Connelly's best 100 games of the 2025 college football season

Off the field, college football appears caught in a constant state of discontent. We can't agree on the proper size of a playoff. Years of winner-take-all media-rights stakes have turned conferences and conference mates against one another. Coaches sign players to contracts that are only theoretically enforceable, then openly try to poach other players from other teams with other theoretically enforceable contracts.

On the field, however, the game remains utterly spectacular. As hard as it feels like we're trying to screw it up, we just can't. (Or at least, we haven't yet.) The 2025 college football season offered us epic upsets, dynamite playoff games at every level of the sport, iconic plays -- you probably know exactly what I'm referring to if I say "Cooper's catch" or "Chambliss' scramble" or "Mendoza's leap" -- and our first incredible national title game in eight years.

Let's once again write a love letter to the season by celebrating its 100 best games. There was a lot to love.

Jump to a section:
Smaller-school gems | Top 25 | Top 5 games

100. Baylor 35, Kansas State 34 (Oct. 4)

With a 21-0 midgame run, it looked as though K-State had seized control of this one. The Wildcats led 31-17 with nine minutes left, but Sawyer Robertson threw a TD pass to Bryson Washington, then ran in a 2-point conversion to cut the gap to six. Baylor took a sudden lead when Jacob Redding returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown as KSU was killing clock. The Wildcats responded with a field goal drive to make it 34-32, but Connor Hawkins knocked in a 53-yard field goal with 31 seconds left.

99. TCU 42, Baylor 36 (Oct. 18)

Baylor might not have been very good, but the Bears sure played some exciting games. In this edition of the Revivalry, TCU used a 28-3 run to seize control and led by 21 points, with the ball, with 3:17 left. But Keaton Thomas returned a Josh Hoover fumble 24 yards for a touchdown, and Baylor forced a three-and-out. Sawyer Robertson hit Kole Wilson for a 35-yard score with 30 seconds remaining, and the Bears recovered the onside kick! It appeared we were about to see an all-time, smash-and-grab heist, but Namdi Obiazor picked off Robertson with 17 seconds remaining, and TCU survived.

98. UAB 31, No. 22 Memphis 24 (Oct. 18)

Memphis was unbeaten and favored by 23.5 points over a UAB team that had lost three straight games by an average of 23.3 points and fired head coach Trent Dilfer. But the Blazers played inspired ball, scoring on each side of halftime to take a 24-14 lead, then driving 99 yards to go up 31-17 with four minutes left. With backup QB AJ Hill attempting to lead a comeback, Memphis scored once and drove to the UAB 1 in the final minute but somehow committed three penalties and failed on a fourth-and-goal from the 11 with 15 seconds remaining.

97. No. 23 Illinois 34, No. 21 USC 32 (Sept. 27)

Illinois led for most of the way against unbeaten USC, but the Trojans nearly stole the game at the end. Biletnikoff Award winner Makai Lemon scored twice and hit a 2-point conversion to turn a 31-17 deficit into a 32-31 lead with 1:55 left, but that was too much time to give to Illinois: The Illini drove 51 yards, and David Olano nailed a 41-yard field goal at the buzzer.

96. Michigan State 42, Boston College 40 (2OT) (Sept. 6)

These teams slogged through forgettable 2025 campaigns, but they put together something wild in Week 2. MSU's Aidan Chiles and BC's Dylan Lonergan combined for six touchdown passes in the first 33 minutes, then the place-kickers took over until OT. In the second OT possession, BC scored but couldn't hit the mandatory 2-point conversion. Chiles scored with his legs, then found Omari Kelly for the winning points.

95. No. 15 Tennessee 41, Mississippi State 34 (OT) (Sept. 27)

Tennessee nearly got Starkville'd. In a game with eight lead changes, the Vols kept pulling ahead and falling behind again. MSU scored 10 points in three minutes to take a 34-27 lead late, but Joey Aguilar capped a 13-play, six-minute drive with a 6-yard TD run. Tennessee nearly drove into field goal range late but had to wait for OT to win it: DeSean Bishop scored on a 25-yard run on UT's first overtime snap, but while MSU quickly generated a first-and-goal from the 5, the Bulldogs could only gain one more yard. Arion Carter broke up a fourth-down pass to Anthony Evans III, and the Vols survived.

94. Military Bowl: East Carolina 23, Pitt 17 (Dec. 27)

ECU and Pitt both enjoy playing in wild, silly bowl games, and for that I am grateful. Pitt dominated the first half but could only manage a 7-3 halftime lead, and the Pirates charged ahead with touchdown passes of 47 and 72 yards to Anthony Smith. They even overcame dreadful misfortune, when the Pirates' Marlon Gunn Jr. had a long TD run called back because of an inadvertent whistle and Pitt scored on a fumble return two plays later. Pitt got the ball back with a chance at the win in the final minute, but ECU shut the Panthers down.

93. South Florida 18, No. 13 Florida 16 (Sept. 6)

Despite dominating early, Florida settled for a series of first-half field goals and, with help from a couple of costly penalties, left the door open for USF. With a 66-yard Keshaun Singleton touchdown, a safety and a 20-yard Nico Gramatica field goal at the buzzer, the Bulls marched through that open door and stole the win.

92. Kent State 21, Merrimack 17 (Aug. 31)

When you've lost 21 straight games, you'll take a win wherever you can find it. Kent State watched a 14-3 lead turn into a sudden 17-14 deficit late against the FCS' Merrimack, but the guy with the greatest name in the sport, Da'Realyst Clark, saved the day with a 100-yard kick return.

This isn't the last you'll hear from Da'Realyst on this list.

91. Wake Forest 13, SMU 12 (Oct. 25)

In a game that ended up having major ACC title implications, Wake trailed 12-10 heading into the fourth quarter but twice lost fumbles at the SMU 6 late in the game. After the second, the Mustangs ran most of the clock off before punting, but a huge, 25-yard pass from Deshawn Purdie to Kamrean Johnson (his only catch of the day) gave Connor Calvert a shot at a career-long 50-yard field goal and the win. He nailed it.

play

0:26

Connor Calvert's career-long 50-yard FG wins it for Wake Forest

Connor Calvert sinks a 50-yard field goal as time expires to improbably lift Wake Forest past SMU.

90. No. 22 Iowa State 24, No. 17 Kansas State 21 (Aug. 23)

The first game of the season was quite the tone-setter. We saw sloppy early turnovers and a number of blown opportunities, but we got four scores in the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter. ISU took a 10-point lead late, but Jerand Bradley's 65-yard catch-and-run brought K-State within three. The Wildcats needed one more stop ... and couldn't make it. ISU ate up the last 6:23 of the clock and kneeled out a win that sent the Wildcats reeling.

89. Arizona State 26, No. 7 Texas Tech 22 (Oct. 18)

Trying to remain unbeaten without starting quarterback Behren Morton, Texas Tech nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback. Trailing 19-7 with less than four minutes left, backup QB Will Hammond ran for a short touchdown, then threw a TD pass to Reggie Virgil after a big Coy Eakin punt return. But the Red Raiders scored too quickly. Sam Leavitt led a 10-play drive in just 86 seconds, and Raleek Brown plunged into the end zone with 34 seconds left. Hammond drove Tech to the ASU 28 but couldn't connect with Virgil on the final play. It was Tech's lone blemish until the College Football Playoff.

88. Arizona State 27, No. 24 TCU 24 (Sept. 27)

ASU got hit hard by key injuries and couldn't defend its Big 12 title, but the Sun Devils still found some early-season magic. In this one, they spotted TCU a 17-0 lead but clawed back with two Leavitt-to-Jordyn Tyson touchdown passes and a rushing score from Leavitt. Tyson's second TD made it 24-24 with 1:50 left, and after Prince Dorbah forced and recovered a Josh Hoover fumble, Jesus Gomez won the game with a 23-yard field goal.

87. Hawai'i 23, Stanford 20 (Aug. 23)

One of the first games of the season gave us one of the season's more heartwarming characters: Hawai'i's Kansei Matsuzawa, who grew up in Tokyo, taught himself English, taught himself place-kicking, took the JUCO route to earn a scholarship and made his first 25 field goals of 2025, including two in the closing minutes of this Week 0 win.

