65. Rutgers 41, Washington State 38 (August 28)
64. Navy 42, South Alabama 40 (November 28)
63. Boise State 51, Nevada 46 (October 4)
62. Louisville 44, Kentucky 40 (November 29)
61. Washington 59, EWU 52 (September 6)
60. Boise State 60, New Mexico 49 (November 8)
59. Baylor 48, Texas Tech 46 (November 29)
58. Cincinnati 54, ECU 46 (November 13)

Not every shootout is fun. Sometimes they turn us all into sofa versions of Chris Spielman, yelling "come ON" at defenses for perpetual breakdowns.

And sometimes they're fun as hell. These eight games featured a combined 746 points, 8,528 yards, and 25 lead changes. They were fun as hell.

57. WVU 37, Texas Tech 34 (October 11)

While TCU-Baylor was sucking up most of the Big 12 oxygen on October 11, a classic was unfolding in Lubbock.

Two years after pummeling WVU and sending the Mountaineers into an epic tailspin, Texas Tech was threatening to do the same. The Red Raiders went up 21-10 at halftime on the power of three long touchdown passes (two to Devin Lauderdale and one to Jakeem Grant).

But things got crazy in the final 17 minutes. Clint Trickett and Jordan Thompson connected on a 56-yard score to make it 27-20. Tech responded with a 69-yard run by freshman Justin Stockton. Trickett hit Kevin White for a 26-yard score with six minutes left, then Rushel Shell capped a seven-play, 78-yard drive to tie with 2:02 remaining.

Tech quickly moved into position for a game-winning score. But the Red Raiders punted, and WVU got the ball with 52 seconds left. Three runs and two passes to Thompson got the Mountaineers to the Tech 38. Josh Lambert took it from there.

56. Auburn 20, Kansas State 14 (September 18)

College kickers giveth...

Kansas State's Jack Cantele had made 11 of 13 field goals in 2013 and four of five so far in 2014. He was a solid college kicker. And he lost his mind when Auburn came to town.

On a Thursday night in Manhattan, KSU gave No. 6 Auburn all it could handle. The Wildcats held Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant to 3.2 yards per carry and allowed 10 points to the prolific Tigers through three quarters. But blown opportunities caught up to Bill Snyder's squad. In the first quarter, Tyler Lockett dropped a pass in the end zone; it was intercepted by Jonathan Jones. Five minutes later, Cantele missed a 41-yard field goal. And with the first half expiring, Cantele missed a 42-yarder.

But hey, those were long kicks. That happens. Then Cantele missed a 22-yarder wide right late in the third, and Auburn responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive to go up 17-7. And when KSU's Charles Jones scored to cut Auburn's lead to 20-13 late in the game, it was freshman Matthew McCrane who came on to attempt the PAT. Cantele would miss a PAT against UTEP the next week, and that was that. McCrane (18-for-19 on FGs) would hold the job the rest of the season, and Auburn would escape Manhattan undefeated.

55. Northwestern 43, Notre Dame 40 (November 15)
54. Louisville 31, Notre Dame 28 (November 22)

Prompted by a tough loss to Florida State, the Irish fell from 6-0 to 7-5; the losses to Northwestern and Louisville were the third and fourth, respectively.

But they were thrillers. Northwestern had dropped one-possession games to Cal, NIU, Minnesota, and Michigan and was desperate for bowl eligibility when the Wildcats visited South Bend. Notre Dame, still ranked 15th, had hopes for a big bowl. But after building a 20-9 lead, the Irish made too many mistakes for big plays to offset. Everett Golson threw an interception to Anthony Walker, who returned it 65 yards to set up a short touchdown and a 23-20 NU lead. He responded with a touchdown pass to William Fuller, but Kyle Brindza missed a 38-yard field goal.

