Where does yesterday rank in terms of best games you've seen?

Submitted by Erik_in_Dayton on
Putting aside your fandom (if you can), where does yesterday's game rank as far as best college games you've seen? I have yet to fully digest everything that happened, but I'd put it pretty high on my list, which includes the following: 1988 Miami v Notre Dame, in which reigning champ Miami went for two very late in the game to try to win instead of tie (no OT then) and failed to convert, losing to eventual champ ND; 2002 OSU v Miami, in which the national championship went to OT; 2005 Texas v USC, in which Vince Young beat the Reggie Bush and Matt Leinhart-led Trojans in the final moments.........................[I cannot create paragraph breaks for some reason]......................... A stray observation: I was around Buckeye fans at an airport today, and they all spoke of the game in reverential terms, remarking on how great it was (they also talked about it like they'd just seen their team narrowly escape the grim reaper, fwiw). There was a respect in their voices toward Michigan that one rarely hears from OSU fans, and while I'm sure that respect will subside, it's a testament to the quality of Saturday's game................................................................................. Final thought: You could make a good case for putting yesterday's Bama-Auburn game on the list, I realize. The ending was one of the crazier ones I've seen, but the rest of the game didn't have the Ali-Frazier feel that I thought the other games I listed did. This is of course just my opinion, man.
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Bando Calrissian

December 1st, 2013 at 9:59 PM ^

I assume we're talking in person here. Probably wouldn't make the top 10, likely not even top 20, honestly.

Best 5:

1. 2004 Michigan State

2. 1991 Florida State

3. 2006 Ohio State

4. 1995 Virginia

5. 2008 Capital One Bowl, Florida

Honorable mentions: 1995 Ohio State, 1997 Notre Dame, 2005 Penn State, 2011 Notre Dame, 2006 Notre Dame, 2002 Michigan State, 2003 Michigan State, 2003 Ohio State, 1994 Penn State... 

Coming out of the game yesterday, it didn't even register with me as a "best game ever" contender.

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The FannMan

December 1st, 2013 at 10:18 PM ^

Yes, you are correct about the score.  (Although, if Elvis throws the go, instead of the hitch, Desmond scores a long TD instead of the Buckley pick-six, cause God knows Buckley bit hard and Desmond was already running the go . . . Sorry, obsessing about shit that happened 22 years ago.)

I was a junior at Michigan in 1991.  I was at that game and it was just a cool time.  We had not played FSU in a while (nor since).  Bobby Bowden was in his prime, and their fans were cool and liked to party.  They started hitting town on Wednesday, and the bars were full all the way through Sunday.  The atmosphere at the game was just incredible. It was two teams at the higest levels playing in September.  (A lot of guys on that field played on Sundays.)

FSU '91 is still the first point I make when I bitch about the weak schedules we have played.  Even when you loose, your fans can still have a great time.  In the long run, it is better for your players to be in that kind of game and than some FBS school ('cause ya always win those amiright?). 

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tybert

December 1st, 2013 at 11:08 PM ^

Very close into the 2nd half. We made a comeback bid. Problem was they had two pick-sixs, the last of which made the margin out of hand.

Watching a replay of that game - incredible amount of NFL talent on both teams.

FSU also burned us with the QB throwback play that SHOULD have worked yesterday if Gallon throws it better.

Joined: 11/17/2008

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Muttley

December 2nd, 2013 at 12:26 AM ^

but instead stood still and tried to jump up and catch it.

It's not a simple task as anyone who has misjudged a fly ball can tell you, but Devin could have caught it if he had run under it.  There also was an OSU defender near Devin that may have distracted him.

In terms of throw it where only Devin can catch it, I think Jeremy performed rather well on that play.  Better to overthrow Devin than to underthrow into the hands of the OSU defender.

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Bando Calrissian

December 1st, 2013 at 11:13 PM ^

The game was positively insane, win or lose. Two great teams, tons of scoring, and a real harbinger for where the college game was heading. #1/#3 matchup, too. I mean, hell, there's a FSU fan out there who ranks it as the best game in program history:

http://mailer.fsu.edu/~abrady/FSU/Greatest_Game.html

You can watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO2yC_EG3gI

Elvis' throw to Desmond at 40:40 is as good as it gets.

