American college football is built on moments that provide shock and awe. Moments that make you rub your eyes with astonishment and rewind the television. It could result in you crying tears of joy or tears of sadness. It’s the bedrock of the sport and why it is so captivating each and every week.
This list will include individual plays, but the moment itself, and what it represents, is why it belongs here. Moments with increased importance—rivalry games and bowl games for example—will be weighed more heavily than others. For the sake of brevity (we could be here all day otherwise) this list will only include moments from the previous five seasons.
Georgia Escapes with a Win as the Clock Hits Midnight
On 31 Dec. 2022, the Georgia Bulldogs led the Ohio State Buckeyes 42-41 with a trip to the national championship game hanging in the balance with time dwindling in the fourth quarter. Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett had just tossed a touchdown pass to wide receiver Adonai Mitchell to put the Bulldogs up a single point.
That left 54 seconds for Buckeye’s quarterback C.J. Stroud, and he used just about every one of them. He marched Ohio State down the field and into field goal range. But it was by no means a chip shot—it would be a 50-yard look for kicker Noah Ruggles.
As Ruggles lined up for the field goal, the New Year was fast approaching. Ruggles’ foot connected with the ball with around 10 seconds left on the ball drop in New York City. The attempt hooked right, sealing the win for Georgia, and coincided almost perfectly with the New Year being ushered in.
Jalen Milroe Punches Alabama’s Ticket to the College Football Playoff and Devastates Auburn
Typically, when it’s fourth-and-goal and a team goes for it, it means that a team is a few yards, maybe a few feet, away from punching in a score. Occasionally, it’s because a coach is uber-aggressive and chooses to get six instead of a field goal.
But you don’t often see a team attempting a fourth-and-goal from the 31-yard line. And yet, that’s where the Alabama Crimson Tide found themselves against their rivals the Auburn Tigers.
With under a minute to go, trailing 24-20, Alabama was searching for a touchdown. A win would put them in contention for a College Football Playoff spot, and a loss would all but eliminate them.
Jalen Milroe took the fourth-down snap and set up camp in the pocket. Auburn rushed only two defenders and kept a quarterback spy, opting to drop the other eight in coverage.
But, somehow, wide receiver Isaiah Bond found himself open in the back corner of the endzone. Milroe capitalized on this lapse in the defense and fired a pass to him, securing the improbable victory for the Crimson Tide.
Vanderbilt Does the Impossible, Beats No. 1 Alabama
After beating Auburn in that fashion, it’s only fair that this entry made it onto the list. The Vanderbilt Commodores (like a team on this list that will be discussed later) has never been known as an American football school.
They’ve historically struggled in what has been considered the best conference in American college football in the SEC.
But on 5 Oct. 2024, the Commodores were no longer doormats for the visiting team. Behind undersized quarterback Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt knocked off the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide.
It was shocking, not just because they beat the No.1 team in the country (Vanderbilt’s first time doing so), but because it was against perennial juggernaut Alabama.
After the game, the Commodore fans rushed the field and ripped the goal posts out of the ground. They then carried them to the nearby Cumberland River.
It’s a shining example of the quintessential American college football upset.
Indiana Completes Undefeated Season, Rewrites Years of History
Maybe this is cheating to include an entire season, but I think that it’s more than fair. The Indiana Hoosiers have lost American college football games at an unprecedented level. Like Vanderbilt, they were routinely the worst team in an excellent conference. They were the cellar dwellers of the Big Ten. A six-win season and a bowl game appearance might as well have been a College Playoff Appearance.
But once Curt Cignetti arrived in Bloomington, Ind. the Hoosiers started to win. In 2024, the Hoosiers had an 11-win season and a College Football Playoff appearance—their first ever. Yes, Indiana was still a few levels below the behemoths of the game, but this level of success was unheard of for the program.
The following season, in 2025, Indiana had a season meant for a Disney adaptation. They went 16-0 and won the national championship with a slew of moments that cemented their legacy.
A contorting, impossible catch, to win the game on the road to keep the dream of an undefeated season alive? Check.
A massive third-down conversion to win the Big Ten Championship? Check.
An iconic play in the national championship to extend the lead? Check.
Storybook probably doesn’t go far enough to describe the season. It was part fairy tale, part dream. And somehow, it became a reality.
