LSU vs. Alabama, Oklahoma vs. Nebraska, Ohio State vs. Michigan And The Best College Football Games Of All Time (VIDEOS)

Those who tuned in to CBS' coverage of either professional or amateur football last weekend heard various promotions for this Saturday's mammoth collegiate clash between No. 1 ranked LSU and No. 2 Alabama. The matchup between the top two teams in the BCS and AP standings was being heralded as "Game Of The Century."

At first glance, this SEC pairing seems to fit the bill. After all, the Southern-fried tilt is a de facto playoff game, with the loser very likely knocked out of national championship contention. The only problem is that Saturday marks the fifth time in the 21st century that teams ranked in the top two spots in the standings have squared off during the regulars season. Nearly all of them have been touted as world historic events.

How many games of the century can one century -- or even one decade -- handle before we need to involve a flux capacitor?

In his preview of LSU-Alabama for Sports Illustrated, Andy Staples fully embraced the hyperbolic and temporally problematic verbiage surrounding this game by describing it as "The Game of the Year. The Game of the Century. The Game of the Millennium. The Game of the Year of the Century of the Millennium."

Click Here For HuffPost Sports' Breakdown Of The Game

There have been 24 previous regular-season contests between teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP poll, and depending on one's age, alma mater or stylistic preference, any of them could be considered the "Game of the Century."

At least, they can be considered that until the next one...

Date	#1	#2	Score
Oct. 9, 1943	Notre Dame	Michigan	Notre Dame wins 35-12
Nov. 20, 1943	Notre Dame	Iowa Pre-Flight	Notre Dame wins 14-13
Dec. 2, 1944	Army	Navy	Army wins 23-7
Nov. 10, 1945	Army	Notre Dame	Army wins 48-0
Dec. 1, 1945	Army	Navy	Army wins 32-13
Nov. 9, 1946	Army	Notre Dame	0-0 tie
Oct. 12, 1963	Oklahoma	Texas	Texas wins 28-7
Nov. 19, 1966	Notre Dame	Michigan State	0-0 tie
Sept. 28, 1968	Purdue	Notre Dame	Purdue wins 37-22
Dec. 6, 1969	Texas	Arkansas	Texas wins 15-14
Nov. 25, 1971	Nebraska	Oklahoma	Nebraska wins 35-31
Sept. 26, 1981	USC	Oklahoma	USC wins 28-24
Oct. 19, 1985	Iowa	Michigan	Iowa wins 12-10
Sept. 27, 1986	Oklahoma	Miami	Miami wins 28-16
Nov. 21, 1987	Nebraska	Oklahoma	Oklahoma wins 17-7
Nov. 26, 1988	Notre Dame	USC	Notre Dame wins 27-10
Sept. 16, 1989	Notre Dame	Michigan	Notre Dame wins 24-19
Nov. 16, 1991	Florida State	Miami	Miami wins 17-16
Nov. 13, 1993	Florida State	Notre Dame	Notre Dame wins 31-24
Nov. 30, 1996	Florida	Florida State	Florida State wins 24-21
Sept. 9, 2006	Ohio State	Texas	Ohio State wins 24-7
Nov. 18, 2006	Ohio State	Michigan	Ohio State wins 42-39
Dec. 6, 2008	Alabama	Florida	Florida wins 31-20
Dec. 5, 2009	Florida	Alabama	Alabama wins 32-13

In a sport that has already gone more than 100 years without establishing a reliable way to award a national title over the course of a single season, should it be that surprising if opinions vary from year to year about the greatest game of this or any other century?

Should we judge these contests by the closeness of the final scores? Should it be the accomplishments of the teams after the game? Or, perhaps, it should be the relative dominance of the teams involved versus the other teams in college football?

If that's your criteria of choice then look no further than Oklahoma's clash with Nebraska in 1971. Want an idea of how utterly dominant these teams were that year? Colorado lost to both schools by a combined scored of 76-24, and still finished No. 3 in the AP poll behind them at the end of the season.

If you're just looking for the most thrilling game then it's hard to do better than Oklahoma and USC in 1981. This game featured a stunning fourth-quarter comeback and was capped off by a last-second touchdown pass. But is all that adrenaline and tension somehow lessoned by the knowledge that neither school would even play for the national championship?

In sports, games and athletes can reach mythical status fairly easily. Greatness is abstract and in the eye of the beholder (yet often narrated by the voice of Brent Musburger). The unsatisfying nature of college football's championship formula only exacerbates the inclination toward heated debate and irrational exuberance. That national championship system -- or lack thereof -- also ensures that many of these regular season games end up being the most crucial affairs of the year.

