play1:37Flashback: Ohio State takes down Michigan in 2OT thrillerRelive the Buckeyes’ thrilling double-overtime win against the Wolverines in 2016.
play0:38VA Tech’s fumble turns into a Virginia TDHendon Hooker fumbles the ball in Virginia Tech’s end zone and Eli Hanback recovers it to give Virginia a 39-30 lead.
Finebaum wonders if Kiffin possibly leaving Ole Miss could impact the CFP rankings (1:06)Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich discuss how the CFP committee might react to Lane Kiffin’s uncertain future at Ole Miss. (1:06)
Flashback: Ohio State takes down Michigan in 2OT thrillerRelive the Buckeyes’ thrilling double-overtime win against the Wolverines in 2016.
VA Tech’s fumble turns into a Virginia TDHendon Hooker fumbles the ball in Virginia Tech’s end zone and Eli Hanback recovers it to give Virginia a 39-30 lead.
Hendon Hooker fumbles the ball in Virginia Tech’s end zone and Eli Hanback recovers it to give Virginia a 39-30 lead.
From the stress of pre-holiday prep to the dinner conversations with people you don’t see (or care to see) all that often to the glorious, gluttony of the big meal itself, it’s no wonder a late-afternoon nap often is in order.
That applies to the excess of football as well. Several days packed from noon to midnight with high-stakes, hatred-fueled action can take it out of a person. That is, until a rivalry game matches — or exceeds — the anticipation and delivers a finish that gets you jumping out of your seat in amazement at what you just witnessed.
With those stupefying (or stupor-defying?) moments in mind, we present some of the most fantastic finishes from the biggest Rivalry Week matchups — those unforgettable scenes that keep us coming back for more year after year.
Jump to a rivalry: Ole Miss-Miss. State | Georgia-Georgia Tech Texas A&M-Texas | Arizona-Arizona State Ohio State-Michigan | Clemson-South Carolina Wisconsin-Minnesota | Florida State-Florida USC-UCLA | Virginia-Virginia Tech Alabama-Auburn | North Carolina-NC State
Better known as: Egg Bowl This year’s game: Friday, noon, ABC Record: Ole Miss 68-46-6 Current streak: Ole Miss, 2
It’s difficult to overlook the Piss and the Miss in 2019. But in the string of dramatic finishes that runs through this 124-year-old rivalry, the most bizarre ending in Egg Bowl history came 42 years ago this month. In Oxford, at least, it’s remembered fondly as The Immaculate Deflection, even if there was no deflection at all.
Mississippi State and Ole Miss met in the capital city of Jackson as a pair of sub-.500 programs in late fall of 1983. With 24 seconds to play, Bulldogs kicker Artie Crosby lined up for a potential game-winning 27-yard field goal attempt. After leading 23-7 at the 4:54 mark of the third quarter, Mississippi State trailed 24-23 in the game’s final minute after three late turnovers provided the kindling for a 17-point Rebels comeback.
The kick looked good off Crosby’s foot. Mississippi State fans roared. But suddenly, as the ball reached its apex, it seemed to stop, held up by a gust of wind, and pushed wide left. Three years before Diego Maradona’s famous goal at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico City was guided by “the hand of God,” a divine force seemingly was on Ole Miss’ side.
“I’ve never seen a kick come backwards in my years of coaching,” Bulldogs coach Emory Bellard said postgame. “It was like something reached down and stopped the ball in flight.”
The Rebels held on for the one-point win, clinching a trip to the Independence Bowl, their first bowl appearance since 1971. Afterward, offensive lineman Frank Harbin summed up the feelings of the fans in Starkville. “I’m sure in a year or two I’ll be able to look back at that kick and laugh,” he said. “But right now, it ain’t too damn funny.” — Eli Lederman
Better known as: Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate This year’s game: Friday, 3:30 p.m., ABC Record: Georgia, 72-39-5 (acc. to Georgia); 72-41-5 (acc. to Tech) Current streak: Georgia, 7
While Georgia’s 44-42 victory over Georgia Tech in eight overtimes last season might have been the wildest contest in the 118-game history of the intrastate rivalry known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, the most controversial finish happened 25 years earlier.
In the 1999 meeting at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia Tech took a 41-24 lead late in the third quarter. But then Marvious Hester’s muffed punt at Tech’s 10-yard line gave the Bulldogs new life. They scored 24 straight points to take a 48-41 lead with 5:12 to play. The Yellow Jackets answered right back, however, when Heisman Trophy contender Joe Hamilton threw a touchdown to Will Glover with 2:37 remaining.
The Bulldogs drove right down the field and were in position to kick a game-winning field goal in the final seconds. On first-and-goal at the Tech 2, Georgia coach Jim Donnan elected to run one more play. Quarterback Quincy Carter handed the ball to tailback Jasper Sanks, who bulldozed his way toward the end zone.
