Talk:Game of the Century (college football)

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1968: The Tie: In what has been known as "The Game of the Century," Harvard comes from behind to tie, 29-29, scoring 16 points in the final 42 seconds and leading to the headline in the Harvard Crimson, "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29." From the Worldwide Leader, http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/news/story?id=3017562. Both teams were undefeated- Yale (9-0), Harvard (8-0), so the winner would take the Ivy League Title. It featured a 16 point comeback in 42 seconds. Should cover both who called it that (ESPN), and why it is so (miraculous 16 point comeback with 42 seconds to spare to remain undefeated and claim a share of the Ivy Title." Alslammerz (talk) 19:16, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This article covers multiple notable games of the 20th century.

Games of the century? --Jingofetts 19:30, 28 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

how can there be SIX games called the Game of the Century? Four of them are in a 6 year span! Kingturtle 00:36, 7 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I rearranged this discussion along the topic lines. There are a number of games that have been labeled "Game of the Century" by the media. It happens alot, even the media realizes the dilution of the term. The first century of college football was barely halfway through, when the label was being used already.

There is a fine line between "Notable College Football Games of the 20th Century" and the "Game of the Century". Pretty much any game with that label belongs in this article. I suggest a category be created for notable games and a separate one for Games of the century. A case can be made for all the current entries. Here are the tasks for this article.

When putting in a game of the century, the description needs:
1.) Who called this a "Game of the Century?"
2.) Why is this qualified to be a "Game of the Century?"

The problems associated with this article that cause the changes are:
1.) A particular game is THE Game of the Century, to the exclusion of all others. There are a number of games that stand out, but there never has been one mighty earth-shaking game that changed college football dramatically. There have been many incremental changes in the game. From the introduction of the forward pass, to bowl games and television, it has been a gradual process.
2.) A particular game IS or IS NOT a game of the century. Since the label has been applied multiple times, cases could be made for many games to be included, and many to be excluded.
3.) The article is long, with no pictures and few references. The tags appear currently at the beginning of the article about Original research, NPOV, and so forth. Each game should have its own main article and be cut otherwise to a few paragraphs about what, why and who. Group29 13:56, 10 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

1987 Fiesta Bowl: #1 Miami vs. #2 Penn State

This was billed by NBC as the true Game Of The Century and remains to this day the highest-rated televised game in the history of college football. --BroadSt Bully 00:49, 26 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Georgia Tech vs Cumberland College???

where is it?

Georgia Tech-Cumberland? Is that a joke?

The most lopsided game in history does not belong with all the rest. It's an interesting game for other reasons, but it's completely out of place here. Funnyhat 00:53, 16 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I deleted it because it definitely does not belong on this list.

1935: Ohio State - Notre Dame

I'm pretty sure this one was billed as a "GOtC" back in the day, shouldn't someone add it to the list?

Yes it was: OSU-ND 1935: "The Game Of The Century" (Scout.com) In a poll taken in 1950, it was voted by football writers as the Game of the Century., yes it should be.

Michigan State vs Notre Dame

Definitely belongs in this list, as it was constantly being referred to as such by the media and others from weeks before the game up through the rest of the decade. It's historically noteworthy also for how it ended - with the ball on their 30 in the final minutes, Notre Dame made no attempt to break a 10-10 tie.70.123.216.219 02:11, 14 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Agree. It was deleted with no discussion whatsoever along with 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame by an anonymous user. Also, the article basically referes to games of the 20th century. Group29 21:09, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Rectified, using much of the 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game article as a basis. It belongs on this list based on its significance at the time, an era before the BCS and widespread intersectional play when #1 vs #2 matchups only came around once every 10-20 years. Agree that the Army-ND game should be restored as well. Doubt whether the Cumberland-GA Tech game belongs here - maybe moved to a "Slaughter of the Century" article (heh, heh)? - it certainly was not an anticipated contest by any means.70.123.216.219 00:18, 21 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

it got removed at some point. I've re-added it. I'm sure this thing is a monster to maintain since it's common for fans to have the "mine and mine only" perspective CredoFromStart 19:35, 15 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Nebraska vs Oklahoma 1971

Moved this link to the discussion.

