We’ve all seen games that got our adrenaline pumping and had us on the edge of our seats. For me, it is USC at Notre Dame 2005—the legendary “Bush Push” game. USC was riding a 27-game winning streak, and when it appeared the clock had run out and the score was ND 31, USC 28, I ran to the bathroom and vomited.

Yeah, I know you are all laughing at me. I was hanging on WAY TOO TIGHT to that lengthy winning streak—each game I was more tightly wound.

Last weekend’s Baylor versus TCU game was a thriller down to the wire. Last season it was ASU versus Arizona that tested their fans' mettle to withstand the torture of a close game against a hated rival.

Today we will take a look at the 37 Most Heart-Stopping Finishes in College Football History. Obviously, there will be games that are not covered, but Alabama and Auburn fans, while I am sure every Iron Bowl is as critically important to you as the Backyard Bowl is to others, the Civil War to yet others and...do you see where I am going with this? Neither every single game nor every single team can be included.

I am going to try to spread it around at bit and am mostly sticking to games that have happened in the last 40 or so years.

Let’s take a look at the 37 most heart-stopping finishes in college football history.

37. Colorado vs. Missouri, 1990

This game is well known for an officiating error that allowed Colorado to have a “fifth down”—during which the Buffaloes scored the game-winning touchdown as time expired.

It has been called one of the top memorable moments and blunders in college football history, and I have to think the fans watching had heart-stopping moments galore as this game ended.

36. SMU vs. Texas Tech, 1982

One of the most heart-stopping plays in SMU football history happened on November 13, 1982, when Bobby Leach took a cross-field lateral on a kickoff with 17 seconds left and barreled towards the goal line untouched for a 91-yard touchdown to give the Mustangs a 34-27 win over Texas Tech.

The play preserved SMU’s undefeated season and gave Leach the nickname of “Miracle Man.”

35. Virginia Tech vs. William & Mary, 1978

Curiously, I wasn’t able to find much info about this game online, other than on the last play of the game, as time ran out, Hokies QB David Lamie threw a 50-yard pass to Ron Zollicoffer to lift the Hokies over the Tribe 22-19.

34. Texas vs. Arkansas, 1987

With just under two minutes left to play, Texas was down 14-10 to the No. 15-ranked Razorbacks. Quarterback Brett Stafford drove the Longhorns downfield 56 yards in 1:48 for 11 plays and hit Tony Jones on an 18-yard pass as time ran out, lifting the Longhorns over Arkansas.

33. Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech, 1992

It was Halloween and homecoming for Rutgers, and the Scarlet Knights rallied from a 42-30 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to defeat Virginia Tech 50-49.

Rutgers scored on the game’s final play, as QB Bryan Fortay found WR Chris Brantley on a 15-yard pass as time expired to defeat the Hokies.

32. Georgia vs. Alabama, 1965

With Georgia losing to Alabama 17-10 late in the fourth quarter and facing a 2nd-and-8 from the Bulldog 27, QB Kirby Moore passed to Pat Hodgson, who lateraled to Bob Taylor. Taylor ran the rest of the way for a Bulldog touchdown. Moore threw to Hodgson for the two-point conversion to give Georgia an 18-17 victory.

31. LSU vs. Auburn, 1996

“The Night the Barn Burned Down.” The 1996 meeting of the Tigers and Tigers had a heart-stopping, dramatic ending when LSU cornerback Raion Hill intercepted a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game and returned it for a two-point defensive PAT. LSU won 19-15.

Meanwhile, the old Auburn Sports Arena, called “The Barn,” burned to the ground across the street from Jordan-Hare Stadium. The fire began when a tailgater placed a barbecue grill too close to the building. The game was never delayed, and the Auburn announcer kept telling fans not to worry: "The stadium is not on fire; the flames are outside the stadium."

I’d say that qualified for two heart-stopping moments, at least!

30. Clemson vs. Georgia Tech, 2000

Georgia Tech wide receiver Kerry Watkins made a one-handed catch with just seven seconds left to play to beat the No. 4-ranked Clemson Tigers 31-28.

29. Texas vs. Virginia, 1995

Trailing 16-14 with 3:12 left to play, the No. 16-ranked Longhorns drove downfield in a quest to topple the No. 14 Cavaliers. As time ran out, Texas kicked a 50-yard field goal into the wind for the victory.

28. Nebraska vs. Missouri, 1997

In a desperation attempt in the fourth quarter, Nebraska lobbed a pass downfield that appeared to be deflected and incomplete, but it ricocheted off the receiver’s leg and was caught in the end zone to tie the game as the clock ran out. Nebraska won in OT.

