web|last=Forde|first=Pat|author-link=Pat Forde |title=The Dash is off and running|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2993475|work=ESPN.com|date=August 27, 2007|accessdate=August 28, 2007}}</ref>

|-

| 1971 TCU vs. Baylor football game

| [[Baylor Bears football|Baylor]]

| '''[[TCU Horned Frogs football|TCU]]'''

| [[Floyd Casey Stadium|Waco, Texas]]

| 27–34

| On October 30, 1971, TCU coach [[Jim Pittman]] collapsed on the sideline in Waco shortly after the annual game between the Horned Frogs and Bears began. The game was continued after Coach Pittman was taken by private car to the hospital as the ambulance had already taken a dizzy school official to the hospital and had not yet returned. Coach Pittman was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The TCU and Baylor players were informed at halftime, and it was decided to honor Coach Pittman's memory by finishing the game, which TCU rallied to win 34–27. This remains the first, and to date only, time in college football history that a coach died on the field during a game.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.foxsports.com/southwest/story/tcu-horned-frogs-baylor-bears-big-12-jim-pittman-081715|title=The night TCU-Baylor rivalry met tragedy|date=August 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/10/31/page/95/article/tcus-pittman-dies|title = Historical Newspapers from 1700s-2000s}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/fbs.pdf|title = NCAA Records – 2014|date = August 20, 2015|accessdate = August 20, 2015|website = NCAA|publisher = NCAA.org|last = Williams|first = Jeff}}</ref><ref>Pittman's Death Shocks Conference November 1, 1971 ''The Reading Eagle'' Detroit(?), Michigan https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19711101id=mgsrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XZoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4555,444540&hl=en</ref>

|-

|1975 Ohio State vs. Minnesota

|'''[[1975 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State]]'''

|[[1975 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team|Minnesota]]

|[[Ohio Stadium|Columbus, Ohio]]

|38–6

|In a game that saw the Ohio State Buckeyes win 38–6 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, eventual two-time Heisman trophy winner [[Archie Griffin]] rushes for 124 yards,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Blast From the Past: Minnesota 11-15-1975|date = November 15, 2014|url = http://www.elevenwarriors.com/forum/ohio-state-football/2014/11/43810/blast-from-the-past-minnesota-11-15-1975|accessdate = August 20, 2015}}</ref> setting the current NCAA record for Most Consecutive Games Gaining 100 Yards or More in a Career

|-

|1976 Pioneer Bowl

|[[Morgan State Bears football|Morgan State]]

|'''[[Grambling State Tigers football|Grambling]]'''

| [[Tokyo|Tokyo, Japan]] ([[Korakuen Stadium]])

|16–42

|First college football game played in [[Asia]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Back in the day: 40 years ago, Morgan State and Grambling played in Tokyo|url=https://andscape.com/features/back-in-the-day-40-years-ago-morgan-state-and-grambling-played-in-tokyo/|website=[[Andscape]]|date=September 23, 2016}}</ref>

|-

| 1982 Northwestern vs. Northern Illinois football game

| '''[[1982 Northwestern Wildcats football team|Northwestern]]'''

| [[1982 Northern Illinois Huskies football team|Northern Illinois]]

| [[Ryan Field (stadium)|Evanston, Illinois]]

| 31–6

| Northwestern ends its 34-game losing streak,<ref>{{cite web|title=Dream come true! NU ends 34-game nightmare|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1982/09/26/page/48/article/at-last-wildcats-discover-success|website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> which remains the [[Losing streak#American football|longest losing streak in FBS/1-A history]].

|-

| [[The Play (American football)|1982 California–Stanford football game]]

| '''[[1982 California Golden Bears football team|California]]'''

| [[1982 Stanford Cardinal football team|Stanford]]

| [[California Memorial Stadium|Berkeley, California]]

| 25–20

| Game is well known for its final play, known simply as "The Play" – a kickoff return in which California used a series of laterals to score the game-winning touchdown as time expired. Thinking that the game was over, Stanford's marching band had come out onto the field before the play had concluded. The picture of California's Kevin Moen plowing into oblivious Stanford trombone player Gary Tyrrell upon scoring the game-winning touchdown remains one of the most iconic images in college football. "The Play" is recognized as one of the most memorable plays in college football history.<ref name=Seniors>{{cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview07/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=2983191 |title=Michigan seniors ready to erase some dubious zeros |work=[[ESPN.com]] |first=Mark |last=Schlabach |author-link=Mark Schlabach |date=August 21, 2007 |accessdate=September 1, 2007}}</ref> In addition, it denied Stanford quarterback [[John Elway]] and the rest of the team a chance to play in a bowl game. Stanford and California fans continue to dispute the results.

