25 best individual bowl performances of all time

One of Notre Dame’s legendary “Four Horseman,” Layden was an All-American standout for the Fighting Irish and helped them win a national championship with his stellar performance in this 27-10 victory over Stanford. One of the great versatile stars of the day, Layden returned an interception 78 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and another for a 70-yard score in the fourth. If that wasn’t enough, Layden also scored on 3-yard run and recorded a 80-yard punt in the contest to etch his name in Rose Bowl lore.

When it comes to literally doing it all on the gridiron, Layne should be the poster boy after what he accomplished on New Year’s Day 1946. In this 1946 Cotton Bowl contest, Texas beat Missouri 40-27. Ok, why should that matter? Because Layne was responsible for all 40 of the Longhorns’ points. He rushed for three touchdowns (18 points), two passing TDs (12) and caught a touchdown pass (six) and kicked four successful extra-point attempts. Layne completed 11-of-12 pass attempts for a .917 completion percentage that remains a Cotton Bowl record.

During the Cornhuskers’ 40-6 rout of Notre Dame, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers did everything but take tickets and sell popcorn — as the old timers liked to say. In the first quarter, Rodgers ran for an 8-yard score, then in the second, he completed a 52-yard touchdown pass to Frosty Anderson to give Nebraska a 20-0 lead at halftime. After the break, Rodgers was even better, recording TD runs of 4 and 5 yards and catching a 50-yard score from David Humm en route to helping Nebraska win its third-straight Orange Bowl.

Montana won four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and is one of the greatest to ever play in the NFL. However, one of the truly special moments of his career came with the Fighting Irish. Played in the aftermath of an ice storm, the game-time temperature for this annual bowl contest in Dallas was 22 degrees, but with a wind chill south of minus-10. Houston led Notre Dame 34-12 late in the third quarter, then the blood started flowing in Montana’s veins, who sat early in the game with hypothermia and reportedly dealing with flu-like symptoms. After Notre Dame’s Steve Cichy returned a blocked punt 33 yards for a touchdown, Montana ran for a 2-yard score, then found Kris Haines on an 8-yard touchdown pass as time expired to tie the game, and eventually win 35-34 with the ensuing extra point.  

McMahon is one of the great characters in the history of organized football. He was also one of the best ever to play the college game. McMahon proved that against SMU in this highly entertaining contest that has come to be known as the “Miracle Bowl.” McMahon’s Cougars had won 11 in a row, but trailed 38-19 to the Mustangs after three quarters. It didn’t matter, as that’s when McMahon thrived while leading BYU to 27 fourth-quarter points, and capping the comeback when his 41-yard, last-second bomb into the end zone somehow landed in the hands of covered teammate Clay Brown for a 46-45 BYU victory. For the game, McMahon went 32-of-49 for 446 yards with four touchdowns to share game MVP honors.

The crowning jewel of White’s 1979 Heisman Trophy season also happens to be the greatest rushing performance in the history of the storied Rose Bowl. White proved just how magnificent a college running back he was during his four-year career at USC, rushing for a Rose Bowl-record 247 yards. And, perhaps most important, his touchdown with a little more than a minute to play in regulation propelled the Trojans past previously undefeated Ohio State, 17-16. With that performance, White was named Rose Bowl Player of the Game for a second consecutive season.

One of the biggest upsets in college football history came when Penn State topped a favored (and quite cocky) Miami, Fla. squad. In the end, it was the Nittany Lions defense that was story, Even though Penn State was outgained 445-166 in total yards, its defense picked off Vinny Testaverde five times, with two of those by Conlan, and the second of which was taken back 38 yards to Miami’s 5-yard line in the fourth quarter. It set up D.J. Dozier’s go-ahead 6-yard touchdown run. Conlan also recorded eight tackles to help Penn State pull off the 14-10 win to claim its most recent national championship.

OK, we’re not going to lie, but maybe Frazier is on this list for one play. First off, Frazier was simply stellar in leading Nebraska to a second-straight national championship with a 62-24 win over previously undefeated Florida. He threw for 105 yards and a touchdown, but ran 16 times for a career-high 199 yards with two more scores. The second happened to be one of the great touchdown runs in college football history, motoring 75 yards while breaking several tackles along the way to cap a truly impressive evening for himself and the Cornhuskers.

The 246 yards Dayne compiled on the ground during Wisconsin’s 38-31 victory over UCLA during the 1999 Rose Bowl weren’t the most he recorded in a college game (tied for fifth-most, actually), but it still remains one of the greatest individual efforts in the history of “The Granddaddy of Them All.” Dayne’s rushing yards rank second all-time in Rose Bowl history, while his four touchdowns runs (54 yards, 7, 10, 22) tied a single-game mark. A year later, Dayne would rush for 200 during the Badgers’ 17-9 victory over Stanford to earn Rose Bowl Player of the Game for a second straight season.

