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Most Important College Football Game for Each Top 25 Team During 2016 Season

By Zach Bigalke

Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Bo Scarbrough (9) moves past Mississippi Rebels linebacker DeMarquis Gates (3) during the fourth quarter of the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Bo Scarbrough (9) moves past Mississippi Rebels linebacker DeMarquis Gates (3) during the fourth quarter of the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 19, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Darren Carrington II (7) makes a catch in the end zone against Utah Utes defensive back Brian Allen (14) for the game-winning touchdown with 2 seconds remaining in the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Oregon won 30-28. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Darren Carrington II (7) makes a catch in the end zone against Utah Utes defensive back Brian Allen (14) for the game-winning touchdown with 2 seconds remaining in the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Oregon won 30-28. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

19. Utah Loses 30-28 to Oregon to Fall from Pac-12 South Race (Nov. 19)

Not every important game leaves happy memories for a Top 25 team. Heading down the stretch, Utah had a shot at winning the Pac-12 South for the first time since shifting conferences in 2011. The Utes were 8-2 as they welcomed Oregon to Rice-Eccles Stadium, and all they needed to do was beat the sub-.500 Ducks to set up a winner-take-all showdown for the division crown the following weekend against Colorado. Then Oregon snatched victory from the clutches of defeat, and Utah’s Thanksgiving weekend in Boulder lost a lot of its allure.

It looked as though Kyle Whittingham’s team had everything under control in the first half. The hosts scored first on a 24-yard TD run by Cory Butler-Byrd, and they held the Ducks to a single field goal to go to the locker room up 7-3 at the intermission. Joe Williams added a 12-yard score on the ground in the third quarter, and entering the last 15 minutes Utah was up 14-10. Suddenly the offenses warmed up in the fourth quarter, as Utah and Oregon traded touchdowns on the last five possessions of the game. Utah looked to have secured victory when Troy Williams found Evan Moeai for a 30-yard TD strike with less than three minutes remaining. Then this happened:

Darren Carrington’s circus catch put Oregon up by two with two seconds remaining, and Utah couldn’t work a miracle on the kickoff. While Utah had done enough over the course of the year to remain ranked, they dropped 10 spots down the College Football Playoff Top 25 and lost their chance to play for the Pac-12 South.

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