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Urban Warfare

December 1st, 2013 at 10:12 PM ^

I would agree about not being in the top 10, at least in my experience, but i would be hard pressed to put it lower than 14 or 15. 

 

My top 5 would have to be:

1.  2006 OSU-Michigan

2.  2002 OSU-Miami MNC

3.  OSU-Oregon in the Rose Bowl

4.  2002 OSU-Michigan

5.  1994 OSU-Michigan - first game I ever went to, first time Cooper beat Michigan.

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NOLA Wolverine

December 1st, 2013 at 10:03 PM ^

I thought 2006 Notre Dame vs. USC was pretty awesome, and a better game than either of the two yesterday. Michigan and Florida in the Capital One Bowl might be my favorite "recent" Michigan game. 

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The FannMan

December 1st, 2013 at 10:06 PM ^

But not on my all-time list.  In my humble opinion, everything pales behind Braylonfest and UTL I.  

MSU '04 was a massive come back over little brother - literally in my case since my kid brother who went to State was at the game with me.  

UTL I was just complete, stupid levels of insanity for the last 2 minutes.  My wife wanted to re-watch the second half to figure out WTF just happened.  Keep in mind, we were at the game and had to drive home before we could re-watch the game.  Still did it.

This was just a track meet that came down to one play.  Those happen every now and again. 

Joined: 11/25/2008

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M-Wolverine

December 1st, 2013 at 10:09 PM ^

It's not only a huge upset, but a storybook gutsy call that goes down in history. As it was, it was just a really good game.

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woomba

December 1st, 2013 at 10:21 PM ^

we put in the context of the dissaapointing 2013 season and how much heart the team showed in playing better than ever have been this season (at least on Offense).  

Taken by the game as a stand-alone event I think it loses its luster a bit, although it probably will rank as one of the better games in the rivalry.

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stephenrjking

December 1st, 2013 at 10:36 PM ^

The subjective "best game I experienced" is an entirely different argument, in my view. Objectively judging "best games" involves criteria that is quite different from our experience as fans.

When you say "favorite game," there is an accomodation for the excitement of the game, quality of play, and stakes involved, but there is also a much more visceral emotional component.

1997 OSU was, for anyone who was there, a mountain-peak event that was as amazing as any sports experience we could hope to witness. A titanic clash between two great teams. Incredible athletes all over the field, huge hits, big plays...

But aesthetically, it was quite an ugly football game. I mean, c'mon, Stanley Jackson threw a pick-six RIGHT TO Andre Weathers. Michigan had no offense. And Andy Katzenmoyer's attempt at a conversion runback was embarrassing for everybody.

And nobody cares. Because Woodson was incredible and the noise was incredible and Michigan was #1 and we were going to the Rose Bowl. Objectively, it was hideous. Subjectively, it was the greatest thing I've ever seen.

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snarling wolverine

December 1st, 2013 at 10:39 PM ^

I would rank it ahead of every loss we've had other than maybe the Rose Bowl against Texas.   But I can't rank a loss in my top 10.  IF we'd gotten the two-pointer and won, it would have been a candidate for top 5.

 

 

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gwkrlghl

December 1st, 2013 at 10:51 PM ^

That game was 1 or 2 plays from being all of our favorite wins ever. Fandom aside, its probably in the top 10. I dont think the serious lack of defense in the game can put it much higher for me - neither team could stop the other to save their lives. OSU couldn't throw and we still couldn't stop them. Devin Gardner was standing on one leg and he still torched OSU.

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turd ferguson

December 1st, 2013 at 11:07 PM ^

If you're talking about most inspired performance from a Michigan team, a few others come to mind for me from the past decade.

  • Michigan-Texas in the 2005 Rose Bowl
  • Michigan-Florida in 2008 Capital One Bowl
  • Michigan-Illinois in 2007.  (This is a personal favorite.  It was a night game in Champaign against a good Illinois team that we played without Mike Hart and with an obviously injured Chad Henne.)

The comebacks in the 2003 Minnesota game and 2004 MSU game are in that discussion for me, too.

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I Have A Gnarly Face

December 1st, 2013 at 11:05 PM ^

Fuck moral victories and saying it was still a great game. We lost - the game sucked. I am tired of losing to those assholes. Yet another forgettable game.