|-

| [[1987 Fiesta Bowl]]

| '''[[1986 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State]]'''

| [[1986 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami (Fla.)]]

| [[Mountain America Stadium|Tempe, Arizona]]

| 14–10

| Game is known for changing the landscape of college football bowl games. Due to the bidding war that began, and both Penn State and Miami being independent, the Fiesta Bowl won out and then became a high-profile bowl. It is also the highest rated championship game in history, recording a 24.9 Nielsen rating (more than 70 million viewers); no college football game has gotten that kind of ratings, before or since. This game was billed as the classic good versus evil matchup. Highlighted by Penn State's defense intercepting Heisman Trophy winner [[Vinny Testaverde]] five times, including one with 18 seconds left near the end zone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=fiesta87&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1|title=ESPN.com – E-Ticket: The Night College Football Went To Hell|work=ESPN.com}}</ref>

|-

| [[Fifth Down Game (1990)|1990 Colorado–Missouri football game]]

| [[1990 Missouri Tigers football team|Missouri]]

| '''[[1990 Colorado Buffaloes football team|Colorado]]'''

| [[Faurot Field|Columbia, Missouri]]

| 31–33

| Game is known for an officiating error that had far-reaching implications. On the game's final drive, the referees inadvertently allowed Colorado to attempt a "fifth down" play on which the Buffaloes scored the game-winning touchdown as time expired. Aided in part by the controversial victory, Colorado completed a 10-win season and was awarded the [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS#AP Poll|AP National Championship]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=101006/FifthDown|title=OTL: Fifth-and-goal|work=ESPN.com}}</ref>

|-

| [[1992 SEC Championship Game]]

| [[1992 Florida Gators football team|Florida]]

| '''[[1992 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]]'''

| [[Legion Field|Birmingham, Alabama]]

| 21–28

| After the SEC expanded to 12 schools, it became the first college football conference to host a so-called "exempt" championship game—i.e., one which did not count against NCAA limits on regular-season contests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secsports.com/article/11113287/play-changed-college-football|title=SEC Storied: The Play That Changed College Football|work=secsports.com}}</ref>{{efn|The [[Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference]], an [[NCAA Division II]] league, had held [[PSAC Football Championship Game|a conference championship game]] before the SEC did, and was directly responsible for the NCAA rule change that allowed the SEC to hold its title game. However, the PSAC discontinued its title game prior to the 1988 season, the first in which "exempt" championship games were allowed, and did not reinstate its title game until 2008.}}

|-

| 1994 [[Whammy in Miami]]

| [[1994 Miami Hurricanes football team|Miami (Fla.)]]

| '''[[1994 Washington Huskies football team|Washington]]'''

| [[Miami Orange Bowl|Miami, Florida]]

| 20–38

| The loss ended Miami's NCAA-record 58-game home winning streak.<ref>{{cite web|title=Miami's Streak Is Ended|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-09-25/sports/sp-42806_1_orange-bowl|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

|-

| 1995 Illinois vs. Wisconsin football game

| ''[[1995 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin]]''

| ''[[1995 Illinois Fighting Illini football team|Illinois]]''

| [[Camp Randall Stadium|Madison, Wisconsin]]

| 3–3

| Last tie game in NCAA Division I-A.<ref name="Last Tie in CFB">{{cite news|first=Adam|last=Rittenberg|title=Sometimes history isn't always pretty as the CFB's last tie shows |url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18008384/the-story-how-wisconsin-badgers-illinois-fighting-illini-played-college-football-last-tie}}</ref>

|-

| [[1995 Las Vegas Bowl]]

| Nevada

| '''[[1995 Toledo Rockets football team|Toledo]]'''

| [[Sam Boyd Stadium|Whitney, Nevada]]

| 37–40

| First overtime game in NCAA Division I-A.<ref name="Ties">{{cite news|first=Kelly |last=Whiteside |title=Overtime system still excites coaches |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2006-08-24-overtime_x.htm |work=USA Today |date=August 25, 2006 |accessdate=September 25, 2009 |archive-date=September 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906111441/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2006-08-24-overtime_x.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