27. Notre Dame vs. Houston, 1979

The 1979 Cotton Bowl featured Joe Montana and the Fighting Irish versus Houston in sub-zero temperatures with an insane wind chill.

In fact, Montana was fed chicken soup on the sidelines in an attempt to bring his body temperature up. He was suffering from hypothermia and had sat out the first two offensive series of the second half.

With just 7:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Cougars had a 34-12 lead and put their backups into the game.

Big mistake. Huge. 

Montana led a 23-point comeback and clinched the win for the Fighting Irish with a TD pass to Kris Haines as the buzzer signaled the end of the game.

26. UNLV vs. Baylor, 1999

Baylor led 24-21 with 20 seconds left in this game. Baylor had the ball on the Rebels’ 8-yard line. Had the Bears taken a knee, the game would be over, and they would have won.

For mysterious reasons, Baylor coach Kevin Steele called for the run. Darrell Bush almost made it to the goal line, but UNLV forced a fumble, and the Rebels' Kevin Thomas returned it 99 yards for a touchdown.

25. USC vs. UCLA, 1990

USC’s Todd Marinovich faced UCLA’s Tommy Maddox in a shootout that went down to the wire.

Each team scored 21 points in the fourth quarter alone. When UCLA scored with 1:19 left, Bruin fans rejoiced, while Trojan fans felt their hearts rise into their throats. Until...

Marinovich hit a diving Johnnie Morton for a 23-yard TD with just 16 seconds left to win the game 45-42.

24. Notre Dame vs. Miami, 1988

Heading into this game at Notre Dame Stadium, the two teams were undefeated. Miami was the current defending national champion and held the No. 1 ranking. Notre Dame was ranked No. 4.

The game was preceded by a fight between the two teams in the stadium’s entrance tunnel and has often been named to lists of the greatest college football games of the period.

The game was close, and Miami scored a touchdown with 45 seconds left in the game to bring the score to 31-30 in favor of Notre Dame.

Miami coach Jimmy Johnson did not want to tie (at the time, college football games ended in ties; there was no overtime yet). He wanted to win, so he eschewed the PAT in favor of a two-point conversion.

The pass was knocked down, and Notre Dame snapped Miami’s 36-game winning streak.

Notre Dame would go on to beat No. 2 USC and then No. 3 West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl to win the 1989 national title. Miami went on to win out and finish No. 2 behind Notre Dame.

23. Harvard vs. Yale, 1968

In 1968, when Harvard and Yale met on the gridiron, it was the first time since 1909 that both teams were undefeated.

This was the final game of the season. Yale was favored to win and leapt out to an early 22-0 lead behind QB Brian Dowling. With just two minutes left in the game, Yale still led 29-13.

As the final moments ticked off the game clock, Harvard scored 16 points in the last 42 seconds of the game to bring the game to a 29-29 tie, prompting a now famous headline in The Harvard Crimson, “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29.”

22. Arkansas vs. Alabama, 1995

Arkansas trailed by six points when J.J. Meadors caught a TD pass as the clock ran out, putting the Hogs on top to beat the Tide, 20-19.

21. Texas vs. UCLA, 1970

With a 22-game winning streak, the defending national champion Texas Longhorns weren't supposed to have too many problems at home against No. 13 UCLA. However, the Bruins had all but pulled off the huge upset, as Texas trailed with the ball on the UCLA 45 with only 25 seconds to play.

On 3rd-and-19 with 20 seconds to play, Texas WR Cotton Speyrer ran over the middle, pulling in a perfect pass from QB Eddie Phillips. The UCLA defender couldn't make the tackle, and Speyrer ran into the end zone with 12 seconds to play; Texas won 20-17.

20. Florida State vs. Miami, 1991

Florida State and Miami went into the game ranked No.1 and No. 2, respectively.

With 29 seconds left in the game, FSU kicker Gerry Thomas missed a 34-yard game-winning field goal attempt—wide right. Miami won 17-16 and dashed the national title hopes of the Seminoles, not for the first time—or the last time.

19. Colorado vs. Michigan, 1994

Colorado scored on a 64-yard Hail Mary pass from QB Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook—the team’s second touchdown in the last 2:16 of the game.

With just six seconds remaining on the clock, Colorado was down 26-21 when Stewart lobbed a pass more than 70 yards in the air to Westbrook in the end zone to clinch the win.

