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If there is a single day on the calendar that is synonymous with college football, it is the first day of the new year, where historically, many of the best teams in the country take the field with hopes of being able to hoist trophies filled with oranges or walk off the field with rose stems in their mouth. Over the years, our relationship with Bowl Season has changed, thanks in large part to the College Football Playoff and the transfer portal, but still, every New Year's morning, I still get the warm and fuzzies.
That won't change this year, as three of the four College Football Playoff quarterfinal games will be played on January 1st, with the only exception being a Fiesta Bowl showdown between the Boise State Broncos and the Penn State Nittany Lions that will take place on New Year's Eve. My hope is at least one of those New Year's Day games will crack the pantheon of all-time great New Year's Day Bowl Games, but let me tell you, it's going to be a tough list to crack.
Below I've ranked the greatest New Year's Day Bowl Games this century, which was initially whittled down from a list of 24 games, which then became 15 games, before finally arriving at a top ten. I've listed the five toughest cuts as well — consider those honorable mentions — because it felt like they deserved at least a quick refresher.
Honorable Mentions
Presented in chronological order:
2007 Gator Bowl – A high-scoring affair between a deliriously fun West Virginia team and a Georgia Tech squad led by soon-to-be NFL superstar Calvin Johnson, who had 9 receptions for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 38-35 Mountaineers win.
2010 Outback Bowl – You know we've got a bunch of great games coming up when a doozy that ended with a failed fake field goal fumblerooski attempt in overtime can't even crack the top ten. Fifteen years later, I still think Pat Fitzgerald made the right call.
2013 Outback Bowl – Also known as “The Game Jadeveon Clowney Broke The Internet”
Jadeveon Clowney hit is still undefeated
— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 14, 2021
2015 Sugar Bowl – Ohio State stuns Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal, setting up a rare National Championship Game without the SEC.
2018 Peach Bowl – UCF completes their perfect season with a Peach Bowl win over Auburn. This one should probably crack the top ten, but admittedly, I was recovering from a wicked hangover while this game was played and probably didn't properly appreciate it.
10. 2004 Orange Bowl – Miami FL 16, Florida State 14
Just one year removed from losing in the BCS Championship Game to Ohio State — and having their hopes of a second consecutive National Championship dashed — the Miami Hurricanes had a chance to exorcise some postseason demons against their bitter in-state rival, the Florida State Seminoles. In the end, it was the Noles who needed the exorcism, as kicker
Xavier Beitia pushed a potential go-ahead kick wide right just 15 months after missing a game-winner against the Canes wide left.
9. 2000 Orange Bowl – Michigan 35, Alabama 34
The first ever BCS Bowl Game to go to overtime is known 25 years later for being the crowning achievement in the college career of Tom Brady. You would've thought that after Brady capped his Michigan career with a 369 yard, 4 touchdown, comeback-from-14-points-down performance in the Orange Bowl, the NFL would've taken notice. But nope, Brady famously went in Round 6 and the rest is history.
By the way, Tom Brady wasn't the only future NFL MVP in this game. Former Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander, who won the MVP in 2005, ran for 161 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Crimson Tide.
8. 2005 Capital One Bowl – Iowa 30, LSU 25
Looking for a game that ended on a walk-off 50-plus yard touchdown pass? Don't worry, Drew Tate, Warren Holloway and the Iowa Hawkeyes got ya covered!
January 1st, 2005
Drew Tate throws a touchdown to Warren Holloway as time expires to win the Capitol One Bowl for Iowa! #DrewTate #WarrenHolloway #GoosebumpSports #CollegeFootball #NCAAF #CapitolOneBowl pic.twitter.com/XaiBNBsNjw— Goosebump Sports (@GoosebumpSports) July 1, 2021
7. 2008 Capital One Bowl – Michigan 41, Florida 35
Florida Gator haters will remember this one for being the only Bowl loss in the career of Tim Tebow, but to get to that point, Chad Henne and the Michigan Wolverines had to play one hell of a game in what was the last hurrah in the coaching career of Lloyd Carr, who led Michigan to the 1997 National Championship… their first in 49 years.
