25 Best College Football GIFs of the 2012 Season

The 2012 college football regular season is over and done with. All we have now are memories of the terrific games and jaw-dropping plays, but thanks to technology, we now have other ways to enjoy everything that took place throughout the year.

These are called GIFs and are animated pictures that show exactly what happened on a play. Instead of watching a video and sitting through ridiculous ads on YouTube, you can now watch moving pictures that show you everything in just a few seconds.

There were incredible runs, remarkable catches and bizarre incidents that you need to see again and again to believe.

Here are the top 25 GIFs of the 2012 college football season.

Note: These are not in any order. Just sit back and enjoy them all.

Vandy Gets No Respect

Unless you are a diehard college football fan or somebody who absolutely loves Vanderbilt, chances are you don't remember this play. However, the outcome of this Week 1 matchup could have been much different.

While the Commodores were driving down the field, South Carolina's D.J. Swearinger got away with a major pass interference penalty on wide receiver Jordan Matthews. This was the end of a possible comeback drive, and the Gamecocks went on to win by a score of 17-13.

This could have easily been the biggest victory in the program's history, but unfortunately we will never know how things could have turned out.

Brandin Cooks Hurts UCLA Again

Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks had a big day in the Beavers' 27-20 victory over the UCLA Bruins. He caught six passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, which has to sting for UCLA considering he could have ended up at the school he torched.

In this play, the small receiver just would not go down and displayed some fancy balance work as he spun around on one leg.

With Cooks only a sophomore, something tells me we are going to see a lot more of this in the future.

Braxton Miller Shows His Moves

Ohio State finished the season undefeated, but it needed a lot of magical plays from quarterback Braxton Miller to keep that unbeaten streak alive. In this play against UAB, the sophomore quarterback was searching for the end zone, but he had to hit the spin button to make everything work out.

Like everything for the Buckeyes in 2012, it all worked out.

With his overall athleticism and speed, it is no wonder why Miller is a top Heisman candidate heading into next season.

D.J. Swearinger Taunts Andre Ellington

South Carolina safety D.J. Swearinger is no stranger to laying the wood to opposing ball-carriers. He has built a reputation over the years of being one of the hardest-hitting players in the country.

However, you would have thought it was his first time laying the smack down when he rocked Clemson running back Andre Ellington.

I guess when you hit somebody like that, you are able to get a little cocky.

Johnny Manziel and His Heisman Moment

This may be the play of the year in college football.

Johnny Manziel nearly witnessed a disaster against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Most young players would have panicked and made a terrible decision with the ball. The Texas A&M signal-caller isn't your ordinary player, though, as he was able to throw a touchdown pass and cement his Heisman moment in history.

This is a play you could watch over and over again.

Johnny Manziel Wins the Heisman

Johnny Manziel also became the first freshman to win the most prestigious award in college football. It took a incredible season to beat out two seniors, but with his overall performance against some of the better defenses in college football, the "Johnny Football" craze took over the sport.

This GIF is kind of a big deal and will be played once or twice throughout the offseason.

Did Notre Dame Get Lucky?

Notre Dame will be accused of many things this year: the lack of a difficult schedule in the eyes of some, the remarkable breaks the team was blessed with and the questionable calls throughout the year.

This was a play where the referees called pass interference on a 4th-and-4. The crucial call eventually led to a Notre Dame touchdown, which allowed the Irish to get back into the ballgame against Pittsburgh.

Of course, the team from South Bend went on to win the game, but everybody will continue to talk about this questionable call.

Le'Veon Bell Has Hops

Le'Veon Bell led the country with 350 rushing attempts. When he is able to make plays like this, you no longer need to question why the Michigan State Spartans decided to feed him the football so many times.

Somebody at 6'2", 244 pounds shouldn't be able to have this much athleticism and be able to jump this high. With Bell able to make plays like this, the Michigan State running back should be one of the first players taken in next year’s NFL draft at his position.

You Can't Do It Like Bell

Penn State running back Mike Zordich tried a similar leap but failed miserably. Maybe he jumped a little early, or maybe he just isn't as awesome as the Michigan State running back is.

Whatever the case may be, that fall couldn't have been too pleasant. I also hope he had a cup on when trying to do something this spectacular.

Another thing that makes this GIF enjoyable is the reaction of No. 7 on the sidelines.

Lee Corso Wakes Up the Neighborhood

One of the things that makes waking up early on Saturday mornings worth it is College GameDay on ESPN. You just can't wait to see who Lee Corso ends up picking for the game of the week, as something bizarre usually takes place.

In this GIF, Corso picked Oklahoma to knock off Notre Dame and fired a gun that freaked out Kirk Herbstreit. The blast was powerful enough to knock off the Sooners hat on Corso's head and was probably loud enough to wake up all of Oklahoma.

Too bad the actual football team was sleepwalking through the game against the Irish. 

There Is an Extra Man on the Field

This almost doesn't even seem real.

The Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes were in the middle of running a play when some random dude ran onto the field. How he didn't get trucked by one of the players will forever remain a mystery and a little upsetting to guys like me.

The referees got together after the play and decided that the extra guy on the field did not impact the outcome. Florida State was awarded a first down.

Todd Grantham Shows He Cares

You have to love coaches that care, and Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham showed that and more in a game against Florida. I assume redshirt freshman cornerback Devin Bowman did something wrong for him to be getting yelled at the way he is. 

Guys that are this passionate on the football field are all right in my book, and it doesn't get much better than what Grantham showed in this GIF.

