Talk:Game of the Century (college football)

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[edit] More than one Game of the (20th) Century in the article

This article covers multiple notable games of the 20th century.

Games of the century? --Jingofetts 19:30, 28 December 2005 (UTC)
how can there be SIX games called the Game of the Century? Four of them are in a 6 year span! Kingturtle 00:36, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

I rearranged this discussion along the topic lines. There are a number of games that have been labeled "Game of the Century" by the media. It happens alot, even the media realizes the dilution of the term. The first century of college football was barely halfway through, when the label was being used already.

There is a fine line between "Notable College Football Games of the 20th Century" and the "Game of the Century". Pretty much any game with that label belongs in this article. I suggest a category be created for notable games and a separate one for Games of the century. A case can be made for all the current entries. Here are the tasks for this article.

When putting in a game of the century, the description needs:
1.) Who called this a "Game of the Century?"
2.) Why is this qualified to be a "Game of the Century?"

The problems associated with this article that cause the changes are:
1.) A particular game is THE Game of the Century, to the exclusion of all others. There are a number of games that stand out, but there never has been one mighty earth-shaking game that changed college football dramatically. There have been many incremental changes in the game. From the introduction of the forward pass, to bowl games and television, it has been a gradual process.
2.) A particular game IS or IS NOT a game of the century. Since the label has been applied multiple times, cases could be made for many games to be included, and many to be excluded.
3.) The article is long, with no pictures and few references. The tags appear currently at the beginning of the article about Original research, NPOV, and so forth. Each game should have its own main article and be cut otherwise to a few paragraphs about what, why and who. Group29 13:56, 10 July 2007 (UTC)


[edit] The Games of the 20th Century

[edit] 1987 Fiesta Bowl: #1 Miami vs. #2 Penn State

This was billed by NBC as the true Game Of The Century and remains to this day the highest-rated televised game in the history of college football. --BroadSt Bully 00:49, 26 July 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Georgia Tech vs Cumberland College???

where is it?

[edit] Georgia Tech-Cumberland? Is that a joke?

The most lopsided game in history does not belong with all the rest. It's an interesting game for other reasons, but it's completely out of place here. Funnyhat 00:53, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

I deleted it because it definitely does not belong on this list.

[edit] 1935: Ohio State - Notre Dame

I'm pretty sure this one was billed as a "GOtC" back in the day, shouldn't someone add it to the list?

Yes it was: OSU-ND 1935: "The Game Of The Century" (Scout.com) In a poll taken in 1950, it was voted by football writers as the Game of the Century., yes it should be.

[edit] 1966: Michigan State vs Notre Dame

Definitely belongs in this list, as it was constantly being referred to as such by the media and others from weeks before the game up through the rest of the decade. It's historically noteworthy also for how it ended - with the ball on their 30 in the final minutes, Notre Dame made no attempt to break a 10-10 tie.70.123.216.219 02:11, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Agree. It was deleted with no discussion whatsoever along with 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame by an anonymous user. Also, the article basically referes to games of the 20th century. Group29 21:09, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

Rectified, using much of the 1966 Notre Dame vs. Michigan State football game article as a basis. It belongs on this list based on its significance at the time, an era before the BCS and widespread intersectional play when #1 vs #2 matchups only came around once every 10-20 years. Agree that the Army-ND game should be restored as well. Doubt whether the Cumberland-GA Tech game belongs here - maybe moved to a "Slaughter of the Century" article (heh, heh)? - it certainly was not an anticipated contest by any means.70.123.216.219 00:18, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

it got removed at some point. I've re-added it. I'm sure this thing is a monster to maintain since it's common for fans to have the "mine and mine only" perspective CredoFromStart 19:35, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nebraska vs Oklahoma 1971

Moved this link to the discussion.

