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About This Quiz
Fall is over, and the college football regular season has passed along with it. Conference championships have also been decided, and when the final polls come out, you'll know if your favorite team was able to squeeze into one of the major bowl games and perhaps even into the national championship conversation.Â
That's exactly what you face as a college football fan each year as you watch preseason favorites fall while underdogs rise in the rankings. It's all for nothing unless they can make it into one of the major bowl games, though. Every school in the country is competing for a spot, after all, but only a few select teams will be granted one. That means that each week leading up to bowl season is crucial, as one loss can take a team completely out of the conversation.Â
How well do you know the teams since 2010 which held on to find themselves in contention for a major bowl game? From classic games like the Rose Bowl to the honor of playing in the national championship, this quiz covers the most important games from this decade.Â
If you think you can get an easy win, get started and show everyone just how big of a college football fan you've been since 2010.Â
Ohio State and Arkansas
Oregon and Auburn
Though the 2010-11 BCS National Championship featured two of the most explosive offenses in the nation, the game turned into a defensive slugfest. The Auburn Tigers managed to walk away with a 22-19 victory after hitting a last-second field goal as time expired.
Stanford and Virginia Tech
Wisconsin and TCU
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LSU and Texas A&M
Alabama and Michigan State
Stanford and Virginia Tech
The Stanford Cardinals crushed the Virginia Tech Hokies behind the stellar play of quarterback Andrew Luck. In the game, Luck threw for 287 yards and set a Stanford bowl game record with four touchdowns.
South Carolina and Florida State
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Wisconsin and TCU
Traditionally, a spot in the Rose Bowl is reserved for the champions of the Pac 12 Conference and the Big Ten Conference. However, should one of these teams reach the BCS National Championship, the second spot goes to a team from a non-qualifying conference, which is why TCU gained entry.
Oklahoma State and Arizona
Notre Dame and Miami
Nebraska and Washington
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Mississippi State and Michigan
Nevada and Boston College
Florida and Penn State
Ohio State and Arkansas
The 2010-11 Sugar Bowl was the final game for Ohio State's quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who decided to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL draft. Had he stayed in college, Pryor would have been suspended for the first five games of the next season for selling memorabilia.
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Kansas State and Arkansas
Penn State and Houston
Clemson and West Virginia
Coming into the game, analysts expected the 2011-12 Orange Bowl to be a high scoring affair. However, they didn't know it would be so lopsided, as West Virginia walked away with a 70-33 victory.
Georgia Tech and Utah
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LSU and Alabama
After losing to LSU in the regular season, Alabama shut the Tigers out in the National Championship Game. The victory marked the first BCS bowl game shutout since the system was established.
Ohio State and Florida
Nebraska and South Carolina
Illinois and UCLA
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Texas and UCLA
Oklahoma State and Stanford
The 2011-12 Fiesta Bowl was the first time the Stanford Cardinals and the Oklahoma State Cowboys met each other on the football field. The contest between these two new opponents went into overtime, where the Cowboys hit a field goal to achieve the win.
Kansas State and USC
Oklahoma and Oregon
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Iowa and Oklahoma
Auburn and Virginia
Wisconsin and Oregon
Michigan and Virginia Tech
Typically, the Sugar Bowl features a team from the SEC, but since both Alabama and LSU were playing in the National Championship, two spots were left to be filled. Michigan and Virginia Tech were given the two slots, making it the most recent Sugar Bowl to not feature an SEC team.
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Stanford and Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Badgers were making their third straight Rose Bowl appearance when they ran onto the field on Jan. 1, 2013. However, the results were the same as the past two seasons, with Wisconsin once again failing to get a win.
Georgia Tech and USC
Texas and Oregon State
Iowa State and Tulsa
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South Carolina and Michigan
Kent State and Arkansas State
Pittsburgh and Ole Miss
Louisville and Florida
With only one loss on the season, the Florida Gators came into the 2012-13 Sugar Bowl favored by 13 and a half points. However, after multiple turnovers and poor overall offensive production, they lost the game 33-23.
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Georgia and Nebraska
Notre Dame and Alabama
Notre Dame and Alabama both had dominant defenses throughout the 2012-13 season. The defense for the Fighting Irish failed to show up for the national championship, though, as they gave up 529 yards and 42 points.
Clemson and LSU
Texas and Oregon State
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Kansas State and Oregon
Pittsburgh and Ole Miss
Northern Illinois and Florida State
After breaking into the top 16, the Northern Illinois Huskies qualified for a BCS bowl position. When they were selected for the Orange Bowl, they became the first team from the Mid-American Conference to reach a BCS bowl.