18. California vs. Stanford, 1982

This annual Battle of the Bay saw its most ridiculous and incredible moment in 1982.

The game is very well known for its final play and for nearly three decades has been known by that simple moniker—“The Play.”

This kickoff return by California turned into a series of laterals to score the game-winning touchdown right as time expired. The clock ran out, but as “The Play” was still in motion, the game was not over.

Assuming that the game was over simply because the clock ran out, Stanford’s marching band (famous for their ridiculousness in their own right) came out onto the field before the play ended.

The picture that was taken of Cal’s Kevin Moen spiking the ball on the head of a clueless trombone player from Stanford is one of the most recognizable images in college football.

A trip to the Bay Area will reveal that the results of “The Play” are still a highly contentious subject for fans of each school.

17. USC vs. Oklahoma, 1981

Despite fumbling the ball 10 times (losing five of them), the Sooners had a 24-12 lead in the fourth quarter.

Marcus Allen scored his second TD of the game to pull the Trojans within three.

USC QB John Mazur led an amazing drive to get into field-goal range.

USC head coach John Robinson had no interest in a tie. 

On 3rd-and-goal from the 7-yard line, Mazur scrambled a bit before he got the ball to Fred Cromwell for the game-winning TD with just two seconds left on the clock.

16. Auburn vs. Alabama, 1972

Auburn was losing 16-3 with six minutes left when the Tigers blocked two Alabama punts, returning both for touchdowns to win the game 17-16 and hand Alabama its first loss of the year.

15. Northwestern vs. Wisconsin, 1996

Intent on running out the clock, Wisconsin fumbled on its own 41-yard line with just 49 seconds remaining in the game. Steve Schnur then hit D'Wayne Bates with 37 seconds left to give Northwestern the 34-30 victory.

14. Washington State vs. UCLA, 1988

The unranked Washington State Cougars visited No. 1 UCLA.

In the final minute of the game, UCLA was at 1st-and-goal on the WSU 1-yard line, and Wazzu stopped the Bruins on four straight plays to preserve the win and the greatest upset in Washington State history.

13. Alabama vs. Penn State, 1979

Alabama held Penn State for four consecutive downs on the goal line and kept the Nittany Lions from scoring to win the Sugar Bowl and national championship.

12. Pittsburgh vs. Georgia, 1982

This game had five lead changes by the time the fourth quarter rolled around when the Bulldogs led 20-17 with 3:36 remaining in the game.

Dan Marino and Pittsburgh started their final drive on their own 20-yard line. Marino hit John Brown on fourth down in the final minute to beat UGA and win the Sugar Bowl.

11. Notre Dame vs. Michigan, 1980

Notre Dame took an early 14-0 lead only to have Michigan erase it by halftime and go up 21-14 in the third quarter.

By the fourth quarter, the Irish were up 26-21, only to have Michigan come back to score a late touchdown and take a 27-26 lead with less than a minute to go.

With one last shot, Notre Dame moved into field-goal range, and Harry Oliver atoned for an earlier missed extra point by drilling a 51-yard field goal as time ran out for a 29-27 Irish victory.

10. USC vs. Stanford, 2007

USC was a 41-point favorite and had a 24-game home winning streak when Jim Harbaugh’s Cardinal marched into the Coliseum and stunned the Trojans, winning 24-23 on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left in the game. That topped off a two-minute, 11-play, 45-yard march downfield to upset the Trojans and snap their 35-game home winning streak.

USC was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in what remains the largest point spread upset in college football history.

9. West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh, 1975

The 1975 Backyard Brawl was tied at 14 with less than 20 seconds left in the game. The Panthers were buried deep in their own territory and getting ready to punt. 

Johnny Majors noticed his punt team was one man short, and Pitt was out of timeouts, so he ran onto the field to draw the penalty so Pitt could get another player on the field.

The Mountaineers fair-caught the punt and fumbled out of bounds to stop the clock. West Virginia’s Bill McKenzie kicked a 38-yard field goal to win the game over Tony Dorsett and the Panthers.

Two fans in the stands had heart attacks.

LITERALLY heart-stopping!

8. Florida vs Auburn 1986

Heading into this spectacular game, the Gators were 3-4. Auburn, on the other hand, was 7-0 and ranked No. 5 in the country.

Auburn jumped all over the Gators early, forcing six first-half turnovers in route to a 17-0 lead which held until the fourth quarter.

Injured Florida quarterback Kerwin Bell led the Gators to a touchdown to make it a 10 point game. Then the Gators kicker hit a 51-yard field goal to bring Florida within a touchdown of tying the game.