86. No. 18 BYU 33, Arizona 27 (2OT) (Oct. 11)

With freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier in charge, BYU began the season unbeaten and had already survived a road test at Colorado, but against an eventual nine-win Arizona team, with a dynamite defense, the Cougars found themselves trailing 24-14 with five minutes left. Surely a bridge too far? Nope! Bachmeier led a field goal drive, then scored the tying touchdown with 19 seconds left. After both teams traded field goals in the first OT possession, Bachmeier scored again, and while Arizona converted one fourth down in response, the Wildcats couldn't convert a second. BYU remained unbeaten.

85. No. 8 Alabama 27, No. 14 Missouri 24 (Oct. 11)

84. No. 9 Georgia 43, No. 5 Ole Miss 35 (Oct. 18)

83. No. 10 Vanderbilt 17, No. 15 Missouri 10 (Oct. 25)

82. No. 16 Vanderbilt 45, Auburn 38 (OT) (Nov. 8)

The SEC didn't enjoy its greatest postseason ever -- not even close -- but damn, did it deliver weekly thrillers, often between top-15 teams, in conference play. Fifty percent of its conference games were decided by one score, including this midseason superfecta. First, in Week 7, Alabama took control with a 17-0 first-half run, then took a 27-17 lead after Mizzou tied the score. But Donovan Olugbode's short touchdown brought the host Tigers within three, and Mizzou drove to midfield in the final minute before Dijon Lee Jr. picked off an errant Beau Pribula pass to seal the Bama win.

The next week, in a battle of top-10 teams -- and a game that ended up having a major impact on the conference title race -- Georgia's Gunner Stockton outdueled Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss ... eventually. Ole Miss scored touchdowns on each of its first five drives, and Chambliss' short touchdown run gave the Rebels a 35-26 lead with 4:12 left in the third quarter. But it was all Dawgs from there. With Sanford Stadium ramping up the noise levels, Georgia scored a TD, forced a three-and-out, scored again, forced another three-and-out and kicked a field goal with 2:06 left to take a 43-35 lead. Ole Miss' final chance quickly fizzled, and the Dawgs prevailed. (Ole Miss would win a much bigger, and more highly ranked, rematch a couple of months later.)

Mizzou's playoff hopes officially fell off the board in Nashville. The Tigers dominated in total yardage (376-265), but tied at 3-3 in the third quarter, they fell victim to a catastrophic sequence: Vandy forced a fourth-down stop with a goal-line stand -- one in which Pribula dislocated his left ankle and was lost for a month of action -- then made another red zone stop that resulted in a missed field goal attempt. Makhilyn Young's immediate 80-yard TD gave the Commodores the lead, and while Mizzou would tie the score with Matt Zollers at QB, a midfield fumble set up a Diego Pavia touchdown, and Mizzou's last-second Hail Mary came up about half a yard short.

play

1:36

Missouri's Hail Mary no good as Vanderbilt hangs on

Freshman quarterback Matt Zollers throws a Hail Mary to Kevin Coleman Jr. but the completion comes up short of the goal line.

After a near-comeback against Texas, Vandy needed a win over an almost always competitive (and almost never victorious) Auburn team to keep its CFP hopes alive. The Commodores needed more than 60 minutes to get it done. Auburn led 17-3 early, and when Vandy surged to a 38-30 advantage midway through the fourth quarter, Ashton Daniels and Cam Coleman connected for a 23-yard touchdown and a 2-point conversion to tie the score. A late Vandy fourth-down failure sent the game to OT, but after Cole Spence put the Commodores in front in OT, Auburn couldn't respond.

81. Navy 32, Temple 31 (Oct. 11)

Temple ran out of gas late in the season, but the Owls were a pain in the butt for a while, upsetting UTSA one week and nearly doing the same to Navy the next. They led 24-14 in the third quarter, and following a short Jay Ducker touchdown they led 31-24 into the final minute. But Blake Horvath charged for 51 yards on a fourth-and-1, then connected with Alex Tecza for the winning 2-point conversion.

play

0:35

Blake Horvath crosses goal line for 51-yard rushing touchdown

Touchdown! Blake Horvath scores vs. Temple

80. No. 9 LSU 17, No. 4 Clemson 10 (Aug. 31)

We never know for sure what the meaning of a big Week 1 game will end up becoming, and while this was a battle of preseason top-10 teams that would come nowhere close to living up to expectations, it was still a hell of an event. Clemson forced a couple of first-half turnovers and led 10-3 at halftime, but LSU slowly took control with a pair of long touchdown drives. Clemson put together a drive late, but Cade Klubnik threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-4 with 59 seconds left, and the visiting Tigers prevailed.

79. 68 Ventures Bowl: Delaware 20, Louisiana 13 (Dec. 17)

78. Delaware 44, UConn 41 (OT) (Sept. 13)

Delaware went 7-6 in its first FBS campaign, and four of those wins were by one score. Here are a couple of particularly thrilling wins. In their first-ever bowl win, in the 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, the Blue Hens were in control most of the way; they took a 20-3 lead midway through the third quarter, but Louisiana's Lunch Winfield threw a touchdown pass to Shelton Sampson Jr. to make it 20-13, and the Ragin' Cajuns drove 86 yards in the final two minutes as well. Unfortunately, they needed another 7 yards. Blake Matthews broke up a pass to Caden Jensen on the final play, and Delaware survived.

That one was good, but Delaware's second win of the season was even better. UConn visited Newark having nearly beaten Syracuse the week before, but the Blue Hens bolted to an early 21-10 lead. UConn responded as a good team does and took a late lead, but Nate Reed's 43-yard field goal forced OT. Down three after UConn's overtime drive, Nick Minicucci sealed the upset with a 13-yard keeper.

play

0:29

Nick Minicucci walks it off for Delaware with OT TD run

Nick Minicucci walks it off for Delaware with OT TD run

77. UConn 48, Florida Atlantic 45 (Nov. 22)

76. UConn 37, Duke 34 (Nov. 8)

UConn not only enjoyed a thrilling nine-win campaign under Jim Mora in 2025; the Huskies also played some wickedly entertaining games. That included a pair of late-season track meets. Against Zach Kittley's pedal-to-the-metal FAU Owls, the Huskies had to survive a game that featured 1,287 total yards and a blown 21-point lead. They were up 24-3 just 14 minutes in, but a 28-3 FAU run, capped by a 90-yard Caden Veltkamp-to-Dominique Henry score, gave the Owls the lead in the third quarter. The runs continued -- 14-0 for UConn, 14-0 for FAU -- and while Cam Edwards gave UConn a 48-45 lead with 26 seconds remaining, FAU still managed to set up a 36-yard field goal attempt to force overtime. But Garrison Smith missed it.

Two weeks before the FAU win, we saw similar plot twists in the Huskies' upset of soon-to-be ACC champion Duke. In a game with 10 lead changes, Duke took a 34-29 edge with 5:34 left when Darian Mensah found Jeremiah Hasley for a 10-yard score. UConn needed only eight plays to steal the advantage back, as star Skyler Bell reeled in a 19-yard TD catch with 1:58 left. Duke drove to the brink of field goal range in the final minute, but Bryun Parham sacked Mensah, and Trent Jones II recovered the ensuing fumble. UConn: rightful ACC champion?

75. No. 11 Oklahoma 23, No. 4 Alabama 21 (Nov. 15)

74. No. 8 Oklahoma 17, LSU 13 (Nov. 29)

Oklahoma's run to the CFP was awfully unlikely. It required a 4-1 record in one-score games, and it required a couple of skin-of-their-teeth escapes in November. First, in Tuscaloosa -- against the team that would eventually eliminate them from the CFP -- the Sooners rode an 87-yard Eli Bowen pick-six to a 10-0 first-quarter lead, then turned Ty Simpson's third-quarter fumble into a Tate Sandell field goal that gave them a 23-21 advantage. Alabama failed on fourth down in the final minute, and despite getting nearly doubled up in total yardage (Bama 406, OU 212), the Sooners somehow prevailed.

