Ranking the 31 College Football Games I’ve Attended

Numbers, spreadsheets, recording data, Microsoft Excel — all of these items are very intriguing to me. Last fall, I decided to compile an entire Excel spreadsheet, recording the score of every single college football, college basketball, NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL game I have attended in my life.
Living in Delaware and Texas, I have primarily attended home games at Penn State, Texas, and Texas A&M. But I’m also a regular at bowl games, neutral site games, and other college football showdowns. Here are the 31 I’ve seen:
31. Texas A&M 73, Lamar (FCS) 3 — September 6, 2014
This is one of the few sporting events in my lifetime that I left before the clock hit zero. The worst part about this game is that it was delayed for hours because of storms. And watching FBS teams stomp on FCS teams is never an appealing matchup.
30. Texas A&M 65, Sam Houston State (FCS) 28 — September 7, 2013
Here is another occurrence of the Aggies pulverizing an FCS team, except this one ranks higher because it involved former Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel. Johnny Football left the game early due to the ridiculous scoring margin, but he still threw for over 400 yards and three touchdowns.
29. Penn State 48, Akron 10 — September 4, 2004
The halftime score was 41–3. The one moment that still resonates with me from this game was Tony Hunt’s 77-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the game. Akron looked really pathetic that day, but at least the Zips had future Browns starting quarterback Charlie Frye under center.
28. Texas 41, UTEP 7 — September 10, 2016
Remember that one time at the beginning of 2016 when Texas was ranked in the top 10? The Longhorns actually looked like a top-10 team in this Week 2 matchup, playing a near perfect game in a dismantling of UTEP. Shane Buechele completed 22-of-27 throws with four touchdowns.
27. Penn State 32, Kent State 10 — September 20, 2003
I remember how shocked I was when Kent State took an early 10–0 lead over the Nittany Lions in Beaver Stadium. Although Penn State fared 3–9 in the 2003 season, it was the much better team. Austin Scott and the Lions quickly came back and scored 32 unanswered in another Penn State vs. the MAC contest.
26. Texas A&M 38, Rice 10 — September 13, 2014
I had high expectations for this game. Rice, coming off a bad Week 1 loss to Notre Dame, won the C-USA in 2013, so I expected the Owls to put up a fight. But early-2014 Heisman candidate Kenny Hill tore up the Rice defense through the air with 300 yards and four touchdowns. The game seemed out of reach for Rice the entire 60 minutes.
25. Texas 59, Kansas 20 — November 7, 2015
Kansas didn’t look as bad in person as I expected. The Jayhawks put up a fight all the way up until halftime. But the Longhorns rattled off five straight touchdowns in the second half, showing superiority over the long-time cellar dweller. This was the Longhorns’ 13th-consecutive victory over Kansas, a streak that would be broken a year later.
24. Texas 42, Rice 28 — September 12, 2015
This was my first Texas home game and my second time watching Rice play live. The Longhorns dominated the first quarter with a 21–0 lead, but Rice caught up at halftime with 14 second quarter points. Copy and paste that to the second half, and Texas wins 42–28. Despite two solid comeback attempts, Texas never felt threatened by Rice in this game.
23. Texas 27, Iowa State 6 — October 15, 2016
The Cyclones led 6–3 at halftime before Texas erupted in the second half. Iowa State’s offense looked absent the entire game, but this same team dropped 66 on Texas Tech. This was one of the Longhorns’ most convincing wins in a roller coaster season that involved beating Notre Dame and Baylor and losing to Kansas.
22. Michigan State 34, Penn State 10 — November 29, 2014
When R.J. Shelton flew down the left sideline to return the opening kickoff for six, I knew Penn State was in for a long day. The player that left an impression on me the most in this blowout was Spartan cornerback Trae Waynes. That 11–2 Michigan State team’s defense was relentless and a pleasure to watch. The Spartans finished strong, winning the Cotton Bowl over Baylor in the inaugural season of the College Football Playoff.
21. Illinois 38, Baylor 14 — December 29, 2010
After a field goal barrage and a couple Mikel Leshoure touchdowns, Illinois led 24–0 in the Texas Bowl in Baylor’s home state. The Bears scored 14 to make it interesting in the fourth quarter, but Illinois sealed its most recent bowl victory with a 55-yard Nathan Scheelhaase scamper. The game wasn’t close, but it gains bonus points on this list for its status as a bowl game and the fact that Heisman winner Robert Griffin III was under center for Baylor that night.
20. Texas 23, Kansas State 9 — October 24, 2015
This game seemed empty. It was an 11 AM kickoff and there was significant downpour. Both teams choose to slug it out on the ground rather than turn to the air. Texas led 16–0 but didn’t clinch the game until Tyrone Swoopes ran it in for six with 1:47 left — his third rushing touchdown of the afternoon. This game featured 13 punts, but watching football in the rain is always exciting.