|-

| [[1997 Linfield vs. Willamette football game]]

| '''Willamette'''

| Linfield

| [[Salem, Oregon]]

| 27–0

| Kicker [[Liz Heaston]] becomes the first woman to play and score points in a college football game<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/page2/tvlistings/show29transcript.html|work=[[ESPN|ESPN.com]]|accessdate=April 19, 2011|title=Page 2-Outside the Lines: Heather Sue Mercer suit|date=October 15, 2000|first=Bob|last=Ley}}</ref>

|-

| 1998 Bethune-Cookman vs. Virginia State football game

| '''[[Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football|Bethune-Cookman]]'''

| Virginia State

| [[Daytona Stadium|Daytona Beach, Florida]]

| 63–57 (8OT)

| Bethune–Cookman finally defeats Virginia State after 8 overtimes, the longest college football game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1998-09-27/sports/9809280234_1_b-cc-overtime-damon-thompson|title=8 Overtimes Are Enough For B-cc|work=tribunedigital-orlandosentinel}}</ref>

|-

| 1998 Prairie View A&M vs. Langston football game

| Langston

| '''[[Prairie View A&M Panthers football|Prairie View A&M]]'''

| [[Oklahoma City|Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]

| 12–14

| Prairie View's win ended the Panthers' NCAA all-division record 80-game losing streak.<ref>{{cite news |title=Prairie View A&M Ends 80-Game Streak |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1998/sep/27/sports/sp-27115 |agency=Los Angeles Times |date=September 27, 1998}}</ref>

|-

| [[2001 Cumberland vs. Jacksonville State football game]]

| '''[[Jacksonville State Gamecocks football|Jacksonville State]]'''

| Cumberland

| [[Burgess–Snow Field at JSU Stadium|Jacksonville, Alabama]]

| 72–10

| [[Ashley Martin]] becomes the first woman to play and score in an [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] football game and the second woman to play and score in a college game in any division.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/ncf/news/2001/0830/1246153.html|work=[[ESPN|ESPN.com]]|title=Martin first female to play, score in Division I|date=August 31, 2001|accessdate=May 15, 2011}}</ref>

|-

| [[2002 Las Vegas Bowl]]

| [[2002 New Mexico Lobos football team|New Mexico]]

| '''[[2002 UCLA Bruins football team|UCLA]]'''

| [[Sam Boyd Stadium|Whitney, Nevada]]

| 13–27

| [[Katie Hnida]] becomes the first woman to play in a [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|Division I-A]] bowl game, kicking an [[extra point]] attempt that was blocked.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/2002/bowls/news/2002/12/25/newmexico_kicker_ap/ |title=History Maker |accessdate=October 30, 2009 |date=December 26, 2002 |work=CNN Sports Illustrated }}</ref>

|-

| 2003 New Mexico vs. Texas State football game

| '''[[2003 New Mexico Lobos football team|New Mexico]]'''

| [[Texas State Bobcats football|Texas State]]

| [[University Stadium (Albuquerque)|Albuquerque, New Mexico]]

| 72–8

| [[Katie Hnida]] becomes the first woman to score in a Division I-A game when she kicks two [[extra point]]s against [[Texas State University]] in the fourth quarter of a 72–8 New Mexico win.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.golobos.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/hnida_katie00.html |title=The University of New Mexico Official Athletic Site |accessdate=October 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810170846/http://www.golobos.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/hnida_katie00.html |archive-date=August 10, 2010 }} (2–2 PATs, New Mexico vs. Texas State, 8/30/03)</ref>

|-

| 2003 Stillman vs. West Alabama football game

| '''[[West Alabama Tigers football|West Alabama]]'''

| Stillman

| [[Livingston, Alabama]]

| 24–17

| [[Tonya Butler]] becomes the first woman to kick a [[Field goal (American and Canadian football)|field goal]] in an [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] football game.<ref name="TButler1">{{cite news |title=UWA's Tonya Butler aims for NCAA history |first=Andrew |last=Carroll |newspaper=The Tuscaloosa News |date=September 14, 2000 |page=C1 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IyAfAAAAIBAJ&pg=2049%2C2812065 |accessdate=November 25, 2011}}</ref><ref name="TButler2">{{cite news |title=Pioneer still gets her football kicks |first=Karen |last=Rosen |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=October 17, 2003 |page=8D}}</ref>

