The 2020 college football season was arduous and frustrating for any number of reasons. But it still produced its share of incredible games and truly college football moments. Let's relive them by taking a look at the top 50 games of this strange season, starting with Nos. 50-26:
50. Buffalo 70, Kent State 41 (Nov. 28)
No one did a better job of turning a half-season into a whole one than Buffalo's Jaret Patterson, who carved out an incredible 1,072 yards and 19 touchdowns in six games. Of course, it helps when, a week after you torched Bowling Green for 301 on 31 carries, you one-up yourself with 409 yards and eight scores against a much better Kent State.
Patterson came up 18 yards short of Samaje Perine's single-game record for rushing yards, and he could have had it, too, had he not asked out of the game, exhausted, and watched backup Kevin Marks score the final touchdown.
49. Alabama 63, Ole Miss 48 (Oct. 10)
A 15-point win isn't exactly a nail-biter, but it qualified as one for Alabama this year -- the Crimson Tide played only one game that was closer than that. This one was a giddy shootout, as the two teams matched each other score for score, and neither took a multiscore lead until DeVonta Smith's 14-yard touchdown with 3:16 left put the game away. Ole Miss had two 100-yard rushers and two 100-yard receivers, and Bama's offense matched the Rebels every step of the way.
48. Middle Tennessee 40, Rice 34 (Oct. 24)
Two words: QUADRUPLE. DOINK.
47. Oklahoma State 37, Miami 34 (Dec. 29)
46. West Virginia 24, Army 21 (Dec. 31)
We didn't get all that many total classics in bowl season, but these two Big 12 wins were both memorable. First, in Orlando, Oklahoma State exploded for a 21-0 lead over Miami in the de facto Jimmy Johnson Bowl (OK, the Cheez-It Bowl), then watched the lead slowly disintegrate, even after Miami star quarterback D'Eriq King got hurt. But freshman Brennan Presley, who entered the game with one career catch, caught six balls for 118 yards and three scores, and his 16-yarder in the fourth quarter ended up making the difference.
Two days later in Memphis, West Virginia was the team falling behind. Army took a 14-10 lead into halftime, then stretched it to 21-10 midway through the third quarter. But a stout Mountaineers defense stopped the Black Knights on each of their final four drives, and two Austin Kendall touchdown passes -- first to Mike O'Laughlin, second to T.J. Simmons -- made the difference and clinched an above-.500 season in Neal Brown's second year in charge.
45. Georgia Southern 27, Campbell 26 (Sept. 12)
44. Texas Tech 35, Houston Baptist 33 (Sept. 12)
One of the most enjoyable parts of making this list each year is including a chunk of utterly mad small-school games. We obviously didn't get much of that this fall, but we did get this pair of wild upset bids in Week 2.
Before Georgia Southern could go on to enjoy an 8-5 fall campaign, the Eagles had to survive this thriller. Campbell bolted to a 14-point lead in the third quarter before Shai Werts and the GS offense mounted a 21-0 charge. Werts' 41-yard run gave the Eagles their first lead of the game with 6:42 left, but Campbell got off the mat and drove 64 yards, and Hajj-Malik Williams' 20-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Kelsey brought the Camels to within one point with 15 seconds remaining. Alas, the go-ahead 2-point conversion attempt fell incomplete.
That evening in Big 12 country, Texas Tech began its season with what seemed like an easy win over Houston Baptist. A Tahj Brooks touchdown gave Tech a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter, but Bailey Zappe and the HBU offense showed up just in time. In what ended up as a 567-yard, four-touchdown performance, Zappe threw two 65-yard touchdowns, then a 75-yard touchdown to bring the Huskies to within seven points. A Jerreth Sterns score made it 35-33 with 3:23 left, but this 2-pointer also failed. A third-down conversion later, Tech ran out the clock and survived.
43. Florida State 31, North Carolina 28 (Oct. 17)
Wait, so one of the worst FSU teams in a generation played one of the best UNC teams, completed just 8 of 19 passes, got outgained by 126 yards, missed two field goals ... and won? The best thing about this sport is that it doesn't make even a lick of sense sometimes.
42. Stanford 24, Cal 23 (Nov. 27)
Cal did most of the big things right in this year's iteration of The Big Game. The Bears outgained Stanford by 92 yards (and 1.5 yards per play) and generated more first downs. But the Cardinal owned the few minutes before and after halftime, scoring two touchdowns and blocking a Cal field goal, and took a 24-17 lead into the fourth quarter. Pinned deep for most of the quarter, the Bears managed to drive 90 yards in 14 plays, and Christopher Brown Jr. scored with 58 seconds left. Overtime? Nope. Thomas Booker blocked the PAT, the onside kick went out of bounds, and Stanford won a stunner.