19. Penn State 45, Michigan State 12 — November 26, 2016
Looking at the final score, it is hard to believe that the 3–9 Spartans led 12–10 at halftime. I don’t know what James Franklin said in the locker room, but Penn State’s offense was invincible in the second half. Trace McSorley completed seemingly every bomb he threw, passing for touchdowns of 34, 45, 59, and 40 yards in the second half. Penn State’s five second half touchdowns lifted the Nittany Lions over the possibly the best 3–9 team in college football history to clinch the Big Ten East division title. There was a moment during the game when all fans stood and cheered when discovering Ohio State defeated Michigan, enabling Penn State to clinch the East with the win.
18. Ohio State 37, Penn State 17 — October 27, 2007
Everything leading up to this game was phenomenal, but the contest didn’t live up to the hype. It was Penn State’s annual Whiteout game, College GameDay traveled to State College, and the Nittany Lions looked like they were capable of creating more chaos in the dramatic 2007 season. Once the Buckeyes captured a 10–7 lead at the end of the first, №1 Ohio State never felt the upset coming. Beanie Wells and the Buckeyes ended up as the runner-up to LSU when January arrived.
17. West Virginia 35, Pittsburgh 10 — November 26, 2010
This game ranks as the greatest rivalry on this list. You could feel the hate heating up the seemingly 10-degree air. The early morning tailgate was quite the spectacle and fans were fighting and screaming throughout. Backyard Brawl was a fitting name. It was the second-to-last Backyard Brawl before conference realignment tarnished the rivalry, and Geno Smith threw three touchdowns on only 12 passes at Heinz Field. The teams also wore interesting Nike Pro Combat uniforms for the game — a cool uniform matchup.
16. Michigan State 28, Penn State 22 — November 27, 2010
Here is the final edition of the Land Grant Trophy rivalry on this list. The Big Ten co-champion Spartans stormed out of the gate for a 21–3 lead in Happy Valley. The Lions roared back in the fourth quarter, cutting the 18-point deficit to six in the game’s final minutes. Penn State’s final touchdown to Derek Moye was impressive, because on the play before, Moye stripped Spartan defender Trenton Robinson after an interception in the end zone to save the possession. But Michigan State recovered the onside kick to win its first game in Beaver Stadium since 1965.
15. West Virginia 24, Texas 20 — November 12, 2016
The 16th-ranked Mountaineers led for the majority of the contest, but Texas consistently answered to remain a step behind. There were seven turnovers in the “low-scoring” Big 12 affair, providing both teams with opportunities to create or extend leads throughout. Despite West Virginia controlling almost the entire game, Texas earned two final plays from the Mountaineers’ 27-yard line but didn’t capitalize.
14. LSU 28, Wisconsin 24 — August 30, 2014
On kickoff weekend in Houston, two elite teams met and played a close contest, but the game wasn’t as memorable as the 2016 edition. Wisconsin led 24–7 thanks to Melvin Gordon dominating the LSU defense early. On the five possessions after earning the 24–7 advantage, Wisconsin only gained 32 yards. LSU’s 21–0 run to end the game was made possible by the Badgers’ disappearing offense and gassed defense. This was also Leonard Fournette’s first career college game, finishing with 18 yards on eight carries.
13. Kansas State 33, Texas A&M 28 — December 28, 2016
It was Bill Snyder’s gritty defense that won the game, stopping the Aggies’ potential game-winning drive on the 28-yard line. The Wildcats won the Texas Bowl despite under 200 passing yards and playing a practical road game in Houston. Snyder will never fail to impress me.
12. Missouri 34, Texas A&M 27 — November 15, 2014
The former Big 12 teams met as SEC rivals in College Station. Missouri running back Russell Hansbrough (199 rushing yards) took complete control of the game in the second half with long scampers of 45 and 49 yards to pull the eventual SEC East champion Tigers ahead of the Aggies. Missouri trailed 20–13, but instantly came back to lead 34–20. Down seven, Texas A&M lost on a goal line stand as the Aggies had two opportunities from the Missouri two-yard line with about three minutes left.
11. Arkansas State 18, Texas A&M 14 — August 30, 2008
This game earns major points as one of the greatest upsets on this list. In Mike Sherman’s first game as the Aggies’ head coach, the offense failed to show up. Texas A&M faltered with four turnovers and barely eclipsed the 300 total yard mark, allowing the Red Wolves (Arkansas State’s first game as the “Red Wolves”) back into the contest at Kyle Field. Arkansas State scored 15 unanswered, including three of the team’s four field goals that day to seal a four-point victory. I remember walking out of the stadium and the entire twon of College Station was completely silent.