Two weeks later, after also getting outgained in a win over Missouri, the Sooners hosted LSU with clear stakes: They were in with a win. It was looking unlikely after John Mateer threw two interceptions to start the second half, but Deion Burks took a short screen 45 yards for a tying touchdown late in the third quarter. After LSU took a 13-10 lead midway through the fourth, Isaiah Sategna III cracked a busted coverage for a 58-yard catch-and-run, sending OU to the playoff.

play

0:42

John Mateer connects with Isaiah Sategna III to give Oklahoma the lead

John Mateer finds a wide open Isaiah Sategna III for a 58-yard touchdown to put the Sooners on top.

73. Rate Bowl: Minnesota 20, New Mexico 17 (OT) (Dec. 26)

New Mexico was one of the stories of the season in the mid-major ranks, but thanks primarily to Minnesota's Anthony Smith (4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 pass breakups), Jason Eck's Lobos couldn't quite claw past the Golden Gophers in the Rate Bowl. Damon Bankston's 100-yard, fourth-quarter kickoff return allowed UNM to send the game to overtime, but after Luke Drzewiecki gave the Lobos the lead, Drake Lindsey and Jalen Smith connected for a TD to send the Gophers to their ninth straight bowl win.

72. No. 9 Oregon 18, No. 20 Iowa 16 (Nov. 8)

71. No. 11 Indiana 20, Iowa 15 (Sept. 27)

Iowa was achingly close to a huge season: The Hawkeyes went 9-4, but the four losses -- including these two to CFP semifinalists -- came by a combined 15 points. The loss to Oregon was particularly painful, as Iowa came back from a 15-7 deficit to take a 16-15 lead when Mark Gronowski capped a 93-yard, nearly seven-minute drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. Getting the ball back with 1:51 left, however, Dante Moore completed five passes, including a 24-yarder to Malik Benson, and Atticus Sappington hit a 39-yard field goal with three seconds remaining.

Indiana rolled through most of 2025, but when the Hoosiers had to prove themselves in clutch situations in Big Ten play, they did exactly that. A field goal contest, tied at 13-13, got wild late when, following an interception, Iowa's Drew Stevens missed a 42-yard field goal attempt with 2:01 left. (He had made a 54-yarder earlier in the quarter.) Given second life, Fernando Mendoza quickly connected with Elijah Sarratt, who burst into the open field and scored from 49 yards. Iowa drove to midfield but got no farther. Indiana ran out the rest of the clock with an intentional safety.

Here's where I always save room for the 20 best games from the smaller-school ranks. One game actually escaped containment and landed in the top five, so here are the next 20.

70. No. 8 John Carroll 10, No. 2 Mount Union 7 (Dec. 6)

One of the best rock fights of the season began with an 85-yard touchdown. Nick Turner's long score on Mount Union's first snap gave the mighty Purple Raiders an early lead in the Division III round of 16, but they gained only 145 yards from there and missed three field goals attempts. JCU scored an incredible upset, but it took two tries in overtime: Colin Schuler missed an 18-yard field goal attempt for the win in OT1, but he nailed a 39-yarder in OT2, and Ben Day and Kenny Grobolsek combined for a fourth-down stuff to seal the upset.

69. Merchant Marine 39, Coast Guard 38 (Nov. 15)

Fenway Park hosted a crowd of 8,966 for a particularly wild Secretaries' Cup in mid-November. In a game that featured seven lead changes, Coast Guard took the lead on three occasions, but Merchant Marine had Bubba Mustain. That made the difference. Mustain threw for 150 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 274 yards and three scores; his 12-yard run gave the Mariners a 33-30 advantage early in the fourth quarter, and his 7-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left capped a 70-yard, 6:26 drive, and gave bragging rights to Merchant Marine.

68. East Texas A&M 52, Incarnate Word 45 (Oct. 18)

Attend your local college football games. You never know what you might see. A crowd of 2,016 in San Antonio saw hometown UIW bolt to a 21-point lead, blow it all, then nearly win anyway. Down 35-21 at halftime, East Texas A&M used a 24-7 run to take its first lead on a late Ozlo Rigby field goal. But UIW tied it with a bomb of a 57-yard field goal from Will Faris. The visiting Lions couldn't be denied, however: EJ Oakmon scored from 24 yards out with 27 seconds remaining, and UIW couldn't quite get back into Faris' field goal range at the end.

67. No. 4 Benedictine 38, No. 3 Morningside 34 (Aug. 31)

66. No. 2 Keiser 38, No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan 31 (Aug. 31)

Week 1 gave us a pair of top-10 NAIA matchups, and they both went down to the wire. In a battle of haymakers -- there were touchdowns of 20, 24, 35, 49, 58 and 70 yards -- Morningside and eventual semifinalist Benedictine traded the lead eight times before Benedictine's Jackson Dooley plunged in from 2 yards with 12 seconds left to give the Ravens the win.

Meanwhile, eventual finalist Keiser traveled from Florida to Marian, Indiana, and burst out to leads of 14-0 and 31-17. IWU came back to tie the score each time, but Keiser's Jaden Miller ripped off a 70-yard touchdown run with four minutes left, and the Seahawks' defense made a late stop when IWU was in scoring position to prevail.

65. New Mexico Highlands 48, South Dakota Mines 42 (OT) (Sept. 20)

Las Vegas, New Mexico, hosted one of the wildest games of the season in Week 4: This game featured five TDs of 40-plus yards, including a 96-yard fumble return for Mines and a 99-yard score on the ensuing kickoff. S.D. Mines erased a 21-point deficit in the final 13 minutes but failed on fourth-and-goal in OT, and Tevita Valeti's 1-yard touchdown sealed a wild Cowboys win.

64. No. 11 Harvard 45, Penn 43 (Nov. 15)

Harvard was one of the best teams in FCS until a late-season fade, but before that collapse took effect, the Crimson gave us this thriller, with one of the wackiest win probability charts you'll see. In a game that featured at least two touchdowns in every quarter, Penn took a 27-14 lead in the second quarter. Harvard responded with a 21-0 run but couldn't shake the Quakers. Mason Walters' 30-yard field goal gave Penn a 43-42 lead with just 22 seconds left, but a pair of Jaden Craig completions gave Kieran Corr a chance to win with a 53-yard field goal. He nailed it, and Harvard remained unbeaten for one more week.

63. No. 7 CSU Pueblo 24, No. 6 Western Colorado 21 (Nov. 1)

62. No. 6 CSU Pueblo 41, Colorado Mines 34 (OT) (Nov. 8)

61. No. 10 Texas-Permian Basin 21, No. 15 Western Colorado 15 (OT) (Nov. 29)

The state of Colorado was the hub for some serious nonsense in the Division II ranks. CSU Pueblo won its second straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title, but it required a trio of late thrillers. First, in a battle of top-10 teams, the Thunderwolves found themselves trailing WCU on the road 21-0 midway through the second quarter. They tied it in the third quarter, thanks in part to an 88-yard Marcellus Honeycutt Jr. touchdown, and when Jusiah Sampleton blocked a 47-yard field goal with four minutes left, Pueblo had a chance at the win. Devin Cross' 30-yard run set up Jackson Smith's 32-yard walk-off winner for the Thunderwolves.

The next week, CSU Pueblo traveled to Golden and again spotted its hosts an early advantage. Two Max Barnes touchdowns helped Mines bolt to a 28-6 lead, but a Roman Fuller-to-Reggie Retzlaff TD just before half bought the Thunderwolves some time. And down 14 late, the Wolves' offense shifted into overdrive. Another Fuller-to-Retzlaff strike made it 34-27, then Fuller found Honeycutt for a 32-yard score to tie. In OT, Fuller went back to Retzlaff for a 12-yard TD, and Peyton Shaw picked off a Joseph Capra pass to seal the comeback win.

The Wolves' run ended against an upstart. Texas-Permian Basin knocked them off, 37-24, in the first round of the D-II playoffs. The Falcons returned to Colorado the next week for another upset. Once again, Western Colorado took a comfortable lead -- this time, it was 15-0 with eight minutes remaining -- but Kanon Gibson threw for one touchdown pass, then ran for another just 57 seconds later, and the score was tied at 15-15. WCU's Zach Brumfield blocked a 30-yard field goal attempt with 41 seconds left, but it only delayed the inevitable. Gibson and Jaylon Tillman connected for a 21-yard score in OT (Brumfield blocked the PAT!), and WCU went four-and-out. UTPB advanced and damn near knocked off Harding University in the quarterfinals as well.

