Game of the Century (college football)

The phrase "Game of the Century" is usually placed in quotation marks What makes the phrase subjective is that sportswriters and fans list the games that they remember or attended. Games that were played before radio and television broadcasts are only preserved in print. Working sportswriters have a history that goes back at most to the middle of the 20th century. Television and the Internet have made broadcasts of more recent games available to all. Unlike the "Game of the Century" in college basketball, or the 1958 NFL Championship Game, which is commonly called "The Greatest Game Ever Played", no specific college football game has changed the sport as dramatically. On a list of historically significant college football games, the games listed below have stood out. ==What makes a game "The Game of the Century"==

The primary criterion for being a "Game of the Century" is for the game to be billed as such by the football press. No. 1 vs No. 2 Some of the games were a No. 1 vs No. 2 in the AP Poll, and then later to the BCS rankings and now CFB playoff rankings, which happened only 31 times in the 20th century. Quite often a winning streak is on the line and the winner goes on to win the national championship. The prospect of two juggernaut teams on a roll, or "the irresistible force meets the immovable object", creates a high-interest spectacle. Not all No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups are a "Game of the Century", as seen in a numerous 20th-century games listed below. While the Bowl Championship Series was created to produce a matchup of the top two teams in the nation at the end of the year, a BCS championship game does not automatically constitute a "Game of the Century". Otherwise, every year's championship game would be such. Unexpected outcome The "Game of the Century" is not always a decisive win. Occasionally, the title is applied to games where the outcome is in doubt until the game is played. ''Some matchups are "Game of the Century" before being played because of what's on the line. Some become "Game of the Century" because people can't believe what they saw.'' –David Leon Moore ==20th century==

In each listing, the visiting team is listed first unless the game was played at a neutral site, in which case the teams are listed in alphabetical order. All rankings are from the AP Poll. 1935 Notre Dame vs. Ohio State November 2, 1935: A then Ohio Stadium record crowd of 81,018 witnessed what was billed as The Game of the Century, the first ever meeting between Ohio State and Notre Dame. Ohio State led 13–0 heading into the fourth, but Notre Dame rallied with three fourth-quarter touchdowns and fed off several OSU miscues to pull out an 18–13 win. Notre Dame's Bill Shakespeare, a Cincinnati native, threw the game-winning 19-yard pass to Wayne Millner with 32 seconds left. Tickets for this game sold for $50 each ($1,177 in 2025) and there were widespread reports of counterfeit tickets. OSU officials said they could have sold 200,000 tickets for the game if they had room. The Ohio State-Notre Dame game was the most covered and most popular game of 1935. 1935 SMU vs. TCU November 30, 1935: Before a crowd of up to 42,000, the undefeated and untied TCU Horned Frogs (10–0) hosted the SMU Mustangs (10–0) in a late-season matchup that noted sportswriter Grantland Rice called a "Game of the Century". The conference championship for the Southwest Conference was on the line, as was a possible invitation to the Rose Bowl, which would be the first time a team from Texas participated. The game was the first in the state to be broadcast nationally on radio and noted sportswriters from across the country traveled to see it. While the Mustangs established a 14–7 lead in the first half, a touchdown pass by TCU's Sammy Baugh tied the score early in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs' Bob Finley responded with a fake punt play that resulted in a touchdown pass to Bob Wilson, with the Mustangs winning 20–14. While the Mustangs went on to lose in the Rose Bowl, the Horned Frogs won their Sugar Bowl game against the LSU Tigers, with both teams finishing with an identical record of 12–1 and both claiming a mythical national championship for the season. 1945 Army vs. Navy December 1, 1945: Heading into the final game of the season both Army (8–0) and Navy (7–0–1) were undefeated and ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, and with both teams buoyed by the recent victory in World War II, this game had all the earmarkings of a potential classic. as West Point would go on to win in a rout. A three touchdown, 20-point first quarter gave Army a lead they would not yield, going on to win 32–13. 