10. Wisconsin 24, Western Michigan 16 — January 2, 2017
The Cotton Bowl was my first game ever spent in a pressbox rather than the audience. The 2016 “Row the Boat” Broncos entered the game undefeated under head coach P.J. Fleck, but this was a Badgers team with a stingy defense. Corey Davis and Western Michigan earned plenty of opportunities to come back after a 14–0 deficit, but never quite pulled it off. Wisconsin’s Bart Houston-Troy Fumagalli passing connection proved unbeatable that afternoon. Western Michigan pulled off a nine-minute possession to inch within one possession but failed to recover the onside kick, ruining a perfect season.
9. Oklahoma State 30, Texas 27 — September 26, 2015
Led by a Hassan Ridgeway scoop-and-score, Texas surprisingly led the Pokes by three at halftime. This game was the prototypical Big 12 game with a lot of back-and-forth scoring, all the way until the game’s closure. The Longhorns led most of the fourth quarter thanks to a Holton Hill pick-six, but Oklahoma State tied it with a field goal with 1:33 left. Then craziness ensued. Texas punter Michael Dickson dropped the snap on the punt and kicked the ball six yards behind the line of scrimmage. Oklahoma State took over with favorable field position and kicked a game-winning 40-yard field goal to preserve its undefeated record.
8. Missouri 41, Oklahoma State 31 — January 3, 2014
What game enters the fourth quarter 17–14 and finishes 41–31? There were seven scores producing 41 points in just the final 15 minutes alone. Both teams’ offenses were exciting, swapping leads throughout the game’s final stand. On Oklahoma State’s potential game-winning possession, Michael Sam stripped Cowboys’ quarterback Clint Chelf and Shane Ray recovered the fumble 73 yards to the house in a bizarre turn of events. The Missouri faithful all celebrated with their yellow pom poms, which produced a cool visual effect in AT&T Stadium.
7. Iowa 42, Penn State 35 — September 28, 2002
When Iowa led 23–0 in the second quarter or 35–13 entering the fourth quarter, I didn’t head towards the exits. Instead, I witnessed one of the greatest almost-comebacks I have ever seen. Zack Mills, who passed for a then-single game program record 399 yards, led the Nittany Lions to a dramatic 22-point first quarter to send the game into overtime. The Hawkeyes scored first in overtime thanks to the arm of Brad Banks, but then the Nittany Lions failed to answer in Happy Valley.
6. Texas 35, Baylor 34 — October 29, 2016
The 6–0, №8 Baylor Bears entered Austin as heavy favorites, but the Longhorns dismantled their season with a wild victory. Texas led 23–14 in the second but trailed 34–26 in the fourth. After failing to tie the game on a two-point conversion with about seven minutes left, Texas earned one last opportunity to win the game. Kicker Trent Domingue booted a 39-yard field goal through the uprights. On Baylor’s final possession, the Bears withstood a reversed call that would have been a fumble recovery by Texas, but couldn’t win the game with a Hail Mary.
5. Penn State 19, LSU 17 — January 1, 2010
Rain, mud, rain, mud, rain mud. Google a picture of the field from this Capital One Bowl. It looks like one of those commercials where Brett Favre and all his buddies are playing football in some muddy torn-up field in their Wrangler jeans. With the adverse weather conditions, this was bound to be a low-scoring game. Daryll Clark hit Derek Moye for a touchdown down the right sideline in the first quarter, and Penn State’s touchdown scoring was done for the day. Thanks to Collin Wagner’s leg, the Nittany Lions held a 16–3 lead late in the fourth quarter. But LSU quickly reversed its fortune with two immediate touchdowns to lead 17–16. However, Wagner (who should have been MVP of the game) kicked a 21-yard game-winning field goal with just 57 ticks remaining to win by two. This contest was thrilling despite the 15 total punts because it remained close throughout the game’s entirety.
4. California 45, Texas 44 — September 19, 2015
California-Texas is the perfect mix of Big 12 shootouts and #Pac12AfterDark. There was so much offense. Future first-overall NFL Draft pick Jared Goff and Texas quarterback Jerrod Heard both seemed perfect through the air. The game was knotted up at halftime, but Cal emerged in the third quarter with 21 points to all but seal the game. Down three scores entering the fourth, Texas (just like Penn State-Iowa) built one of the greatest almost-comebacks possible. The Longhorns cut the deficit to 14 but then scored two long rushing touchdowns with 3:00 and 1:11 to go. After Heard “tied” the game up on a 45-yard run, celebrations in the audience erupted. In fact, the celebration drowned out the fact that Texas shanked the extra point. And then, silence and shock overcame the crowd as Texas failed to recover the onside kick.
