College Football: Top 8 Finishes Of The Season

6. Michigan State 24 - Stanford 20 (January 1, 2014)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqIdMWm9LHY The Rose Bowl is legendary for producing classic games that fans will reminisce about for the coming years, and the 2014 Rose Bowl was no exception. Pitting two of the toughest teams in college football against one another, Stanford and Michigan State entered this years' Rose Bowl as two of the top-ranked defenses in the nation. Fans and analysts alike were divided on who would win this contest; would it be the rising Spartans who were in the midst of one of the best seasons in program history? Or the battle-tested Cardinal who were looking for their second straight Rose Bowl win? The game started with Stanford driving the field for the first score of the day, and followed it up with a Field Goal to take a 10-0 lead after one quarter. Michigan State responded with a touchdown and a defensive stop of their own, but a costly throw by Quarterback Connor Cook went the other way for a Stanford TD, giving the Cardinal a 17-7 with under two minutes remaining. Cook redeemed himself with a phenomenal drive to end the half, taking the Spartans 75 yards in just under 100 seconds to close the gap, 17-14. The second half was all defense as neither team was able put up stellar numbers as the game went on, and into the fourth quarter all tied at 17. Cook hit Tony Lippett just as the final quarter started to put Michigan State up by a Touchdown. From then on, the nation's top ranked defense kicked it into high gear, holding Stanford to just 66 yards in the fourth quarter. On fourth and one with under two minutes left, Stanford needed just a yard to keep their hopes of winning alive. Former Walk-on Kyler Elsworth of Michigan State made a stop right at the line for the Spartans, good for his fourth tackle of the day, and Defensive MVP on the game. Michigan State caps off one of the best seasons in Spartan history with a thrilling Rose Bowl Victory, 24-20.