|-

| [[2005 Fiesta Bowl]]

| [[2004 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]]

| '''[[2004 Utah Utes football team|Utah]]'''

| [[Mountain America Stadium|Tempe, Arizona]]

| 7–35

| Utah becomes the first non-BCS Conference team to appear in and win a BCS Bowl game by blowing out [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]] champion Pittsburgh 35–7. The performance of Utah QB [[Alex Smith]] propelled him to becoming the #1 overall draft pick in the [[2005 NFL Draft]]. Utah would eventually become a member of the [[Pac-12 Conference]] in 2011.

|-

| [[2006 Michigan State vs. Northwestern football game]]

| [[2006 Northwestern Wildcats football team|Northwestern]]

| '''[[2006 Michigan State Spartans football team|Michigan State]]'''

| [[Ryan Field (stadium)|Evanston, Illinois]]

| 38–41

| The 2006 Michigan State vs. Northwestern football game featured the biggest comeback in NCAA Division I FBS history. The Spartans rallied to score 38 unanswered points to beat the Wildcats 41–38 after falling behind 38–3 with 9:54 left in the 3rd quarter.

|-

| [[2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game]]

| [[2007 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]]

| '''[[2007 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team|Appalachian State]]'''

| [[Michigan Stadium|Ann Arbor, Michigan]]

| 32–34

| First win for an NCAA Division I-AA/FCS team over a ranked Division I-A/FBS opponent. As a result of the loss, #5 ranked Michigan dropped out of the Top 25 AP poll, marking the first time a team had dropped from the top five to out of the poll in one week. In the aftermath of the game, the Associated Press amended their polling policy to make FCS teams eligible for the AP Poll, which had previously been limited to FBS teams.<ref name=Wetzel>{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news?slug=dw-appstate090107&prov=yhoo&type=lgns |title=Hail to the victors |work=[[Yahoo!|Yahoo! Sports]] |first=Dan |last=Wetzel |author-link=Dan Wetzel |date=September 1, 2007 |accessdate=September 1, 2007}}</ref>

<!-- |-

| [[2007 Stanford vs. USC football game]]

| [[2007 USC Trojans football team|USC]]

| '''[[2007 Stanford Cardinal football team|Stanford]]'''

| [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum|Los Angeles, California]]

| 23–24

| In a remarkable upset, the visiting Stanford Cardinal won 24–23. USC was favored by 41 points over Stanford, making the game the largest [[point spread]] upset in college football history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/sports/65382.php|title=Gimino: USC dynasty far from over|work=tucsoncitizen.com}}</ref> -->

|-

| [[2007 Navy vs. Notre Dame football game]]

| [[2007 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]]

| '''[[2007 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]]'''

| [[Notre Dame Stadium|Notre Dame, Indiana]]

| 44–46 (3OT)

| Navy's triple-overtime victory over Notre Dame ended the Fighting Irish's 43-game winning streak over the Midshipmen, which is still the NCAA FBS record for [[Most consecutive wins over one opponent (NCAA football)|most consecutive victories against one opponent]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Notre Dame's NCAA-record 43-game win streak over Navy ends|url=http://www.espn.com/ncf/recap?gameId=273070087|website=ESPN|accessdate=November 4, 2007}}</ref>

|-

| [[2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game]]

| Millsaps

| '''Trinity'''

| [[Jackson, Mississippi]]

| 24–28

|Commonly called "Lateralpalooza" – Trinity threw 15 [[lateral pass|laterals]] and scored a 60-yard [[touchdown]] to win a game against the [[Millsaps Majors]] as time expired in the game, producing "the longest play in college football history."<ref name="ESPN video">{{cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3083220&categoryId=2564308 |title=Video of the play |work=ESPN.com |publisher=The Disney Company |accessdate=October 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071029030250/http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3083220&categoryId=2564308 |archive-date=October 29, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

|-

| [[2009 SEC Championship Game]]

| '''[[2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]]'''

| [[2009 Florida Gators football team|Florida]]

| [[Georgia Dome|Atlanta, Georgia]]

| 32-13

| First and so far, only conference championship game that featured two undefeated teams, and second conference title game to feature top two-ranked teams. Game has also been often considered the beginning point of the [[Alabama Crimson Tide football under Nick Saban|Alabama dynasty]].