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame November 9, 1946: The Army Cadets, then ranked Number 1 in the Associated Press college football poll, played the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, of South Bend, Indiana, ranked Number 2, at Yankee Stadium in New York City. This matchup, with the national attention it got in the era before the service academies ceased to be major football powers, was usually played at a neutral site, often in New York City. The 1924 game between the schools, a Notre Dame victory at the Polo Grounds, was the game at which sportswriter Grantland Rice christened the Fighting Irish backfield—quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, halfbacks Jim Crowley and Don Miller, and fullback Elmer Layden – the "Four Horsemen." The 1928 edition, with Notre Dame trailing Army at halftime at Yankee Stadium, was the game where Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne delivered his "Win one for the Gipper" speech, resulting in a comeback win for the Fighting Irish. Both teams were undefeated going into the 1946 game at Yankee Stadium. Both teams averaged over 30 points per game. Army had a 25-game winning streak over four years, last losing to Notre Dame in 1943 (26–0), but had won the last two contests between the schools by scores of 59–0 and 48–0. Army had the defending Heisman Trophy winner, Doc Blanchard, also known as "Mr. Inside", the man who would win it that year, Glenn Davis, also known as "Mr. Outside", and one of the nation's top quarterbacks in Arnold Tucker. Notre Dame had the quarterback who would win the Heisman the next year, Johnny Lujack. Both Tucker and Lujack were also outstanding defensive backs at a time when football players, college as well as professional, usually played both offense and defense. Just the previous year, in a game also labeled the "game of the century" before it was played, Army defeated a 7–0–1 Navy team 32–13. Navy's lone tie was against Notre Dame. With Blanchard, Davis and Tucker having graduated, Army's winning streak would be broken the next year, by Columbia University. Notre Dame would not lose until early in the 1950 season. Sporting News named the 1944–45 Army Black Knights / Cadets / the Corps and 1946 Fighting Irish the second and fifth greatest teams of the 20th century respectively. 1962 USC vs. Wisconsin The 1963 Rose Bowl was the 49th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on Tuesday, January 1, at the end of the 1962 season. The top-ranked USC Trojans defeated the Wisconsin Badgers, 42–37. This was the first #1 versus #2 match-up in a bowl game. The quarterbacks, Ron Vander Kelen of Wisconsin and Pete Beathard of USC, were named co-Players of the Game. 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State November 19, 1966: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Michigan State Spartans, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. Notre Dame, which had not won a national championship since 1949, was ranked No. 1 in one poll and No. 2 in the other. Defending National Champion Michigan State entered the game ranked No. 2 in one poll and No. 1 in the other. This was the first time in 20 years that a college football game was given the "Game of the Century" tag by the national media. The game was not shown live on national TV. The agreement between the NCAA and ABC in effect at the time limited each team to one national television appearance and two regional television appearances each season. Notre Dame had used their national TV slot in the season opening game against Purdue. ABC executives did not even want to show the game anywhere but the regional area, but pressure from the West Coast and the South (to the tune of 50,000 letters) made ABC air the game on tape delay. Irish quarterback Terry Hanratty was knocked out after getting sacked in the first quarter by Spartan defensive lineman Bubba Smith. Starting Notre Dame running back Nick Eddy was out entirely after hurting his shoulder getting off the train in East Lansing. Michigan State held a 10–0 lead by early in the second quarter. But the Irish came back, scoring a touchdown right after Michigan State's field goal and tied the game on the first play of the fourth quarter. Notre Dame had the ball on its own 30-yard line with 1:10 to go, needing about 40 yards for a game-winning field goal. But Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian chose to run the clock out, not wanting to risk a turnover, preserving the tie and Notre Dame's No. 1 ranking. The game ended in a 10–10 tie. For the subsequent 50 years, Parseghian defended his end-of-the-game strategy, which left many fans feeling disappointed at the game not having some sort of resolution. College football expert Dan Jenkins led off his article for Sports Illustrated by saying Parseghian chose to "Tie one for the Gipper." Others chided Notre Dame by calling them the "Tying Irish" instead of the "Fighting Irish." Notre Dame beat Rose Bowl bound USC 51–0 in Los Angeles the next week, completing an undefeated regular season and moving them to No. 1 in both polls. The Irish did not accept bowl bids until 1969, and Michigan State was the victim of a pair of Big Ten rules that would be rescinded a few years later: the same school could not represent the league in the Rose Bowl in back-to-back seasons, and only the league Champions could accept a bowl bid, unless they refused the Rose Bowl bid or, because it was on probation, were prohibited from accepting the bid, which, in either case, would then go to the second-place team. So despite being Big Ten Champions and undefeated in the regular season, in each case for two seasons in a row, the Spartans could not play in the