There was a little bit extra oomph to this game too, as the year prior, Gators head coach Urban Meyer drew criticism after openly lobbying for Florida to make the BCS Championship Game in place of Michigan, who many felt deserved a shot at a rematch against Ohio State in the title game. Meyer's pleas were heard, and the Gators went on to defeat the Buckeyes for the National Title.
6. 2022 Rose Bowl – Ohio State 48, Utah 45
Not a shred of defense was played in Pasadena on New Year's Day in 2022, so old heads may not be as fond of this one as others will be. But if you're a fan of the Buckeyes, or if you live by the motto of my best friend Collin Stucko — “the best defense is a good offense” — then this game is right in your wheelhouse.
CJ Stroud threw for an Ohio State and Rose Bowl record 573 yards and 6 touchdowns, and Jaxson Smith-Njigba set an FBS Bowl game record with 347 yards on 15 receptions. Altogether, the two teams combined for over 1,100 yards of total offense and Ohio State came away with their 9th Rose Bowl win, the second-most in the game's history.
5. 2024 Sugar Bowl – Washington 37, Texas 31
4. 2024 Rose Bowl – Michigan 27, Alabama 20
Although last season's College Football Playoff Championship Game between Michigan and Washington left a whole lot to be desired, college football fans couldn't have asked for a better double-header of CFP semifinal games last year.
First, Michigan and Alabama delivered a gritty, overtime banger that was capped by a goal line stand by the Wolverines defense. Just hours later, the Rose Bowl was followed by a shootout in the Sugar Bowl in which Heisman runner-up Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies got the best of the Texas Longhorns, who like Alabama, had a shot at the end zone late in the game that could've altered the course of college football history as we know it.
3. 2005 Rose Bowl – Texas 38, Michigan 37
The prelude to what remains the greatest college football game of my lifetime — a National Championship showdown at the Rose Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and USC Trojans — took place one year earlier, when the Longhorns arrived at the Rose Bowl to face the Big Ten co-champion Michigan Wolverines and delivered an instant classic that came down to a Dusty Mangum game-winning field goal at the gun.
Although he'd save his best for that matchup with USC, the legend of Vince Young began to build in the 2005 Rose Bowl, as the eventual Heisman runner-up would lead Texas to a double-digit 4th quarter comeback for the first time in Pasadena, a feat he'd replicate 368 days later. In these two Rose Bowls, Young threw for 447 yards, rushed for 392, and scored a combined 8 touchdowns threw the air and on the ground.
2. 2018 Rose Bowl – Georgia 54, Oklahoma 48
Another high-scoring affair in Pasadena — noticing a trend? — only this one came in the College Football Playoff with a spot in the National Championship on the line. Baker Mayfield and the Sooners gave the Bulldogs everything they could handle, jumping out to a 31-14 1st half lead before Georgia stormed back in the 2nd half, setting the stage for a game with more twists and turns than a roller coaster.
In the end, the two teams combined for a Rose Bowl record 102 points and delivered the first overtime game in the 104 year history of the game. Georgia would go on to lose in overtime in the National Championship Game to Alabama, and Mayfield would end up being the 1st overall pick in the NFL Draft four and a half months later.
1. 2007 Fiesta Bowl – Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42
Are there games on this list that had higher stakes, bigger stars, and featured teams from far more attractive markets than Boise, Idaho and Norman, Oklahoma? Yes there are, but nearly 18 years later, the 2007 Fiesta Bowl remains not only one of the most iconic games in the recent history of the sport, but also one of the most influential.
Had it not been for Boise State's upset over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, we may not have arrived as quickly at the point we're at now, where an expanded Playoff field is required to include a team that plays outside one of the power conferences. This particular Broncos team gave fans of the underdog something to believe in. A rallying cry which Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson is still using to this day… Please Count Us Out.
Everyone did count out Boise State in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, and while it required not one, not two, but three jaw-dropping trick plays, the Broncos shocked the world.
