# That was the greatest college football game ever.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-the-greatest-college-football-game-ever/338558
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 5, 2006, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-the-greatest-college-football-game-ever/338558 "2006-01-05T12:38:18Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)
#### Post date: [January 6, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-the-greatest-college-football-game-ever/338558/21 "2006-01-06T19:00:57Z")
> [@Jimmy Chitwood](#):
>
> Not relevant to thread:
>
> He “clearly isn’t?” Who is? Where does Jordan rank, if “clearly” not number one? I’ll wait for your response before I begin to ramble.
> wilt is first, russell is second, and those can (maybe) be flip flopped. jordan is third at the very best. i smell a thread hijack coming. shall we start our own, mr. hoosiers?
>
> I think the Ohio State - Miami game was better, for one. Last night was probably the greatest individual performance by a football player that I’ve seen in an important game, and it was very entertaining on the whole, but the first half, especially if you take Young out of the equation, was pretty loose and ordinary. Too many stupid decisions and bad penalties, and I didn’t feel like either defense made any plays. Don’t get me wrong, now… I’m splitting some serious hairs. It was a hell of a game and more than half of the people on the field at any given time were probably NFL-caliber, but I think there have probably been a few better.
>
> i agree with this, though. that miami/ohio state game was a much better game, also with the best college football tedm ever, the '01 hurricanes.
> Plus, and I’m not sure how to describe this because it’s just sort of a vague feeling, but every time I’ve ever seen USC play they’ve seemed like they were controlled by somebody playing a video game, like it didn’t really matter what happened. Wide receivers throwing passes, crazy formation shifts, Reggie Bush going entire drives without getting the ball and then pitching it 50 yards downfield when he did; I just have this sense that USC should have been better but were too interested in style to just step on people’s throats. That stretch in the second half was a ridiculous offensive display, admittedly, and it was a perfect example of the kind of personnel advantage they had. It always seemed to me that despite that advantage they kept teams in games by being too cutesy, when if they just ran it straight ahead and then ripped apart the secondary, they’d get 60 on anybody. How many times did this year’s team get into a tight game in the first half, then blow it open in the second half by just running the ball? They almost did it again last night, but (even though I don’t even like USC) I feel like I was cheated by the goofiness of their playcalling.
i wholeheartedly agree with this, too. but this is the hallmark of a pete carroll offense. they’ve been doing this for a few years now, but they’ve been getting away with it. this just goes to show you, all you need is a positive integer for an IQ, legs, and some semblance of a head to be a successful college coach.
pete carroll floundered helplessly as a professional coach and thrived as a college coach. he was heavily recruited by the pros again this year, as well. this goes to show you the amout of IQ relative to college coaches: they’re rather similar.
---
### Author:  [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)
#### Post date: [January 6, 2006, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-the-greatest-college-football-game-ever/338558/22 "2006-01-06T19:11:04Z")
Yesterday, either on PTI or ATH, they were calling that “USC’s Athletic Arrogance”.
It’s hard to critcize them for doing it in this game and losing, when they’ve been doing it for 3 years straight and winning everything.
---
### Author:  [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)
#### Post date: [January 6, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-the-greatest-college-football-game-ever/338558/23 "2006-01-06T19:12:20Z")
> [@Trunk](#):
>
> Go here and take your pick. There’s a list of the 100 best college football games ever.
>
> [cfbnews.com - This website is for sale! - cfbnews Resources and Information.](http://www.cfbnews.com/Top_100_Games/Top_100_Games_1.htm)
>
> Put it up against last night’s game.
>
> That’s the number one game ever, according to them. A total of 61 points scored, a first quarter rife with interceptions, penalties, a failed conversion on a quarterback’s mistake to lose the game.
>
> Find any game there and put it up against last nights.
>
> You may be able to find a game as equally exciting (the Flutie game, e.g. which had less defense). You won’t find one with that much excitement with the side-bars and the stakes that last night’s game had.
>
> Those side-bars? Both undefeated, 2 Heisman trophy winners, second in Heisman voting on the other side. Huge winning streaks.
>
> The stakes? National Championship game. That makes a difference. No one is calling a 10 round blood bath between two light weight palookas from Omaha the greatest fight ever.
>
> Bad defense? A bit.
>
> But you’re talking about offenses filled with Heisman candidates.
>
> These two teams had great offenses all year. It’s rare to build a college team today with great offense AND great defense.
>
> I’m a defense fan. My favorite pro teams ever are probably the 2000 Ravens, The '01 Pats and the 84 Bears. But, that was still the best college football game I’ve ever watched.
lemme sift through the games, but i’m sure most of them are before my time.
most of the completed passes during the most recent game were because of blocn coverage. lendale white had those yards because usc decimated the longhorns’ defensive line. he runs like willis magahee. the offensive line opens up the defensive line and first contact comes 5 yards downfield with a member of the secondary. as far as the pro ranks go, i got a better vibe from mr. white than i did from reggie bush. i think i covered what i think of mr. bush in a previous post, but lendale white looks like a solid, every down back. reggie bush has the higher ceiling, but i’m very curious to see how his game translates to the professional ranks.
---
### Author:  [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)
#### Post date: [January 6, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-the-greatest-college-football-game-ever/338558/24 "2006-01-06T19:16:49Z")
> [@Trunk](#):
>
> Yesterday, either on PTI or ATH, they were calling that “USC’s Athletic Arrogance”.
>
> It’s hard to critcize them for doing it in this game and losing, when they’ve been doing it for 3 years straight and winning everything.
odds. they got away with it then, but didn’t last night. not necessarily because they were facing a “superior offense”, but just because it didn’t work. odds are, those plays don’t work every time, and they just simply didn’t work then.
and yeah, you can fault them for it. for doing it when they could have had the national championship again, they chose to pass with their recievers instead of their heisman trophy winning quarterback. the texans kept the ball in their quarterback’s hand.
yes, i know they only did one reverse pass, but you don’t build a playbook out of trick plays and expect to win.
you’re a dismal nfl franchise looking to provide SOME excitement and seats with asses in them if you’re resorting to trick plays every third play.
---
### Author:  [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2006, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-the-greatest-college-football-game-ever/338558/25 "2006-01-07T06:09:31Z")
> [@RancidYakButterTeaParty](#):
>
> OSU vs U of M is the best in my opinion. Miami was supposed to kill the Buckeyes and continue their undefeated streak. There were big names on both sides of the ball, especially Miami’s team–but don’t forget that OSU set a record in the following NFL draft for most players taken from one college team in one draft. Controversy, close calls, and two overtimes is tough to beat. And let’s not forget about that crazy OSU running back–Maurice Clarret.
Don;t forget that ridiculous McGahee injury in crunch thime too. It adds drama in a big way and is nearly impossible to name a similarly dramatic injury in as big a game as such a critical moment. I was like a damn movie script.
---
### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2006, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-the-greatest-college-football-game-ever/338558/26 "2006-01-07T06:21:32Z")
Worst game ever. ☹☹☹ We lost! :mad:
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-was-the-greatest-college-football-game-ever/338558.md?page=1)