The Peak of New Year’s Day: College Football 1993

1993 produced the biggest regular season game and best single day of college football in my entire life.

Of course, college football being college football, the sport has ensured that neither ever happens again.

What made the 1993 college football season feel so special was the wide variety of teams involved in the national championship race and the amazing stories that captivated the sports world that fall. For the first time, it felt like college football had broken free from the “regional sport” stereotype and became a true, national sport.

With the notable exception of the Pac-10, every major conference had a national contender when November rolled around. The storylines, coaches, and players involved made for a riveting, compelling fall. Prior to 1993, most college football seasons at the very top revolved around a few teams that had a chance to win it all. But in 1993, it felt like anything was possible.

The biggest regular season game, obviously, was Florida State at Notre Dame in mid-November that was the Game of the Century in every sense of the word. Florida State, coached by Bobby Bowden and led by eventual Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, felt like a team from the future. They had athletes upon athletes all over the field, with a wide-open offense, which ran over teams all year. On the flip side, Notre Dame was not a flashy Notre Dame, but it ran through its season undefeated, and the game would be aired on NBC, which had only recently started airing every Notre Dame home game.

The game was so big that ESPN’s then-fledgling pregame show, College Gameday, decided to make its first-ever road trip. While today networks send crews to every big game, this was completely different and unprecedented. ESPN wasn’t even airing the game, why were there?

They were there because it was that big. Add in the blue-gray November sky and the historic Notre Dame Stadium, and the game was more Hollywood script than pigskin clash. The epic intro narrated by Bob Costas about how every kid grows up dreaming of playing in that type of game gives me goosebumps to this day.

Notre Dame won that day 31–24. It is estimated that 40 million people watched that Saturday afternoon. Yes, 40 million. To give…