There is a very strong case for this one being labeled The Game of the Century due to the existence of a book of the same name. Group29 14:04, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] List

These are the games from the list in the book Rites of autumn: the story of college football from chapter 6 entitled VICTORY The Greatest Games

  • Princeton-Yale, November 24, 1899
  • Carlisle-Army, November 9, 1912
  • Chicago-Princeton, October 28, 1922
  • Stanford-California, November 22, 1924
  • Yale-Dartmouth, October 31, 1931
  • Minnesota-Northwestern, October 31, 1936
  • Pittsburgh-Fordham, October 16, 1937
  • Army-Notre Dame, November 9, 1946 "It was surely the game of the year, and many have said it was the college football game of the century"
  • Notre Dame-SMU, December 3, 1949
  • Michigan-Army, October 8, 1949
  • Purdue-Notre Dame, October 7, 1950
  • Oklahoma-Notre Dame, November 16, 1957
  • Notre Dame-Michigan State, November 19, 1966
  • Texas-Arkansas, December 6, 1969
  • Nebraska-Oklahoma, November 25, 1971
  • Alabama-USC, September 23, 1978
  • USC-Stanford, October 13, 1979
  • Penn State-Nebraska, September 25, 1982
  • Notre Dame-Miami, October 15, 1988
  • Florida State-Notre Dame, November 13, 1993 and Boston College-Notre Dame, November 20, 1993
  • Nebraska-Missouri, November 8, 1997

Whittingham, Richard (2001). "6", Rites of autumn: the story of college football (in English). New York: The Free Press, 148-183. ISBN 0-7432-2219-9.  (bolded ones already part of this article) Group29 (talk) 15:56, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] 1905 Michigan at Chicago Thanksgiving day

Michigan-Chicago 1905: The First Greatest Game of the Century [1] [2] Chicago Maroons 2 - Michigan Wolverines 0, Thanksgiving day 1905 at Marshall Field in Chicago. Michigan halfback William Dennison "Denny" Clark made the mistake of running out of the end zone with a punt and was tackled for a safety. He committed suicide 27 years later. In 1904, the Chicago Michigan was one of the first games to be recorded on film. Group29 (talk) 15:21, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] The Games of the 21st Century

[edit] USC vs. Texas (and other games of the 21st century)

That wasn't considered a game of the century before, and it wasn't after, by any coach or other professional. It was a good game, no doubt, and it did have a 1 ranked and 2 ranked team against each other, but it wasn't thought as a game of the century. If that qualifies, then the 2003 Fiesta Bowl and the Catholics vs. Convicts game should be.

I would certainly nominate the 2006 Rose Bowl with USC vs Texas as a candidate for the first 21st century game of the century. It featured two Heisman winners vs the runner up. The teams were ranked #1 and #2 all year. It was at the Rose Bowl, with the greatest pageantry of all the postseason bowl games. And it all came down to a 4th down make or break play by Lendale White of USC. Obviously there is a lot of football left to be played in the 21st century. However, this is one rare time when all sports pundits seemed to be in agreement about the best two teams playing at the end of the season. One point might be that Games of the Century do not seem to occur in bowl games. Group29 21:09, 15 January 2007 (UTC)


[edit] OSU - Michigan 2006

The whole media called this game another "Game of the Century" (although for the 21st century, I suppose). I think it should be included in this article. --RNJBOND 01:26, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Correction: Michigan fans tried to get people to call it the "Game of the Century," but we knew better.


[edit] Games that do not belong

[edit] removed 2006 USC UCLA

It has never been referred to as "game of the century" although if constructed as a separate article would be under category of Notable Upsets in college football. Group29 18:20, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Boise State Vs. Oklahoma (2007)

This game is considered a classic. AN up and coming school versus an old powerhouse. A team that oercame a plethora of problems versus an undefeated team. Trick plays, come backs, and an overtime. Should this game be added? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.59.72.101 (talk) 01:28, 6 May 2007 (UTC).

I"d say no, unless you can cite an unbiased, verified source proclaiming it as the game of the century. CredoFromStart 19:43, 15 May 2007 (UTC)
This was a stunning upset and a great game with a dramatic finish. However this 2007 Fiesta Bowl was also a #9 vs #7 final pick of the BCS teams. Group29 13:56, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
There were numerous sports writers, coaches, news programs, etc. that declared this one of the greatest college games of all time. Wouldn't that count as good enough for this century as well? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.92.23.243 (talk) 20:21, 16 January 2008 (UTC)
This also was one of the lowest rated and least watched BCS games ever to through the 2007 season. If Boise State had not won, the discussion would be moot, much like the 2008 Sugar Bowl with Georgia over Hawaii. Appalachian State over Michigan 2007 was a greater game and greater upset. The Stanford over USC 2007 game also was a greater upset. These two teams were very closely ranked 9 and 7, it was as close as the rankings indicate it should have been. It has its own article, that should cover it. It has notability as a "have not" over a "have" in the college football world. It certainly was not the first time and will not be the last. The sportswriters in question are hyping this game after the fact not so much because it was a "game of the century", but as a case for eliminating the bowl games and creating a playoff system. If a playoff ever comes to Division I big school football, then the game will be seen as a historical point in college football. The game was more an indication of things to come, than a Game of The Century. Group29 (talk) 17:23, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Split this article?

The games should be covered by separate articles; in fact, some already are. Suggest we split the content of each section into a page (if it isn't already on one) then leave this page as a disambig page linking to those. See the Snow Bowl (disambiguation) as an example. Rmarquet 01:22, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

This article is long, so... Each game should be split into a seperate article and Game of the Century (college football) should serve as a disambiguation page. Thoughts? —Disavian (talk/contribs) 03:40, 9 January 2007 (UTC)
Makes sense to me. How would each game be titled? like USC Trojans vs. UCLA Bruins 1967 (college football)? Group29 21:11, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
Added 1967 USC vs. UCLA football game as a separate article. Group29 18:20, 27 March 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Repeated blanking by User:Michael7601

It appears that User:Michael7601 wants to concentrate on the 1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma game. I am basing this on Special:Contributions/Michael7601. However, this user has ignored warnings on the User_talk:Michael7601 page about blanking. This user has not participated in any discussion on this page. One of the finer points about Wikipedia:Etiquette is "Avoid reverts and deletions whenever possible". My suggestion is that a separate article be created with this game summary to be a main article link within. Group29 21:58, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

(an E-mail from Michael7601)

Hello,

I received your message about the changes made to the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_the_Century_%28college_football%29 page.

These changes are not vandalism. They are constructive edits.

The game of the century is generally regarded to be the 1971 Nebraska Oklahoma game. The other games, while significant and memorable, should be in a separate category reflecting their separate status.

I believe the members who keep adding game after game to reflect their personal sentiments are diluting the category to the point of meaninglessness. My changes are an attempt to keep Wikipedia accurate, reliable and 'on point.'

If you insist that dilution of this category be allowed then despite my disagreement, from this day forward I will abide by your decision.

By the way, I did not go to that school and have no particular or personal interest in the game. My interest is in not permitting the mob to rewrite history.

Sincerely, Michael7601

Michael7601, I do not disagree about the dilution. For those of us who are college football enthusiasts, a case could be made for inclusion of every game personally witnessed. However, publications about college football name all of the games listed here and then some as some of the greatest games ever played in college football for various reasons. Some are great rivalries, some are #1 vs. #2 matchups, some contain unbelievable plays. My personal feeling is that the Game of the Century is the 1982 Cal/Stanford game which contained The Play. However, it has never been labeled as such. This article is missing a number of citations which would help clearly define "Game of the Century". It would appear that none of the games listed contain a solid breakthrough in college football history like the Game of the Century (college basketball). Keeping the mob from re-writing history is an uphill battle in Wikipedia. Read Wikipedia:Lamest edit wars for a few good laughs. The best advice is discuss, get citations (copies of newspaper articles etc.) However, deleting without discussion does not work here, no matter what you are trying to accomplish. Group29 00:37, 2 June 2007 (UTC)