The college football season gave us plenty of unforgettable highlights. Some were game-winning plays, and some had less at stake but were nearly impossible to believe. They all, however, made the season a memorable one. College Football 24/7 looks at 10 of the top plays in the game for 2016.
10. Avoid safety, score touchdown? No problem
Game: UNLV 45, Fresno State 20.
Date: Oct. 1
Location: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas.
When UNLV QB Dalton Sneed broke a tackle in his own end zone against Mountain West Conference foe Fresno State, avoiding a two-point gift to the Bulldogs had to be the only thing on his mind. By the end of the play, he'd found a way to score six. It was that kind of night for the Rebels, who won just their fourth MWC game in the last two seasons.
9. Perfect timing
Game: Auburn 23, Vanderbilt 16.
Date: Nov. 5
Location: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala.
Cunningham wasn't getting his due as a draft prospect for much of the season, but after this play, his notoriety spiked quickly. To fully appreciate Cunningham's feat in blocking an Auburn field goal, one must remember that snappers are protected from initial contact on field goal attempts. Cunningham leaped clean over Auburn snapper Ike Powell without touching him, and timed the jump with the snap to breach the protection at the snap of the ball. His timing was so perfect, replay officials checked to see if he was offsides. He wasn't.
8. Allen goes the distance
Game: Alabama 48, Ole Miss 43
Date: Sept. 17
Location: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Miss.
One of the top prospects for the 2017 NFL Draft, Alabama senior DL Jonathan Allen logged the highlight of his that you'll no doubt see most come draft season: a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown. And why not? A 300-pound lineman doesn't often get to put straight-sprint speed on display. Don't expect Allen to skip the 40-yard dash for scouts next spring, but if he did, this play could stand in well enough.
7. Heisman-quality hurdle
Game: Louisville 62, Syracuse 28
Date: Sept. 9
Location: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Louisville QB Lamar Jackson turned college football on its ear this season, racing to Heisman Trophy front-runner status with video game-like numbers. Among a weekly string of spectacular plays, this one captured Jackson's superior athleticism best: A hurdle over a Syracuse defender, with full clearance, for a Week 2 touchdown.
6. Wrap-around touchdown
Game: Ohio State 45, Oklahoma 24
Date: Sept. 17
Location: Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Okla.
The level of difficulty on the third of Noah Brown's four touchdown catches against the Sooners was somewhere off the scale. In pulling in the 21-yard reception from J.T. Barrett, Brown wrapped his arms around CB Michiah Quick and secured the catch against his back. Unfortunately for Quick, he'll have to stomach watching this highlight for years to come.
5. Wait, what happened?
Game: Morningside College 14, Northwestern 13
Date: Nov. 12
Location: Elwood Olsen Stadium, Sioux City, Iowa.
How fortunate can a running back be? Tyler Kavan brought a new meaning to it when he lost a fumble and returned one 59 yards for a touchdown on the same play. For the winning points. In a championship game. And his hustle allowed it to happen.
4. Jourdan Rules
Game: Michigan 14, Wisconsin 7
Date: Oct. 1
Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Michigan CB Jourdan Lewis missed a lot of action early in the season with an injury, but plays like these make up for lost time. With 2:15 remaining against Big Ten foe Wisconsin, Lewis preserved a 14-7 win with a one-handed interception. Had he just broken up the pass, it would have been an impressive play. But in making a leaping catch with one outstretched hand, he made it an unforgettable one.
3. The "Dobbsnail Boot"
Game: Tennessee 34, Georgia 31
Date: Oct. 1
Location: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga.
Late, legendary Georgia radio voice Larry Munson once famously described a Georgia game-winning touchdown pass against Tennessee by saying the Bulldogs had stepped on UT's face with a hobnail boot. That call has gotten, well, a facelift from Tennessee fans, who dubbed QB Josh Dobbs' game-winning Hail Mary touchdown pass as the "Dobbsnail Boot."
2. The field goal block heard around the Big Ten
Game: Penn State 24, Ohio State 21
Date: Oct. 22
Location: Beaver Stadium, State College, Penn.
There are plenty of blocked field goals not listed here, but how many of them served notice to a Power 5 conference that a traditional power is back? That's what safety Marcus Allen's denial of a 45-yard attempt did in Happy Valley, at least once Grant Haley had scooped up the fourth-quarter loose ball and taken it the distance for the game's final points.
1. Stunner in Stillwater
Game: Central Michigan 30, Oklahoma State 27
Date: Sept. 10
Location: Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Okla.
OK, so it shouldn't have counted. Let's not allow that to diminish the amazement of Cooper Rush's Hail Mary touchdown pass that required a desperation lateral with no time left on the clock. Bottom line: It did count, it was the play of the regular season, and it will surely find its way into Chippewas lore without the slightest apology.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
