7) November 14: Ohio State 27, Iowa 24
While the Big Ten has no conference championship, this game equated to it. Whichever school won would have at least a share of it, and would win all the tie breakers. Basically, the winner of this game went to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. Not only was this an important game, but it was extremely close. OSU won in overtime, allowing me, and thousands of my closest friends, to rush the field. For the first time since 1997, Ohio State booked its ticket to the Rose Bowl.
6) November 14: Stanford 55, USC 21
While OSU and Iowa were slugging it out, there was this. Though the game between these two Pac-Ten teams didn't do much in the standings, it greatly effected USC's season. Not only was this their third loss (their most since 2001, Carroll's first year), but it also knocked them out of the running to be champions of the conference. For the first time in almost a decade, USC no longer was the best team out west. Oh, and for OSU fans, Stanford going for the two-point conversion with a huge big was a refreshing reminder of how great rivalries can be.
5) September 5: BYU 14, Oklahoma 13
In one game, the entire football world got turned on its head. The 2009 national championship runner up was beaten in the first week at home. Their star quarterback and defending Heisman winner Sam Bradford, was taken out for most of the season. Oklahoma showed why games are not played on paper and why preseason polls are useless.
4) December 3: Oregon 37, Oregon State 33
Whoever schedules Oregon's games is a genius. First, they schedule a game against Boise State on a Thursday, when nothing else is on, and it has huge implications. Next, they schedule the Civil War on another Thursday, making it the biggest event of the night. Nobody expected this game to decide the Pac-10 champion, but it did. With a win, Oregon booked their ticket to the Rose Bowl, where they will be playing against Ohio State (for the eighth time ever, and OSU has won all seven previous meetings).
3) December 5: Texas 13, Nebraska 12
In what was supposed to be a pushover, Texas entered the Big Twelve Championship game expecting to leave it undefeated and with a ticket to the National Championship game. Nebraska, on the other hand, felt that they had a shot to win. Frankly, Nebraska outplayed Texas and almost earned a BCS bowl bid. Alas, that was not the case, as a last second (literally) field goal kept Texas in the ranks of the undefeated. However, the closeness of the championship game brought about more controversy, as several commentators feel that TCU is a better team.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Let's see.
Oregon-Arizona was a great double-overtimer. Same with UConn-Notre Dame. CMU over Michigan had a nutty ending. There was "the spike" in LSU-Mississippi. Houston-Southern Miss was a barnburner (50-43, 1350+ yards total offense). I think North Texas-Western Kentucky had the highest scoring game in FBS (68-49).
2 - Robert M. Barga
Oregon Arizona was a great game, but it just didn't make it in my books.
LSU Mississippi didn't change the season any, but it was great
CMU Michigan was another interesting game, but no big impact
mostly, I choce games with a large impact
3 - Dr Dreadful
There was also Fresno State 53, Illinois 52, the Bulldogs winning it with a 2-point conversion with 0:02 remaining.
As you say, though, not a game with a big impact.
4 - Dustin
The Oregon-Arizona game was clearly the most entertaining college football game this season and had huge Rose Bowl implications. What a thriller...should be #1 game.
5 - Ben Rushing
What no mention of the 2009 ACC championship game? A game with no punts from both teams. GT only had one real turnover without a score when they failed to convert on 4th down. Best game played all year.