This was Tom Brady’s final collegiate game, and most memorable. It also proved a harbinger of Brady’s ability to lead a comeback on a big stage. Brady went 34-of-46 for a career-high 369 yards and four touchdowns, and twice helped the Wolverines overcome a 14-point deficit, to beat Alabama 35-34 in overtime. During the extra session, Brady connected with Shawn Thompson for a 25-yard touchdown. Hayden Epstein converted the extra point for a 35-28 Michigan lead, but the fifth-ranked Crimson Tide answered with a touchdown of their own, but Ryan Pflunger missed the extra point. 

The highest-scoring bowl game ever was perhaps Leftwich’s shining moment as a college player. After throwing two first-quarter interceptions, Leftwich helped rally Marshall from 28-0 hole to win 64-61 over East Carolina in two overtimes. Leftwich went 41-of-70 for 576 yards (tying an NCAA bowl record) with four touchdowns. He threw three of those TD passes after halftime, including an 11-yard toss to Darius Watts with seven seconds remaining in regulation to tie things at 51-51. Marshall, however, missed the extra point, but Leftwich hooked up with Josh Davis for an 8-yard winning score in the second overtime.  

Young just might be the best overall athlete in the history of Texas football, and he proved that in what has been considered the greatest bowl game of all time. USC led 24-23 after three quarters, and went up by eight after Reggie Bush’s 26-yard scoring run early in the fourth. The Trojans led 38-26 with 6:42 left in regulation when Young took over. He scored on a 17-yard TD run with 4:03 to play, then scampered into the end zone from 8 yards out on fourth-and-5 with 19 ticks on the clock remaining. The Longhorns held on and won 41-38 for the national title and solidified legendary status for Young, who rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, while going 30-of-40 for 267 through the air.

Tebow certainly saved the best for last when it came to his final collegiate performance. While the pre-game hype was focused on coach Urban Meyer’s future at Florida, once the Gators’ matchup with Cincinnati began, Tebow stole the show, setting a Sugar Bowl record by completing his first 12 passes. The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner was an amazing 31-of-35 for a Sugar Bowl- and Bowl Championship Series-record 482 yards passing. He also ran for 51, resulting in a bowl-record 533 total yards to go along with three passing touchdowns and a rushing score in Florida’s 51-24 victory.

Weeks after the boy known as “Johnny Football” became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy, Manziel set a Cotton Bowl record with 516 total yards in the Aggies’ 41-13 victory over Oklahoma. He ran for 229 yards, an FBS bowl record for a quarterback, and threw for 287 while posting a pair of passing touchdowns and two more rushing TDs. It capped one of the great individual seasons in college football history -— regardless of class — for Manziel, who totaled 3,706 passing yards and 1,410 rushing yards and a combined 47 touchdowns on the season.

When Stanford faced Iowa in this Rose Bowl matchup, many college football analysts wondered if the explosive McCaffrey could find success against the stingy Iowa defense. Well. we quickly learned he could, taking a pass 75 yards for a touchdown on the first play of scrimmage. When the game was done, and the Cardinal rolled to a 45-16 victory, McCaffrey rushed for 172 yards, caught four passes for 105 and set a Rose Bowl record with 368 all-purpose yards.

In a rematch of the 2016 national championship game won by Alabama, Clemson got its revenge with 35-31 victory over the favored Crimson Tide, and Watson led the way with a truly memorable performance. He was 36-of-56 for 420 passing yards and rushed for a first-half touchdown. However, Watson threw all three of his touchdowns in the second half, proving he can be at his best from needed the most. Two of them went to Hunter Renfrow (10 receptions, 92 yards), including the go-ahead score from 2 yards out with 1 second remaining in regulation.

This was Tagovailoa’s coming-out party. The Crimson Tide trailed 13-0 to Georgia at halftime and lost quarterback Jalen Hurts to injury. No worries, as Tagovailoa came off the bench to throw two TDs in the second half to force overtime before throwing the biggest pass of his career at the time. Tagovailoa (14-of-24,166 yards in the game) connected with an in-stride DeVonta Smith on a 41-yard touchdown pass in the extra session to cement the Crimson Tide as national champions of the 2017 season, and opening the door for his own individual collegiate greatness — albeit at the expense of Hurts’ time with the Crimson Tide. 

Burrow was so good during the College Football Playoff during the 2019 season that it only made sense to highlight both games. During LSU’s 63-28 rout of Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl semifinal, Burrow was simply sensational, going 29-of-39 for 493 yards with seven touchdowns — all in the first half to tie the NCAA records for TD passes in a half and in a bowl game — and no interceptions. Then in the Tigers’ 42-25 victory over Clemson for the national title, Burrow was nearly as good, completing 31 of 49 passes for five touchdowns and 463 yards without an interception and rushing for a score.

Smith-Njigba was already amidst an impressive run of four straight games with at least 109 receiving yards leading into the Rose Bowl against Utah. In Pasadena that afternoon, Smith-Njigba was on another planet, catching 15 passes for a school-, bowl- and FBS-record 347 receiving yards. He also caught three touchdown passes (50 yards, 52, 30) from C.J. Stroud, who also set a Rose Bowl record with 573 passing yards as the Buckeyes managed to outlast the pesky Utes 48-45 in one of the wildest bowl games in college football history.