The following is a list of historically significant college football games. Games included on this list are single college football games that have historical impact to the sport of college football.
Inclusion on this list requires games of significant historical "firsts" and/or otherwise significant impact to the sport itself, such as significant rules changes or initiation of long-standing ceremony. Historically significant games should be prominently discussed in major historical accounts of college football. Games that may be significant only to a particular team's fan base should not be listed here.
Games are listed in chronological order.
Game | Home | Visitor | Location | final score | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1869 New Jersey vs. Rutgers football game | Rutgers | New Jersey (now Princeton) | New Brunswick, New Jersey | 6–4[1] | Considered the first American football game ever played. |
1872 Rutgers vs. Columbia football game | Columbia | Rutgers | New York, New York | 0–0 | First football game to end with a tie score.[2] |
1875 Tufts vs. Harvard football game | Harvard | Tufts | Cambridge, Massachusetts | 1–0 | Considered the first modern style American football game ever played—each side had 11 men on the field at any given time, and tackles stopped play. |
1880 Michigan vs. Toronto football game | Michigan | Toronto | Toronto, Ontario | 1–0 | Possibly the first college football game played outside the United States.[3] |
1884 Dartmouth vs. Yale football game | Yale | Dartmouth | Hanover, New Hampshire | 113–0 | First game where one team scored over 100 points; also the first time one team scored over 100 points and the opposing team was shut out.[4] The next week, Princeton outscored Lafayette by 140 to 0.[5] |
1890 Navy vs. Army football game | Army | Navy | West Point, New York | 24-0 | First Army-Navy Game |
1892 Wyoming Seminary vs. Mansfield State Normal football game | Wyoming Seminary (high school) | Mansfield State Normal | Mansfield, Pennsylvania | 0–0 (tie) | First nighttime football game played under lights. Game ended at halftime.[6] |
1893 Army vs. Navy football game | Navy | Army | Annapolis, Maryland | 6-4 | First documented use of a football helmet by a player in a game. Midshipman Joseph M. Reeves had a crude leather helmet made by a local shoemaker/blacksmith and wore it in this game after being warned by doctors that he risked death if he continued to play football after suffering a kick to the head in an earlier game. |
1895 Swarthmore vs. Penn football game | Penn | Swarthmore | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 40-0 | First college football game played at Franklin Field, the oldest stadium still in use as a college football venue. |
1896 Purdue vs. Minnesota football game | Minnesota | Purdue | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 14-0 | First conference game of the newly formed Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, the oldest college athletic conference still in existence. More popularly known as the "Western Conference", at the time, and as the "Big Ten", currently. |
1896 Michigan vs. Chicago football game | Chicago | Michigan | Chicago, Illinois | 7-6 | First football game played indoors (Chicago Coliseum, Thanksgiving Day). |
1897 Lehigh vs. Lafayette game | Lafayette | Lehigh | Easton, Pennsylvania | 34–0 | The first game in the oldest uninterrupted college rivalry series: the schools have played at least once in every year since. The Princeton-Yale rivalry (1873) and Harvard–Yale football rivalry (1875) predate this one as continuing rivalries, but both series have gaps in play. Lehigh and Lafayette actually first played in 1884 and in every year through 1895, but there was no game in 1896 and so the uninterrupted rivalry begins in 1897. |
1902 Tournament East-West football game | Stanford | Michigan | Pasadena, California | 0–49 | First bowl game[7] The name of the game was changed to the Rose Bowl Game starting with the 1923 Rose Bowl when it moved to the newly constructed Rose Bowl Stadium. |
1905 Washburn vs. Fairmount football game | Fairmount | Washburn | Wichita, Kansas | 0–0 (tie) | Game using several "experimental rules" that were tested before implementing major nationwide rules changes and the formation of the NCAA.[8] |
1906 Saint Louis vs. Carroll football game | Carroll (Wisconsin) | Saint Louis | Waukesha, Wisconsin | First regular season game with the first legal forward pass.[9] | |
1907 Chicago vs. Illinois football game | Illinois | Chicago | Champaign, Illinois | 42–6 | First game to have a halftime show featuring a marching band.[10] |
1907 Bacardi Bowl | Havana | LSU | Havana, Cuba | 56–0 | First college football bowl game played outside the United States. |
1911 Kansas vs. Missouri football game | Missouri | Kansas | Columbia, Missouri | 3–3 (tie) | First homecoming football game.[11] Game was "broadcasted" play-by-play over telegraph to at least 1,000 fans in Lawrence, Kansas.[12] |
1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game | Georgia Tech | Cumberland | Atlanta, Georgia | 222–0 | Most lopsided victory in college football history.[13] |
1921 West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh football game | Pittsburgh | West Virginia | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 21–13 | First live radio broadcast of a college football game when Harold W. Arlin announced that year's Backyard Brawl played at Forbes Field on KDKA on October 8, 1921.[14] |
