Seven Plays That Changed the Trajectory of the 2023 College Football Season

From Alabama’s late miracle against Auburn to Notre Dame’s defensive mishap vs. Ohio State, the season was ultimately decided on a few key moments.

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where sympathy cards should be sent to Vanderbilt, Kent State and Louisiana-Monroe, the only FBS schools to go winless in conference play:

First Quarter: CFP Committee Stress Test | Second Quarter: Why Texas A&M Vetoed Stoops Hire | Third Quarter: Conference Title Game Picks

Fourth Quarter: A play here, a play there …

At the end of every season it’s possible to look back and see where the old “game of inches” saying rings true. Oftentimes the entire national landscape can tilt on a tiny margin between one team’s success and another team’s failure.

That’s part of the beguiling beauty and enduring appeal of the game—all the planning and preparation and effort can boil down to a semi-random, in-the-moment, split-second occurrence. The Dash has identified seven season-altering moments that have shaped 2023.

Bond’s (17) catch kept Bama alive in the playoff hunt :: John Reed/USA TODAY Sports

Fourth and 31 (31). It won’t be remembered on quite the same level as second-and-26 in Alabama lore, but the play that won the Iron Bowl Friday was more improbable than that.

The difference between miracle victory and stunning upset loss to 6–5 Auburn was an electric pass by Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe and a catastrophic defensive plan by Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze and defensive coordinator Ron Roberts.

With Bama down to its last chance, trailing by four points and facing a fourth-and-goal from the Auburn 31 after a comedy of errors, the Tigers sealed their own doom. They sent just two players in to rush Milroe, giving him the one thing a quarterback wants most of all: time.

A third Auburn defender lurked beyond the line of scrimmage as a spy against Milroe running. This was the most nonsensical part of the play, since he needed to run 31 yards or else the game was lost. The instant Milroe broke the line of scrimmage, every defender could have converged upon him. Essentially, Auburn opted to play 10-on-11 on the play.

The other eight dropped into deep coverage, guarding the end zone. Yet they still managed to leave Isaiah Bond single-covered in the back left corner. Milroe fired a rocket in his direction, Bond made the catch, an entire stadium looked on in horror and Alabama remained alive in the College Football Playoff race.

Texas stonewalled in Red River (32). In the early stages of the fourth quarter of a rollicking rivalry showdown between Texas and Oklahoma on Oct. 7, the Longhorns completed a pass to the Sooners’ 1-yard line. A tying touchdown seemed a mere formality.

Texas brought in its jumbo offensive personnel and gave the ball three straight times to Jonathon Brooks. Three straight times, Oklahoma defenders beat Texas blockers to the spots and stopped Brooks for no gain, no gain and a one-yard loss. On fourth down from the 2, quarterback Quinn Ewers threw in the flat to Xavier Worthy, but he was chopped down short of the goal line as well.

The Horns eventually took the lead but were beaten in the final minute, 34–30, by a stunningly easy Oklahoma touchdown drive. Had they gotten the ball in the end zone from the 1, they might still be undefeated and in control of their playoff destiny instead of 11–1 and needing some help.

Chip Trayanum’s plunge (33). Auburn opting for a de facto 10-on-11 defensive alignment on the deciding play against Alabama was something, but Notre Dame did it for real on the final two plays against Ohio State on Sept. 23. The result was Trayanum barely getting to the goal line for the winning touchdown with a second left to play, having run right over the void left by a missing Fighting Irish defensive lineman.

Had Notre Dame been at full strength and stopped that decisive play, Fighting Irish fans undoubtedly feel better about what would be a 10–2 season. And Ohio State would be out of the playoff picture altogether at 10–2. The Buckeyes still are a CFP long shot right now at 11–1, but hope remains alive thanks to that last-second victory.

Washington’s pick-six against Arizona State (34). The undefeated Huskies were locked in a shockingly difficult game against the 1–5 Sun Devils on Oct. 21. ASU led 7–6 in the middle of the fourth quarter and drove to the Washington 12-yard line, facing a fourth-and-3. With an iffy kicking game, coach Kenny Dillingham opted to go for it with a pass into the right flat. Cornerback Mishael Powell jumped it and returned it 89 yards for a touchdown that turned the game.

