2024 in review: The best college football games

While defense was the story of the day’s first CFP semifinal, this nightcap celebrated those fans of offensive football. The teams combined for more than 1,000 total yards. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. was a ridiculous 29-of-38 for 430 yards and two passing touchdowns and helped the Huskies outscore Texas 16-10 in the second half of a game that was tied 21-21 at the break. A pair of lost fumbles and 10 penalties didn’t help the Longhorns, who got down to the Huskies’ 12-yard line with 15 seconds left in regulation but couldn’t find the end zone.

The 2024 college football season kicked off in grand fashion. Playing in Dublin, Georgia Tech’s upset of FSU, on Aidan Barr’s 44-yard field goal as time expired, was considered a stunner, at the time. In reality, it was a continuation of the Seminoles’ downward turn after being blown out by Georgia in the Peach Bowl, which was on the heels of their 2023 CFP snub. But give the Yellow Jackets credit. They held FSU to 291 total yards while rushing for 190 and getting two touchdowns on the ground by Jamal Haynes. 

Tight throughout, the Trojans and Tigers played one of the more entertaining games of the early season in Las Vegas. USC’s Miller Moss threw for 378 yards while Garrett Nussmeier went for 304. However, it was Woody Marks’ 13-yard touchdown run 8 seconds left regulation, and set up by a Moss to Kyron Hudson 20-yard pass, via a one-handed grab, that had a targeting penalty from LSU’s Jardin Gilbert tacked on, that broke a 20-20 tie and gave the Trojans’ their most impressive victory on another underachieving season.

Northern Illinois has been one of the most successful non-power conference programs for the past 20 years. However, the Huskies had never beaten a top-10 opponent and were huge underdogs at Notre Dame in Week 2. But, it was NIU’s defense that led to the biggest upset in school history — and in 2024. The Huskies held the Irish to 286 total yards, sacked Riley Leonard twice and picked him off two more times, including late in the fourth. Which set up Kanon Woodill’s 35-yard, go-ahead field goal with 31 seconds remaining. NIU, which got an 83-yard touchdown reception and 99 rushing yards from Antario Brown, blocked a second Notre Dame field as time expired to hand the CFP-bound Irish their only regular-season defeat.

LSU had four games decided by seven or fewer points, and they won three of them. During this instant classic, host South Carolina opened a 17-0 lead thanks to a ground game that churned out 243 yards for the game. But, the Tigers clawed back and took a 29-24 lead on Garrett Nussmeier’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Mason Taylor in the first few seconds of the fourth quarter. However, Raheim Sanders scampered 66 yards for a score and the Gamecocks added a field goal to lead 33-29. That was until Josh Williams burst into the end zone from 2 yards out for the go-ahead score with 1:12 left in the game. South Carolina’s Alex Herrera missed a 49-yard field goal to tie with 5 seconds remaining.

Another classic between the two perennial college football superpowers. However, for a pair of teams that had their offensive issues, at times, in 2024, they had no trouble lighting up the scoreboard and combining for 1,066 total yards on this night. The host Crimson Tide led 28-0 early in the second quarter thanks to quarterback Jalen Milroe, who threw two touchdowns and ran for two on the night. Alabama led 33-15 entering the fourth, when the Bulldogs officially woke up. Georgia scored 19 straight points, including two touchdown passes from Carson Beck (three passing TDs, three interceptions) to lead 34-33 with 2:31 remaining and seemingly claim all the momentum. Then, one play after UGA went ahead, Milroe hit stud freshman Ryan Williams, who delivered a rather remarkable catch and run, for a 75-yard TD that put ‘Bama back up for good. Georgia then got down to Alabama’s 20-yard line, but Beck was intercepted by Zabien Brown.

One week after Alabama’s wild victory over Georgia, the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide were dealt their first loss of the season, unthinkably, to Vanderbilt. The upstart Commodores, who had lost 23 straight in the series, never trailed, totaled 418 yards, got two touchdown passes from popular quarterback Diego Pavia, two rushing scores from Sedrick Alexander and returned a Jalen Milroe interception 29 yards for a first-quarter TD to beat a No. 1 team for the first time. Perhaps the most notable aftermath of the result was jubilant Vandy fans who stormed the field, tore down the goal post and walked it down to dispense into the Cumberland River. 