Rose Bowl. The Sporting News named the 1966 Fighting Irish and 1965–66 Spartans the eleventh and thirteenth greatest teams of the 20th Century respectively. This is widely regarded as the signature game in the UCLA–USC rivalry. The game would be broadcast live and in color in ABC's second season of covering college football. At the time, both teams played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Both teams wore their home uniforms, as was their custom for this rivalry when they shared a common home field. This game was for the "championship of Los Angeles", for the championship of the AAWU conference, and for Rose Bowl berth. This game was also for the wire service national championship, since the final AP poll would be published before the bowl games. The loser would not only miss out on the national championship, but would not even go to a bowl game, since the AAWU's agreement with the Rose Bowl allowed only one school to represent the league in the postseason. With the game tied 14–14 early in the fourth quarter, an injured Beban gamely threw a touchdown pass, but the extra point attempt was blocked, resulting in a 20–14 UCLA lead. Trojan quarterback Toby Page called a pass play, then saw the Bruin linebackers drop back into pass coverage. He changed the signals before the snap, and handed off to Simpson, who ran 64 yards for a touchdown. USC kicked the extra point and held on to win 21–20. As a result of this game, USC finished the season ranked Number 1 in both polls and would go on to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers in the 1968 Rose Bowl. UCLA would finish the season out of the AP top ten poll and Number 11 in the UPI poll. Despite the loss, Beban would win the Heisman; Simpson would win it the next season. Keith Jackson, who covered the game for ABC, declared it many years later to be the greatest game he has ever seen. So did Giles Pellerin, a USC graduate who attended every game USC played from 1926 until his death at the 1998 USC-UCLA game at the Rose Bowl, 797 straight games over 72 years. Both USC broadcasters Tom Kelly and Pete Arbogast have stated that it was the greatest win in Trojan Football history. The Sporting News named the 1967 Trojans one of the greatest teams of the 20th century. This game has been nicknamed "Dixie's Last Stand", since it was the last major American sporting event played between two all-white teams, although almost the entire Southeastern Conference teams did not integrate their varsity football squads until the mid-1970s. With the Vietnam War still raging and Nixon in attendance, protesters came to the game, and one of them got into a tree overlooking the stadium and held up an antiwar sign. The racial and political implications and the build-up to the game were the subject of a 2005 book, Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming, which paid special attention to the demonstrations by anti-war and anti-racist groups. An urban legend grew up around this game, claiming that this protester was Arkansas native and future President Bill Clinton. Clinton, however, was not at the game, as he was then a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford in England, and was listening to the game on a shortwave radio with some American friends. The two coaches in this game, Darrell Royal of Texas and Frank Broyles of Arkansas, both retired after the 1976 season and became athletic directors at their respective schools. Broyles, who retired as the Razorbacks' men's athletic director on December 31, 2007, spearheaded Arkansas' move from the Southwest Conference to the SEC in 1990. Broyles was instrumental in the Razorbacks and Longhorns playing a two-year series in 2003 (at Austin) and 2004 (at Fayetteville). After the 1976 season, Broyles also became a top color analyst for College Football on ABC, often pairing up with Keith Jackson. The Sporting News named the 1969 Longhorns the seventh greatest team of the 20th century. The headline matchup was Nebraska's defense (allowing 6.4 points per game and leading the country in total defense) against Oklahoma's new wishbone offense (scoring 44.6 points per game and leading the country in total offense). After stopping an eighty-five-yard Oklahoma drive short of the end zone, a second Nebraska touchdown stretched the lead to 14–3. NU's defensive game plan centered on containing Greg Pruitt on the wide tosses and sweeps that made the wishbone so explosive, providing Mildren a rare chance to showcase his passing abilities. Tagge methodically led the Cornhuskers down the field, converting a third down on a diving catch by Rodgers. Sports Illustrated's Dan Jenkins suggested "it was the greatest collegiate football battle ever," a sentiment that has been maintained since, as it is often considered the best game in the sport's history. The game was viewed by fifty-five to sixty million people, the largest college football audience ever at the time. Weeks later, Nebraska wrapped up a second consecutive national championship with a dominant victory in the 1972 Orange Bowl. The team is regarded as one of the best in college football history. The Nebraska–Oklahoma rivalry ended when NU joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011, but