Golson lost a fumble at the Northwestern 5, but the Irish still led 34-26 late. Then Chris Brown lost a fumble at the Northwestern 1. Still ... Notre Dame blocked a field goal and led, 40-29, with under five minutes remaining. Trevor Siemian cut the lead to 40-37 with a short touchdown run, Notre Dame had a chance to run the clock out ... and Cam McDaniel fumbled. Northwestern hit a field goal and sent the game to overtime. Brindza missed another field goal, Jack Mitchell did not, and Northwestern pulled the upset. (Then attacked the postgame Chick-fil-A.)

A week later, Notre Dame only turned the ball over once! But Louisville sophomore Brandon Radcliff had a huge day, rushing 17 times for 136 yards, and Golson was sacked three times. (Plus, his lone interception was returned to the ND 11.) And with Louisville clinging to a 31-28 lead, Brindza missed again, this time wide right from 32 yards.

College kickers.

53. Air Force 27, Colorado State 24 (November 28)

We didn't talk enough about Air Force this year. With no major changes to the coaching staff, and without too much returning experience, Troy Calhoun's Falcons pulled off an incredible turnaround. Losers of 14 of their previous 17, Air Force went 10-3 and pulled two massive upsets: first, they beat Boise State with help from seven Bronco turnovers. Then, they beat Colorado State with help from a steel hammer.

Air Force held a 24-10 lead over CSU late, but the Rams struck back: Garrett Grayson hit Xavier Williams for a 76-yard score, then found All-American Rashard Higgins from two yards out to tie the game with 11 minutes left. But with CSU driving to take the lead, Weston Steelhammer picked off a Grayson pass at the Air Force 35. And with 44 seconds left, Steelhammer and Troy Timmerman stuffed Dee Hart for no gain on fourth-and-2 from the AFA 42. Nate Romine hit Garrett Brown for 26 yards with 15 seconds left, and Will Conant nailed a 39-yarder at the buzzer, and Air Force knocked its state rivals out of the Mountain West race.

College kickers!

52. Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State 31, Boston College 30 (December 27)

COLLEGE KICKERS.

The Pinstripe Bowl was an intense affair in front of an excitable crowd at Yankee Stadium. It featured a breakout performance from PSU's Christian Hackenberg (34-for-50, 371 yards, four touchdowns to cap a frustrating season) and receivers Chris Godwin and Eugene Lewis (14 catches, 222 yards). BC's Jon Hilliman and Tyler Murphy combined for 253 rushing yards and BC took the lead on a field goal with 2:10 left. PSU's Sam Ficken, who'd been using Derek Jeter's locker, sent it to OT with a 45-yarder.

But the ending was as sad as it was exciting. Murphy connected with David Dudeck for a 21-yard touchdown to give BC the lead, but Mike Knoll shanked the PAT. Hackenberg found Kyle Carter for a 10-yard score, Ficken made the extra point, and PSU had win No. 7.

51. Minnesota 28, Nebraska 24 (November 22)
50. Nebraska 37, Iowa 34 (November 28)
49. Holiday Bowl: USC 45, Nebraska 42 (December 27)

Nebraska's season was two seasons. Through 10 games, Bo Pelini's Huskers stood at 9-1, darkhorse Big Ten (and technically national) title contenders. They got up to 11th in the country before Melvin Gordon disemboweled them on national television. Then they turned every game into a fun-as-hell mess.

First, you had the heartbreaker. Nate Gerry returned a blocked field goal 85 yards to give the Huskers a 21-7 lead, but De'Mornay Pierson-El lost a fumble at the Minnesota 11 after a 25-yard reception, and the Huskers missed a chance to extend the lead. Then Minnesota's plodding offense rolled downhill. The Gophers scored on two long third-quarter drives to make it 24-21, then took the lead on a Mitch Leidner run with 3:25 left. But Nebraska's banged-up receiving corps began to make plays.

Tommy Armstrong Jr. found Pierson-El and Lane Hovey for receptions, and from the Minnesota 30, Armstrong lobbed a pass to Pierson-El, who made a leaping catch at the Minnesota 2 ... and fumbled. Ballgame.