USC played eight games decided by 8 points or less during the ’24 regular, going 3-5 in those tight contests. When Penn State came calling at the Coliseum, the Trojans looked as if they were going to take care of business. They led 20-6 at halftime, but the Nittany Lions outscored the hosts 24-10 in the second half, tying the game on Nicholas Singleton’s 14-yard touchdown run and extra point with 2:53 left in the fourth. USC got down to the Penn State 45-yard line, but Miller Moss was intercepted with 14 seconds to play in regulation. In overtime, the Trojans’ Michael Lantz missed a 45-yard field goal, but Ryan Barker did not from 36 yards out, and the Nittany Lions got the key road victory.

Everything a fan could want and expect from a couple of college football heavyweights. This was a back-and-forth contest, but visiting Ohio State led more often than not — until the end. With the Ducks trailing 28-22 after three quarters, Dillon Gabriel delivered his season-defining moment by darting 27 yards for a touchdown that would lead to 29-28 edge for the hosts early in the fourth. However, the Buckeyes weren’t down for long, and Jayden Fielding’s 40-yard field goal put them back ahead with 6 minutes left in regulation. But, Gabriel came through again, guiding Oregon on an 11-play, 74-yard drive that was capped with Atticus Sappington’s game-winning 19-yard field goal. 

SMU ran the eight-game table during it inaugural first season in the ACC. However, it wasn’t all that easy. Like on this late October day. Duke overcame a 21-7 third-quarter hole to tie the game, but Todd Pelino missed field goals of 42 and 30 yards in the fourth, and it was on to overtime. SMU struck first when Brashard Smith darted 24 yards for a touchdown. Duke quickly answered as Maalik Murphy found Eli Pancol for a 25-yard passing score on its first play of the extra session. And, not playing around, the Blue Devils went for 2 points and the win. The Mustangs, though, rose to the moment and forced a Murphy incompletion to nab the road win. 

Iowa State was 7-0 and at home. Texas Tech, meanwhile, was coming off back-to-back losses to Baylor by 24 points and a single point at TCU. Would this even be close? That’s why it’s easy to love college football. The Red Raiders were in charge most of the game, controlling the favored Cyclones. Iowa State took its first lead with 2:11 remaining in regulation, when Rocco Becht hit Carson Brown on a 44-yard touchdown pass. However, Texas Tech marked 71 yards, on 12 plays, and star Tahj Brooks scored from 5 yards out with 20 seconds remaining to pull off the upset eventually.

Traditional Big Ten football afterthoughts, Illinois and Rutgers found plenty of success in 2024. And, played one of the most wildly entertaining games of 2024. The host Scarlet Knights led 17-9 at halftime, but Illinois got serious in the second half. After the Illini went ahead 30-24 with 3:07 left in regulation, Rutgers star Kyle Monangai delivered a 13-yard touchdown run, and the extra point gave it a 31-30 lead. But Illinois quarterback Luke Altmeyer pulls off perhaps the play of the year for the program. On fourth-and-13 from the Rutgers’ 40 with 13 seconds remaining, Altmeyer found stud receiver Pat Bryant over the middle at the 22-yard line, and he managed to scamper, somehow untouched against a prevent defense, into the end zone for the go-ahead score. 

Auburn finished a disappointing 5-7 in 2024, but its biggest win of the campaign was one for the ages. The Tigers opened a 21-0 lead, but the visiting Aggies, still in the hunt for an SEC Championship game berth, stormed back, and thanks to Amari Daniels’ 8-yard touchdown run led 31-28 with 3:01 remaining in regulation. But Auburn’s Ian Vachon connected on a 29-yard field goal with 5 left to force overtime. It eventually went to a fourth overtime, where the Tigers went up on Payton Thorne’s scoring pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith. On Texas A&M’s turn, it resorted to a bit of trickery, where quarterback Marcel Reed was split wide, got the ball on a pitch, rolled out and gunned it into the belly of Daniels, who dropped the ball in the end zone.

The final remnants of the most recent version of the Pac-12, the Beavers and Cougars played an entertaining back-and-forth de facto “conference championship game.” At 8-2, Washington State was a longshot for the College Football Playoff but went ahead 38-31 early in the fourth after Taariq Al-Uqdah’s 29-yard Pick-six. However, Oregon State’s Ben Gulberson regrouped from that mistake Darrius Clemons on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 2:45 remaining to help get to even. Then, the Beavers’ Everett Hayes, in front of the home faithful, knocked down the winning 55-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining.