was renewed in 2021 and 2022 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Game of the Century. the largest television audience in college football history watched as the undefeated and No. 1 Miami Hurricanes battled the undefeated and No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions in the Fiesta Bowl Game for the NCAA Division I-A Football National Championship. The game garnered a 25.1 television rating, with an average of 21,940,000 viewers watching the NBC telecast per minute. Of the two teams, Miami had the star-power, as it was led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Vinny Testaverde, running back Alonzo Highsmith, and defensive tackle Jerome Brown, all of whom would be selected within the first nine picks of that April's NFL draft. Miami was seldom challenged during the regular season and was considered a prohibitive favorite over the gritty Nittany Lions. Tensions between the teams were heightened when Miami players attended a Fiesta Bowl barbecue held days before the game dressed in fatigues. The game played out in surprising fashion. Miami's offense had little trouble moving the ball, yet the vaunted Penn State defense was able to pressure Testaverde enough (four sacks) that the Hurricanes committed a whopping seven turnovers (five interceptions, two fumbles). Miami scored first to take a 7–0 lead, but Penn State would answer with a touchdown of its own to tie it up at 7 at halftime. Miami added a field goal early in the fourth quarter to take a 10–7 lead, but momentum swung when Penn State linebacker Shane Conlan intercepted a pass from Testaverde and returned it 38 yards to the Miami 5. D. J. Dozier would then score on a six-yard run to give Penn State its first lead of the night at 14–10. The score was still 14–10 when Miami took over at its own 23 with just over 3 minutes left. Testaverde was masterful on the drive, converting a key 4th-and-six pass from Miami's own 27 to Brian Blades for a 31-yard gain and at one point completing six straight passes to take the Canes all the way down to the Penn State 6 with just 18 seconds left. But on the next play, Penn State fooled Testaverde when the Lions decided to drop eight men back in pass coverage and rushed just three. Testaverde failed to read the coverage and his pass was intercepted at the goal line by linebacker Pete Giftopoulos, sealing the upset win for Penn State. Miami dominated the game statistically, racking up 445 total yards and 22 first downs to just 162 yards and 8 first downs for Penn State. But in the end, it was Penn State that walked away with the victory—and the national championship. 1991 Miami (FL) vs. Florida State November 16, 1991: In a game that featured in-state rivals Florida State University and the University of Miami, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation respectively, Miami won by one point after Florida State's kicker Gerry Thomas missed a field goal wide right with 29 seconds left in the game. There was considerable media discussion as to whether the game would live up to the hype, and, if not, how bad NBC would look. ESPN would also hype the game, showing FSU players touring the Notre Dame campus that week wearing green hats with shamrocks and gold-embroidered FSU initials on the front, and having the first on-campus edition of College GameDay from South Bend. The Peacock Network did not have to worry, because they got the classic they hoped for. The Irish appeared to be riding those mystiques the entire game, leading 31–17 as the Seminoles got the ball with 1:39 to play. But Ward drove the 'Noles down the field, and hit Kez McCorvey on 4th-and-20 for a touchdown that bounced off Irish safety Brian McGee. Notre Dame got the ball back, but went three-and-out, giving FSU one last shot. In just three plays, they got to the Irish 14 with three seconds to play. Ward rolled out and had a wide open receiver in the end zone, but did not see him, and his pass was batted down by cornerback Shawn Wooden. Notre Dame won 31–24, and a sellout crowd stormed the field. Unfortunately for the Irish, they subsequently lost to Boston College 41–39 on a last second field goal to scuttle their hoped-for Orange Bowl match-up. Florida State, meanwhile, ended up winning the consensus national championship, their first in school history, by defeating Nebraska 18–16 in that Orange Bowl. ==21st century==

2005 Texas vs. USC Played on January 4, 2006, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, this college football bowl game served as the BCS National Championship Game for the 2005 College Football season and was seen as the Game of the Century. It featured the only two unbeaten teams of the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season: the defending Rose Bowl champion and reigning Big 12 Conference champion Texas Longhorns played Pacific-10 Conference titleholders and two-time defending AP national champions, the USC Trojans. The game was a back-and-forth contest; Texas's victory was not secured until the game's final 19 seconds. Vince Young, the Texas quarterback, and Michael Huff, a Texas safety, were named the offensive and defensive Rose Bowl Players of the Game. The game is the highest-rated BCS game in TV