|-

| [[2010 Fiesta Bowl]]

| '''[[2009 Boise State Broncos football team|Boise State]]'''

| [[2009 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]

| [[State Farm Stadium|Glendale, Arizona]]

| 17–10

| First BCS bowl game played between two non-BCS, or non-AQ, teams, as well as the first BCS bowl game where both teams were undefeated heading into the game. Boise State won the game when Doug Martin got a two-yard touchdown with 7:21 left in the fourth quarter to make it 17–10.

|-

| [[2011 Kilimanjaro Bowl]]

| '''[[2010 Drake Bulldogs football team|Drake]]'''

| Mexico all stars

| [[Moshi, Tanzania]]

| 17–7

| First college football game played on the [[Africa|continent of Africa.]]<ref name="Global Kilimanjaro Bowl">{{cite press release|url=http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=71156&SPID=8123&DB_OEM_ID=15700&ATCLID=204986351|title=Drake To Play First American Football Game In Africa |publisher=[[Drake Bulldogs]] |date=September 1, 2010 |accessdate=September 1, 2010}}</ref>

<!-- |-

| 2013 Notre Dame vs. Michigan football game

| '''[[2013 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan]]'''

| [[2013 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]]

| [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]]

| 41–30

| Largest single-game attendance in American football history at a football-specific stadium, with 115,109 at [[Michigan Stadium]].<ref name=2013-Michigan-NotreDame>{{cite web|last=Bromberg|first=Nick|title=Michigan takes down Notre Dame 41–30 in front of a record crowd in Ann Arbor|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/front-record-crowd-michigan-takes-down-notre-dame-041238054--ncaaf.html|work=Yahoo Sports|accessdate=September 30, 2013|date=September 8, 2013}}</ref> -->

|-

| 2012 St. John's (MN) vs. Hamline football game

| [[Hamline Pipers football|Hamline]]

| '''[[Saint John's Johnnies football|St. John's (MN)]]'''

| [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]]

| 10–55

| In his final season, St. John's (MN) head coach [[John Gagliardi]] won his 489th career game, the most by any college football coach in history.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Gagliardi, winningest coach in college football history, dies at 91 |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24918723/john-gagliardi-winningest-coach-college-football-history-dies-91 |website=ESPN |accessdate=July 10, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=SJU Coasts to 55–10 Win at Hamline |url=https://gojohnnies.com/news/2012/11/3/FOOTBALL_1103124925.aspx |website=St. John's University Johnnies Athletics}}</ref>

|-

| 2014 Virginia Tech vs. Wake Forest football game

| [[2014 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]]

| '''[[2014 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team|Wake Forest]]'''

| [[Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium|Winston-Salem, North Carolina]]

| 3-6 (OT)

| The most recent regulation scoreless tie in Division I college football. The two teams missed field goals during the game, but scored the first points of the game in the first extra period. In the second overtime, the Hokies lost 11 yards and missed a 53-yard field goal attempt, and the Deacons responded with three rushes for a total of four yards before the 38-yard field goal to win the game.<ref>{{cite web|title=0-0 in regulation, Wake Forest beats Virginia Tech, 6-3 in 2OT |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/11/22/wake-claims-6-3-win-over-virginia-tech-in-2ot/19409591/ | website=USA Today}}</ref>

|-

| 2015 Portland State vs. North Texas football game

| [[2015 North Texas Mean Green football team|North Texas]]

| '''[[2015 Portland State Vikings football team|Portland State]]'''

| [[Apogee Stadium|Denton, Texas]]

| 7–66

| Portland State's 59-point win is the largest margin of victory of a FCS/I-AA team over a FBS/I-A opponent since NCAA Division I football split into two subdivisions in 1978.<ref>{{cite web|title=Portland State Vikings make history, knock off North Texas 66–7|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2015/10/portland_state_vikings_make_hi.html|website=The Oregonian|date=October 11, 2015}}</ref>

|-

| [[2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol]]

| '''[[2016 Tennessee Volunteers football team|Tennessee]]'''

| [[2016 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]]

| [[Bristol, Tennessee]]