We noted how Georgia Tech opened the season with a notable upset at the time. Well, it almost closed that portion of the schedule with an even bigger takedown in a rivalry contest that finished past Midnight. Quarterback Haynes King threw for two touchdowns and ran for 110 yards and three more scores for the visiting Yellow Jackets, who led 17-0 at halftime. Georgia, though, rallied to force overtime after back-to-back Carson Beck-to-Dominic Lovett fourth-quarter touchdown passes. The epic marathon eventually ended in an eighth overtime. Nate Frazier darted into the end zone for the period’s only score that kept Georgia’s CFP dream from possibly being shattered.

Aiming for a spot in the Big Ten Championship game and top-four seed in the College Football Playoff, 10-1 Ohio State was 23 1/2-point favorite and looking to snap a three-game skid to hated rival Michigan. However, the 6-5 Wolverines had other ideas, and played their best defensive game of the season, holding the Buckeyes’ potent offense to season lows for points and total yards (252). Michigan led most of the first half until Jeremiah Smith’s 10-yard touchdown pass for OSU, just before the break, tied things at 10-10. The game was scoreless in the second half until Dominic Zvada’s 21-yard, tiebreaking field goal with 45 seconds left in regulation. Sadly, the game is also remembered for the post-game brawl, as a result of Buckeyes players taking exception to Michigan players planting their field on the field and the police pepper-spray incident that followed. 

Otherwise known as the moment Miami’s hopes of a College Football Playoff dream would officially end. The 10-1 Hurricanes jumped out to a 21-0 lead, but Kyle McCord (380 passing yards, three TDs) rallied the Orange to tie it early in the third quarter. It was back-and-forth from there, until LeQuint Allen’s 3-yard rushing score put Syracuse ahead 42-35 with a little more than 9 minutes to play in the game. Miami managed only a field goal down the stretch and Allen picked up a pair of key rushing first downs on Syracuse’s final drive to pull off the upset.

Championship Saturday proved to be one of the best in recent memory. The fun really began when Texas looked to avenge its only regular-season defeat by getting another crack at the Bulldogs with the SEC title on the line. There were only two touchdowns scored in regulation, and the Longhorns led 6-3 when Georgia quarterback Carson Beck suffered an elbow injury on the last play of the first half. Little-used backup Gunner Stockton came on and guided the Bulldogs to 10 third-quarter points for a 13-6 lead. The Bulldogs led 16-13 in the final minutes of the game when Stockton’s ill-advised pass was intercepted and led to Bert Auburn’s 37-yard field goal to force overtime. After Auburn’s field goal put the Longhorns up in the extra session, Trevor Etienne, on a hand-off from Beck, who returned after Stockton took a hit to the head, burst in from 4 yards with the Georgia winner.

When Oregon went ahead 28-10 after Jordan James’ 1-yard TD run with 10:05 left in the second quarter, it looked as if the Big Ten title contest would be a rout. However, the Nittany Lions showed their mettle and got within 28-24 after a passing and running touchdown from Drew Allar. From there, the high-flying Ducks kept Penn State at arm’s length, but not comfortably, as its one-two punch of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton combined for 229 rushing yards. After Allar hit Harrison Wallace on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 3:41 left in regulation to make it 45-37, it stayed that way when Penn State got the ball back with 2:11 to go. Two plays later, Allar was intercepted by Nikko Reed. Oregon then converted a third-and-1 to remain undefeated entering the CFP. 

Sitting 11-1, SMU was in the CFP by winning the ACC title game but might need to sweat things out with a loss. Clemson, at 9-3, was playing the underdog role. However, four Cade Klubnik touchdown passes had the Tigers up 31-14 entering the fourth quarter. The Mustangs, though, finally woke up and scored 17 unanswered points to tie the game, capped by Roderick Daniels’ 4-yard TD pass from Kevin Jennings with 16 seconds remaining. However, Collin Rogers returned the ensuing kickoff 61 yards to the Clemson 45-yard-line. After a 17-yard pass from Klubnik to Antonio Williams, Nolan Hauser booted a career-best 56-yard field goal — as the clock showed all zeros — to put the Tigers in the CFP. SMU, as we know, also got in.