1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game | Harvard | Centre | Boston, Massachusetts | 0–6 | Widely considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history.[15] |
1935 Notre Dame vs. Ohio State football game | Ohio State | Notre Dame | Columbus, Ohio | 13–18 | The first generally accepted "Game of the Century" in college football. These were probably the top ranked teams in the nation, but there were no generally recognized polls at the time (AP began publishing its poll in 1936). |
1937 Bacardi Bowl | Villanova | Auburn | Havana, Cuba | 7–7 | First college football game played outside of the US where both contestants were US college football teams. The only Bacardi Bowl game in the series with this distinction. |
1939 Waynesburg vs. Fordham football game | Fordham | Waynesburg | New York, New York | 34–7 | First televised football game.[16] |
1939 Nebraska vs. Kansas State football game | Kansas State | Nebraska | Manhattan, Kansas | 25–9 | Second televised college football game, first televised homecoming game.[17][18] |
1940 Cornell vs. Dartmouth football game | Dartmouth | Cornell | Hanover, New Hampshire | 3–0 (3–7) | Game is known for an officiating error that resulted in a rare postgame reversal of the outcome. Cornell threw an incomplete pass on 4th and goal in the game's final seconds, seemingly ensuring a 3-0 shutout victory by Dartmouth. However, the referees inadvertently allowed Cornell to attempt a "fifth down" play on which Cornell scored an apparent game-winning touchdown. After the error was discovered during postgame film review, Cornell offered to forfeit the game. Dartmouth accepted, marking the only time that the outcome of a college football game was decided off the field. |
1941 Oklahoma City vs. Youngstown State football game | Youngstown State | Oklahoma City | Youngstown, Ohio | 48–7 | First use of the penalty flag by game officials. |
1942 Rose Bowl | Oregon State | Duke | Durham, North Carolina | 20-16 | The "Tobacco Rose Bowl", relocated to Duke Stadium due to security concerns about large public events on the Pacific Coast following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States declaration of war upon Japan just a few weeks prior to the game. Duke was the designated visiting team even though the game was played in their home stadium. It remains the only Rose Bowl game not played at either Tournament Park or Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. |
1943 Notre Dame vs. Michigan football game | Michigan | Notre Dame | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 12–35 | First college football game between the #1 (Notre Dame) and #2 (Michigan) teams in the nation, as determined by the AP Poll (since its inception in 1936).[19] |
1952 Rose Bowl | Illinois | Stanford | Pasadena, California | 40–7 | The first nationally televised college football game. |
1952 TCU vs. Kansas football game | Kansas | TCU | Lawrence, Kansas | 13–0 | The first nationally televised regular-season college football game. |
1956 Sugar Bowl | Georgia Tech | Pittsburgh | New Orleans, Louisiana | 7–0 | First African American player, Pitt's Bobby Grier, to break the color barrier in the segregated Deep South.[20] |
1956 NAIA National Championship | Montana State | St. Joseph | Little Rock, Arkansas | 0–0 (tie) | The NAIA organizes the first "national championship" college football game. The NCAA waited until 1973 for its Division II and III championship games and until 1978 for Division I-AA (FCS) championships. To this day, it has never sanctioned an official national championship in Division I-A/FBS football; the Bowl Championship Series, launched in 1999, is not an official NCAA event. |
1958 Tangerine Bowl (December) | East Texas State | Missouri Valley | Orlando, Florida | 28–7 | The University at Buffalo Bulls decline the invitation to play in the game by a unanimous team vote after being informed that the two black players on the roster would not be allowed on the field. This was Buffalo's first bowl invitation and would prove to be their only bowl invitation for a half-century. |
1962 Rose Bowl | Minnesota | UCLA | Pasadena, California | 21–3 | First nationally televised college football game in color.[21] |
1963 Rose Bowl | USC | Wisconsin | Pasadena, California | 42–37 | First college football bowl game between the #1 (USC) and #2 (Wisconsin) teams in the nation, as determined by the AP[19] and UPI polls. |
1963 Army vs. Navy football game | Army | Navy | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 11–8 | First time any sports broadcast used instant replay.[22] |
1969 Ole Miss vs. Alabama football game | Alabama | Ole Miss | Birmingham, Alabama | 33–32 | First regular-season college football game nationally televised in prime time.[23] |
1978 Gator Bowl | Clemson | Ohio State | Jacksonville, Florida | 17-15 | Ohio State coach Woody Hayes punches Clemson nose guard Charlie Bauman on the sideline following an interception, inciting a bench-clearing brawl. Hayes is ejected from the game and fired the next day, ending his 33 year Hall of Fame coaching career. |
1981 Texas A&I vs. UTEP football game | UTEP | Texas A&I | El Paso, Texas | 15–37 | First ever win of a NCAA Division II team over a Division I-A opponent. The feat would only be replicated five more times (last occurring in 1997). |