The Bo Pelini era was crumbling in on itself as Iowa returned an interception and a blocked punt for touchdowns in the first half. The Hawkeyes led, 24-7, but the Huskers rallied. Taariq Allen and Kenny Bell caught touchdowns, and Pierson-El returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown. Iowa took the lead back with 1:49 left, but a long pass from Armstrong to Brandon Reilly set up a Drew Brown field goal and sent the game to overtime. And after Iowa settled for a field goal in its overtime possession, Armstrong and Bell connected from nine yards out to complete the comeback.

After Pelini was fired despite a 9-3 record, Nebraska went to San Diego for an old-fashioned Holiday shootout. The Huskers scored on passes of 65 and 18 yards, Pierson-El finished his freshman season with 102 receiving yards, and Armstrong passed for 381 despite an iffy day from Ameer Abdullah. Meanwhile, USC's Cody Kessler threw for 321 yards, Javorius Allen rushed for 152, and Adoree' Jackson scored on a 98-yard kick return and a 71-yard catch-and-run.

Nebraska led 17-10 after one quarter, USC led 45-27 late in the third, NU cut it to 45-42, and the Huskers had a chance to take the lead before failing on fourth-and-3 from the USC 31 with 2:31 left.

The first three quarters of Nebraska's season were good. The last quarter was fun. For the rest of us.

48. LSU 10, Ole Miss 7 (October 25)
47. Alabama 20, LSU 13 (November 8)

It was a transition year for LSU. The offense broke in young pieces, and the defense was scattershot, allowing 570 yards to Mississippi State and 566 to Auburn and 31 points to Notre Dame but also holding five SEC opponents (Kentucky, Ole Miss, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas A&M) to 12.8 points per game.

An 8-5 campaign is anything but classic for the Bayou Bengals, but that five-game stretch saw a couple of awesome slugfests. First, on Homecoming, the Tigers wrecked Ole Miss' perfect season. A trio of LSU backs (Leonard Fournette, Terrence Magee, Kenny Hilliard) rushed for 250 against a stout Ole Miss defense, but miscues (a missed field goal and two fumbles in Ole Miss territory, all in the first quarter) allowed Ole Miss to take an unlikely 7-3 lead into halftime. The lead held up into the fourth quarter thanks to two LSU interceptions.

After Ole Miss' fourth consecutive three-and-out, LSU's offense got untracked. The Tigers ran 12 consecutive times for 92 yards against a depleted Ole Miss defense, then Anthony Jennings found Logan Stokes for a three-yard touchdown pass off of play-action. LSU took a 10-7 lead, stuffed Bo Wallace on a fourth-and-1 sneak with 1:44 left, then picked off an ill-advised throw to the end zone with one second left. Instead of playing for the field goal and overtime, Wallace went for the throat, and Ole Miss died.

Two weeks later, it was your typical LSU-Alabama battle: physical and full of field goals. Alabama's Adam Griffith hit one near halftime to put Alabama up 10-7, and LSU took a 13-10 lead after two Colby Delahoussaye shots in the second half. Alabama's first five possessions of the second half had gone punt, punt, punt, punt, fumble.

But with time disappearing and in desperate need of three points to keep title hopes alive, Blake Sims hit Christion Jones for 22 yards, then found DeAndrew White along the sidelines for 16 yards with three seconds left. Griffith made a 27-yarder to send the game to OT.

In OT, Alabama unleashed a trick formation to spring 304-pound Brandon Greene for a 24-yard pass, and after a series of penalties and short runs, Sims and White connected again, this time for a six-yard touchdown. Jennings threw four incompletions, and Bama survived.

46. Arizona State 38, USC 34 (October 4)
45. USC 28, Arizona 26 (October 11)
44. Utah 29, Oregon State 23 (October 16)
43. UCLA 40, Colorado 37 (October 25)
42. Arizona 27, Washington 26 (November 15)
41. Utah 38, Colorado 34 (November 29)

#MACtion may have been lacking, but we still had #Pac12AfterDark. The Pac-12 Network isn't as available as it should be for fans to catch its ridiculous games, but the more Pac-12 you watched this year, the more fun you had.

