College Football, Oscars Edition: The 15 Best Movies About College Football

Last night was the 83rd Annual Edition of the Academy Awards.

Like most people reading this article, I was more interested in the Miami Heat facing off against the New York Knicks.

Now that's not to say I don't enjoy a good movie. I most certainly do, I just enjoy sports more.

So when you combine the two, that's when you have something great.

In honor of the Academy Awards, here are the 15 best college football movies ever made.

15: Johnny Be Good

Ever wonder what Robert Downey Jr. looks like without facial hair? What about Anthony Michael Hall with a baby-face complexion?

That's reason enough for me to watch Johnny Be Good.

The 1988 film takes us through the journey of Johnny Walker. He is America's top young football prospect, and faces the decision on what college to attend.

The 1988 humor is awkward at times, but still good for a laugh when you have nothing better to do.

14: The Comebacks

Humor that is a little more modern.

The 2007 movie, The Comebacks, is directed by Tom Brady.

No, not that Tom Brady. The Tom Brady that co-produced The Simpsons and The Animal.

The comedy is mainly spoofs of other inspirational sports movies, many of which rank higher on this list.

13: Knute Rockne: All American

This 1940 film is based off of the story of legendary Notre Dame football coach and player Knute Rockne.

Rockne is the developer of many modern techniques and strategies in today's game.

For those who don't know who Rockne is, this movie is a must-see.

12: Horse Feathers

Horse Feathers is a classic. For many people, it's one of the top college football movies ever made.

Maybe it's my youth bias, but I can't put it higher than some of the other movies on this list.

That said, Horse Feathers is still a fantastic movie and can guarantee some good laughs.

The plot is about a coach trying to recruit players from a speakeasy. I don't think it gets any better than that.

11: The Waterboy

Gatorade.

H2O!

Gatorade.

Mama said, if you haven't seen The Waterboy then chances are you have been living under a rock.

It's not one of the best Adam Sandler movies out there by any means, but that doesn't change the fact that every living person needs to see it at least once.

10: The Program

I have to admit, this is the one movie on this list that I haven't had the opportunity to see. From what I hear, it should be higher on this list, I just can't do it without seeing it.

The Program is the story of many players from all kinds of different backgrounds coming together to play at a major university.

After saying everybody needs to see something as silly as The Waterboy, I'm a bit embarrassed I haven't seen The Program yet. I'll have to change that soon.

9: Everybody's All-American

I'm not a big Dennis Quaid fan, but his performance in Everybody's All-American was an acceptable one.

Quaid plays the part of former college star Gavin Grey. He had everything he could ever ask for.

After a failed professional career, Grey realizes that his glory days are behind him. He spends his life trying to cope with the loss of fame.

8: Necessary Roughness

The Texas State University Fightin' Armadillos. That just sounds like an awesome football team.

In Necessary Roughness, the Armadillos face NCAA sanctions that results in the loss of their entire roster.

The team is a compilation of a bunch of misfits, from a 34-year-old quarterback to a female kicker.

Even though it is slightly dated, Necessary Roughness is probably still the best comedy football film of all-time.

I mean, Sinbad stars as a college football player. Enough said?

7: Code Breakers

The ESPN Original Movie, Code Breakers, details the cheating scandal at West Point Academy in 1951.

The film depicts the struggles that the cadets go through maintaining their grades along with the pressures to succeed in football.

83 players were kicked off the team due to the scandal.

This is one of the lesser known movies on this list. I strongly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.

6. Something for Joey

Maybe it's my Penn State bias, but Something for Joey may be one of the greatest stories to ever be told.

John Cappelletti was one of the top players in the country during his time at Penn State. His story went much further than football.

John's brother Joey, was diagnosed with Leukemia. Joey inspires John to succeed on the field, ultimately leading to him winning the Heisman Trophy in 1973.

I can't lie, every time I see this film I usually have to turn it off before it ends. I'm a sports fan, I'm too cool to cry.

5: The Blind Side

The Blind Side isn't a film that is all about college football. It's actually a little more about high school football.

Despite this, it needs to be on this list.

By this time most of the football world knows the story of Michael Oher.

The Blind Side tells Oher's story, from growing up on the streets to a star in the NFL.

Michael Oher may be mad at me for putting this movie on this list. Apparently, he was upset that he was made to look stupid. Not a smart move. I wouldn't want to make Big Mike mad.

4: The Express

The Express is the story of Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.

Davis experiences prejudices on campus, on the field, even from his own teammates and coach. Despite this Davis is able to overcome the odds and win the Heisman Trophy.

Davis was a bright and upcoming player. Had he not fallen ill with Leukemia, the current record books could look a lot different.

No jokes on this one. The story of Ernie Davis is a tragic one, and it's one that shouldn't be forgotten.

3: Junction Boys

The Junction Boys is the name given to the "survivors" of Bear Bryant's first summer camp as the head coach at Texas A&M.

Bryant believed that football was a game of mental strength. The Junction Boys is the story of the ten day camp that Bryant held to weed out the weaklings.

The film is one of the greatest college football stories ever. The group of men who made it through the camp will never be forgotten in the sporting world.

Bryant nearly killed his players, but the method worked. He turned the losers into champions.

2. We Are Marshall

Some people can't stand Matthew McConaughey. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the guy. I thought his performance in We Are Marshall was phenomenal.

We Are Marshall is the story of the tragedy the struck Marshall in November 1970. A plane carrying 75 people crashed, including the majority of the Marshall football team and staff. The film tells the story of rememberance and rebuilding in the town of Huntington West Virginia.

We Are Marshall is probably my personal favorite college football movie, but I figured it would be wrong to put it ahead of the next movie on this list.

1. Rudy

Who didn't see this one coming?

Rudy is the story of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who always dreamed of playing football at Notre Dame. It simply is the ultimate underdog story. After Rudy's best friend is killed in a tragic accident, he sets off to accomplish his dreams.

You can watch this movie 100 times, and I promise every single time you'll still get that warm bubbly feeling inside when they carry Rudy off the field.