What Made College Football 2019 the Most Unforgettable Season Ever?
2025-11-11 11:00
I still get chills thinking about the 2019 college football season, and I've been covering this sport professionally for over fifteen years. What made it truly special wasn't just the unexpected upsets or the breathtaking individual performances—though we had plenty of those—but how everything converged into what I consider the most narratively perfect season I've ever witnessed. The tension built week after week, much like that incredible tennis match I watched earlier this year between an unranked Czech player and her determined opponent. Remember that moment? World No. 152 claiming the first set 7-5 after those back-and-forth exchanges, the underdog rallying from 0-2 down to lead 3-2 before ultimately being edged out in the closing stretch. That's exactly what 2019 felt like—a constant dance between established giants and hungry challengers, where conventional wisdom got tossed out the window every Saturday.
Let me take you back to that opening weekend when the tone was set. I was in Houston watching LSU's new offense, and let me tell you, nobody in that stadium anticipated what was coming. Joe Burrow transformed from a solid quarterback into what I believe was the single most impressive college football player I've seen since Cam Newton. His completion percentage jumping from 57.8% the previous year to an unbelievable 76.3% in 2019 still defies logic. I remember talking to scouts in the press box who kept shaking their heads in disbelief—we were witnessing something that statistically shouldn't have been possible. Meanwhile, Ohio State had this freshman defensive end named Chase Young who was literally redefining dominance on the defensive line. He recorded 16.5 sacks in just 12 games, and I've never seen offensive tackles look so helpless. These weren't just great players having great seasons—they were rewriting what we thought was possible at their positions.
The middle part of the season brought what I lovingly call "beautiful chaos." I was in South Bend when Georgia somehow lost to South Carolina—a 20-17 overtime stunner that had everyone in my industry scrambling to reassess the entire playoff picture. The Gamecocks were 24-point underdogs! That's the kind of season it was—just when you thought you had things figured out, reality would throw you a curveball. Then came LSU-Alabama, which I still consider the game of the decade. The pregame atmosphere in Tuscaloosa was electric, but what struck me most was how LSU played with this swagger I hadn't seen from them in years. They weren't just trying to win—they were imposing their will on a program that had dominated them for nearly a decade. Burrow's performance under that pressure—31 completions for 393 yards and three touchdowns against Nick Saban's defense—was nothing short of legendary.
What made 2019 particularly memorable for me was how different conferences produced these incredible parallel storylines. The Big 12 gave us Jalen Hurts' redemption arc at Oklahoma—a player who'd lost his starting job at Alabama only to put up 3,851 passing yards and 1,298 rushing yards in a single season. I spoke with him after their Baylor comeback victory, and the maturity and perspective he displayed reminded me why I fell in love with covering college athletes. Meanwhile, the PAC-12 was its own special kind of unpredictable—Utah's surprise dominance, Oregon's resurgence, and those wild Friday night games that kept messing with my sleep schedule but were absolutely worth staying up for.
The championship weekend felt like the climax of a perfectly scripted drama. I remember sitting in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium press box watching LSU dismantle Georgia 37-10, thinking about how far this team had come from their week one performance. The efficiency was breathtaking—Burrow throwing for 349 yards and four touchdowns while Georgia's typically stout defense looked completely overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Ohio State's last-second victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship had everyone around me screaming—that 27-point comeback was one of the most incredible things I've witnessed in person. The selection committee's decision ultimately came down to Ohio State, LSU, Clemson, and Oklahoma, leaving out what I thought was a deserving Utah team that had only lost one game.
The playoff itself delivered exactly what the entire season had promised—high drama and historic performances. I'll never forget the Fiesta Bowl where Clemson's 29-game winning streak finally ended against Ohio State in that nail-biting 29-23 finish. The controversy over that targeting call still gets debated in press rooms today. Then came the national championship where LSU's offense reached what I can only describe as perfection—Burrow throwing for 463 yards and five touchdowns against Clemson's championship-caliber defense. Watching him celebrate with the trophy, I realized we'd just witnessed the culmination of not just a perfect season, but what I believe was the most complete team performance in modern college football history.