Arizona played in eight games decided by one possession (the Wildcats went 6-2). UCLA (6-1), Utah (5-2), USC (4-3), and Cal (3-4) each played in seven. Hell, five others (Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, and Colorado) played in five. The conference was awash in great games, and while there are plenty remaining on this countdown, here's a selection of some wonderful games that didn't quite make the top 40. Any of these has a case for the top 25.

• Typically, an end-of-game Hail Mary merits top-20 placement. I docked ASU's prayer-aided win over USC because it was the easiest Hail Mary of all time. USC defenders either couldn't locate the ball or were too tired to make a play. Regardless, it capped a crazy comeback and an even crazier fourth quarter. USC led, 34-25, but a 73-yard pass from Mike Bercovici to Cameron Smith made it 34-32. After a USC three-and-out, ASU needed to go 72 yards in 23 seconds. Then things got easy.
• Seven days later, the gods paid USC back. USC led Arizona, 28-13, with 11 minutes left. With 67 seconds left, Jared Baker went in from a yard out to make it 28-26, but he was stopped short on the two-point attempt. Arizona recovered the onside, and worked to the USC 19 with 17 seconds left. But instead of a second-straight collapse, USC survived when Arizona's Casey Skowron pushed a 36-yard field goal wide right.
• Five days after that, on a Thursday night in Corvallis, Utah and Oregon State went into overtime when OSU's Trevor Romaine bombed in a 49-yard field goal at the buzzer. Despite passing for 62 yards (with four sacks knocking the net yardage to 47 yards on 22 attempts), Utah survived because of Devontae Booker, who rushed 32 times for 229 yards and scored twice in overtime, the second a game-winning 19-yarder following, you guessed it, a missed field goal.
• Having barely survived Cal the week before, a frustrating UCLA headed to Boulder and almost collapsed. The Bruins led, 31-14, after three, but Sefo Liufau hit Bryce Bobo for two touchdowns, and Will Oliver made a 35-yard field goal with 36 seconds left to complete the comeback. In the second OT, Colorado elected to kick on fourth-and-1 from the UCLA 16. Oliver made the 34-yarder, but Brett Hundley rushed twice for 25 yards and scored the game-winner.
• A few weeks later, it was Arizona's turn again. Washington jumped out to a 17-7 lead, but Arizona led 21-17 at half. Washington scored nine in the third to take a 26-21 lead, but after the Huskies' Sidney Jones picked off a pass in the end zone, Deontae Cooper lost a fumble at the Washington 44 with 1:23 left. Skowron, the goat against USC, nailed a 47-yarder to keep Arizona in the division race.
• Colorado improved but finished 2-10 because of an inability to win close. On senior day in Boulder, the Buffaloes took a 34-28 lead over Utah when Liufau hit Nelson Spruce for a 66-yard score. But Liufau gave one back. With 10 minutes left, he threw a 20-yard pick six to Dominique Hatfield. CU worked into Utah territory with four minutes left, but the Buffs stalled.

Seriously, this was almost every week out West.

40. Oklahoma State 38, Oklahoma 35 (December 6)
39. Kansas State 31, Oklahoma 30 (October 18)
38. TCU 37, Oklahoma 33 (October 4)

In last summer's Oklahoma preview, I pointed to all the ways Oklahoma got lucky during the 2013 stretch run, which included road wins over Kansas State and Oklahoma State and a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama. Those wins got the Sooners ranked high heading into this season.

But even for Sooner magic, there is reciprocation. All the luck that Oklahoma had late in 2013 reversed and amplified.

In three of Oklahoma's five losses, the Sooners suffered the following:

• Four return touchdowns: two via interception, one via fumble, and one via punt return (in the final minute of regulation, no less).
• An injury to star back Perine in the third quarter of the Oklahoma State game (with the Sooners up 14).
• Missed field goals from 19, 32, and 44 yards, plus a missed PAT. (Otherwise, kicker Michael Hunnicutt was 11-for-13 on field goals and 60-for-61 on PATs.)
• Recovery of only three of seven fumbles.