41. Boston College 31, Pitt 30 (Oct. 10)
Shot:
Alex Kessman FROM 58 YARDS TO TIE IT!!! @Pitt_FB | @AlexKessman09
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 10, 2020
📺: https://t.co/70N7uzcKlY pic.twitter.com/qpLeUz0w4i
Chaser:
FINAL(OT): BC 31, Pitt 30.
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) October 10, 2020
After hitting a 58-yard FG to force OT, Alex Kessman pushes the PAT wide right. That's game.
It's the reverse Pinstripe Bowl (BC lost to Penn State, 31-30, in that 2014 bowl game off a missed PAT in OT). pic.twitter.com/1IPGH5J6Kx
COLLEGE KICKERS, am I right?
40. Miami 44, NC State 41 (Nov. 6)
One of the best Friday night games of the season. The Canes and Wolfpack went touchdown-for-touchdown early, and while Miami outgained NC State by more than 200 yards in the second half, a kick return score and a 53-yard field goal allowed the Pack to take a 41-31 lead in the fourth quarter. UM kept attacking, and a 54-yard pass from D'Eriq King to Mike Harley with 2:43 left gave the Canes a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
39. NC State 15, Liberty 14 (Nov. 21)
In a season of great runs for mid-major teams, Liberty came up one point short of a perfect record. Aiming for their third ACC win of the year, the Flames took a 14-9 lead into the fourth quarter thanks to two Malik Willis touchdown passes. Zonovan Knight's 4-yard score gave the host Wolfpack the lead, and on its final drive of the game, Liberty drove 71 yards to the State 21, positioning itself for a winning field goal ... that Vi Jones blocked.
38. Nevada 26, SDSU 21 (Nov. 21)
Cancellations and postponements were a huge, frustrating and inevitable theme of 2020. But they presented random opportunities to Group of 5 schools.
Coastal Carolina got to play Campbell on ESPN in prime time in Week 3, and in Week 12, Nevada and SDSU got the full SEC-on-CBS treatment. They put on a show. Nine scores produced five lead changes in the first 35 minutes, then two sturdy defenses took over. The Aztecs punted on their first seven second-half possessions, and while that might not strike you as thrilling, SDSU got a chance to steal the game late when Darren Hall picked off an ill-advised Carson Strong pass at the Nevada 26 with 3:23 left. It stalled out at the Nevada 5, though, and the Wolf Pack went into victory formation.
37. Louisiana 24, App State 21 (Dec. 4)
After botching a punt snap for a safety earlier in a fourth-quarter downpour, Louisiana elected to take another fourth-down safety, this one intentional, with under two minutes left. Now down only three points, Appalachian State drove into the Cajuns' red zone and attempted a 30-yard field goal to force overtime.
Wide left.
It was the correct call if it had worked, right?
36. Cincinnati 36, UCF 33 (Nov. 21)
Cincinnati had won its first seven games by an average of 29 points before getting sucked into the type of fast-paced tussle UCF is really good at sucking teams into. Down 14-3 early, the Bearcats went on a 33-11 run to take a two-score lead with seven minutes left. UCF scored with 4:27 to go, but Cincinnati milked most of the rest of the clock and intentionally avoided scoring in the closing seconds. On fourth-and-goal from the UCF 1, in what should have been the last play of the game, an errant snap evaded quarterback Desmond Ridder ... and if the ball had bounced slightly differently, UCF could have collected it and taken it 99 yards for the winning score.
Sometimes it's better to take the points.
(Ignore I said that when you get to the No. 2 game on the list on Thursday.)
35. Ball State 30, WMU 27 (Dec. 12)
I'm not even going to try to describe how this one ended. You just have to watch.
CHAOS 🤯
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 12, 2020
Both teams ran onto the field before the play was ruled dead as Western Michigan attempted a last second TD.
Ball State went on to win the game and division title after the Broncos were penalized for an illegal forward pass. pic.twitter.com/yzjVTBgJ5b
34. Missouri 45, LSU 41 (Oct. 10)
33. Missouri 50, Arkansas 48 (Dec. 5)
Missouri lost five games by an average of 24 points each this year, but the Tigers won every winnable game on the slate. That includes these two bangers near the start and end of the season.
First, they fell behind in each of the first three quarters against LSU but took the lead on a Connor Bazelak-to-Niko Hea touchdown with 5:18 left. LSU quickly stormed down the field, but instead of letting the defending national champs score facing first-and-goal from the 1 with under a minute left, Mizzou did the old-fashioned thing: It stoned the champs four times and won.