The Huskies won 15–7 without scoring an offensive touchdown. Had Arizona State attempted (and made) the field goal for a 10–6 lead, that might have been enough to give Washington what would be its only loss of the season.

Boston College’s series of unfortunate events against Florida State (35). The Seminoles seemingly had victory assured with a 31–10 lead over the Eagles late in the third quarter on Sept. 16. Then the game changed.

Boston College drove for a touchdown to make it 31–16, but Liam Conner missed the extra point. FSU fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and BC drove to the 5-yard line, where coach Jeff Hafley opted against a field goal—perhaps because of the missed PAT moments earlier. BC was stopped on fourth-and-2. Five plays later, the Eagles had a fumble return for a touchdown to make it 31–22, and Hafley opted for a two-point conversion that failed.

BC scored again to make it 31–29 and got a defensive stop that would have given it one last chance, but the Eagles were flagged for the last of their school-record 18 penalties on the day to extend Florida State’s last drive and keep the Seminoles undefeated, which they are to this day.

The Cooper DeJean flag (36). The Iowa punt returner seemed to have won a stultifying slog of a game against Minnesota with the only electrifying play of the day, a 54-yard punt return in the final two minutes for a 16–12 lead. But officials ruled DeJean had given an “invalid fair catch” signal before fielding the play by waving his teammates away from the ball. Thus the return was ruled dead at the spot where DeJean fielded the ball. It was a rare and jarring call that met immediate blowback, but it fit the rule book definition. Iowa’s brutal offense promptly went sack, incompletion, interception to end any hopes.

If DeJean’s punt return had stood, Iowa would be 11–1 and one of just nine teams with one or fewer losses. Impossible as it may seem, the Hawkeyes would conceivably be going to Indianapolis this week with a chance at a playoff bid (or at least a New Year’s Six bowl). It’s almost too much to comprehend.

Dan Lanning’s fourth-down decisions in Seattle (37). The Dash will posit this: It ultimately didn’t matter much who won the Oregon-Washington game Oct. 7, because they’re playing it again Friday and the winner could well be going to the Playoff. But the loser could also be going to the Playoff if that’s the Huskies, because they are currently undefeated. If Ducks coach Lanning hadn’t unsuccessfully gone for three fourth downs on a day when he lost by three points, he’d be the one with the unbeaten team.

Coach who earned his comp car this week

Sherrone Moore (38), Michigan. The Jim Harbaugh replacement called a flawless game Saturday under the most pressure an interim Wolverines coach has felt since Steve Fisher was in charge of the men’s basketball team in the 1989 Final Four. Moore’s performance was impressive enough to inspire a perfectly lethal social media post by the Michigan baseball account, which credited the “reliever” who “stranded a runner on third base as Michigan beat Ohio State again!” Moore has proved his readiness to be a head coach somewhere … maybe in Ann Arbor in 2024.

Great Job Saturday by reliever Sherrone Moore, who stranded a runner on third base as Michigan beat Ohio State again! #GoBlue https://t.co/99XK02lSfX pic.twitter.com/UMaUqE3oGj

— Michigan Baseball (@umichbaseball) November 27, 2023

Coach who should take the bus to work

Joey McGuire (39), Texas Tech. After beating Texas last year, McGuire declared in the postgame locker room: “The country’s going to find out: Everything runs through Lubbock!” Here’s what ran through Lubbock in 2023: one of the biggest disappointments in the sport, capped by a 50-point loss to the Longhorns. After returning almost everybody from an 8–5 season and being hyped as a Big 12 title contender, the Red Raiders slumped to 6–6 this year. Yes, there were major injuries, especially at quarterback, but the season was riddled with bad losses that call into question where the program is headed after two years with McGuire.

Point after

When thirsty and in need of televised sports in Detroit, The Dash recommends grabbing a barstool at Art & Jake’s, a fully immersive sports bar with all the necessities for a big football weekend. Order an M-43 IPA from Old Nation Brewing Co. (40) and thank The Dash later.

First Quarter: CFP Committee Stress Test | Second Quarter: Why Texas A&M Vetoed Stoops Hire | Third Quarter: Conference Title Game Picks