There were more than 900 college football games during the 2023-24 season, including 43 bowls.
Trying to narrow the list to the five best contests isn’t easy.
However, these five stood out at the NCAAF betting sites and stretched from the first week to the conference championships.
Wyoming 35 – Texas Tech 33 (2OT)
Week 1, Laramie, WY
It didn’t draw a national television audience, and that’s a shame since the Cowboys and Red Raiders really put on a show to help kick the 2023-24 season off.
A dark horse pick in the Big 12, Texas Tech traveled to Wyoming as a 2-TD favorite at top-rated sportsbooks.
Laying the points looked like a great bet when the Red Raiders took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. A couple of fumbles by the Cowboys were responsible for 10 of those points.
Wyoming got its act together, booting a field goal early in the second and getting the ball right back on a Texas Tech interception. The Cowboys made it count by driving for a quick score, and it was 17-10 at the half.
They used a long, methodic drive early in the third quarter to knot the score at 17, and the two sides exchanged field goals in the fourth to send it to overtime. Both teams scored in the first OT to force a second, and the Cowboys stopped Tech’s 2-point conversion in the second while making their own to claim the upset.
Colorado 43 – Colorado St. 35 (2OT)
Week 3, Boulder CO
An epidemic of Prime Time fever swept the country early, and this double-overtime thriller helped Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes move to 3-0 on the season.
The game played out like two boxers exchanging punches.
Colorado State looked to be headed towards the TKO win with a 28-20 lead with a little more than 2 minutes left and the Buffaloes pinned back on their own 2-yard line.
Shedeur Sanders then led Colorado on a 98-yard drive, and the Buffaloes converted the 2-point try to force OT. The Rams failed to score on their 2nd-OT possession, and Colorado avoided the upset after entering the game as 24½-point chalk.
After very few fans witnessed Wyoming’s 2-OT win over Texas Tech, plenty saw this one which appropriately aired in prime time on ESPN. At season’s end, it was the 7th-most watched college football game with an estimated 9.3 million viewers.
Alabama 27 – Auburn 24
Week 13, Auburn, AL
Another 9+ million tuned into CBS to watch the Tigers and Crimson Tide get it on, and what they and the 88,043 fans inside Jordan-Hare Stadium witnessed was just another unbelievable finish to the Iron Bowl.
Alabama was a 2-TD betting favorite in the 88th meeting between the bitter rivals, and needed a win to keep its College Football Playoffs hopes alive. Auburn seemed hell-bent on spoiling things for the Crimson Tide.
The Tigers moved ahead 24-20 early in the fourth quarter on a chip shot field goal following a long 16-play drive. They forced the Alabama offense into two 3-&-outs after that, but a muffed punt gave the Crimson Tide the ball on the Auburn side of the field.
All that needs to be said after that is, “Fourth and 31.” Alabama and Auburn fans will know the rest.
Michigan 30 – Ohio St. 24
Week 13, Ann Arbor, MI
A few hours before Alabama pulled off its miracle at Auburn, the largest college football audience of the regular season (19.1 million) had their remotes zeroed in on FOX to watch the 118th installment of ‘The Game.’
Neither they nor the 110,000 and change inside Michigan Stadium were disappointed.
Well, Ohio State fans were ultimately disappointed in the 30-24 loss to Michigan, but the game itself was fantastic and still in doubt up to the final seconds.
Michigan’s defense set up the Wolverines’ first score with an interception that gave JJ McCarthy and the offense a first-&-goal on Ohio State’s 7. The Wolverines had a 14-10 halftime lead, and Blake Corum’s second TD run late in the third broke a 17-all tie to put Michigan ahead to stay.
Ohio State was driving in the final minute, but another pick ended the Buckeyes’ upset hopes. The victory springboarded the Wolverines into the Big Ten Championship, and eventually to the national championship.
Washington 34 – Oregon 31
Pac-12 Championship, Las Vegas, NV
At one point in time, what became the Pac-12 was known as the Big Five.
Those five schools – USC, UCLA, California, Stanford, and Washington – were half of the 10 to announce their departure from the conference in 2023.
Now it’s just the Little 2 with Washington State and Oregon State.
At least we got an amazing sendoff when Washington downed Oregon in the league title game. The Huskies were cruising with a 20-3 lead in the second quarter, but the Ducks wouldn’t lay down and fought back for a 24-20 lead going into the fourth.
Michael Penix Jr., as he did often during the season, found a new gear for his offense and put the Huskies ahead by 10 with under 3 minutes to go. Bo Nix and Oregon still wouldn’t quit, but the Ducks eventually ran out of clock, much to the delight of those who hopped on the Huskies +9 for their picks.