A couple of months later, the Tigers found themselves down 40-26 early in the fourth quarter against Arkansas when their offense got rolling. Tyler Badie scored on runs of 46 and 25 yards to prompt a 21-0 run, but with 43 seconds left, KJ Jefferson connected with Mike Woods to bring Arkansas within one. The two then connected for the 2-point conversion after Missouri's Jamal Brooks all but picked the pass off instead.
No worries, though. Bazelak completed four passes in 30 seconds, and Mizzou's Harrison Mevis nailed the game winner as time expired.
32. Army 10, Air Force 7 (Dec. 19)
With the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy in the balance, this one was played a week after Army-Navy because nothing could be normal in 2020. But these two bitter rivals played in one of the most intense, physical games you'll see. Air Force moved the ball more easily but missed a couple of early field goals and, dagger in hand, threw a fourth-quarter interception in the Army end zone. The Black Knights responded with their first touchdown drive of the day, a 16-play, seven-minute stroll that ended with Jakobi Buchanan's 1-yard plunge with 1:13 left. Arik Smith picked off a pass on the next play, and that was that.
31. Ole Miss 42, Kentucky 41 (Oct. 3)
30. Ole Miss 26, Indiana 20 (Jan. 2)
It felt like every game Ole Miss played in 2020 had the potential to end up on this list. That's what happens when you've got an offense capable of scoring 40-plus on Bama ... and a defense capable of giving up 40-plus to Kentucky.
In the SEC's second week, Kentucky (408 rushing yards) took a 28-14 lead early in the third quarter, but Ole Miss (320 passing yards) charged back with a 21-0 run. The Wildcats tied the game with a six-minute scoring drive and a Chris Rodriguez plunge, then took the lead in overtime with a 10-yard Terry Wilson TD. But Matt Ruffolo missed the PAT, opening the door for the Rebels, who tied on a 3-yard Elijah Moore score and won on Luke Logan's point after.
Against Indiana and backup quarterback Jack Tuttle in the Outback Bowl, the Rebels actually made some stops for once. They led 20-6 heading into the fourth quarter, but two Stevie Scott touchdowns drew the Hoosiers even. A Dontario Drummond score gave Ole Miss the lead again, but it was Logan's turn to miss a key PAT. Down six, Indiana had an opening but stalled out at the Ole Miss 41.
29. Maryland 45, Minnesota 44 (Oct. 30)
These two teams went just a combined 5-7 in 2020, but they pulled off chaos on the Friday before Halloween.
Maryland went on a 13-0 run to start the game, then Minnesota rampaged through the second and third quarters with a 31-0 run, and then Maryland forced overtime with a 17-0 fourth quarter. Taulia Tagovailoa's second rushing score of the game -- he finished with 394 passing yards, 59 rushing yards and five combined TDs, while Jake Funk had 243 rushing and receiving yards with two scores -- gave the Terps the overtime edge. Seth Green responded for Minnesota, but Minnesota shockingly missed the PAT, and Maryland celebrated.
28. Kansas State 38, Oklahoma 35 (Sept. 26)
27. Iowa State 37, Oklahoma 30 (Oct. 3)
Oklahoma finished 2020 playing maybe its best ball under Lincoln Riley, but the Sooners had already been eliminated from the national title race because of these two losses, which played out in pretty similar ways.
Step 1: Build an early lead.
The Sooners led Kansas State 28-7 midway through the third quarter and ISU 17-6 midway through the second.
Step 2: Watch the defense give up some explosions.
KSU charged back thanks to a 78-yard pass to Justin Gardner, 77- and 35-yard passes to Deuce Vaughn and a 38-yard Vaughn run. Iowa State took its first lead on a 65-yard Xavier Hutchinson catch-and-run.
Step 3: Suffer a late turnover.
Jahron McPherson picked off Spencer Rattler with 34 seconds left to crush OU's hopes, then Isheem Young did the same in ISU's end zone with 1:02 left the next week.
It was a frustrating couple of weeks for the Sooners, but you can't say they didn't grow from it.
26. Oklahoma 27, Iowa State 21 (Dec. 19)
OU's revenge win over Iowa State in the Big 12 championship nearly played out in similar fashion -- the Sooners rolled to a 24-7 halftime lead, then watched much of it vanish with two Breece Hall touchdowns. But with another collapse seeming inevitable, Tre Brown picked off a hurried pass from Brock Purdy with 1:05 left, and the Sooners kneeled out their sixth consecutive conference title.