| 45–24

| Largest single-game attendance in American football history, with 156,990 at [[Bristol Motor Speedway]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400868989 |title=Record crowd watches No. 17 Vols beat Virginia Tech 45–24 |work=ESPN.com |date=September 10, 2016 |accessdate=September 11, 2016}}</ref>

|-

| [[2016 Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh football game]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400869500|title=Syracuse gives up most points ever in game in Pitt's wild 76–61 victory|work=ESPN.com |date=November 26, 2016|accessdate=November 27, 2016}}</ref>

| '''[[2016 Pittsburgh Panthers football team|Pittsburgh]]'''

| [[2016 Syracuse Orange football team|Syracuse]]

| [[Acrisure Stadium|Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]

| 76–61

| Most points scored in a game involving [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|Division I-A/FBS]] opponents during the regulation four quarters of play since the NCAA began keeping records in 1937.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bailey|first=Stephen|url=http://www.syracuse.com/orangefootball/index.ssf/2016/11/syracuse_football_vs_pittsburgh_top_pff_grades_from_highest-scoring_game_in_fbs.html|title=Syracuse football vs. Pittsburgh: Top PFF grades from highest-scoring game in FBS history| publisher=[[The Post-Standard]]|website=www.syracuse.com|date=November 30, 2016}}</ref>

|-

| 2017 Howard vs. UNLV football game

| [[2017 UNLV Rebels football team|UNLV]]

| '''[[2017 Howard Bison football team|Howard]]'''

| [[Sam Boyd Stadium|Whitney, Nevada]]

| 40–43

| FCS school Howard was a 45-point underdog to UNLV, making the Bison's 43–40 victory the largest [[point spread]] upset in college football history.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Anderson|first1=Mark|title=Howard shocks Rebels as 45-point underdogs|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/unlv/unlv-football/howard-shocks-rebels-as-45-point-underdog/|website=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=September 3, 2017|accessdate=September 3, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Steinberg|first1=Dan|title=Howard and Caylin Newton stun UNLV in one of the biggest upsets in college football history|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2017/09/03/howard-and-caylin-newton-stun-unlv-in-one-of-the-biggest-upsets-in-college-football-history/|newspaper=Washington Post|accessdate=September 4, 2017}}</ref>

|-

| 2017 Western Michigan vs. Buffalo football game

| '''[[2017 Western Michigan Broncos football team|Western Michigan]]'''

| [[2017 Buffalo Bulls football team|Buffalo]]

| [[UB Stadium|Amherst, New York]]

| 71–68 (7OT)

| Set new combined scoring record in an FBS game (139 points) and tied the record for most overtime periods (7).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kirshner|first1=Alex|title=WMU beats Buffalo in record-tying 7 overtimes, setting new FBS scoring record|url=https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/10/7/16442300/wmu-buffalo-overtimes-final-score-2017|website=SB Nation|date=October 7, 2017|accessdate=October 7, 2017}}</ref>

|-

| [[2018 LSU vs. Texas A&M football game|2018 Texas A&M vs. LSU football game]]

| '''[[2018 Texas A&M Aggies football team|Texas A&M]]'''

| [[2018 LSU Tigers football team|LSU]]

| [[Kyle Field|College Station, Texas]]

| 74–72 (7OT)

| Set the combined scoring record for any FBS game (146 points); tied the most overtime periods in FBS history (7).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lyles|first1=Harry|title=A new FBS scoring record, a tied FBS overtime record, a premature Gatorade bath, questionable calls, amazing catches, and more.|url=https://www.sbnation.com/2018/11/25/18110745/texas-am-lsu-overtime-fbs-record|website=SB Nation|date=November 25, 2018|accessdate=November 25, 2018}}</ref>

|-

| 2019 North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech football game

| '''[[2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]]'''

| [[2019 North Carolina Tar Heels football team|North Carolina]]

| [[Lane Stadium|Blacksburg, Virginia]]

| 43–41 (6OT)

| The first college game to fully implement overtime rules newly adopted in 2019, in which the fifth and all subsequent overtime procedures consist of two-point conversion attempts (and, if successful, are scored as such).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=401112489 |title=Virginia Tech gets 6OT win over UNC in longest game in ACC history |agency=Associated Press |website=ESPN.com |date=October 19, 2019 |accessdate=November 24, 2019}}</ref>{{efn|Many games earlier in the season had gone into overtime, but all had ended before a fifth overtime procedure was needed.}}

