5 Best College Football National Championship Games of All Time

Some might consider ranking the five best college football national championship games as an exercise in futility – there’s too much information and plenty of legendary games to go around.

However, there’s good reason to pick only a handful from these legendary matchups, as some of them set the bar as high as possible when it came to the stakes involved.

That said, here are five of the greatest ever college football national championship games in history, in no particular order.

#1 Texas vs. USC, 2006 Rose Bowl

To say that this title game between the Texas Longhorns and USC Trojans lived up to all the hype is a massive understatement. Texas won 41-38, capping a stellar season for the team where they didn’t lose at all with their first national championship in over three decades.

In a packed Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Texas, star quarterback Vince Young delivered a stellar performance to end the Trojans’ insane 34-game win streak–which at that time was the longest active streak in D1-A.

The Longhorns, on the other hand, had their own lengthy win streak at 19 games (second-best during that season) and were coming in as the defending Rose Bowl champs. In total, the two unbeaten teams combined for 53 straight wins, which was an NCAA record for two teams playing against one another in a title game.

The game itself was extremely close until the last 19 seconds when Young scored on a game-winner after blazing through the end zone with his third rushing TD –made possible by a block from Justin Blalock.

That play gave Texas the lead, and Young once again did another run to the end zone after USC used its final timeout to etch the final score.

#2 Florida State vs. Nebraska, 1994 Orange Bowl

Florida State’s Bobby Bowden and Nebraska’s Tom Osborne helmed a legendary matchup in the 1994 Orange Bowl. Bowden’s boys ended up winning 18-16 against a Cornhuskers team that was considered a 17.5-point underdog heading into the title game.

The two teams were locked in a defensive stalemate for the opening minutes, which was punctuated by a scoreless first quarter.

The game remained close until the final moments, with the massive underdog Huskers holding a slim 16-15 lead after a 27-yard field goal from Byron Bennett.

But right after, the Seminoles’ Heisman winner QB Charlie Ward drove his team down the field. Then, Scott Bently hit his fourth field goal with 21 seconds left, giving Florida State an 18-16 lead.

Nebraska had one more chance to clinch the win, but Bennett’s 45-yard attempt went wide left, ending the Huskers’ Cinderella run, which saw them finish at their highest final ranking at the time since 1983.

#3 Alabama vs. Georgia, 2018 CFP National Championships

We all love massive comebacks in team sports, and one such comeback made the 2018 matchup between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs one of the best college football national championship games in recent memory.

However, it was a comeback punctuated not by a highly touted prospect–but by a seldom-used freshman.

The game went into overtime after the Bulldogs basically had a monumental collapse during the second half. Alabama went scoreless for the first two quarters, then blasted Georgia 20-7 (including a 10-0 split in the fourth quarter) to send the game into OT.

This was due to freshman QB Tua Tagovailoa, who helped spark the comeback at halftime by throwing three touchdown passes (totaling 14 for 24 for 166 yards for the game), including the game-winning, 41-yard touchdown to DeVonta Smith. The final score was 26-23.

Alabama’s legendary head coach Nick Saban couldn’t believe what happened as Tagovailoa’s pass soared through the air. However, the freshman QB’s teammate, Jalen Hurts, wasn’t surprised by the youngster’s performance in front of a raucous crowd of 77,430.

“He just stepped in and did his thing. He’s built for stuff like this. I’m so happy for him,” Hurts said.

#4 Alabama vs. Clemson, 2016 CFP National Championship

There’s just something about close games going back and forth that make them seem like they will never end. This leaves fans at the edge of their seats for basically the entire contest – not to mention still feel nostalgic about the legendary moments years after it’s all done.

The matchup between Alabama and Clemson in 2016 was one such game. In the end, the Crimson Tide managed to outlast a Tigers team that never had the word “quit” in their vocabularies that day.

Clemson’s Heisman finalist QB Deshaun Watson tallied a total of 478 yards – the most total yards in the history of the national championship game. His performance was in stark contrast to another stellar outing from opposing Alabama running back and Heisman winner Derrick Henry, who rushed for a total of 158 yards on 36 carries, as well as scored three touchdowns.

Both teams were tied at the half until Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban found and exploited three vulnerabilities in Clemson’s game plan during the fourth quarter.

Clemson would still be able to counter, giving the game its characteristic back-and-forth pace – five lead changes and three ties all in all that wouldn’t end until an onside kick recovery that put Alabama in the driver’s seat for good.

#5 Miami vs. Nebraska, 1984 Orange Bowl

Nebraska coach Tom Osborne had the opportunity to tie Miami during the game’s final minute so he could have a chance in OT. However, he chose to go for two, and things didn’t pan out the way he’d hoped.

The Hurricanes eventually ended up winning 31-30, capping off a run that saw them match the then-undefeated Cornhuskers (who demolished the Big Eight Conference en route to the title game) as a massive underdog, even though they held a respectable 10-1 record.

Nevertheless, the game itself remained dreadfully close until the last play. Alabama risked it all on a final pass attempt by QB Turner Gill to RB Jeff Smith that was broken up by Miami’s Kenny Calhoun, leading the Hurricanes to celebrate a monumental upset.

Many fans consider this game the best, if not one of the best, college football national championship games ever played, and for good reason.

The University of Miami finally gained props as a respectable college football program with the triumph. Meanwhile, Nebraska’s decision to go for the win instead of a tie is now considered one of the biggest “what ifs” in college football history.