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Wendyk5

December 1st, 2013 at 11:19 PM ^

I just watched the game again on BTN and my initial sense was validated: I feel like we won the game but lost that last play. Watching it again just reiterated how we did in this game what we couldn't do in any other game this season, even the ones we won. Even with dropped balls and bad calls and getting down by two scores and really lax defense, we never let down, and we had an answer to everything they threw at us. And the best part was watching Urban Meyer be uncomfortable for 55 minutes of play. For the first five minutes he was confident. Not so much after that. What a great game. 

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justingoblue

December 1st, 2013 at 11:19 PM ^

Beautiful game where M came out on the wrong end. Obviously investment in football vs. basketball comes into play here, but it's still The Game, regardless of what was at stake for Michigan.

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UMich87

December 1st, 2013 at 11:21 PM ^

The buckeyes seated around me at the end of the game and the ones I saw after the game were a much more subdued bunch than the ones that had marched into the game.  When it was over, they knew that the Michigan team was not what they thought it was coming into the game, and they no longer think that their team is what they thought it was, either.  They have plenty to worry about next week.

I believe that 1 point loss won Michigan back more respect than scraping out a win against a Luke Fickell coached team on probation.

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MizzouWolverine

December 2nd, 2013 at 12:07 AM ^

A couple of my non-Michigan fan friends said it was the best game of the year (this was before the Iron bowl ending), so I know at least two or three people without a horse in the race really enjoyed it. In terms of all time great games, I'll always have the OK v. Boise Fiesta Bowl on my list of top games without a rooting interest.

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Reader71

December 2nd, 2013 at 12:11 AM ^

'13 Ohio and '03 Ohio are the best games I've ever seen at the Stadium. '03, 100th game, winning the B1G and rushing the field. People had roses everywhere. I didn't see the '97 game in the stadium. And, of course '69 and the birth of Bo's cult of personality. But '03 still brings the occasional tear to the eye.

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tdcarl

December 2nd, 2013 at 12:27 AM ^

I know you said to put fandom aside, but I can't. If Michigan would have prevailed I'd say it would be up there and probably #1, but alas...

As far as games that I've been at I'd have to say that UTL 1 is the best game I've been at. Closely behind that is Braylonfest. And lagging a ways behind those are Northwestern last year, Wisconsin '08, and Illinois 2010.

And this one basketball game in high school were we hit a miraculous desparation 3 at the buzzer to send it into overtime and eventually knock off the team that would go on to win the state championship.

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SDCran

December 2nd, 2013 at 12:40 AM ^

Then it isn't a OSU-UM game, and it a game where defenses were non-existent that was a classic last team to score type game. Fandom aside, this is another UM-IU game this year or the 95-90 Illinois game from a couple of years ago or the loss at NW on A Train's fumble.

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uminks

December 2nd, 2013 at 12:40 AM ^

It does not make my list of top games. It was one of the worse defensive performances I've ever seen from a Michigan team, at least in my era. Sure the offense surprised everyone and made it exciting. But I never seen an OSU team just dominate our front like that before. I sure hope we have some better players coming up or we may never become an elite team.

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RB's Mustache

December 2nd, 2013 at 1:24 AM ^

Bottom 10, thanks. I've seen a few worse. I've seen 1000 better games. The premise of this post is weak and pointless. It's not even a good game from a college football standpoint. Maybe if UM wins because they went for the win and got it against a heavily favored team. As it is, it's the game where the fairy tale fails. That doesn't make it anything great by any standard.

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MikeCohodes

December 2nd, 2013 at 12:14 PM ^

not sure if that is even possible, as no one likes losing. But as losses go, it's the loss that feels least like a loss to me. I was expecting a slaughter. When it was 35-21 my thought was: "well, I had thought before the game they'd stay close early but OSU would pull away in the 2nd half as the defense gets exhausted, so I was spot on" but then somehow we came back and got back in it, and the game came down to the wire.

Yes, losing sucks, agreed. But as losses go, this is probably the loss I am least ever upset about.

If I were to set aside my fandom, as an outsider you'd probably enjoy watching this game between two teams slugging it out. Someone mentioned it is like Rocky 1, where the underdog goes the distance but loses in the end. That feels right for a description of this game.

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