Michigan State and TCU
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Nebraska and Georgia
South Carolina and Wisconsin
Oklahoma and Alabama
Florida State and Auburn
The Auburn Tigers went into halftime of the 2013-14 BCS National Championship with a 21-10 lead over the Florida State Seminoles. However, the Seminoles scored 24 points in the second half to take a 34-31 victory.
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Vanderbilt and Houston
Missouri and Oklahoma State
UCF and Baylor
With one of the most explosive offenses in college football, Baylor was favored to win the 2013-14 Fiesta Bowl by 16 and a half points. UFC had different plans, though, and came out hot, scoring 28 of their 52 points in the first half as they went on to win the game by 10.
Texas A&M and Duke
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Oklahoma and Alabama
Having just missed out on making it to another national championship, the Alabama Crimson Tide's defense was not motivated for their bowl game, giving up 45 points to the Oklahoma Sooners. It was the most points Alabama allowed all season.
North Texas and UNLV
Mississippi State and Rice
UCLA and Virginia Tech
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Vanderbilt and Houston
Michigan State and Stanford
The Stanford Cardinals were determined to stop the lethal rushing attack of the Michigan State Spartans in the 2013-14 Rose Bowl. The Cardinals were able to achieve their goal, but they allowed 332 yards through the air, costing them the game.
Missouri and Oklahoma State
Nebraska and Georgia
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South Carolina and Miami
Oregon and Florida State
Florida State put together the only undefeated season of any team that reached the 2014-15 College Football Playoffs. However, the Seminoles had a relatively easy schedule, which showed when they lost the Rose Bowl 59-20.
Penn State and Boston College
Texas A&M and West Virginia
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Michigan State and Baylor
When the first ever College Football Playoff rankings came out, the Baylor Bears got the short end of the straw and barely missed making it into the playoffs. Instead, they faced Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl Classic, where the Bears would again come up short.
Virginia Tech and Cincinnati
Arizona State and Duke
Penn State and Boston College
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Georgia and Louisville
Clemson and Oklahoma
USC and Nebraska
Ohio State and Alabama
The Ohio State Buckeyes shocked the college football world when they upset number one-ranked Alabama in the 2014-15 Sugar Bowl. The biggest surprise was that Ohio State came into the game with their third string quarterback as the starter.
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Boise State and Arizona
UCLA and Kansas State
Ole Miss and TCU
Years after the 2014-15 season for Ole Miss, the team vacated most of the wins they racked up during the season due to recruiting violations from the period. They also vacated wins from the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016 seasons.
Oklahoma State and Washington
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Texas A&M and Virginia Tech
Arkansas and Texas
Notre Dame and LSU
Georgia Tech and Mississippi State
During the 2014-15 Orange Bowl, the Mississippi State Bulldogs struggled to contain the triple option attack used by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Bulldogs did put up 34 points of their own, but it wasn't enough to win the game.
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Houston and Florida State
The 2015-16 Peach Bowl was the first major bowl game for the Houston Cougars since they played in the 1985 Cotton Bowl Classic. The Cougars came ready to play and easily defeated a Florida State team that didn't seem very interested in the game.
Utah and BYU
Washington State and Miami
Nebraska and UCLA
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Washington and Southern Miss
Alabama and Clemson
Deshaun Watson was a stud for the Clemson Tigers in the 2015-16 National Championship, as he put up a national championship game record 478 total yards by himself. It wasn't enough to outscore the Alabama Crimson Tide, however, and Clemson went down 45-40.
Baylor and North Carolina
LSU and Texas Tech
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West Virginia and Arizona State
Georgia and Penn State
Stanford and Iowa
Iowa's only loss in the 2015-16 season was in the Big Ten Championship to the Michigan State Spartans. Their competition was pretty soft throughout the year, though, so it wasn't surprising when they were left out of the College Football Playoffs.
TCU and Oregon
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Ole Miss and Oklahoma
The Ole Miss Rebels got their tenth win of the season when they defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2015-16 Sugar Bowl. The win marked the first time the school reached ten wins since 2003.
Arizona and New Mexico
Washington State and Miami
Baylor and North Carolina
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Auburn and Memphis
Louisville and Texas A&M
Ohio State and Notre Dame
The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish came into the 2015-16 Fiesta Bowl ranked number seven and number eight respectively. The Buckeyes had one late season loss on their schedule, while the Fighting Irish had two losses against top 15 teams.