3. Penn State 24, Wisconsin 21 — November 24, 2012
It was senior day at Happy Valley. Before the game, the year 2012 was inserted in Beaver Stadium’s ring of honor to recognize the players that stood with Penn State. Since the Nittany Lions were barred from bowl season, they treated their date with Rose Bowl participant Wisconsin like one. Touchdowns were anything but scarce early as the teams combined to find the end zone three times within the game’s opening minutes. For the majority of the night, spectators were entertained by the halfback battle between Montee Ball and Zach Zwinak. Penn State used a two-point conversion at the beginning of the fourth quarter to lead 21–14. With five minutes left, Curt Phillips threw a red zone interception to greatly ruin Wisconsin’s chances. But the Badgers got another opportunity. On fourth and goal, with the game on the line, Phillips found Jeff Duckworth in the end zone to tie the game, leading to free football. Sam Ficken was forced to kick a field goal in overtime to put Penn State up three points. The Nittany Lion defense held its ground by sacking Curt Phillips and forcing a 44-yard field goal. Sitting on the sideline in front of the goal line, it was difficult to tell, but Kyle French hooked the field goal to the left, and the rest was history.
2. Texas 50, Notre Dame 47 — September 4, 2016
It was Sunday night of Labor Day weekend, the only game on in the entire college football world. Notre Dame was very overhyped (like in most preseasons) with a lofty №11 ranking. The best part was that this game was merely 60 minutes of continuous scoring. Both quarterbacks completed bombs down the field at will, the running lanes were open, and the coverage was suffering on both sides. The Fighting Irish struck first but the Longhorns jumped out to a shocking 31–14 lead. But DeShone Kizer led the Golden Domers back with three straight touchdowns to regain a four-point lead. On D’Onta Foreman’s ensuing touchdown, Texas was supposed to lead 38–35. Instead, Notre Dame blocked the extra point and returned it for two points to set the score to 37–37 with 3:29 remaining. Both teams scored in first overtime: Tyrone Swoopes punched it in for Texas and the Irish’s C.J. Sanders scored on his team’s first offensive play of the period. But Notre Dame was finally stopped in second overtime, having to settle for a field goal. Texas inserted the “18 Wheeler” (Swoopes) to run the ball three-straight times. On the third run, Swoopes broke loose and dove into the end zone to win the wild game. And according to Joe Tessitore, Texas was back.
- Texas A&M 45, Tennessee 38 — October 8, 2016
The game was nearly five hours long. I woke up around 4 a.m. that morning because College GameDay visited College Station. Excitement and exhaustion filled the air in Aggieland. Texas A&M dominated early, leading 21–7 after the first quarter. The Aggies, in fact, scored two touchdowns in a span of nine seconds to help build this lead. No scoring was present in the second quarter, but both teams traded touchdowns after halftime to produce a 28–14 Aggie lead. But 2016 Tennessee was a renowned comeback team. The Volunteers roared back from double digits to beat Appalachian State, Virginia Tech, Florida, and Georgia (which was decided on a Hail Mary). Tennessee’s John Kelly ran it in with about seven minutes to go to reduce the game to a one-possession deficit. But Texas A&M’s Trevor Knight silenced the comeback with a 62-yard run of his own down the left sideline on a read option with 3:22 left. Joshua Dobbs and Tennessee scurried down the field in about a minute, finishing with an Alvin Kamara touchdown. The Volunteers do not elect to onside kick. On the second play of the Texas A&M possession, Trayveon Williams ran down the left sideline 71 yards for a touchdown. But, after replay reviewed the play, Tennessee’s Malik Foreman stripped the ball right before Williams crossed the goal line. Touchback, Tennessee ball. Dobbs completed a series of short passes to drive Tennessee down the field, tying the game for the first time since 7–7 with 41 seconds left. Williams redeemed himself on the Aggies’ final possession of regulation with a few big gains to put Texas A&M in field goal range. But Daniel LaCamera missed the 38-yarder wide left to send the SEC match into overtime. Both kickers would hit on their 34-yard attempts in first overtime to extend the game. Knight hooked up with Christian Kirk on a 24-yard pass in double overtime and then ran the ball in himself to take a seven-point advantage. On Tennessee’s first play of second overtime, Dobbs was intercepted by Armanti Watts. The loudest Aggie War Hymn I have ever heard immediately followed the five-hour spectacle. The game featured absolute chaos. There was an incredible comeback, 10 turnovers (seven by Tennessee), over 1,200 yards of offense, 16 punts, and 83 points. This game had everything, and it is the greatest college football game I have ever witnessed live.