history with 21.7% of households watching it, and is often considered the greatest college football national championship game of all time. Texas's Rose Bowl win was the 800th victory in school history and the Longhorns ended the season ranked third in Division I history in both wins and winning percentage (.7143). For the first time in the history of the rivalry, the two rivals faced off while holding the top two spots in the Bowl Championship Series rankings. Ohio State won 42–39 and became the outright Big Ten champion, earning the right to play for a national championship at the BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona. Michigan scored first with a touchdown run by junior running back Mike Hart, but the Buckeyes then scored 21 unanswered points, and at halftime, they were up 28–14. After an interception and a fumble recovery by junior defensive tackle Alan Branch, Michigan cut the Buckeyes' lead to 4 with 14 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. After appearing to have forced Ohio State into a fourth down situation with six minutes to go, Michigan junior outside linebacker Shawn Crable was called for roughing the QB, giving the Buckeyes a fresh set of downs. Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith then passed to Brian Robiskie for a touchdown, increasing the Buckeyes' lead to 42–31 with five minutes left in the game. After Ohio State was called for pass interference on a failed 4th down attempt, giving Michigan an automatic 1st down, junior quarterback Chad Henne found senior tight end Tyler Ecker for a 16-yard touchdown with two minutes to go to cut the OSU lead to 42–37. Senior wide receiver Steve Breaston caught the two-point conversion to bring the Wolverines within a field goal. Michigan needed to recover the ensuing onside kick, and they failed to do so. The Buckeyes ran out the clock for the victory which placed them into the BCS national championship game. Troy Smith completed 71% of his passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns, essentially clinching the Heisman trophy. Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn caught eight passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman ran for 139 yards on 18 carries for a 7.7 yards-per-carry average. Michigan running back Mike Hart carried the ball 23 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns against a stout Buckeye defense. Chad Henne threw for 267 yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers on a 60% completion percentage. The game was highly touted by ESPN/ABC (there was even a game countdown clock for a week before kickoff) and was viewed by the largest television audience for a regular season college football game since 1993, averaging 21.8 million viewers. The victory marked the first time in 43 years that the Buckeyes had won three consecutive games in the series. The game gained even more significance when, on the eve of the meeting, legendary Michigan head coach and former Ohio State assistant coach Bo Schembechler died. Schembechler was honored with a video tribute at Ohio Stadium as well as a moment of silence before kickoff. Half an hour after the game ended, the Ohio Lottery PICK 4 evening drawing was 4–2–3–9, matching the final score of the game and paying out up to $5,000 per winner, for a total payout of $2.2 million. Following the game, there was a chance of a rematch in the BCS title game, but Florida was chosen over Michigan to be Ohio State's opponent. The game's long-term significance may have been diminished after disappointing post-season results for both teams—Ohio State would lose the 2007 BCS Championship Game to Florida 41–14, while Michigan suffered their sixth Rose Bowl loss to USC, 32–18. 2009 Florida vs. Alabama The 2009 SEC Championship Game was played on December 5, 2009, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, to determine the 2009 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game featured the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The winner was all but assured to go on to play for a National Championship, in a likely matchup with the Texas Longhorns provided Texas won in the Big 12 Championship Game versus the north division champion Nebraska Cornhuskers. Entering the 2009 contest, the SEC East was 11–6 in SEC Championship games, with the Florida Gators accounting for seven of the eleven victories. Before the 2009 game, Alabama represented the SEC West six times in the conference championship game, compiling a 2–4 record, and had faced the Gators in all six of their previous SEC Championship game appearances. This was the first and so far the only time any conference championship game had featured two undefeated teams and was also the first time an AP Poll No. 1 played a No. 2 outside of the BCS Championship Game since the top-ranked Ohio State beat the second-ranked Michigan during the 2006 regular season. The game began at 4:00 p.m. EST and was televised by CBS Sports, for the ninth straight season. The game was also streamed online at CBSSports.com and on mobile for customers subscribing to the MediaFLO service on CBS Sports Mobile. Alabama defeated Florida 32–13 and as expected secured a berth to the 2010 BCS National Championship Game where they would go on to defeat Texas. This game is often considered the moment when the Alabama dynasty began in earnest after a disappointing 2007 season and a loss to the same Tebow-led Gators in the 2008 SEC Championship. 