Below are highlights from some of the most memorable 1 vs. 2 match-ups in college football history and decide which one you feel is truly the game of the century.

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Comments

[bobste]

02:55 PM on 12/28/2011

On MI-OSU you describe as Badgers - OSU is not Badgers. WI is Badgers. idiota.

[jthielsf]

04:57 PM on 11/08/2011

Beginning with Purdue-Notre Dame in 1968, I have watched all of these games. Every single one. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the best game is the Oklahoma-Nebraska game in 1971 (and I am not a fan of either one). Not only was it an excellent back and forth, fairly high scoring game with big plays but the two teams were so clearly the two best teams in college football that year. There was another big match-up of undefeateds that year (Alabama-Auburn, won by Alabama) and the four teams met in bowl games at the end of the season. Nebraska crushed Alabama and Oklahoma did the same to Auburn.

I see the comments here, particularly on the Ohio State-Michigan game, and think that is the result of those to young to consider the earlier games. To be blunt, the only way that game, among all those considered here, could be #1 is if the question was "which game included the two most overrated teams". Other games here had a single overrated team, one that really didn't belong in the #1/#2 category, but that's the only one of my viewing lifetime where neither team belonged. An exciting game, yes, but not one played by good teams.

[stunsitfel]

09:00 AM on 11/06/2011

The 06 OSU and UM game was the best. I was at that game and all others since seem a little less. With Bo dying just days before......

People walking out of the stadium were exhusted.

[Rob Greer]

08:40 AM on 11/06/2011

The mid-season meetings of #1 vs. #2 are always fun! But IMHO... the two BEST 1 versus 2 games were the Ohio State vs Miami overtime thriller, and Texas vs. USC. And in BOTH games my two all-time favorite college teams LOST, lol.

[Kid Notorious]

03:56 AM on 11/06/2011

2006 OSU v Michigan by far was the most important #1 v #2... Not only the greatest rivalry in all of college football (Sorry, SEC. Each school has like 6 rivals. No.) clashing for a slot in the BCS title game, but there was a solid possibility there would would be a rematch in said game! Thus... Having contributing to the argument for a college football playoff system...

[TylerDyrden]

06:56 AM on 11/06/2011

Then both teams go on to get destroyed in the bowl games that year, lol.

[Kid Notorious]

01:17 PM on 11/06/2011

Wait for it... Wait for it... Yeah, but still..

[liberalking37]

05:17 PM on 11/05/2011

Great memories of great games.

[dnahkcalb]

03:53 PM on 11/05/2011

this game doesn't compare to most games of the century. two great defenses but too little offensive firepower. the alabama rb is the only really notable offensive player.

[bahkey]

02:05 PM on 11/05/2011

The USC - Texas rose bowl Turned out to be one of the greatest game ever. Other than that
Nebraska - Oklahoma 1971, I was 11 years old and remember everything about it. 1974 WVU -
PITT ( with Dorsett) game in old Mountaineer field was amazing 17 - 14 WVU on last second field goal by Bill
McKenzie. To this day Keith (Whoah- Nellie) Jackson says it is possibly the greatest game he ever called.

[maxfax]

01:47 PM on 11/05/2011

All those million$ for corporations, the media, money for the schools, and the players?

[Bascoda]

09:15 PM on 11/06/2011

The players, if they choose to take advantage of it, get a no-cost education that non-athlete students go in debt for thousands of dollars for. Nobody puts a gun to their heads and forces them to play. Sorry, I can't generate a whole lot of sympathy for them.

[Hillary Bray]

12:08 PM on 11/05/2011

i love the huffpost highlight videos! it's great, here's another sports rundown if you all are interest... covers games for this weekend: http://threeputtbogeys.blogspot.com/2011/11/your-weekend-lineup-114.html

[IrishCatholic09]

12:01 PM on 11/05/2011

The Notre Dame v. Michigan State game in 66 was a 10-10 tie, not a 0-0 tie.

[Okey Umez]

02:42 PM on 11/05/2011

Who cares, unless you bet the 'over and under'!!.

[Bascoda]

03:31 PM on 11/05/2011

I was at that game. A lot of people cared!

[kapalabhati]

11:28 AM on 11/05/2011

PSU Nebraska 1982.

[stonelaw]

11:27 AM on 11/05/2011

This week's college football game of the century is going to be even better than last week's game of the century. But I really think the Ohio State v. Michigan game later this month will be one of the best games of the century we'll see in at least a couple of weeks.

[benji85]

10:32 AM on 11/05/2011

I don't buy into the game of the century hype, but this is a front runner for game of they year.

[jflorish]

01:46 AM on 11/05/2011

College football titles are a joke until they get a playoff. They are just media titles.