Looking back now, what made 2019 unforgettable was how everything connected—the individual brilliance, the team narratives, the shocking upsets, and the statistical milestones. We had three different quarterbacks who would go on to be first-round NFL picks putting up video game numbers, defensive players achieving historic seasons, and games that consistently delivered drama from opening weekend through the national championship. The season had this organic flow to it where each week built naturally upon the last, creating storylines that felt both inevitable and surprising. In my career, I've never seen a season where so many elements aligned so perfectly—the right players, the right moments, the right amount of chaos. That's why, when people ask me which college football season they should rewatch during the offseason, I always point them to 2019. It wasn't just football—it was theater, it was art, it was everything we love about this sport compressed into one glorious, unpredictable, and ultimately perfect year.
Heather Bolton Suber ’02
Leah Schnell ’01
Sarah Grimes Wiggins ’93
Dr. Ralph Swearngin
Point University will induct four members into the Athletics Hall of Fame during a luncheon on Friday, October 24, during Homecoming weekend.
The class of 2025 includes Leah Schnell ’01, Heather Bolton Suber ’02, Dr. Ralph Swearngin and Sarah Grimes Wiggins ’93. The Athletics Hall of Fame was launched in May 2024, when six inaugural members were inducted.
“We look forward to honoring the second Hall of Fame class during Homecoming,” said Jaunelle White, vice president of intercollegiate athletics and chief student development officer. “It’s always a great feeling to have our alumni back on campus mingling with our current student-athletes and coaches. These individuals were elite during their time at Atlanta Christian College and deserve to be recognized.”
Schnell attended Atlanta Christian College from 1998 to 2001, where she earned a degree in business while competing in both basketball and volleyball. On the basketball court, she earned First Team All-Conference, Scholar Athlete, and First Team All-American honors for three consecutive years. Schnell also held the title of all-time leading scorer from 1998-2001. She now thrives as a commercial construction project manager at Barnsley Construction Group and as an entrepreneur.
Suber, from Havana, Florida, attended ACC from 1998 to 2002. A dedicated two-sport athlete, she earned numerous accolades, including First Team All-Conference, Second Team All-Conference, Honorable Mention and First Team All-American. One of her most memorable achievements came when she made eleven three-pointers in a single game. Suber graduated with a degree in early childhood education and went on to earn a master’s degree in education and a specialist degree in instructional technology. For over 23 years, she has served as an educator.
Swearngin has had a distinguished career in education, athletics and ministry spanning several decades, including 20 years at ACC in roles such as professor, dean of students, athletics director and coach. He held national leadership positions with the NCCAA, served as a trustee of Point University for over 10 years, and worked extensively in ministry and education in California, earning degrees from Whittier College and Georgia State University. His athletic involvement includes 23 years as a high school football official in California and Georgia, 22 years with the Georgia High School Association — retiring as executive director in 2014 — and service on national football and softball rules committees. Honored with multiple Hall of Fame inductions and the Atlanta Falcons Lifetime Achievement Award, Swearngin has authored two books and remains active in retirement through preaching and leading Bible studies, alongside his wife of 58 years, Evelyn.
Wiggins grew up in Roswell, Georgia, where she began playing basketball at the age of ten. After two years at Florida State University, she transferred to ACC in 1990. While at ACC, Wiggins was named to the All-American team in both 1991 and 1992. In her final year, she led her team in scoring, helping them finish second in the nation, and was named national MVP in 1992. She earned a bachelor of science in elementary education in 1993 and later received a master’s degree in technology and media sciences from Georgia Southern University in 2009. For the past 33 years, Wiggins has worked as a dedicated educator. In 1997, she married Todd Wiggins. Together, they have two children, Preston, 26, and Logan, 22.