|-

| [[2021 Illinois vs. Penn State football game]]

| [[2021 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State]]

| [[2021 Illinois Fighting Illini football team|'''Illinois''']]

| [[Beaver Stadium|State College, Pennsylvania]]

| 20–18 (9OT)

| First FBS game to reach 9OT.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Penn State vs. Illinois score: Illini upset No. 7 Nittany Lions in first 9OT game in FBS history|url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/penn-state-vs-illinois-score-illini-upset-no-7-nittany-lions-in-first-9ot-game-in-fbs-history/|access-date=2021-10-23|website=CBSSports.com|language=en}}</ref>

|-

| [[2022 Houston vs. SMU football game]]

| [[2022 Houston Cougars football team|Houston]]

| [[2022 SMU Mustangs football team|'''SMU''']]

| [[Gerald J. Ford Stadium|Dallas, Texas]]

| 77–63

| The score established an NCAA record for the most total points scored during regulation. The game equaled the record for the most touchdowns thrown by a single quarterback in a single half.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mordecai's 9 passing TDs send SMU past Houston 77-63|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/401415652|access-date=2022-11-06|website=espn.com|language=en}}</ref>

|-

| [[2023 College Football Playoff National Championship]]

| [[2022 Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia]]

| [[2022 TCU Horned Frogs football team|TCU]]

| [[SoFi Stadium|Inglewood, California]]

| 65–7

| Georgia set a new record for most points scored in a national title game and the record for the largest margin of victory in any FBS postseason game.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goeckel |first=Christian |title=Final: Georgia Blasts TCU; Claims Back-to-Back Titles |url=https://www.si.com/college/georgia/news/final-georgia-blasts-tcu-claims-back-to-back-national-titles |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Sports Illustrated Georgia Bulldogs News, Analysis and More |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-09 |title=Georgia breaks national championship points record in blowout vs. TCU |url=https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/georgia-football/georgia-breaks-points-record-in-national-title-game-vs-tcu/ |access-date=2023-01-10 |website=Saturday Down South |language=en-US}}</ref>

|-

| 2023 Eastern Washington vs. Fresno State football game

| '''[[2023 Fresno State Bulldogs football team|Fresno State]]'''

| [[2023 Eastern Washington Eagles football team|Eastern Washington]]

| [[Valley Children's Stadium|Fresno, California]]

| 34–31 (2OT)

| This was the first FBS game to be broadcast over linear television exclusively in [[Spanish language in the United States|Spanish]].{{efn|English-language TV coverage was exclusively via [[Streaming television|streaming]], with audio being a simulcast of Fresno State's English-language radio coverage.}}<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://gobulldogs.com/news/2023/8/15/football-fresno-state-athletics-partners-with-univision-for-historic-college-football-broadcast |title=Fresno State Athletics Partners With Univision for Historic College Football Broadcast |publisher=Fresno State Bulldogs |date=August 15, 2023 |access-date=August 18, 2023}}</ref>

|-

| 2023 Juniata vs. Shenandoah football game

| '''[[Shenandoah Hornets|Shenandoah]]'''

| [[Juniata College#Athletics|Juniata]]

| [[Winchester, Virginia]]

| 48–7

| In the first quarter, [[Haley Van Voorhis]] came on to the field as a safety for Shenandoah, becoming the first woman ever to play a non-kicking position in NCAA football.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38470836/haley-van-voorhis-becomes-first-female-non-kicker-play-ncaa-football-game |title=Haley Van Voorhis becomes first woman non-kicker to play in NCAA football game |first=Alex |last=Scarborough |website=ESPN.com |date=September 23, 2023 |access-date=September 23, 2023}}</ref>

|}

==See also==

*[[History of American football]]

*[[Game of the Century (college football)]]

*[[AP Poll#No. 1 vs. No. 2]]

*[[List of NCAA college football rivalry games]]

*[[List of college bowl games]]

*[[College football on television]]

*[[College Football Hall of Fame]]

*[[List of NCAA football records]]

*[[Bowl Championship Series]]

*[[List of NCAA conferences]]

*[[List of college athletic conferences in the United States]]

*[[List of the first college football game in each US state]]

==Footnotes==

{{notelist}}

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Historic college football games}}

{{College football}}

[[Category:College football games]]