Thursday marks 10 years since one of the most significant days in recent college football history. With many games across the country carrying conference and perhaps national championship implications, the emotions of the teams involved varied as the afternoon went on. In its montage remembering the 2005 regular season, ABC Sports included its own segment on October 15, 2005.

Some of the games featured in that video…

Michigan State at Ohio State

The Buckeyes were coming into the game off a loss at Penn State, already their second of the season. Any hope of a Big Ten championship run, let alone an outside shot at the Rose Bowl National Championship Game, meant a win over the Spartans was mandatory. Yet Michigan State dominated the first half and was poised to take a 20-7 lead into the locker room….until that field goal attempt was blocked and Ashton Youboty returned it for a touchdown. Ohio State rallied in the second half to win a game that not only saved their 2005 season, but at the time the legacy of then-head coach Jim Tressel (before the BCS Championship Game collapses and the memorabilia scandal in 2010).

Penn State at Michigan

After struggling for several years, Penn State got off to an undefeated start in 2005 and seemed destined to win the Big Ten title. Defending champion Michigan, meanwhile, struggled with losses to Notre Dame and Minnesota. In a back-and-forth game, the Nittany Lions were one play away from escaping Ann Arbor with a win, and keeping national championship hopes alive. But Chad Henne’s pass to Mario Manningham gave Michigan the win, revitalizing their season and giving them hope for a share of the conference title.

USC at Notre Dame

The top-ranked team in college football and the defending BCS national champion, against a traditional power re-energized under a first-year head coach. Notre Dame was on the cusp of upsetting the Trojans, until Matt Leinart’s fourth-down completion to Dwayne Jarrett kept the visitors’ drive alive. Chaos ensued as the clock ran out after one play when Leinart ran toward the goal line, even though the ball was clearly knocked out of bounds with time remaining. The time was correctly reset, allowing for the infamous “Bush Push” play, and the Trojans escaped South Bend with a 35-31 win.

As the season played out, each team featured above had unpredictable finishes to the season. Ohio State won out the rest of its season, including a come-from-behind victory at Michigan before beating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Michigan State, known for struggling down the stretch of a season under John L. Smith, continued to do so again. Michigan would go to the Alamo Bowl, with their loss to Nebraska best known for the final play of regulation. Penn State shared the Big Ten title with the Buckeyes, and would survive a three-overtime Orange Bowl with Florida State. USC would make it to the Rose Bowl, before losing an epic battle with Texas – a result that given how the Trojans have fared since, many analysts could refer to as “the beginning of the end.”

This weekend, rivalries are once again renewed. USC visits Notre Dame, with the Trojans hoping to play spoiler as the Fighting Irish still have a lot to play for, even with one loss already this season. In the Big Ten, it’s not the rematches of ten years ago Thursday, but Michigan does face Michigan State; are the Wolverines back under Jim Harbaugh or do the Spartans still have the upper hand in the rivalry? Ohio State hosts Penn State in a primetime battle as the Nittany Lions try to end the Buckeyes’ unbeaten run. Saturday should be full of great college football, both for neutrals and for fans of the participating teams.