1982 California vs. Stanford football game | California | Stanford | Berkeley, California | 25–20 | Game is well known for its final play, known simply as "The Play" - a kickoff return in which California used a series of laterals to score the game-winning touchdown as time expired. Thinking that the game was over, Stanford's marching band had come out onto the field before the play had concluded. The picture of California's Kevin Moen spiking the ball on the head of an oblivious Stanford trombone player upon scoring the game-winning touchdown remains one of the most iconic images in college football. "The Play" is recognized as one of the most memorable plays in college football history.[24] Stanford and California fans continue to dispute the results. |
1984 Boston College vs. Miami (FL) football game | Miami (FL) | Boston College | Miami, Florida | 47–45 | Game is known for a last-second Hail Mary pass from quarterback Doug Flutie to wide receiver Gerard Phelan to give Boston College the win. |
1990 Colorado vs. Missouri football game | Missouri | Colorado | Columbia, Missouri | 33–31 | Game is known for an officiating error that had far-reaching implications. On the game's final drive, the referees inadvertently allowed Colorado to attempt a "fifth down" play on which the Buffaloes scored the game-winning touchdown as time expired. Aided in part by the controversial victory, Colorado completed a 10-win season and was awarded the AP National Championship. |
1992 SEC Championship Game | Florida | Alabama | Birmingham, Alabama | 28–21 | First conference championship game in NCAA history. |
1995 Illinois vs. Wisconsin football game | Illinois | Wisconsin | Madison, Wisconsin | 3–3 | The last game to ever end in a tie in NCAA Division I-A Football. The NCAA would begin overtime rules starting with the 1995 Bowl Season and 1996 Regular Season. |
1995 Las Vegas Bowl | Toledo | Nevada | Whitney, Nevada | 40–37 | First overtime game in NCAA Division I-A.[25] |
1997 Linfield vs. Willamette football game | Willamette | Linfield | Salem, Oregon | 27–0 | Kicker Liz Heaston becomes the first woman to play and score points in a college football game[26] |
1998 Southern vs. Prairie View A&M football game | Prairie View A&M | Southern (LA) | Beaumont, Texas | 37–7[27] | This was the final loss of the worst losing streak in college football (80 games). However, it also gained infamy from a fight between the two schools' marching bands during the halftime show that resulted in the suspension of both bands by the conference for two games.[28] |
1998 Big 12 Championship Game | Texas A&M | Kansas State | St. Louis, Missouri | 36–33 | Kansas State entered the game ranked #1 in several polls. After the loss, Texas A&M received an automatic bid to the BCS bowl and Kansas State, although ranked #3 in the BCS, was sent to the Alamo Bowl. The game resulted in the BCS creating what it calls the "Kansas State Rule" to prevent highly ranked teams from not earning a BCS bowl game if they fail to win a conference championship. |
1999 Fiesta Bowl | Tennessee | Florida State | Tempe, Arizona | 23–16 | First Bowl Championship Series national championship game. |
2001 Cumberland vs. Jacksonville State football game | Jacksonville State | Cumberland | Jacksonville, Alabama | 72–10 | Ashley Martin becomes the first woman to play and score in a NCAA football game and the second woman to play and score in a college game in any division.[29] |
2003 Stillman vs. West Alabama football game | West Alabama | Stillman | Livingston, Alabama | 24–17 | Tonya Butler becomes the first woman to kick a field goal in a NCAA football game.[30][31] |
2005 Fiesta Bowl | Utah | Pittsburgh | Tempe, Arizona | 35–7 | First BCS bowl to feature a team from a conference without an automatic bid for its champion – a "non-Automatic Qualifying conference", or "non-AQ" (Utah, then in the Mountain West Conference), and the only BCS bowl to feature a non-AQ team prior to the relaxation of BCS selection rules in 2006 season. |
2007 Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game | Michigan | Appalachian State | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 32–34 | First ever win of a NCAA Division I-AA/FCS team over a ranked Division I-A/FBS opponent.[32] |
2007 Navy vs. North Texas football game[33] | North Texas | Navy | Denton, Texas | 62–74 | Most points scored in a game involving D-IA/FBS opponents during the regulation four quarters of play since the NCAA began keeping records in 1937.[34] |
2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game | Millsaps | Trinity | Jackson, Mississippi | 24–28 | Commonly called "Lateralpalooza" - Trinity threw 15 lateral passes and scored a 60-yard touchdown to win a game against the Millsaps Majors as time expired in the game, producing "the longest play in college football history."[35] |
2008 Sugar Bowl | Georgia | Hawaii | New Orleans, Louisiana | 41-10 | The first (and still, only) win by an AQ team over a non-AQ team in a BCS-bowl. |
2011 Notre Dame vs. Michigan football game | Michigan | Notre Dame | Ann Arbor, Michigan | 35–31 | Largest regular-season single-game attendance in NCAA history, with 114,804. This game also happened to be the first night game ever played at Michigan Stadium.[36] |