60. Celebration Bowl: SC State 40, Prairie View A&M 38 (4OT) (Dec. 13)

We were blessed with an incredible FCS postseason, and before we even get to the three playoff games on the list, we have to acknowledge the wild comeback the Celebration Bowl gave us. In its Celebration Bowl debut, SWAC champion PVAMU played a nearly perfect first half in racing to a 21-0 halftime lead, and to the Panthers' credit, when SC State charged back, they kept responding. It was 28-28 when Cameron Peters threw his fourth TD pass of the day, a 78-yarder to Cameron Bonner, but SC State sent the game to overtime, and after the teams combined for just three points in three possessions, the Bulldogs took the win with a controversial Ryan Stubblefield-to-Tyler Smith conversion and a stop.

59. Georgetown 31, Bucknell 24 (Oct. 25)

Neither of these FCS teams enjoyed particularly memorable 2025 campaigns, but they did give us one of the most memorable finishes of the season. Bucknell had erased three different deficits, including one of 10 points with 11 minutes left, and the Bison were driving for a potential game-winning field goal when disaster struck. Naiteitei Mose's pick-six won the game for the Hoyas.

Mose returns an interception for a GU TOUCHDOWN!!#HoyaSaxa #HoyaBold #DefendTheDistrict #SISU #PartnerWithSquadrahttps://t.co/CLGmxgiUPv pic.twitter.com/wm7DTPaZVf

58. No. 1 Ferris State 51, Saginaw Valley State 45 (2OT) (Nov. 8)

Even as former star Trinidad Chambliss was thriving on a national stage with Ole Miss, Ferris State rolled to another Division II national title, winning its last six games by an average of 30 points. But the Bulldogs needed something miraculous to survive a trip to University Center, Michigan, unbeaten. Their hosts, SVSU, rode a wave of turnovers (six in all) to a 24-7 lead midway through the third quarter, and when Ferris State charged back, the Cardinals sent the game to OT with a late Zarek Zelinski score. But when the underdogs didn't go for two points and the win after scoring second in the first OT, their fate was sealed: a missed field goal attempt and a Taariik Brett touchdown kept the champs unbeaten.

57. West Liberty 47, West Virginia State 41 (Oct. 4)

West Liberty, of the Division II Mountain East, had maybe the most thrilling 3-8 season imaginable in 2025. The Hilltoppers finished the year beating Wheeling 68-67 (in regulation!) after losing to Fairmont State 45-44 in overtime, but somehow this game topped them both. In a game that featured 1,105 yards and 40 fourth-quarter points, WLU watched two leads disappear but took its third and final lead on the final play: Antevious Jackson danced around in the pocket, then found Osama Hurst open for a 40-yard miracle.

BALLGAME! West Liberty beats West Virginia State on the final play of the game - a 40-yard TD pass from Antevious Jackson to Osama Hurst. Hilltoppers 47, Yellow Jackets 41. #MECFB pic.twitter.com/8exKcZ1yLF

56. Bethune-Cookman 38, Florida A&M 34 (Nov. 22)

A month before Orlando's Camping World Stadium hosted a crowd of 34,126 for a delightful Pop-Tarts Bowl, it hosted 55,528 for the Florida Classic, and wow, did this classic HBCU rivalry deliver. Bethune-Cookman took an early 17-3 lead and still led by eight heading into the fourth quarter, but everything ignited in the final eight minutes. Jamal Hailey's 72-yard touchdown gave FAMU a 27-24 lead, but BCU struck right back with a 67-yard Javon Ross score. Thad Franklin Jr. made it 34-31 FAMU with 2:19 left, but on fourth-and-ballgame with 27 seconds left, Timmy McClain went for it all and got it.

55. Georgetown 27, Morgan State 24 (Oct. 4)

After leading 14-0 early, Georgetown stalled out, allowing Morgan State to not only come back but take the lead heading into the fourth quarter. But on the final play of the game, Dez Thomas II threw the pass of his life, and Jimmy Kibble was there to reel it in.

HAIL MARY TO KIBBLE FOR THE WIN!#HoyaSaxa #HoyaBold #DefendTheDistrict #SISU https://t.co/CLGmxgiUPv pic.twitter.com/C2VrowGbMW

54. Illinois State 29, No. 1 North Dakota State 28 (Dec. 6)

In search of an 11th FCS national title in 15 years, NDSU rolled through the regular season with almost unprecedented levels of dominance. The 12-0 Bison were overwhelming title favorites, but they fell victim to a sneak attack. Against an ISU team they'd beaten by 17 in the regular season, NDSU scored on its first play of the game, picked off five passes and led by 14 with three minutes left. But Daniel Sobkowicz's second TD catch of the game cut the Bison's lead to seven, and after Jake Anderson recovered a Cole Payton fumble, Sobkowicz scored again with a minute left. Tommy Rittenhouse found Scotty Presson Jr. for a 2-point conversion, and a stunned NDSU offense stalled out near midfield. The champ was cruising to a unanimous decision but instead got knocked out in the 12th round.

53. Benedict 25, Wingate 24 (Nov. 22)

Benedict made its first Division II playoff win count. The Tigers trailed 24-0 late in the third quarter but charged back with help from a 95-yard blocked field goal attempt return. Still, they had cut the deficit to only 24-19 with one play remaining. They had no choice but to try one of those lateral-festival plays that never work.

Well, they almost never work.

52. No. 4 Wisconsin-River Falls 48, No. 11 Johns Hopkins 41 (Dec. 20)

UWRF suffered a losing record every year from 2001 to 2019, constantly struggling to get its head above water in the toughest conference in Division III (the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). But behind an almost perfect offense, the Falcons made an incredible and unlikely national title run in 2025. Before they could top mighty North Central in the title game, they had to survive an epic semifinal game with an epic ending against another top team, Johns Hopkins. After five lead changes, it looked as if the game was headed to overtime in River Falls, but Kaleb Blaha and Blake Rohrer had other ideas.

The small-school ball was so damn good this year, you guys.

51. Yale 43, No. 15 Youngstown State 42

The Ivy League finally began allowing its teams into the FCS playoffs this season and watched them both nearly faceplant. Harvard got walloped by Villanova, and Yale found itself overwhelmed in Youngstown and trailing 35-7 at the half and 42-14 late in the third quarter. But the Bulldogs responded with 20 perfect minutes: score a touchdown (with a 2-point conversion), recover a fumble, score a touchdown, force a field goal attempt (missed), score a touchdown, force a three-and-out, score a touchdown (a 56-yard run by Josh Pitsenberger), force a four-and-out. Almost as shocking as the 28-point comeback was just how easy it turned out to be. But the Ivy's first playoff win was an all-timer. (Yale damn near beat eventual champ Montana State the next week, too.)

50. No. 3 Ohio State 14, No. 1 Texas 7 (Aug. 31)

It feels like a lifetime ago, but Week 1 featured just about the biggest opener imaginable as preseason No. 1 Texas, led by preseason Heisman favorite Arch Manning, visited defending national champ Ohio State. It was the cagiest possible affair, as both teams featured experienced defenses and inexperienced new (blue-chip) QBs, and neither head coach was willing to risk disaster. But when Carnell Tate reeled in a 40-yard TD pass from Julian Sayin early in the fourth quarter to put the Buckeyes up 14-0, it was time for Texas to make a charge. Manning found Parker Livingstone for a 32-yard TD with 3:28 left, and after an OSU three-and-out, the Longhorns quickly drove to midfield. But Jack Endries came up short of the line to gain on fourth-and-5, and OSU kneeled out a huge early win.

49. CFP quarterfinals: No. 10 Miami 24, No. 2 Ohio State 14 (Dec. 31)

I'm typically allergic to putting many games on here that finished with a double-digit scoring margin, but we'll make an exception here. Ohio State was a 7.5-point favorite in the Cotton Bowl quarterfinal but fell behind 14-0 following a powerful, eight-minute Miami touchdown drive and a sudden, 72-yard Keionte Scott pick-six. The Buckeyes finally began moving the ball confidently, and Jeremiah Smith's 14-yard score with 13:28 left cut the Hurricanes' lead to 17-14. (Smith had seven catches for 157 yards.) But once again Miami combined a long drive (10 plays for 70 yards, capped with a CharMar Brown TD) with a pick (Jakobe Thomas near midfield) to seal a statement win for The U.

