College Football: Top 10 games of the 2017 season

9. Washington State 30, USC 27 | September 29

It was one of the most important games in recent program history for Mike Leach and the Washington State Cougars. The Cougars had a chance to score their first win against USC at home since 2002, and perhaps more importantly, could control their own destiny in the Pac-12 at that point in time. It appeared to be an electric atmosphere at Martin Stadium for this top-25 matchup.

It was tightly fought game from start to finish with the largest lead from either team being a touchdown at two different points in the game. What appeared to be the dagger in the heart for USC was Luke Falk‘s 23-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Morrow early on in the fourth quarter, sending the crowd in Pullman into a frenzy. But Sam Darnold and USC didn’t back down as he marched USC down the field and punched in a two-yard touchdown with over 5 minutes to play

Washington State followed up USC’s score by driving the ball deep into Trojan territory and knocking in the go-ahead field goal with over a minute and a half to play. But some feared that the Cougars had left Darnold too much time. But freshman Jahad Woods ended any fears that Cougar fans might have had with a strip sack of Darnold.

The win resulted in fans storming Martin Field in celebration and led to this all-time post game quote from Mike Leach during his interview with ESPN on the field.