10 Best Crazy Weather College Football Games of the BCS Era

Among the many reasons that the 2011 college football season stands out as unusual in the annals of sport was the early season outbreak of wild weather that wreaked havoc on game day.

Week 1 of the 2011 season featured a deluge delays, early finishes and other weather anomalies that continued as the campaign marched on, making it clear that Mother Nature intended to leave her mark on the collegiate gridiron.

The following slideshow revisits 10 of the craziest weather events in college football since the BCS rolled into town and took over our sport in 1998.

Each occurrence highlighted in this climatic tour de force serves as a reminder that though we live in a technologically savvy time, we still can’t control the forces of nature.

Baylor vs. Stephen F. Austin, 2011

Though less publicized due to the fact that a ranked BCS team was hosting an FCS foe in Week 2 of the 2011 campaign, last year’s Baylor vs. SFA match is one of the few games in college football history abridged due to in climate weather.

Both lightning and stormy conditions combined to delay the game, completely erase half time and ultimately ended the contest before the close of the third quarter.

It certainly didn’t hurt that Baylor was up 48-0 on the Lumberjacks when the game was called.

West Virginia vs. USF, 2008

Mountaineer fans were requested to come to the game clad in white to honor QB Pat White’s final game in Morgantown on Dec. 6, 2008, and were ironically greeted by snowy conditions to match their attire.

The West Virginia squad was also decked out in their travelling all whites to honor White, who went 14/23 for 141 yards and one TD on his way to leading the Mountaineers to a 13-7 winter wonderland victory.

Notre Dame vs. USF, 2011

Though Irish fans may want to blame their 2011 season opener loss to USF on two weather delays that in total lasted just less than three hours, Notre Dame’s five turnovers may have had more to do with the shocking loss than did Mother Nature.

The same storms that wreaked havoc in West Virginia and Michigan caused Notre Dame Stadium to be evacuated for a couple of hours at halftime, and then again for 40 minutes when the game was within five minutes of being complete.

The No. 16 ranked Irish fell to the Bulls 27-20 in one of the more shocking crazy weather games of the BCS era.

 

Michigan State vs. FAU, 2008

The driving rain in East Lansing, MI was nearly constant on Sept. 13, 2008 when the Spartans hosted Howard Schnellenberger’s FAU Owls for an early season clash.

The torrential downpours accounted for three fumbles lost and proved to be just the ticket for MSU’s Javon Ringer to reel off 282 rushing yards and two scores on the way to a 17-0 Spartan victory.

 

West Virginia vs. Marshall, 2011

Among the slew of Week 1 games in 2011 effected by inclement weather, the Sept. 4 meeting between West Virginia and Marshall in Morgantown was delayed twice and ultimately ended early.

The Mountaineers, in their first contest under new head man Dana Holgorsen, passed for 249 and rushed for only 42 on their way to a 34-13 victory over the Thundering Herd.

Delays totaled four hours and 22 minutes and a mere 24 seconds of the fourth quarter were completed before a myriad of administrators led the crowd in singing, “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.”

 

USC vs. Oregon State, 2004

It took the undefeated, top ranked Trojans 14-fourth quarter points to best Oregon State in the infamous 2004 Fog Bowl.

The contest was played on Nov. 6, 2004 in the murkiness of Corvallis, OR and became a linchpin in USC’s run to the national championship, a title that has since then been vacated.

USC ultimately won the game 28-20 which was their narrowest late season margin of victory in 2004 with the exception of the thin-sliced 29-24 win over UCLA on Dec. 4.

 

WMU vs. Michigan, 2011

In another 2011 opener cut short by rain featuring the debut of new head coach Brady Hoke’s Michigan team bested Western Michigan 34-10 in a game that did not include a fourth quarter.

Michigan Stadium was actually evacuated in this wild weather outbreak due to extreme lightning and in the name of fan and participant safety.

Mississippi State vs. Texas A&M, 2000

A strong candidate for one of the wackiest weather bowl games ever played, the 2000 Independence Bowl featuring Mississippi State and Texas A&M is often aptly referred to as the “Snow Bowl.”

This contest had it all; Bulldog head coach Jackie Sherrill facing former Aggie assistant R.C. Slocum while Peaches and Herb played Reunited, an almost unheard of blizzard in Shreveport, LA and a wintry weather game in which the combatants combined for 84 points and overtime.

Ultimately, the Bulldogs coughed up four fumbles but only lost one on their way to a 43-41 victory that featured only 659 yards of combined total offense.

Oregon vs. Oregon State, 2001

In what might be the wettest fourth quarter in the BCS era, the 2001 edition of the Civil War featured a constant rain that turned torrential in the contest’s final 15 minutes.

No. 5 ranked Oregon not only survived the flood like conditions, they soared to 14 fourth quarter points that sealed a narrow 17-14 Duck victory, a Pac-10 title and a BCS Fiesta Bowl Berth.

The deluge version of the annual instate affair was played on Dec. 1, 2001 in Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR.

 

 

 

Tulsa vs. Oklahoma State, 2011

A Week 3 wacky weather game in 2011 featured the Tulsa Hurricanes hosting the Oklahoma State Cowboys in a game that didn’t even start until after midnight.

The contest’s original kickoff had been slated for a late Saturday evening TV start which was subsequently delayed due to the weather, and ultimately resulted in the game finally finishing at 3:35 AM.

Therefore, the Cowboys bested the Golden Hurricane by a 59-33 mark on a game that was scheduled for Saturday night but played completely on Sunday morning.