• Review: The Game of the Century - Michael Corcoran] (Review of the Book 'Game of the Century' about the 1971 Nebraska Oklahoma Game (cornnation.com)

There is a very strong case for this one being labeled The Game of the Century due to the existence of a book of the same name. Group29 14:04, 19 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Lists

These are the games from the list in the book Rites of autumn: the story of college football from chapter 6 entitled VICTORY The Greatest Games

• Princeton-Yale, November 24, 1899
• Carlisle-Army, November 9, 1912
• Chicago-Princeton, October 28, 1922
• Stanford-California, November 22, 1924
• Yale-Dartmouth, October 31, 1931
• Minnesota-Northwestern, October 31, 1936
• Pittsburgh-Fordham, October 16, 1937
• Army-Notre Dame, November 9, 1946 "It was surely the game of the year, and many have said it was the college football game of the century"
• Notre Dame-SMU, December 3, 1949
• Michigan-Army, October 8, 1949
• Purdue-Notre Dame, October 7, 1950
• Oklahoma-Notre Dame, November 16, 1957
• Notre Dame-Michigan State, November 19, 1966
• Texas-Arkansas, December 6, 1969
• Nebraska-Oklahoma, November 25, 1971
• Alabama-USC, September 23, 1978
• USC-Stanford, October 13, 1979
• Penn State-Nebraska, September 25, 1982
• Notre Dame-Miami, October 15, 1988
• Florida State-Notre Dame, November 13, 1993 and Boston College-Notre Dame, November 20, 1993
• Nebraska-Missouri, November 8, 1997

Whittingham, Richard (2001). "6". Rites of autumn: the story of college football. New York: The Free Press. pp. 148–183.

Michigan-Chicago 1905: The First Greatest Game of the Century [1] [2] Chicago Maroons 2 - Michigan Wolverines 0, Thanksgiving day 1905 at Marshall Field in Chicago. Michigan halfback William Dennison "Denny" Clark made the mistake of running out of the end zone with a punt and was tackled for a safety. He committed suicide 27 years later. In 1904, the Chicago Michigan was one of the first games to be recorded on film. Group29 (talk) 15:21, 31 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

USC vs. Texas (and other games of the 21st century)

That wasn't considered a game of the century before, and it wasn't after, by any coach or other professional. It was a good game, no doubt, and it did have a 1 ranked and 2 ranked team against each other, but it wasn't thought as a game of the century. If that qualifies, then the 2003 Fiesta Bowl and the Catholics vs. Convicts game should be.

I would certainly nominate the 2006 Rose Bowl with USC vs Texas as a candidate for the first 21st century game of the century. It featured two Heisman winners vs the runner up. The teams were ranked #1 and #2 all year. It was at the Rose Bowl, with the greatest pageantry of all the postseason bowl games. And it all came down to a 4th down make or break play by Lendale White of USC. Obviously there is a lot of football left to be played in the 21st century. However, this is one rare time when all sports pundits seemed to be in agreement about the best two teams playing at the end of the season. One point might be that Games of the Century do not seem to occur in bowl games. Group29 21:09, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

OSU - Michigan 2006

The whole media called this game another "Game of the Century" (although for the 21st century, I suppose). I think it should be included in this article. --RNJBOND 01:26, 6 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Correction: Michigan fans tried to get people to call it the "Game of the Century," but we knew better.

removed 2006 USC UCLA

It has never been referred to as "game of the century" although if constructed as a separate article would be under category of Notable Upsets in college football. Group29 18:20, 27 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Boise State Vs. Oklahoma (2007)

This game is considered a classic. AN up and coming school versus an old powerhouse. A team that oercame a plethora of problems versus an undefeated team. Trick plays, come backs, and an overtime. Should this game be added? —The preceding