2011 LSU vs. Alabama On November 5, 2011, BCS-ranked No. 1 LSU traveled to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 2 Alabama. It is the lowest scoring No. 1 vs No. 2 match-up since the 1946 Army-Notre Dame game, which ended 0–0. The two teams met again in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game. This time, the Crimson Tide shut out LSU 21–0, with the Tigers not even advancing the ball out of their own half until the 3rd quarter. The 2011 Alabama/LSU contests are also remembered for the abundance of future NFL players who participated, with 45 players going on to be drafted, including 16 of the 22 defensive starters. 2019 LSU vs. Alabama On November 9, 2019, CFP-ranked No. 2 (AP-ranked #1) LSU travelled to take on CFP-ranked No. 3 (AP-ranked #2) Alabama in a game that was touted by some in the media as a "rematch" of the 2011 "Game of the Century". Before a crowd of 101,821 at Bryant–Denny Stadium (including President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump), LSU defeated Alabama by the score of 46–41. LSU quarterback (and future Heisman Trophy winner) Joe Burrow completed 31 of 39 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns in the first regular-season meeting between the top two teams in the Associated Press poll since the 2011 Game of the Century matchup between the same two teams. LSU lead 33–13 at halftime, the largest deficit a Nick Saban-coached Crimson Tide team had faced after 30 minutes. Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, still recovering from ankle surgery just 20 days prior, mounted an impressive comeback in the second half. With the score 46–34 and 1:37 to play, Tagovailoa (who finished 21-for-40 for 418 yards, four touchdowns, an interception and a fumble) hit DeVonta Smith for an 85-yard touchdown pass that provided the final margin. Justin Jefferson recovered the ensuing onside kick, and LSU was able to run out the clock to win the game. Following the game, LSU moved from No. 2 to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings and Coaches Poll (remaining No. 1 in the AP), while Alabama moved from No. 3 in the CFP to No. 5, and No. 2 to No. 4 in the AP and Coaches Polls. Alabama's subsequent loss in the Iron Bowl later that year would drop the Crimson Tide out of contention for the College Football Playoff for the first time in the history of the playoffs. LSU would go on to defeat the defending National Champion Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship game to cap off a perfect 15–0 season and be crowned National Champions for the first time in the CFP era. It was LSU's first time playing for the National Championship since the loss to Alabama in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, and their first title since the 2007 season. 2025 Ohio State vs. Indiana The 2025 Big Ten Championship Game featured the No. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 2 ranked Indiana Hoosiers, to determine the champion of the Big Ten Conference for the 2025 season. This was the first Big Ten championship game to feature two undefeated teams and an AP and UPI No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Adding to the intrigue of the game, both starting quarterbacks, Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State's Julian Sayin, were considered favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. Indiana upset the Buckeyes to win their first Big Ten championship since 1967 and first outright conference title since 1945. Following the game, Indiana moved from No. 2 to No. 1 in the rankings, while Ohio State moved from No. 1 to No. 2, still securing a first round bye alongside Indiana for the College Football Playoff. Ohio State ended up losing again to Miami in the Cotton Bowl as a ten-point favorite later that year. Meanwhile, Indiana would go on to defeat Alabama in the Rose Bowl, then Oregon in the Peach Bowl, and then defeated Miami in the CFP National Championship game to cap off a perfect 16–0 season and be crowned National Champions for the first time in school history. ==References==

• Celzic, Mike. The Biggest Game of Them All: Notre Dame, Michigan State and the Fall of 1966: (Michigan State – Notre Dame Game) • Corcoran, Michael. The Game of the Century (A detailed narrative of the 1971 Nebraska-Oklahoma game) • Frei, Terry. Horns, Hogs and Nixon Coming: (The details of the political climate in the leadup to this game in terms of racial tensions and anti-Vietnam War sentiments are documented in the book) • White, Lonnie. (August 2004). UCLA vs. USC: 75 Years of the Greatest Rivalry in Sports: Los Angeles Times Books. () (UCLA – USC) • Whittingham, Richard. (December 1985). Saturday Afternoon: College Football and the Men Who Made the Day: Workman Pub Co. (Synopsis of several of the listed games) • Hoppel, Joe., Zesch, Steve., Nahrstedt, Mike. ''College Football's Twenty-Five Greatest Teams'': The Sporting News. United States: Sporting News Publishing Company, 1988.