48. UNLV 41, Miami (Ohio) 38 (Sept. 20)

Miami had this one. The Redhawks led by 14 on three occasions, and after the Rebels had tied the score for the third time, Miami's Kenny Tracy raced into field goal range ... and fumbled at the UNLV 20. The Rebels drove 78 yards in just over two minutes, and Ramon Villela finished the absolute theft with a 23-yard field goal.

47. Tulane 24, Army 17 (Oct. 18)

46. North Texas 45, Army 38 (OT) (Sept. 20)

45. Tarleton State 30, Army 27 (2OT) (Aug. 31)

44. Navy 17, Army 16 (Dec. 13)

Sometimes your role in a given season isn't necessarily one you would choose. In 2025, Army's role -- like Arkansas' and, in a way, Notre Dame's -- was to lose classics. The Black Knights played in nine one-score games and lost five of them. With quarterback Cale Hellums playing brilliantly (163 rushing yards, 125 passing yards on 10 throws), Army led eventual American Conference champion Tulane 17-10 with an 84.7% win probability with two minutes left in New Orleans. But Jake Retzlaff threw a 12-yard TD pass to Bryce Bohanon, and after Army's first three-and-out of the game, Retzlaff needed only six plays to give Tulane the lead with a 26-yard strike to Shazz Preston with 27 seconds left. Ouch.

North Texas raced to a 21-0 first-quarter lead in West Point and still led by 10 with less than three minutes left until Army recovered a late fumble and somehow sent the game to OT. But Caleb Hawkins scored for the Mean Green, and Army couldn't match. The comeback was for naught.

In only their fifth season after moving up from Division II, the TSU Texans enjoyed an incredible 2025 season, going 12-2 and earning the No. 4 seed in the FCS playoffs. And they made waves from the start, forcing three turnovers in a Week 1 matchup with Army, fighting back from a 14-point, second-half deficit and, in the second overtime, sealing a program-defining win with a 37-yard Brad Larson field goal.

Army's last loss of the season was the most painful yet. Underdogs against their biggest rivals, the Black Knights used a 16-0 scoring binge to take a nine-point lead in the third quarter -- almost insurmountable in the type of battle-of-attrition game we usually see from these two -- but after a field goal and a pair of stops, Navy drove 50 yards and, after nearly losing a devastating fumble two plays earlier, took the lead on an 8-yard Blake Horvath-to-Eli Heidenreich TD pass with 6:32 left. A stunned Army offense went three-and-out and never got the ball back. Navy converted a fourth-and-1 with 1:54 left and kneeled out the game.

43. Delaware 25, Louisiana Tech 24 (Nov. 8)

When it came to tight conference games, two conferences stood out from the pack: In both Conference USA and the SEC, 50% of conference games were decided by one score. No other conference was over 41%. CUSA even gave us a rarity in early November: a successful onside kick. After giving up a 17-0 run in just seven fourth-quarter minutes -- and failing on a late 2-point conversion -- Delaware needed a miracle to save itself against Louisiana Tech. Nick Minicucci found Elijah Sessoms for a short touchdown to get to within 24-22 with 34 seconds left, and Ja'Carree Kelly recovered a perfect onside kick from Nate Reed. That set up a second perfect kick from Reed: a winning 51-yard field goal.

play

1:16

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs. Delaware Blue Hens: Full Highlights

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs. Delaware Blue Hens: Full Highlights

42. Kennesaw State 48, Liberty 42 (2OT) (Nov. 29)

41. Kennesaw State 19, Jacksonville State 15 (Dec. 5)

And from tight games often come both a tight conference race and a race any team can win. Even a team that went 2-10 the season before. New head coach Jerry Mack led Kennesaw State to 10 wins in his first season, and the last four all came by one score and brought the CUSA title to Kennesaw. To clinch a spot in the CUSA title game, KSU first beat Liberty for the second straight year. Trailing 28-21 after three Evan Dickens touchdowns -- including a 95-yarder -- KSU drove the length of the field for two late TDs. Vaughn Blue's 59-yard TD catch tied the score for Liberty, and Dickens scored to give the Flames the lead on the first play of OT, but KSU needed only two plays to score twice in OT (both on Amari Odom TD passes), and the KSU defense stopped Liberty in four plays.

The next week against defending CUSA champ Jacksonville State -- which had itself survived a top-100-worthy thriller the week before against Western Kentucky -- KSU eased out to a 12-0 lead but watched things fall apart late. Touchdown runs by Cam Cook and Caden Creel, plus a Creel 2-point conversion pass, gave JSU a sudden 15-12 lead with 4:04 left. But Odom found Navelle Dean for the title-winning touchdown with 51 seconds remaining, and the Owls' defense forced a four-and-out. Hootie hoo.

That CHAMPIONSHIP feeling 👑🏆🎆#SeeUs | #HootyHoo pic.twitter.com/kzGv4hU28Z

40. Arkansas State 31, Texas State 30 (Oct. 4)

Texas State lost five straight games in the middle of 2025, and four of them came by a combined 14 points. This one might have been the most gut-wrenching of the bunch. After ASU tied the score with 1:20 left, the Bobcats took their third lead of the fourth quarter, with a 63-yard Brad Jackson run setting up a short Lincoln Pare TD. But a failed PAT made it only 30-24, and when Jaylen Raynor capped a six-play, 75-yard drive with a short touchdown, Clune Van Andel's PAT gave the Red Wolves a stunning win.

39. New Mexico 23, San Diego State 17 (2OT) (Nov. 29)

Needing an upset to claim a share of the lead in the Mountain West -- and wearing gorgeous turquoise uniforms that became the talk of social media -- New Mexico got touchdown runs of 40 yards from James Laubstein and 54 yards from D.J. McKinney, and it was just enough to force overtime at 17-17. Once in OT, an interception set the Lobos up for a potential winning score, but Laubstein lost a fumble. No worries. Cade Keith caught a 25-yard TD pass to start the second OT, and after SDSU set up a first-and-goal, the Aztecs moved straight backward and failed on fourth-and-forever.

38. California 21, North Carolina 18 (Oct. 17)

37. Stanford 20, Florida State 13 (Oct. 18)

The Bay Area's ACC teams gave us a pair of Saturday evening goal-line thrillers in Week 8. Cal was favored over North Carolina in Berkeley but couldn't shake Bill Belichick's Tar Heels. The Golden Bears led by 11 heading into the fourth quarter, but Davion Gause's short TD (and a 2-point conversion) brought UNC to within 21-18, and the Heels drove to the Cal goal line late, too. But Brent Austin saved the day by forcing a Nathan Leacock fumble at the 1 and recovering it in the end zone.

play

0:48

Cal forces UNC fumble at the goal line for a touchback

Cal's Brent Austin punches the ball out of Nathan Leacock's hands at the goal line to force a fumble and subsequent touchback.

Florida State's dreamlike 3-0 start turned into a nightmare with a four-game midseason losing streak. The last of the four came out West, where Stanford took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter. After a field goal cut the lead to seven, the Seminoles got a 59-yard, third-and-22 reception from Micahi Danzy to set up a first-and-goal from the 2 in the final seconds. But Gavin Sawchuk could only gain 1 yard on the final play.

36. No. 10 Alabama 27, Auburn 20 (Nov. 29)

We set the bar pretty high for the Iron Bowl, and it still seems to clear that bar as often as not. Alabama needed a win over its interim-coached rival to basically clinch a CFP berth and needed only 19 minutes to take a 17-0 lead. But then things got weird. Malcolm Simmons' 64-yard TD catch cut the lead to 17-13 early in the third quarter, and a Jeremiah Cobb score made it 20-20 with 11:43 left. A Ty Simpson-to-Isaiah Horton fourth-down strike gave the Tide the lead again, but Auburn was driving for a tie or win when Bray Hubbard stripped Cam Coleman of the ball with 33 seconds left, and Deontae Lawson recovered.

35. No. 13 Ole Miss 24, No. 4 LSU 19 (Sept. 27)

This battle of unbeatens seemed particularly huge at the time, and Ole Miss had a leg in front most of the way. Cayden Lee's short touchdown late in the second quarter gave the Rebels a 17-7 halftime lead, and Logan Diggs scored against his former team to make it 24-13 Ole Miss. But LSU got one score back with a 6-yard Harlem Berry run, and all the Tigers needed was one more stop to have a chance. It never happened. On a gutsy fourth-and-3 call, Trinidad Chambliss found Dae'Quan Wright for 20 yards to clinch the win.

