Colorado 20, No. 3 Nebraska 10

Oct. 25, 1986, Folsom Field

With apologies to the late, great Fred “The Count” Casotti, I am a bit of a CU football historian, and I consider this game the milestone that began the Buffs’ greatest run. CU had gone a long, miserable 17 years without defeating the Cornhuskers, whom coach Bill Mccartney brazenly designated the Buffs’ rivals. But in a true rivalry, one team doesn’t win all the games, and CU had a lot to prove. The Buffs played exceptional defense, and the offense scored long touchdowns on a reverse by Jeff “Soupy” Campbell and a halfback pass from O.C. Oliver to Lance Carl. The streak was over, the goalposts got carried off and an era was born. The Buffs won the national championship four years later in the midst of a 20-season (for the most part) stretch of excellence. I think The Count would approve. — Mike Judson

James Harrison at the beginning, Bruce Springsteen in the middle, and Larry Fitzgerald and Santonio Holmes trading punches during the bitter, wild end. Thanks to Harrison’s 100-yard interception return, the favored Steelers took a 17-7 lead into halftime. Pittsburgh extended that cushion to 20-7 in the fourth quarter before the script did a triple lutz. The final 7:40 of the contest saw the Cardinals, behind vintage Kurt Warner and two Fitzgerald scores, reel off 16 straight points to take a 23-20 lead with 2:37 left in regulation. But what was setting up to be one of the greatest comebacks in Super Bowl history instead got hijacked by a brilliant Steelers touchdown drive, capped by Holmes’ tippytoe catch in the corner of the end zone with 35 seconds left. Warner, then age 37, didn’t have enough time to answer — but the performance, in hindsight, probably helped to solidify his eventual selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.