I"d say no, unless you can cite an unbiased, verified source proclaiming it as the game of the century. CredoFromStart 19:43, 15 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This was a stunning upset and a great game with a dramatic finish. However this 2007 Fiesta Bowl was also a #9 vs #7 final pick of the BCS teams. Group29 13:56, 10 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There were numerous sports writers, coaches, news programs, etc. that declared this one of the greatest college games of all time. Wouldn't that count as good enough for this century as well? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.92.23.243 (talk) 20:21, 16 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

This also was one of the lowest rated and least watched BCS games ever to through the 2007 season. If Boise State had not won, the discussion would be moot, much like the 2008 Sugar Bowl with Georgia over Hawaii. Appalachian State over Michigan 2007 was a greater game and greater upset. The Stanford over USC 2007 game also was a greater upset. These two teams were very closely ranked 9 and 7, it was as close as the rankings indicate it should have been. It has its own article, that should cover it. It has notability as a "have not" over a "have" in the college football world. It certainly was not the first time and will not be the last. The sportswriters in question are hyping this game after the fact not so much because it was a "game of the century", but as a case for eliminating the bowl games and creating a playoff system. If a playoff ever comes to Division I big school football, then the game will be seen as a historical point in college football. The game was more an indication of things to come, than a Game of The Century. Group29 (talk) 17:23, 31 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

How about this in support of the 2007 Fiesta Bowl (Boise State v. Oklahoma):

Arash Markazi, also of Sports Illustrated, who covered the Broncos throughout their stay in Arizona:^[1]

When it was over, even Hollywood couldn't have scripted a more dramatic ending. This was the ultimate underdog story of a team that believed from the start, refused to give up even when it looked bleak and pulled off the improbable. It's one thing for a Cinderella team to upset a heavily favored opponent, but c'mon, this was ridiculous....Boise State's mind-numbing 43-42 victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl on Monday night had everything and will go down as one of [the] best games in college football history. It was as big as George Mason getting to the Final Four and is proof that mid-majors can play with the big boys in football, too.

This appears to me to be "unbiased, verified source" proclaiming it as "one of the best games in college football history" that is the criteria for this article. Streltzer (talk) 00:26, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If I ever find a verifiable reference, I will add it definitely add it: I know for a fact that after the game, Urban Meyer called this "the best game that I have ever seen". This was early at UF and may have been influenced by his Utah days -- but still, Meyer doesn't do hyperbole and he's a guaranteed HOF-er. Nusumareta (talk) 06:49, 19 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The games should be covered by separate articles; in fact, some already are. Suggest we split the content of each section into a page (if it isn't already on one) then leave this page as a disambig page linking to those. See the Snow Bowl (disambiguation) as an example. Rmarquet 01:22, 26 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This article is long, so... Each game should be split into a seperate article and Game of the Century (college football) should serve as a disambiguation page. Thoughts? —Disavian (^talk/_contribs) 03:40, 9 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Makes sense to me. How would each game be titled? like USC Trojans vs. UCLA Bruins 1967 (college football)? Group29 21:11, 15 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Added

1967 USC vs. UCLA football game as a separate article. Group29 18:20, 27 March 2007 (UTC)[reply

]

It would appear that Associated Content Refs are blacklisted and not welcome. This was removed.

Group29 (talk) 20:24, 10 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It appears that User:Michael7601 wants to concentrate on the 1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma game. I am basing this on Special:Contributions/Michael7601. However, this user has ignored warnings on the User_talk:Michael7601 page about blanking. This user has not participated in any discussion on this page. One of the finer points about Wikipedia:Etiquette is "Avoid reverts and deletions whenever possible". My suggestion is that a separate article be created with this game summary to be a main article link within. Group29 21:58, 15 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

(an E-mail from Michael7601)

Hello,

I received your message about the changes made to the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_the_Century_%28college_football%29 page.

These changes are not vandalism. They are constructive edits.

The game of the century is generally regarded to be the 1971 Nebraska Oklahoma game. The other games, while significant and memorable, should be in a separate category reflecting their separate status.

I believe the members who keep adding game after game to reflect their personal sentiments are diluting the category to the point of meaninglessness. My changes are an attempt to keep Wikipedia accurate, reliable and 'on point.'