The Play That Saved Alabama

LSU pushed Alabama to its limits and nearly found a way to remove the Crimson Tide from the national championship picture. However, thanks to a questionable blitz and a solid play call, Nick Saban and company were able to survive this SEC showdown.

Quarterback AJ McCarron found freshman T.J. Yeldon on a screen and allowed the first-year player to do the rest.

Thanks to this play, Alabama finished the regular season with only one loss and will compete for a second straight national title.

No Celebrating Until Clock Hits Zero

Florida safety Matt Elam had a monster season this year and has earned the reputation of being all over the field. He makes plays on the ball-carrier and simply flies to the football, always getting in on the action.

This time he took some of that playmaking ability out on his own player, as Loucheiz Purifoy decided he was going to celebrate after making a play against LSU. This may not be the correct way to handle things, but I'm sure being embarrassed on television got the message across.

Don't showboat until the game is over.

Was It a Cheap Shot?

In one of the most controversial plays of the year, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray got his bell rung by Alabama's Quinton Dial. The problem is that the Bulldogs quarterback wasn't really paying attention after the interception and Dial unleashed his hit towards the head and neck area.

There was no flag thrown on the play, and the Crimson Tide player will not be suspended for the national championship game.

I think it was a poor decision, but what are your thoughts?

Will Muschamp Is Upset

Remember Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham from a few slides back? Well, this is Florida head coach Will Muschamp in the same game. It is something about this Florida-Georgia rivalry that brings out the best in everybody.

Muschamp gave somebody the death stare to the point that lasers were about to pop out of his eyes.

This is a little freaky-looking.

Fullbacks Can't Do This

Trey Millard is considered the top fullback in the country and should be the first taken in the NFL draft at the position. One of his best highlights will be the one he had against the Texas Longhorns in this year’s Red River Rivalry.

Not only was the big guy able to jump a Longhorn defender that was lying on the ground, but while he was soaring through the air, he also gave a stiff arm to another player.

This is something you would expect to see from Iron Man; instead, it is just your ordinary Oklahoma Sooner being awesome in a big game.

Jaylen Walton Also Makes Texas Look Foolish

Needless to say, this wasn't the best year for Texas Longhorns defense and special teams.

Ole Miss freshman Jaylen Walton was able to make numerous defenders miss and then shook three guys as they drifted towards the sidelines.

Walton obviously has great speed, but many guys would have been benched if I had anything to do with this play. Not being able to tackle when you had several opportunities is really inexcusable for a team that started off with BCS hopes.

Ace Sanders Did What?!

While we are on the topic of great returns, there is none better than the one Ace Sanders had in the game against Missouri. The South Carolina playmaker displayed some nifty footwork, bounced off his own man, broke a couple of tackles and then continued to take the punt back for a score.

Penalties and turnovers are what usually drive a coach nuts, but seeing a play like this could force somebody to quit the game of football.

So much for that old man football that Missouri was labeling the SEC earlier in the year.

Highlight of the Year for Wolfpack

North Carolina State did not have many things to get excited about this season. So when the Wolfpack found a way to upset the highly ranked Florida State Seminoles, the fans decided to celebrate like they had just won the national title.

Some even decided to take their shirts off and let it all hang out.

Seeing this makes me think that stadiums should be a lot like convenience stores. You simply shouldn't be allowed in unless you have all of your clothes on.

Uga Can Do It All

There aren't many mascots in the sport of college football better than Uga. You can't replace that cute and pudgy face for anything.

But the bulldog isn't just adorable; he is also able to close his own dog cage when he no longer wants to be bothered. Seeing this makes you wonder what else the Georgia mascot can do that we don't know about.

Can he open the refrigerator? Could he possibly be the next Air Bud?

The possibilities are endless.

The Play That Cost Florida

We have seen coaches that couldn't control themselves in the Florida-Georgia matchup, but there was also a game on the line that included SEC title implications. With many turnovers having already taken place throughout the game, Florida's Jordan Reed decided to add one more for good measure.

With the Gators driving down the field, Reed decided to fight for extra yards by jumping over guys. The ball popped loose, and his team eventually lost the game. This play ended up playing a crucial role in the team’s only loss of the season.

If this turnover didn't happen, the Gators might be playing Notre Dame for all the marbles.

Sorry, Gator fans.

Amos Has Ball Skills

We have shown a lot of love to many high-profile guys and teams throughout this slideshow, but Middle Tennessee State wide receiver Anthony Amos has great hands. Well, he only needed one to haul in this touchdown against Georgia Tech, but I'm sure you get the idea.

Maybe it is the shoes or the sticky stuff on his gloves that helped him make this catch. Or we could go as far as to say that the kid has talent.

Regardless of the reason, this was one of the best catches of the 2012 season.

TCU Goes Big and Goes Home

When you have nothing to lose, you shouldn't have a problem living with a little danger. In a game against West Virginia, TCU decided to go for the victory in the second overtime instead of playing things safe and kicking the extra point.

Quarterback Trevone Boykin rolled out to the right, and receiver Josh Boyce made a remarkable catch that somehow did not hit the ground. 

The Horned Frogs won the game in Morgantown, which continued the Mountaineers' downfall.

Clemson Fools Everybody

Clemson has so many playmakers on the offensive side of the ball that it can become a little difficult to defend everybody.

Quarterback Tajh Boyd threw the ball to speedy wide receiver Sammy Watkins in a game against Florida State. With the entire defense focused on the sophomore playmaker, he then fooled everybody and threw to a wide-open Andre Ellington for a 52-yard touchdown.

This was a perfect play design, and it ended up catching one of the better defenses in the country off guard.

Unfortunately for Clemson, the Seminoles had the last laugh in a 49-37 victory.