34. Baylor 48, No. 17 SMU 45 (2OT) (Sept. 6)

SMU took the lead on the first play from scrimmage -- a 75-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Jennings to Romello Brinson -- and held it for almost the entire game. But Sawyer Robertson threw two late touchdown passes, and his 21-yard strike to Kobe Prentice with 34 seconds left forced overtime. In the second OT, SMU's Collin Rogers missed his second field goal attempt of the day and opened the door for Connor Hawkins' 27-yard game-winner.

33. Pop-Tarts Bowl: No. 12 BYU 25, No. 22 Georgia Tech 21 (Dec. 27)

What's better than devouring an anthropomorphised Pop-Tart? Doing so after an awesome game. BYU won its 12th game of the season with a desperate late charge. Trailing Haynes King and Tech by a 21-10 margin heading into the fourth quarter, the Cougars drove 80 yards for one touchdown, then went ahead on a Jovesa Damuni run with two minutes left. King completed a 66-yard, fourth-and-15 bomb to Eric Rivers to keep the Jackets alive, but Evan Johnson picked off a pass in the sprinkles-decorated end zone, and it was time to do what everyone had come to do:

play

1:13

Pop-Tarts Bowl mascots toasted to celebrate BYU's win

The Pop-Tarts Bowl mascots are lowered into a giant toaster to become an edible prize for champions BYU.

32. UNLV 51, Air Force 48 (Oct. 11)

With one team mostly running and the other team doing major damage through the air, this game featured 1,200 combined yards, 56 first downs and an incredible nine second-half lead changes. Liam Szarka gave Air Force a lead with 1:13 left, but Anthony Colandrea's wild 19-yard scramble made it 51-48 Rebels 37 seconds later. Szarka completed a long pass to Jonah Dawson to set up a possible tying field goal attempt, but Jacob Medina's 40-yarder at the buzzer started out wide and never curled back in.

31. No. 4 Alabama 29, South Carolina 22 (Oct. 25)

South Carolina's season was quite a disappointment, but the Gamecocks sure managed some entertaining losses. After nearly beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2024, they used a 16-0 run to take a 22-14 lead with 10 minutes left. And even when a Ty Simpson-to-Germie Bernard (and Simpson-to-Josh Cuevas 2-point conversion) tied the score, the Gamecocks had the ball with a chance to win ... until LaNorris Sellers fumbled. Tim Keenan III recovered, Bernard raced down the sideline for a 25-yard score and the Tide eked out another tight win.

30. Louisville 24, No. 2 Miami 21 (Oct. 17)

29. SMU 26, No. 10 Miami 20 (OT) (Nov. 1)

Two regular-season losses nearly derailed Miami's playoff hopes, and both games played out in reasonably similar ways: Both saw the Hurricanes play things far too safe late in the game and still lose via interception. Against Louisville, the Hurricanes found themselves down 14-0 after 10 minutes but rallied to within 24-21. When they got the ball back with four minutes left, they used 12 plays and most of the clock to reach only the Louisville 31, and T.J. Capers stepped in front of another short pass to seal the Cardinals' upset win. It was their fourth pick of the day.

Despite a slow start to 2025, SMU was in position to land said ACC title game berth because of an early November upset that also nearly knocked Miami out of playoff contention. The Hurricanes led on four different occasions, but Sam Keltner's 38-yard field goal with 25 seconds left forced overtime. After Miami inexplicably kneeled out the clock (they had a timeout in hand), Ahmaad Moses picked off Carson Beck in OT, setting up T.J. Harden's winning TD plunge (and the ensuing field storming).

28. Alamo Bowl: TCU 30, No. 16 USC 27 (OT) (Dec. 30)

This was a bowl game that reflected the current era. Missing key players? Check (TCU quarterback Josh Hoover and USC star receivers Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane). Watched by millions? Check (4.9 million, in fact). Entertaining as hell? Check! Led by veteran backup QB Ken Seals, TCU erased a late 10-point deficit with a Jeremy Payne touchdown and a Kyle Lemmermann field goal with two seconds remaining. USC went ahead with an overtime field goal, Payne ripped off one of the best runs of the season and scored from 35 yards on third-and-20 to give the Horned Frogs a thrilling win.

play

0:31

TCU wins the Alamo Bowl in dramatic fashion in OT

Jeremy Payne breaks multiple tackles on third-and-20 and somehow reaches the end zone for the winning touchdown for TCU.

27. West Virginia 31, Pitt 24 (OT) (Sept. 13)

Rich Rodriguez's first season back in Morgantown wasn't a thriller, but in his first Backyard Brawl in charge since the devastating loss of 2007, he and the Mountaineers exacted some revenge. A 21-0 run had given Pitt a 10-point lead deep into the fourth quarter, WVU drove 87 yards in the final three minutes, tied it with 11 seconds left, took the lead in OT with a Tye Edwards touchdown and forced a game-clinching four-and-out.

26. Georgia Tech 24, No. 12 Clemson 21 (Sept. 13)

Smoothest. Fire-drill field goal. Ever.

play

1:13

Georgia Tech kicks game-winning FG to spark wild celebrations

Georgia Tech races its kicker onto the field, and Aidan Birr nails a 55-yard field goal to take down Clemson.

Tech had watched a 13-point lead disappear, but the Yellow Jackets knew exactly how much time they had left to make amends.

25. No. 17 Alabama 24, No. 5 Georgia 21 (Sept. 27)

For all the problems Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer is currently working with in Tuscaloosa -- including, but not limited to, the enormous shadow left by Nick Saban and complete turnover on both lines -- beating Kirby Smart isn't one of them. He's 2-1 against Smart's Georgia, thanks in part to first-half explosions. Bama went up 14-0 on two early Ty Simpson TD passes and led 24-14 at halftime after a short Simpson TD run. The second half was all about defending the lead. Georgia scored midway through the third quarter and moved the ball well on two fourth-quarter drives, but LT Overton's shoestring tackle of Cash Jones on fourth-and-1 ended up making the difference.

24. Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii 35, California 31 (Dec. 24)

Hawaii opened the season by beating Stanford with a last-second Kansei Matsuzawa field goal and ended it with a last-second touchdown. Cal thundered to an early 21-0 lead, but you can't keep the Rainbow Warriors down. They tied it with a short Micah Alejado touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, then took the lead with another TD connection (17 yards to Brandon White) with 7:19 left. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele scored with 1:57 left to give Cal another advantage, but even with the Rainbow Warriors in Matsuzawa's field goal range and Alejado injured and out of the game, Hawaii went for the win and got it when Luke Weaver found Nick Cenacle from 22 yards out with 10 seconds remaining.

play

0:34

Hawai'i stuns Cal with go-ahead TD in final seconds

Backup QB Luke Weaver finds Nick Cenacle in the end zone to give Hawai'i the lead with 10 seconds left vs. California.

We even got a postgame brawl. (Not a first for the Hawaii Bowl.)

23. California 38, No. 21 SMU 35 (Nov. 29)

Cal wasn't amazing in 2025, but the Golden Bears had a flair for the dramatic. Needing a win to secure bowl eligibility following a shocking blowout loss to Stanford -- and to prevent SMU from clinching another spot in the ACC championship game -- they somehow got it. They led 24-7 midway through the third quarter, but SMU stormed back with 28 points in 17 minutes and took the lead with 2:22 left. Sagapolutele, however, completed five passes to set up Kendrick Raphael's short go-ahead touchdown. SMU got close enough to try a 52-yard field goal at the buzzer, but Sam Keltner knocked it wide right.

22. Kent State 42, Akron 35 (OT) (Nov. 11)

The Wagon Wheel rivalry gave us the best MACtion moment of 2025. Needing a win to keep its slight bowl hopes alive, Kent State rode out six early lead changes -- including one on an 89-yard catch and run from our guy Da'Realyst Clark -- to charge ahead 35-17 after 21 straight points. But Akron scored a touchdown (12-yard pass from Ben Finley to Marcel Williams), recovered a perfect, pop-fly onside kick, kicked a field goal, recovered a fumble, scored again (Finley to Israel Polk) and succeeded on a tying 2-point conversion to force overtime. Once there, the momentum reversed entirely: Kent State scored in one play, Akron went four-and-out, and the Golden Flashes survived.