If you insist that dilution of this category be allowed then despite my disagreement, from this day forward I will abide by your decision.

By the way, I did not go to that school and have no particular or personal interest in the game. My interest is in not permitting the mob to rewrite history.

Sincerely, Michael7601

Michael7601, I do not disagree about the dilution. For those of us who are college football enthusiasts, a case could be made for inclusion of every game personally witnessed. However, publications about college football name all of the games listed here and then some as some of the greatest games ever played in college football for various reasons. Some are great rivalries, some are #1 vs. #2 matchups, some contain unbelievable plays. My personal feeling is that the Game of the Century is the 1982 Cal/Stanford game which contained The Play. However, it has never been labeled as such. This article is missing a number of citations which would help clearly define "Game of the Century". It would appear that none of the games listed contain a solid breakthrough in college football history like the Game of the Century (college basketball). Keeping the mob from re-writing history is an uphill battle in Wikipedia. Read Wikipedia:Lamest edit wars for a few good laughs. The best advice is discuss, get citations (copies of newspaper articles etc.) However, deleting without discussion does not work here, no matter what you are trying to accomplish. Group29 00:37, 2 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

FYI: I made a small correction to this section. It stated that since neither team accepted bowl bids during this time, neither risked their undefeated season by going to one and thus their status as national championship. This is incorrect. In the 1940s, the final rankings were posted before the bowl season. The final rankings did not come after the bowls until 1965, I believe. Thus, I changed the article to read:

"Neither school accepted bowl bids during that era, although a bowl loss would not have affected the national championship outcome since these were named before the postseason at the time."

Strikehold (talk) 22:05, 18 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I see on the talk page here several people have said the GT-Cumerland game doesn't belong. I'd tend to agree, and don't see it citing any sources referring to it as such. I'm going to remove it.

Also, the Washington Post called the 1952 Sugar Bowl between

Why isn't this on the list? It meets many of the qualities. It was #1 vs #2 and many articles and news reports called it the Game of the Century before it even started. It was the first time in history the rivals were #1 vs #2. The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is one of the most intense in the game. It was a very close hit for hit game between two awesome quarterbacks. Is this not enough? Please discuss. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.20.193.252 (talk) 00:10, 21 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Michigan came into the game, undefeated, untied and unscored upon. Minnesota came into the game undefeated and untied, having given up only 6 points all year. The game ended in a 6-6 tie, and spawned the Little Brown Jug, the oldest trophy game in college football.--RLent (talk) 15:15, 5 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

This game should be added. It was two of the greatest powerhouses of that time period, #1 against #2, and ended up with TCU losing at the last second. This sent SMU into the Rose Bowl, and TCU into the second Sugar Bowl. This game is also often referred to as the "game of the century", so why was this left out? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.28.80.157 (talk) 01:48, 12 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This game rocked a LOT of peoples' worlds. This wasn't the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, with Urban Meyer toying with a hapless Big East team in the middle of the desert. This was Kyle Whittingham taking out the 12-1, #2 in the SEC Alabama team -- in New Orleans. This was HUGE and made a lot of people sit up and start asking questions (including government officials -- queue Orrin Hatch, <sigh>). Nusumareta (talk) 06:49, 19 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide will be playing on Week 10 - November 5th, 2011 and besides being a matchup of the #1 and #2 teams in the nation it will be a game that will more than likely decide one of the teams that will play for a National Championship at the end of this year. It has been hyped since the first couple weeks of this season and has already been compared by some media to be as big as the 1993 FSU-Notre Dame game and 2006 Michigan-Ohio State. Should it be on this list? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Libalaustin1990 (talk • contribs) 02:11, 25 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It is now. I had to change the entry due to some vandals. 24.251.239.232 (talk) 03:58, 6 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Do we want to add A&M vs. Bama to the list given all the hype it has gotten and the national title implications it has? --174.46.190.10 (talk) 20:33, 14 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

-No. it was a big game but it wasn't #1 vs #2 and was also very early in the season. Also, it was not talked about as a "Game of The Century" by the majority of college football writers. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.93.74.180 (talk) 04:49, 23 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

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