“Right before the play happened, I can remember Miles Luckie, our center, saying, ‘Hey, man, hold onto the ball,'” Sanks said.
The Yellow Jackets stopped Sanks short of the goal line, and the ball popped out when he hit the ground. Tech safety Chris Brown picked up the ball just in case.
After a brief huddle, officials ruled that Sanks fumbled and the Yellow Jackets recovered, even though TV replays showed both of Sanks’ knees were down when the ball came out.
The Yellow Jackets had third-and-6 at the Georgia 21 on their overtime possession, and coach George O’Leary sent out kicker Luke Manget to attempt a 38-yard field goal for the win. Bell blocked Manget’s kick, but holder George Godsey recovered the ball at the 21, giving Manget another try to win. His second kick was good.
For more than a quarter-century, Georgia fans have argued Sanks was down, while the Yellow Jackets still contend that Sanks fumbled.
On Black Friday, the Yellow Jackets will attempt to become the first Tech team since that crazy finish to defeat the Bulldogs in Atlanta. — Mark Schlabach and David Hale
Better known as: The Lone Star Showdown This year’s game: Friday, 7:30 p.m., ABC Record: Texas, 77-37-5 Current streak: Texas, 2
The most dramatic game in the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry is the 1999 game, when the Aggies rallied for a 20-16 win after 12 Aggies died during the building of the annual campus bonfire.
But that one has been well-documented since last year was the 25th anniversary. So for our purposes, we’ll go back to 1963, just six days after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, when No. 1 Texas traveled to 1-6-1 Texas A&M, which was still an all-male military school, in one of the most storied games in the rivalry.
Twice that week, Aggie cadets steernapped the 1,700-pound Bevo VII; the Houston Post called him “ugly but perhaps overly friendly.” They first whisked him away from the State Hog Farm in Austin, and the second time they snatched him from a new secret location; he was later found by a Texas Ranger.
The Aggies appeared to ice the win with an interception in the end zone, but the play was ruled an incomplete pass, which is still disputed by A&M. “It was the greatest injustice on a group of young fellows I’ve ever seen,” A&M coach Hank Foldberg said.
The Longhorns, down 13-9 in the last two minutes, drove 80 yards for the winning TD on a 1-yard sneak by Duke Carlisle. “I’ll tell you, I don’t want to win many like this,” Darrell K Royal said afterward.
Better known as: Territorial Cup This year’s game: Friday, 9 p.m., Fox Record: Arizona, 51-47-1 (acc. to Arizona); 51-45-1 (acc. to Arizona State) Current streak: Arizona State, 1
Few games in Territorial Cup history have delivered the kind of emotional whiplash that unfolded in Tucson in 2018. It featured a pair of first-year coaches — Arizona’s Kevin Sumlin and ASU’s Herm Edwards — and by the end of the third quarter, quarterback Khalil Tate had guided the Wildcats to a commanding 40-21 lead. A win would have made Arizona bowl-eligible, partially salvaging what was a disappointing debut season for Sumlin.
It was a stunning defeat that Sumlin would never come back from and a prelude to one of the most miserable stretches in Arizona history, in which the Wildcats went 5-24. — Kyle Bonagura
Better known as: The Game This year’s game: Saturday, noon, Fox Record: Michigan, 62-51-6 Current streak: Michigan, 4
In double overtime, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Michigan 16-yard line instead of trying the game-tying field goal. Buckeyes quarterback J.T Barrett ran left, Michigan safety Delano Hall hit his shoulder, bouncing Barrett into the back of Buckeyes tight end A.J. Alexander right at the line to gain.
Flashback: Ohio State takes down Michigan in 2OT thriller
Relive the Buckeyes’ thrilling double-overtime win against the Wolverines in 2016.
On the next play, Curtis Samuel dashed into the end zone, lifting the second-ranked Buckeyes to a dramatic and controversial 30-27 victory over the No. 3 Wolverines, Ohio State’s fifth straight win in the series.
Afterward, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh ripped the officials, which drew a $10,000 fine and a public reprimand from the Big Ten.
“It was not a first down,” Harbaugh said at the time. “I’m bitterly disappointed in the officiating. Can’t make that any more clear.”
The result eliminated the Wolverines from playoff contention, while catapulting Ohio State to the playoff for the second time in three years.
“One of those great moments,” Meyer would later say. A great moment for the Buckeyes — and a bitter memory for the Wolverines. — Jake Trotter
Better known as: Palmetto Bowl This year’s game: Saturday, noon, SECN Record: Clemson, 73-44-4 Current streak: South Carolina, 1
The way the game actually ended in 2004 is a bit of trivia few recall. Clemson won 29-7. The final score hardly mattered.
Gamecocks fans certainly remember the hit South Carolina quarterback Syvelle Newton took on an incomplete pass with just less than six minutes to play. That was the spark.
Everyone remembers the brawl that followed, an explosion of violence in which one Clemson player was seen kicking a helmet-less South Carolina player, police took the field, and play was suspended.