21. No. 17 Ole Miss 41, Arkansas 35 (Sept. 13)

The first sentence of the AP writeup tells you how early in the season this game was: "Backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss ran for two touchdowns and threw for one in a surprise start, and No. 17 Mississippi outlasted Arkansas 41-35 on Saturday night." Chambliss would quickly supplant Austin Simmons in Ole Miss' starting lineup, and the Rebels would rise a lot higher than No. 17. For that matter, Arkansas, which entered the game unbeaten, wouldn't win again. None of that was particularly foreseeable as Arkansas overcame four first-half deficits and, after trailing by 13 early in the fourth quarter, charged back and drove to take a late lead. But with 1:52 left, Wydett Williams Jr. recovered a Jalen Brown fumble, and after 1,001 total yards and infinite plot twists, the Rebels survived.

20. Big Ten championship: No. 2 Indiana 13, No. 1 Ohio State 10 (Dec. 6)

In retrospect, we almost look at Indiana's title as preordained, as the only way this season could end. But the Hoosiers were underdogs as late as December, facing an Ohio State team that hadn't lost for over a full calendar year. Though the Hoosiers dominated most of their opponents, they proved some serious close-game chops when they needed to. And with their first Big Ten title since 1967 on the line, they made most of the key plays in the second half, from Fernando Mendoza's 17-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Sarratt, to a fourth-and-goal stuff late in the third quarter, to a third-and-short stop that forced a (missed) field goal attempt, to a 33-yard Mendoza-to-Charlie Becker pass that allowed them to eat up most of the clock and see out the game.

19. Memphis 32, Arkansas 31 (Sept. 20)

One of the best win probability charts of the season:

A week after blowing a shot at an upset of Ole Miss with a fumble, Arkansas lost another one here as it was just about ready to close out a win. Memphis erased a 28-10 deficit and took the lead with 4:51 left, but it took Chris Bracy's recovery of a Mike Washington Jr. fumble to seal the win.

18. Virginia 46, No. 8 Florida State 38 (2OT) (Sept. 26)

Florida State technically improved in 2025, jumping from 2-10 to 5-7 (and from 83rd to 41st in SP+). But the Seminoles did so in the most frustrating possible way: They were 3-0 and eighth in the AP poll (and comfortable favorites) when they traveled to Charlottesville for a Friday night tussle, and even after Virginia jumped out to a 14-0 lead, the Noles calmly pushed ahead 21-14. But the Cavaliers scored TDs on their next three possessions -- Chandler Morris had two passing TDs and three rushing TDs -- to buy time before FSU forced overtime late. The teams traded field goals, then Morris put UVA ahead with a short TD run and a 2-point pass. FSU couldn't respond, and UVA fans unleashed just about the most efficient field storming you'll ever see.

play

0:49

Fans rush the field after UVA upsets No. 8 FSU

Florida State is unable to convert on fourth down in double overtime against Virginia, and fans storm the field.

17. No. 6 Oregon 30, No. 3 Penn State 24 (2OT) (Sept. 27)

Everything fell apart in a blink for James Franklin at Penn State in 2025, but we didn't know it was coming when the Nittany Lions hosted Oregon for one of September's most anticipated games. And what began as a war of attrition picked up steam late. Touchdowns by Dierre Hill Jr. and Jordon Davison gave Oregon a 17-3 lead early in the fourth quarter, but two Drew Allar-to-Devonte Ross touchdown passes brought PSU even with 30 seconds remaining. Down seven in OT, Oregon converted a fourth-and-1, then got a touchdown from Jamari Johnson; the Ducks scored immediately to start the second OT, but they failed on a 2-point conversion. That opened the door for PSU ... and the door immediately closed when Dillon Thieneman snagged an Allar pass to secure the road win. Penn State's season never recovered.

16. CFP first round: No. 10 Miami 10, No. 7 Texas A&M 3 (Dec. 20)

Maybe the most aesthetically ... unique game of the season. Before Miami could make a run to the CFP championship game, the Hurricanes had to survive impossibly windy conditions (and a strong Texas A&M defense) in College Station. Carson Beck threw for only 103 yards, and the teams combined to miss four of six field goal attempts. Malachi Toney lost a key fourth-quarter fumble, but a 56-yard Mark Fletcher Jr. run set up Toney's redemption moment -- an 11-yard jet sweep TD with 1:44 left. Texas A&M rallied, driving 70 yards in just 1:20, but Bryce Fitzgerald picked off a third-and-goal pass in the end zone, and Miami advanced.

15. Sun Bowl: Duke 42, Arizona State 39 (Dec. 31)

14. Duke 46, Clemson 45 (Nov. 1)

13. ACC championship: Duke 27, No. 17 Virginia 20 (OT) (Dec. 6)

For two straight years, Manny Diaz's Duke team has won nine games and finished 44th in SP+. But in 2025, the Blue Devils did it with a lot more panache. (Translation: They both scored and allowed a lot more points.) In a delightful Sun Bowl against Arizona State, the two teams combined to gain double-digit yardage on 33 of 162 snaps and at least 34 yards on 10 snaps. But in the end, Duke's defense made the difference: Ma'khi Jones recovered a fumble to set up a 17-yard Darian Mensah-to-Que'Sean Brown touchdown and give the Blue Devils a three-point lead, and then Luke Mergott picked off a Jeff Sims pass to seal the win.

12. No. 6 Georgia 44, No. 15 Tennessee 41 (OT) (Sept. 13)

Tennessee hasn't beaten Georgia since 2016. We're using the present tense there because, despite taking a 21-7 first-quarter lead, despite forcing a Georgia fourth-and-6 from the 28 with 2:32 left, and despite setting up a potential winning 43-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer, the Vols managed to let this one slip away.

11. No. 3 Texas A&M 31, South Carolina 30 (Nov. 15)

It was the biggest comeback in Texas A&M history, without which the Aggies probably wouldn't have made the playoff. It was also a day that featured both the worst and best halves of Marcel Reed's career. In the first half, he completed only 6 of 19 passes with two terrible interceptions and two sacks, one of which produced a fumble returned for a score by Nick Barrett. LaNorris Sellers threw a 50-yard touchdown to Vandrevius Jacobs and an 80-yarder to Nyck Harbor (complete with a really strange interaction with a state trooper), and the Gamecocks cruised into halftime up 30-3.

In the second half, A&M woke up, and the Gamecocks clammed up. Reed went 16-for-20 for 298 yards and three third-quarter touchdowns -- 27 yards to Izaiah Williams, 39 to Ashton Bethel-Roman, 14 to Nate Boerkircher -- and the Aggies gained 371 yards while allowing 76. They needed only 20 minutes to take a 31-30 lead, and South Carolina could never mount a rally. It was the most strangely straightforward 27-point comeback you'll ever see.

10. No. 12 Utah 51, Kansas State 47 (Nov. 22)

There weren't massive stakes in this one, but you don't always need stakes to create an incredible spectacle. After trading scores for 25 minutes, these teams released a series of big runs: 10-0 for K-State, then 14-0 for Utah, then 16-0 for K-State. Joe Jackson's 24-yard touchdown with 7:00 left gave the Wildcats a 47-35 lead; KSU went for two points and a 14-point lead, but instead came the worst-case scenario. Tao Johnson returned a deflected pass 100 yards for two points, then Utah drove 75 yards and made it 47-44 with 2:47 left. After a three-and-out, Devon Dampier gave the Utes the lead with 56 seconds left. Lander Barton's interception near midfield finished off a shocking comeback.

9. No. 10 Miami 27, No. 6 Notre Dame 24 (Aug. 31)

In terms of CFP positioning, this might have been the most impactful game of the season. It was also fantastic. Miami took advantage of some early growing pains for Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, taking a 21-7 lead midway through the third quarter. The Irish enjoyed only one real, sustained drive in three quarters, and Miami benefited from one of the catches of the season.

play

0:59

CJ Daniels makes jaw-dropping 1-handed TD grab for Miami

CJ Daniels goes full extension for a one-handed touchdown grab to put Miami up late in the first half.