With two minutes left in the game, Florida got the ball back and Bell marched his Gators down field, scored a TD and then ran the 2 point conversion as the clock ran out to give Florida the upset 18-17.

7. Missouri vs. Nebraska, 1973

It was a do-or-die moment at the end of this meeting between the Tigers and the Cornhuskers. As the clock ran out, Mizzou intercepted the David Humm two-point conversion pass to get the upset win over Nebraska 13-12.

6. Boston College vs. Miami, 1984

This famous Hail Mary pass from QB Doug Flutie to wide receiver Gerard Phelan is one of college football’s most famous plays. 

With 28 seconds left in the game, BC trailed the ‘Canes 45-41. Three quick plays put BC at the Hurricanes' 48-yard line. Flutie called the “55 Flood Trip” play, where the receivers would run straight routes to the end zone and then tip the football to another receiver.

Flutie, narrowly avoiding a sack, threw the football from his own 37-yard line. Consider Flutie’s height—just 5’9”—and the wind that day—30 mph. He threw into the wind, after already throwing 45 times that game, and delivered a 63-yard pass into the hands of Phelan for the game-winning touchdown.

Flutie won the Heisman Trophy that year.

5. Michigan State vs. Ohio State, 1974

No. 1 Ohio State went into Spartan Stadium undefeated and faced a defensive battle for its life. In the fourth quarter Ohio State was up 13-9 when the Spartans ended up with the ball on their own 12-yard line with three-and-a-half minutes left in the game.

On first down, Charlie Baggett gave the ball to Levi Jackson, who promptly broke through the right side of the line and sprinted down the sideline 88 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

But that wasn’t the end of the game. The Buckeyes got the ball one last time and drove right down the field into MSU territory, ultimately getting to the 1-yard line with 26 seconds remaining.

The Buckeyes snapped the ball with 14 seconds left, but the Spartans stopped them, and Ohio State couldn't run another play in regulation as time ran out. OSU ran one final play that wound up in the end zone; however, the Michigan State team began running off the field before the play, convinced there was no time remaining.

One referee had signaled time had expired, and one had signaled touchdown, and after a 46-minute delay, the officials concurred what Michigan State had thought all along—time had officially run out on Ohio State, giving Michigan State one of its greatest victories in school history.

4. Penn State vs. Miami, 1986

Early in the fourth quarter, Miami was up 10-7. Penn State scored on its next possession to go up 14-10 with over eight minutes to play.

Miami began its last drive on its own 23 with 3:07 left in the game. With a minute left, Vinny Testaverde hit Michael Irvin at the Penn State 10.

The connection put the Hurricanes inside the five with 45 seconds left. On 4th-and-goal, with 18 seconds left, Testaverde threw to the end zone but was intercepted by Pete Giftopoulos. Penn State clinched the national championship.

3. Nebraska vs. Oklahoma, 1971

This contest is often referred to as "The Game of the Century" (as are about 10 other games). With less than two minutes to play, Jeff Kinney bowled in from one yard out to score his fourth TD of the game. Nebraska 35, Oklahoma 31.

2. USC vs. Notre Dame, 2005

Defending national champion and No. 1-ranked USC went into South Bend with a 27-game winning streak, including three consecutive wins over Notre Dame by 31 points each. Notre Dame came into the game ranked No. 9.

With just over two minutes left in the game, the Irish were up 31-28. On USC’s next drive, Matt Leinart threw an incomplete pass and was sacked for a loss of 10 yards. Fast-forward to a Leinart to Dwayne Jarrett pass at the Irish 13.

Two rushes by Reggie Bush brought USC to the 2-yard line, and Leinart scrambled to the sideline, fumbling the ball out of bounds.

Time was stopped with seven seconds on the clock; however, the scoreboard clock kept running, and the Notre Dame fans began to rush the crowd, thinking they’d toppled their most hated rival. The field was cleared, and seven seconds was restored to the clock.

On the last play of the game, Leinart tried a QB sneak and was stopped by the Irish—until Bush pushed him into the end zone for the winning touchdown. The “Bush Push” put the Trojans up 34-31.

1. Alabama vs. Auburn, 1985

Alabama was at its own 12-yard line and down by one point in that year’s Iron Bowl with just 37 seconds remaining in the game.

Crimson Tide quarterback Mike Shula marched his team down the field to the 35-yard line, where kicker Van Tiffin hit a 52-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to clinch the victory over Auburn, 25-23.