Drafting the Top 15 college football plays of all-time

As the calendar turns to June, and with the start of the 2026 college football season still three long months away, it’s the perfect opportunity to reminisce about some of the most iconic plays in college football history. Well, On3 talent Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman and producer River Bailey delivered just that during a recent segment on the Andy & Ari On3 podcast.

As Staples repeatedly says in the segment, all three show their age with their selections, with the veteran Staples including three legendary moments from the 1980s when he was growing up, while the younger Bailey includes four plays from the 2010s. Meanwhile, Wasserman may have been experiencing a bit of recency bias with three of his five picks from the past decade, including a memorable moment from the 2023 Iron Bowl.

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With that in mind, let’s check out how On3’s Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman and River Bailey rank the greatest college football plays of all-time:

Andy Staples’ picks

Kick Six: 2013 Iron Bowl, Auburn–Alabama (Round 1, Pick 1)
The Play: 1982 Cal–Stanford (Round 2, Pick 3)
Hail Flutie: 1984 Orange Bowl, Boston College–Miami (Round 3, Pick 1)
Statue of Liberty: 2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise State–Oklahoma (Round 4, Pick 3)
Belue to Scott: 1980 Florida–Georgia (Round 5, Pick 1)

Staples starts things off with a bang, selecting the iconic ending to the 2013 Iron Bowl when Auburn’s Chris Davis fielded a missed field goal attempt by Alabama’s Adam Griffith and returned it 109 yards untouched for the game-winning touchdown as time expired on the 34-28 victory. That single play propelled Auburn to the 2013 SEC Championship and then to the final BCS National Championship game, where the Tigers lost to Florida State, 34-31.

Staples then lucks into what he calls “the craziest play of all-time” from the 1982 Cal-Stanford game when the Golden Bears utilized five laterals before Kevin Moen ran over a trombone player in the end zone after the Stanford band walked onto the field with seconds left in the game. Staples then closed with two other iconic plays from the 1980s, including Doug Flutie‘s miraculous 48-yard Hail Mary — arguably the most well-known among Hail Mary plays — to knock off Miami in the 1984 Orange Bowl.

Ari Wasserman’s picks

2nd & 26: 2018 National Championship, Alabama–Georgia (Round 1, Pick 2)
Grave Digger 4th & 31: 2023 Iron Bowl, Alabama–Auburn (Round 2, Pick 2)
Trouble with the Snap: 2015 Michigan–Michigan State (Round 3, Pick 2)
Vince to the Pylon: 2006 BCS National Championship, Texas–USC (Round 4, Pick 2)
Maurice Clarett strips Sean Taylor: 2003 BCS National Championship, Ohio State–Miami (Round 5, Pick 2)

Alabama fans will absolutely love Wasserman’s first two selections, beginning with then-freshman Tua Tagovailoa‘s incredible game-winning touchdown pass to future Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith on second-and-26 to send the Crimson Tide to the 2018 National Championship win over Georgia. He then followed with Jalen Milroe‘s improbable game-winning touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond on fourth-and-31 to clinch a 24-20 comeback against rival Auburn.

Wasserman then closes with a pair of legend-making plays by two of college football’s biggest stars of the 2000s. First is Vince Young‘s iconic game-winning touchdown on fourth-and-five that sent the Longhorns to a 41-38 win in the 2006 BCS National Championship game over USC. Then Wasserman wrapped with a rare defensive play from Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett, who stripped Miami safety Sean Taylor on an interception return early in the third quarter of the 2003 BCS national title game.

River Bailey’s picks

App State Blocked FG: 2007 Appalachian State–Michigan (Round 1, Pick 3)
Jadeveon Clowney’s The Hit: 2012 Outback bowl, South Carolina–Michigan (Round 2, Pick 1)
Hail Mary & Lateral: 2016 Central Michigan–Oklahoma State (Round 3, Pick 3)
Little Giants Fake FG: 2010 Michigan State–Notre Dame (Round 4, Pick 1)
Prayer in Jordan-Hare: 2013 Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, Auburn–Georgia (Round 5, Pick 3)

Bailey, meanwhile, is going to upset Michigan fans with his first two selections, including opening with the play that sealed one of the greatest upsets in college football history when Appalachian State‘s Corey Lynch blocked a field goal to secure a 34-32 season-opening win over No. 5 Michigan in 2007. He then moves a play that’s simply known as “The Hit” when South Carolina‘s Jadeveon Clowney leveled Michigan’s Vincent Smith, forcing a fumble and recovering it in a 33-28 win in the 2012 Outback Bowl.

Bailey then highlights some of the wildest game-winning plays, including when Central Michigan’s Jesse Kroll caught a Hail Mary pass from Cooper Rush at the 10-yard line and lateraled to teammate Corey Willis who scored with no time left on the clock for the 30-27 win in 2016. He follows with Michigan State’s “Little Giants” fake field goal touchdown pass from holder Aaron Bates to knock off Notre Dame, 34-31, in overtime, and the improbable “Prayer in Jordan-Hare” when Auburn’s Ricardo Louis miraculously catches a Hail Mary pass from Nick Marshall that tipped off the hands of Georgia safety Tray Matthews for the 43-38 rivalry win in 2013.

Honorable mentions

Miracle at Michigan: Kordell Stewart Hail Mary TD vs. Michigan (1994)
Bush Push: Reggie Bush pushes Matt Leinart into end zone vs. Notre Dame (2005)
Bluegrass Miracle: Devery Henderson Hail Mary TD catch vs. Kentucky (2002)
Johnny Manziel recovers bobbled fumble to throw winning TD to Ryan Swope vs. Alabama (2012)
Dob-Nail Boot: Josh Dobbs 74-yard Hail Mary TD to Jajuan Jennings vs. Georgia (2016)
Hobnail Boot: David Green to Verron Haynes 6-yard TD vs. Tennessee (2001)
Michael Crabtree game-winning TD catch vs. Texas (2008)

With just 15 total selections, Staples, Wasserman and Bailey were bound to miss some iconic plays, as indicated by some absolutely memorable moments included as honorable mentions. But, overall, they each delivered with many of the legendary plays college football fans still talk about to this day.