College Football's 8 Most Clutch Performers

Big plays. Big moments. Big games.

That is what it means to be clutch.

And although college football loses some of its best clutch performers from last season—Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Nick Marshall, Blake Sims—it returns some pretty good ones, too.

The following players proved, on more than one occasion, that they step up in big moments of big games. Third-and-long? They've got you. Tied with a minute to play? Call their number. Biggest game in recent program history? How else do you think it got there?

Sound off below, and let us know whom we missed.

QB Connor Cook, Michigan State

Connor Cook earned a clutch reputation before beating Baylor in the Cotton Bowl. He was clutch against Ohio State in the 2013 Big Ten Championship Game and Stanford in the 2014 Rose Bowl, although his late-game performance took a dip his junior year.

Then, on the second- or third-biggest stage of his career, he led Michigan State back from a 41-21 fourth-quarter deficit. He did throw an interception, but around that, the Spartans went 71 yards on five plays, 60 yards on nine plays and 81 yards on eight plays for a trio of fourth-quarter touchdowns that gave them the 42-41 win.

That last drive went 81 yards in 48 seconds, ending when Cook found Keith Mumphery for the game-winning touchdown with 17 seconds to play. It iced Cook's second major bowl win in as many seasons.

WR Mike Dudek, Illinois

As a freshman, Mike Dudek finished with more receptions, yards and touchdowns in the fourth quarter than any of the first three. Among returning players, only Rashard Higgins of Colorado State, a 2014 Biletnikoff finalist, put up bigger fourth-quarter numbers.

More than that, here is how Dudek's numbers break down based on game situation, with the obvious outlier bolded for effect:

Game Situation	Catches	Yards	TDs
Winning By 15+ Pts	3	25	0
Winning By 8-14 Pts	3	29	1
Winning By 1-7 Pts	9	134	0
Tied	12	105	0
Losing By 1-7 Pts	29	409	3
Losing By 8-14 Pts	8	153	1
Losing By 15+ Pts	12	183	1

Basically, Dudek did his best work in the fourth quarter and when his team trailed by seven points or fewer.

Clutch by definition.

RB Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State

Ezekiel Elliott played his best on the biggest stages, rushing for 220 yards against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game, 230 yards against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and 246 yards against Oregon in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon had strong enough defenses to win the Big Ten West, SEC and Pac-12 titles, respectively, and the Crimson Tide finished with the No. 1 rush defense in the country, according to the S&P+ ratings at Football Outsiders.

Elliott made all three look like Sun Belt teams.

K Josh Lambert, West Virginia

Josh Lambert sealed his reputation as the best clutch kicker in college football with a pair of long game-winners in 2014.

First, he drilled a 47-yarder as time expired at Maryland, giving West Virginia a 40-37 road win. But that was just a precursor for Week 7, when he capped a 14-point comeback at Texas Tech with a 55-yard field goal at the gun; again, West Virginia won by three.

"I didn't say anything to him," head coach Dana Holgorsen told reporters after the Texas Tech game, playing off his quotes from after the Maryland game, when he said he hadn't spoken to Lambert since the kicker arrived on campus. "I knew when he missed that one in the fourth quarter I knew we were in great shape because I knew he would come back and drill one when we needed it.

"Obviously I know who Josh is," Holgorsen continued, "and [he] is not rattled by any situation."

DB Jalen Ramsey, Florida State

Florida State was the most clutch team in the country last season, winning close game after close game after close game. Jameis Winston and Rashad Greene led the clutch brigade on offense.

Jalen Ramsey took the reins on defense.

In Week 8 against Notre Dame, Ramsey made the game-winning play after the controversial offensive pass-interference call, darting through the line to force an errant throw on 4th-and-goal. The Seminoles, who at one point looked to have lost, beat the Irish 31-27.

In Week 12 against Miami, Ramsey one-upped himself with three tackles, four pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble, one QB hurry and a blocked PAT in a 30-26 road win. His interception came on a 4th-and-9 with roughly 40 seconds left to play, after Miami had driven inside FSU territory with a chance to take the lead.

"Jalen Ramsey played the best single game I've seen any defensive player play this year," tweeted Spencer Hall of SB Nation afterward.

Good luck trying to prove him wrong.

WR Nelson Spruce, Colorado

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Whenever Colorado needed a big play, it turned to Nelson Spruce.

Spruce almost always answered the call.

He led the country in three important clutch categories: touchdown receptions when his team trailed by one score (five), touchdown receptions in the second half and overtime (nine), and total receptions in the second half and overtime (65). Late in games and when the Buffaloes came within striking distance, Spruce made plays.

And he did it despite defenses focusing on him.

QB Justin Thomas, Georgia Tech

Justin Thomas keeps the chains moving on 3rd-and-medium—one of the biggest reasons Georgia Tech finished with the No. 1 offense in America last season, per the FEI ratings at Football Outsiders.

On 3rd-and-4, -5 and -6, Thomas prefers to use his legs, gaining a first down on nine of his 12 rushing attempts. On 3rd-and-7, -8 and -9, he prefers to use his arm, gaining a first down on 11 of his 21 throws.

His rushing average on 3rd-and-4, -5 and -6 (9.33) is more than three yards higher than his overall rushing average (5.72)—the same way his quarterback rating on 3rd-and-7, -8 and -9 (216.0) is more than 62 points higher than his overall quarterback rating (153.9).

Thomas uses his legs to keep the Yellow Jackets in close games and his arm to help them pull away with leads. He rushed for 592 yards on 86 carries when GT was tied or losing by one score. He threw for a passer rating of 269.0 (26-of-38, 617 yards, eight touchdowns, one interception) when it was winning by one score.

No matter the situation—or, as he proved in the Orange Bowl, the stage—Thomas has the clutch gene to answer.

LB Scooby Wright III, Arizona

Scooby Wright III balled out on a weekly basis but played especially well against the best competition.

He logged 16.5 tackles for loss in seven games against ranked opponents, averaging an absurd 2.36 per game. And unlike the two players ahead of him (Tarris Batiste, Georgia State; Dadi Nicolas, Virginia Tech), neither of whom played more than two ranked teams, his sample size was large enough to validate those numbers.

Scooby was in no way a fluke.

More than that, he made one of the best singular clutch plays of the season in Arizona's road upset at Oregon, sacking, stripping and recovering a fumble from Marcus Mariota on the Ducks' final drive. Arizona gained a first down and drained the clock for a 31-24 win.