Video: The 5 most exciting SEC bowl finishes through the years

When a college football season begins, every coach in America sets a goal of playing into the New Year. Once that moment arrives, though, the results can vary pretty wildly. Between the long layoff, the odd location and the circumstances – teams can show up hyper-focused or disinterested, depending on the season that preceded the bowl –  bowl games tend to be a pretty poor indicator of the teams that participate in them.

As such, the bowl-game finishes range from “memorable” to “kind of a waste of time.”

After scrolling through SEC bowl results, we’ve compiled a few of the more exciting finishes in SEC bowl history. Let me know if we missed any.

5. 1979 Sugar Bowl – Alabama 14, Penn State 7

So right away, we should mention that this is a list of exciting finishes, not a list of the most significant games or bowl games that are the most storied. Alabama was 10-1 coming into the game, facing a Penn State team that hadn’t lost in 19 games. A Bama fumble in the fourth quarter set up the Lions inside the 20 with a chance to tie the game, but the Tide turned away Penn State at the 1-yard line in a moment that still hangs on the walls of Bama fans everywhere.

4. 2004 Capital One Bowl – Iowa 30, LSU 25

Does anybody remember how the Nick Saban era at LSU ended? Outside of Iowa and Louisiana, probably not. But here it is:

3. 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl – Texas A&M 52, Duke 48

If things in Cleveland remain as they are, this has a chance to be Johnny Manziel’s last positive moment on a football field. It was really something, though.

2. 2000 Independence Bowl – Mississippi State 43, Texas A&M 41 (OT)

I’ll be honest: When I was compiling this list, I put this game on it, if for no other reason than I remember State wearing those all-white uniforms in a driving snowstorm. I had completely forgotten that the game was a classic, that it went to overtime, and that State walked off because of a blocked extra point and a Wayne Madkin touchdown.

1. 2011 BCS National Championship – Auburn 22, Oregon 19

“For all the Tostitos.”

Honorable mentions:

• 2006 Cotton Bowl – Alabama 13, Texas Tech 10
• 2008 Alamo Bowl – Missouri 30, Northwestern 23 (OT)
• 2015 BCS National Championship – Florida State 34, Auburn 31

Will Heath

Will Heath is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football.