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October 15 is the greatest college football day — not in 2022, not in 2005, but of all time

Matt Zemek
·4 min read
2

What is it about October 15 which brings out the very best in college football?

We commemorated the 17th anniversary of USC’s 2005 win over Notre Dame this weekend. We noted that in 2022, October 15 fell on a Saturday, just as it did in 2005. We gathered some notes on October 15, 2005, trying to express how great a day it was beyond the USC-Notre Dame classic itself.

Fighting Irish Wire spent some time documenting how great October 15, 2022 proved to be. USC-Utah was part of a remarkable day in the sport, but Tennessee’s 52-49 win over Alabama took center stage.

If you think 2005 and 2022 are the only memorable October 15s in college football history, however, you would be wrong. There’s even more to the story of how October 15 is, for inexplicable reasons, the best date on the college football calendar … ever.

TENNESSEE-ALABAMA 2022

We don’t need to discuss this game too much. It spoke for itself.

Vols 52, Tide 49.

As thrilling and memorable a Tennessee-Alabama game as any we have ever seen in this colorful Southern rivalry.

Let’s take in some photos of this game:

WHOA

LIFE

ORANGE SEA

Oct 15, 2022; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans rush the field after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

PARTY TIME IN KNOXVILLE

Oct 15, 2022; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans rush the field after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

USC-UTAH 2022

The ending was terrible and painful for USC, but this was still a game we’re not going to soon forget (unfortunately). October 15 has mysterious powers.

TCU 43, OKLAHOMA STATE 40 (2 OT)

This was the crazy, multiple-overtime game any great day of college football in modern times usually manages to produce. Two unbeaten teams played a thriller, with TCU coming back from a 17-point deficit to win. October 15, baby.

NORTH CAROLINA 38, DUKE 35

North Carolina stunned Duke with a late score.

Just like basketball!

PURDUE 43, NEBRASKA 37

Crazy, wild, fun, and a game which helped Purdue stay in the Big Ten West Division title chase.

LSU 45, FLORIDA 35

There were a lot of games between high-profile (but not very good) teams which were hugely entertaining. This was one example. Arkansas 52, BYU 35 was another. This day had so much entertainment value. October 15, 2022 rocked.

OCTOBER 15, 2005

We looked back at this day on its 17th anniversary.

Let’s still mention a few of this date’s great games, beyond USC-Notre Dame 2005.

WEST VIRGINIA-LOUISVILLE 2005

This was the Pat White game, when the fast, young QB relieved Adam Bednarik and began to establish his legend as an iconic West Virginia Mountaineer. WVU beat Louisville in OT (as TCU beat Oklahoma State in 2022) as part of an incredible season for the Mountaineers. They eventually beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

PENN STATE-MICHIGAN 2005

Michigan won in the final seconds to stun Joe Paterno and Penn State. The 2022 Michigan-Penn State game wasn’t thrilling, but the 2005 edition sure was … on October 15.

WISCONSIN-MINNESOTA 2005

On October 15, 2005, Wisconsin — trailing in the final 40 seconds — blocked a Minnesota punt and recovered it in the end zone for a winning touchdown.

OCTOBER 15, 1988

This is the October 15 younger college football fans might not be aware of.

Third-ranked USC beat No. 16 Washington, 28-27. That’s not USC’s greatest ever win on Oct. 15, because the 2005 Notre Dame win surpassed it. Still, it was a big moment for a team which made the Rose Bowl and came close to winning a national title.

1988 NOTRE DAME-MIAMI WAS ON OCTOBER 15

Oct 1988; South Bend, IN, ISA; FILE PHOTO; Notre Dame Irish head coach Lou Holtz during the 1988 season at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports Copyright Malcolm Emmons

CATHOLICS VS. CONVICTS

Notre Dame 31, Miami 30, on a defensive stop of Miami’s game-deciding 2-point try. October 15, 1988, in South Bend. No one who saw it will ever forget it.

ALSO ON OCTOBER 15, 1988

Nebraska defeated eventual Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders and Oklahoma State, 63-42, in a crazy game.

Sanders had 189 rushing yards in what was, all told, an average game for him that year.

ONE MORE OCTOBER 15, 1988 GAME

Arkansas beat Texas, 27-24, as part of its Southwest Conference championship season. This was shortly before Arkansas moved to the SEC and set the stage for the death of the SWC, which splintered into the Big 12 and other smaller conferences in 1996.

October 15 is hard to top as the best date on the college football calendar: not just in 2022 or 2005, but on an all-time level.

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire