College football is widely viewed as one of America’s most popular sports. But even though the sport seems to be a long, winding road with potholes disguised as the transfer portal and uncontrolled revenue sharing, the passion this game brings each and every fall Saturday is still unlike any other.
Now, as anticipation continues to build for the upcoming 158th year of college football, it really begs the simple question of — how did we get here?
ESPN’s Bill Connelly attempted to answer that question by highlighting the 100 games that best explain college football in 2026. Rather than ranking the 100 greatest games ever played, the list focuses on the matchups that have had the biggest impact on shaping the sport.
Connelly broke the 100 games into seven categories: Making legends, innovations, postseason drama, upsets, frustrating finishes, TV rules, realignment’s effects and classic endings.
Of all these classic matchups, six Georgia football games featured some all-time highs and lows in the program’s 134-year history. The Bulldogs found themselves in the “Legends,” “Postseason drama,” and “Classic endings” categories, with four games under current coach Kirby Smart and one under former coaches Mark Richt and Vince Dooley accumulating a 3-3 overall record.
Below are Connelly’s thoughts on each one.
Legends
Sept. 6, 1980: No. 16 Georgia 16, Tennessee 15
“He’s running over people! Oh, you Herschel Walker! My God Almighty, he ran right through two men! Herschel ran right over two men! ...My God, a freshman!"
Postseason Drama
Jan. 1, 2018: No. 3 Georgia 54, No. 2 Oklahoma 48.
“In the College Football Playoff era, major bowls serve a different purpose -- the biggest bowls are now semifinals and, in the 12-team era, quarterfinals. But on occasion these games can still be remembered as bowls, playoff games and absolute classics. And the 2018 Rose Bowl was a nearly perfect football game no matter the stakes."
Classic endings
Nov. 16, 2013: No. 7 Auburn 43, No. 25 Georgia 38; Nov. 30, 2013: No. 4 Auburn 34, No. 1 Alabama 28.
“Or back-to-back home miracles for a team that damn near won the national title.”
Oct. 1, 2016: No. 11 Tennessee 34, No. 25 Georgia 31.
“Or a second-TD-in-10-seconds Hail Mary that happens on the same day as utterly chaotic endings in Clemson, Ames, Tallahassee, Fort Worth and State College (and the day after one of the wildest track meets of the century).”
Jan. 8, 2018: No. 4 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia 23.
“Or an all-timer of a national title game that ends on second-and-26.”
Dec. 31, 2022: Georgia 42, Ohio State 41.
“Or an all-timer of a semifinal game that ends on a field goal that goes into the air in one year and lands in the next.”
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