But the Irish came alive. Carr threw a short TD pass to Jordan Faison, then ran for a 7-yard score to tie the score with 3:21 remaining. A surging Notre Dame defense needed only one more stop to set up a shot at a win, but instead, a pass interference penalty and some tough running from late-game sledgehammer CharMar Brown set up Carter Davis' 47-yard winner. Two sacks by Akheem Mesidor sealed what turned out to be a season-turning win.

8. Mississippi State 24, No. 12 Arizona State 20 (Sept. 6)

They would win only one game after September, but Jeff Lebby's MSU Bulldogs were far more competitive in 2025, and they landed one of the biggest haymakers of the season in Week 2. They burst out to a 17-0 lead against Arizona State before the defending Big 12 champs stormed back. Jesus Gomez's 18-yard field goal capped a 17-play, go-ahead drive and put the Sun Devils ahead with 1:38 left. But when you have Brenen Thompson, one of the fastest players in the sport, you can score at any time.

play

0:40

Mississippi State upsets Arizona State on game-winning TD

Blake Shapen throws the game-winning touchdown in the final minute as Mississippi State upsets Arizona State.

7. UCLA 42, No. 7 Penn State 37 (Oct. 4)

Penn State's loss to Oregon was disappointing, but it wasn't a total surprise. A week later came the single-most shocking result of the season. UCLA was a 24.5-point underdog, having just fired its head coach and both coordinators and having shown almost no potential whatsoever. And after a run of brilliant offense, a surprise onside kick and a huge fourth-down stop, the Bruins took a 27-7 lead into halftime.

Like A&M against South Carolina, Penn State was guaranteed to charge back. The Nittany Lions cut the deficit to 27-21 in the third quarter and 34-28 in the fourth, and even when Nico Iamaleava scored to make it 42-28 UCLA, Penn State's comeback still felt inevitable. Kyron Hudson scored to make it 42-35, and PSU drove to the UCLA 9 with a minute left, but Scooter Jackson stuffed Drew Allar on fourth down. PSU couldn't stop the backslide the next week either, losing to Northwestern and getting James Franklin fired.

6. No. 2 Indiana 27, Penn State 24 (Nov. 8)

PSU played legitimately strong ball under interim head coach Terry Smith, rallying to finish 7-6, but their best performance of the season might have come in a loss. A 17-0 run, marked by two Nicholas Singleton scores, gave the Nittany Lions a late 24-20 lead over Fernando Mendoza and the strangely misfiring Hoosiers. But that misfiring ended when it had to. In a drive for the ages (one that started with a sack, no less), Mendoza completed passes to Omar Cooper Jr., E.J. Williams Jr., Riley Nowakowski and Charlie Becker, then went back to Cooper, who made just about the best catch you'll ever see.

5. FCS championship: No. 2 Montana State 35, Illinois State 34 (Jan. 5)

What are you looking for from college football? Earnest, hard-nosed football led by two coaches (MSU's Brent Vigen and ISU's Brock Spack) who have built sturdy programs and remained loyal over the long haul? A proud fan base being rewarded for its loyalty after a 41-year national title drought? A frantic and downright ridiculous ending that featured a 14-point comeback, two game-changing blocked kicks and a title-winning touchdown pass on fourth-and-10? The FCS championship game gave us all of those things in Nashville, and in front of the largest title-game crowd since 1996.

Montana State ran out of gas but won anyway, watching a 28-14 lead fritter away to 28-28 but blocking a potential winning field goal attempt near the end of regulation, blocking a PAT in overtime and then getting the aforementioned game-winner from Justin Lamson to Taco Dowler (with yours truly standing about 15 feet away). Just phenomenal stuff.

play

1:50

Montana State defeats Illinois State in OT thriller to win FCS national championship

Montana State defeats Illinois State in overtime to claim its second national championship in school history.

After the game, it was sheer joy. And "Mony Mony."

pic.twitter.com/jWb3Jsnf3R

4. No. 16 Texas A&M 41, No. 8 Notre Dame 40 (Sept. 13)

A botched PAT snap and hold might have made the difference in a playoff bid. Texas A&M led 28-24 after a wild first half, and after a reasonably tame third quarter, the action picked up again late. With the score tied at 34-34, Jeremiyah Love capped a 12-play, six-minute drive with a 12-yard touchdown, but a botched hold on the PAT left the Irish's lead at just six points. A third-down scramble from Marcel Reed and a defensive holding penalty gave A&M a first-and-goal, but that quickly became fourth-and-goal from the 11. No worries -- with 19 seconds left, Reed found Nate Boerkircher for the game-winner. (Well, I guess Randy Bond's PAT was the actual game winner, but still.)

3. CFP quarterfinals: No. 6 Ole Miss 39, No. 3 Georgia 34 (Jan. 1)

The 2024-25 College Football Playoff, the first 12-teamer, gave us a couple of classics. The 2025-26 edition gave us a quintet of top-50 games, including potentially the three best of the season.

In the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal, a rematch of another game that made this list, Georgia appeared to take control, scoring twice in close succession (with a Gunner Stockton plunge and a 47-yard Daylen Everette fumble return) to take a 21-12 halftime lead. But a 22-3 Ole Miss run put the Rebels in charge and gave us one of the scrambles of the season.

play

0:41

Chambliss escapes multiple defenders with a big 1st-down throw

Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss scrambles away from multiple defenders and somehow finds Kewan Lacy for a first down.

Game over? Not so much! Stockton found Zachariah Branch for an 18-yard score and helped to create a first-and-goal at the Ole Miss 8 in the final minute. But the Rebels forced a tying field goal and Trinidad Chambliss lobbed a 40-yard pass to De'Zhaun Stribling over the top of the Dawgs' defense, setting up a 47-yard Lucas Carneiro field goal attempt. He crushed it, and the Rebels advanced.

2. CFP semifinals: No. 10 Miami 31, No. 6 Ole Miss 27 (Jan. 8)

Ole Miss' reward for winning a last-minute thriller was playing in another last-minute thriller. Miami dominated the ball in the Fiesta Bowl, but a 73-yard touchdown run by Kewan Lacy and a series of outlandish Lucas Carneiro field goals -- including 58- and 54-yarders -- gave Ole Miss a 19-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Malachi Toney burst through for a 36-yard touchdown off of a screen pass, but Trinidad Chambliss' 24-yard touchdown pass to Dae'Quan Wright (plus a 2-pointer to Caleb Odom) made it 27-24 Rebels with 3:13 left. Miami needed a season-saving drive and got exactly that, driving 75 yards in 15 plays and eating all but 19 seconds from the clock before Carson Beck scored the winning points. The Rebels responded by getting to within range of a Hail Mary, but it fell incomplete.

1. CFP championship game: No. 1 Indiana 27, No. 10 Miami 21 (Jan. 19)

We were due a great national title game. While Georgia's 33-18 win over Alabama in 2021 was closer than the final score, the past seven title games since 2017's second-and-26 classic had been decided by an average score of 43-18.

With two new faces reaching the finals -- Miami for the first time since 2002's BCS championship game, Indiana for the first time ever -- the 2025 season ended with a tense, urgent and eventually fantastic game. Indiana's defense dominated as the Hoosiers took a 10-0 lead into halftime, but a 57-yard bolt-of-lightning TD from Mark Fletcher Jr. brought Miami back, and the Hurricanes' defense held Indiana to three straight punts to start the second half. Isaiah Jones' recovery of a Mikail Kamara blocked punt bought Indiana some time, but the fourth quarter went back and forth. Fletcher scored again, then Mendoza scored on an iconic 12-yard, fourth-down run. Malachi Toney scored, and Indiana could manage only a field goal to go up 27-21 in the closing minutes.

Miami drove to the IU 47 with a minute left, and it began to look as if the Hurricanes' team-of-destiny vibe was going to continue. But Jamari Sharpe -- nephew of former Hurricanes DB Glenn Sharpe, incredibly enough -- stepped in front of an underthrown Carson Beck pass, and Indiana became the sport's first first-time champion in 29 years. It was an incredible way for an incredible season to end.

play

1:41

Indiana holds off Miami to win 1st national championship in program history

Indiana defeats Miami 27-21 to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.