Yet in all of these games, OU had chances to lead late. Against TCU, Paul Dawson's pick six gave the Horned Frogs a 37-33 lead, but Trevor Knight was picked off by Chris Hackett at the TCU 9 with six minutes left, then Perine was stuffed for no gain at the TCU 22 with three minutes left.

Against Kansas State two weeks later, Knight connected with Durron Neal for what was supposed to be the game-tying touchdown with 10:35 remaining, but Hunnicutt's PAT was blocked. OU had a first-and-goal from the KSU 4, but three Perine rushes gained two yards, and Hunnicutt shanked a 19-yarder.

And against Oklahoma State, OU held a 35-21 lead with under five minutes remaining before freshman Mason Rudolph hit Brandon Sheperd for a 43-yard score to make it 35-28. And after Zack Sanchez picked off a Rudolph pass with three minutes left, the Sooners needed only to run out the clock. But they couldn't, and in attempt to pin OSU inside the 10, OU teed up a 92-yard punt return by Tyreek Hill with 45 seconds left.

From Rocket Ismail (sort of) to Gio Bernard to Hill, there might not be any more exciting play in college football than a last-second punt return score. (And then Hunnicutt missed a 44-yarder in OT.)

Oklahoma spent most of 2014 playing like a top-15 team. But the bad moments were hideous, and the luck was even worse.

37. Florida State 37, Oklahoma State 31 (August 30)
36. Florida State 23, Clemson 17 (September 20)
35. Florida State 31, Notre Dame 27 (October 18)
34. Florida State 42, Louisville 31 (October 30)
33. Florida State 30, Miami 26 (November 15)
32. Florida State 20, Boston College 17 (November 22)
31. Florida State 37, Georgia Tech 35 (December 6)

Little about Florida State's season made sense. No team with that level of talent -- even with inexperience and injuries -- should look that consistently sketchy. And no team that looks that sketchy should look that consistently awesome in the fourth quarter.

Jameis Winston had a 117.1 passer rating in the first quarter and a 164.0 rating in the fourth. FSU's pass defense allowed a 147.4 rating in the first quarter and a 98.7 in the fourth. FSU was outscored by 12 points in the first quarter (absurd for a team that finished 13-1) and outscored opponents by 120 points the rest of the way.

The escape act played out in different ways from week to week.

• Oklahoma State getting the ball at midfield with a chance to take the lead with five minutes left.
• Clemson intercepting a Sean Maguire pass and having the ball in the FSU red zone, tied, with under two minutes remaining.
• NC State (not even listed here) going up 24-7 in the first quarter.
• FSU taking its first lead against Notre Dame with 7:39 remaining and needing a late offensive pass interference call to seal the game.
• Louisville leading 24-7 in the third and dropping a probable pick six that would put the Cardinals up 10 in the fourth (then having two defenders run into each other on the next play, clearing the way for a long TD pass). This all came after Louisville fumbled away another INT.
• Miami leading 23-7 in the second quarter, holding onto a 26-23 advantage deep into the fourth, and advancing into FSU territory in the final minute.
• BC eating up almost nine minutes in the fourth quarter of a tie game, only to miss a 42-yard field goal and watch FSU make one at the buzzer.
• Florida (also unlisted) going up 9-0 early (which is like 24-7 to anybody else) and getting to midfield with under a minute left, down five points.
• Georgia Tech scoring on four of its first five non-halftime possessions before turning the ball over twice, once via downs and once via interception, in the fourth quarter.

Expectations play a huge role in our experience. If less established teams with similar computer ratings -- Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, or Mississippi State, perhaps -- pulled off similar runs of escape acts, they would have been the darlings of the season, the underdogs that kept finding a way. But since it was FSU, the defending champion with the defending Heisman winner, fairly perceived character issues, and top-notch recruiting rankings, each new escape was met with one giant sigh.

For refusing to lose, the Seminoles became 2014's villain. And the villain was felled by Oregon via a series of comically self-inflicted wounds in the Rose Bowl.