Michigan and Florida
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Oregon and Texas
Army and North Texas
Wake Forest and Temple
Alabama and Washington
The Alabama Crimson Tide came into the 2016-17 Peach Bowl determined to stop the rushing attack of the Washington Huskies. They were successful in their attempt, allowing only 44 yards on the ground.
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Oklahoma State and Colorado
USC and Penn State
Quarterback Sam Darnold led the way for the USC Trojans, as they racked up 52 points in the 2016-17 Rose Bowl. He was named the game's MVP after throwing a Rose Bowl record five touchdowns while also putting up 453 yards through the air.
Georgia and TCU
Stanford and North Carolina
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Mississippi State and Miami
Baylor and Boise State
Clemson and Ohio State
The Ohio State Buckeyes were shutout in the 2016-17 Fiesta Bowl by the Clemson Tigers and their stout defense. It was the first time Ohio State couldn't score in a bowl game since 1921.
Virginia Tech and Arkansas
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Arkansas State and UCF
Wisconsin and Western Michigan
Western Michigan was one of only two schools to make it to a major bowl game in the 2016-17 season with an undefeated record. They wouldn't end the season undefeated, however, as they lost the Cotton Bowl Classic to Wisconsin.
Idaho and Colorado
Boston College and Maryland
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Florida State and Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines played in the 2016-17 Orange Bowl under second-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh previously coached the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, where he reached Super Bowl XLVII.
Boston College and Maryland
Wake Forest and Temple
Northwestern and Pittsburgh
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Duke and Northern Illinois
Kansas State and UCLA
Florida State and Southern Miss
Auburn and UCF
Auburn was given one of the toughest schedules in college football during the 2017-18 season. Not only did they have to face rivals Alabama and Georgia, but they also had an early season matchup against a highly ranked Clemson team.
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Oregon and Boise State
Georgia and Oklahoma
It took two overtimes to decide the 2017-18 Rose Bowl, which featured future NFL players like Baker Mayfield and Sony Michel. The game ended on a 27 yard rushing touchdown by Michel, giving Georgia the win.
Kansas State and UCLA
Iowa and Boston College
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South Carolina and Michigan
Mississippi State and Louisville
Northwestern and Kentucky
Ohio State and USC
Finishing the season ranked number five, the Ohio State Buckeyes just missed out on making the College Football Playoffs. Had they not lost to an unranked Iowa team, they would have been in a better position to make the cut.
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Wisconsin and Miami
The Orange Bowl is played annually in Hard Rock Stadium located in Miami, Florida. The stadium hosts the Miami Hurricanes throughout the regular season, giving the Hurricanes a home field advantage in their matchup with Wisconsin.
Duke and Illinois
Texas and Missouri
TCU and Stanford
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South Florida and Texas Tech
Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech
Alabama and Georgia
In the 2017-18 College Football National Championship, Nick Saban faced his old defensive coordinator, Kirby Smart. Smart's knowledge of his former mentor helped Georgia take an early 13-0 lead, but Alabama made a second half comeback to win the game in overtime.
Michigan State and Washington State
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Wake Forest and Memphis
Boston College and Boise State
TCU and California
Florida and Michigan
Florida came into the 2018-19 Peach Bowl under first year head coach Dan Mullen, who led the team to a 9-3 regular season record. Previously, Mullen served as the offensive coordinator for the Gators under Urban Meyer.
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LSU and UCF
The UCF Knights went into the 2018-19 Fiesta Bowl having completed their second undefeated regular season. However, they met an LSU team that was determined to get a major bowl victory, which they accomplished by defeating the Knights 40-32.
Duke and Temple
Wisconsin and Miami
Baylor and Vanderbilt
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BYU and Western Michigan
Ohio State and Washington
Ohio State's head coach Urban Meyer was suspended for the first three games of the 2018-19 season due to allegations relating to his knowledge of an abuse incident with one of his assistant coaches. At the end of the season, Meyer announced he would be retiring from his head coaching position.
Troy and Buffalo
Minnesota and Georgia Tech
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TCU and California
Auburn and Purdue
Clemson and Alabama
The Alabama Crimson Tide couldn't keep up with the offensive production of the Clemson Tigers, losing the national championship 44-16. The blowout marked the largest margin of defeat during Nick Saban's time at Alabama.
Oregon and Michigan State
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You Got:
/40
