The 10 best moments from the College Football Playoff semifinals

No. 10 - Rodrigo Blankenship makes 55-yard field goal

A field goal is rarely selected for a list of best moments — especially one that wasn't at the end of the game — but Blankenship's kick in the 2018 Rose Bowl deserves praise. The Georgia Bulldogs were reeling, about to go into halftime down 31-14. With six seconds left, Blankenship kicked a 55-yard field goal as time expired, which set a school and Rose Bowl record, to stop the bleeding. Going into the half down 14, the Bulldogs surged to score the first 21 points of the second half and, eventually, win the game.

No. 9 - Alabama wins the rubber match against Clemson

The 2018 Sugar Bowl marked the third straight season in which Alabama and Clemson met in the College Football Playoff. The first two meetings were in the National Championship Game, with each program winning one title. The third meeting didn't have as much on the line, as No. 1 Clemson faced No. 4 Alabama in the semifinal game. Though Clemson came in as the top-ranked team, it was Alabama's defense that set the tone for this one. The Tigers gained just 188 yards as quarterback Kelly Bryant struggled.

Still, the Tigers weren't out of it and trailed 17-6 in the third quarter. Alabama linebacker Mack Wilson caught a tipped Bryant pass at the Clemson 18-yard line and returned it for a touchdown. The score took the life out of the defending champion Tigers, as Alabama's defense rolled to the 24-6 win.

No. 8 - Ryan Anderson's pick-six puts Tide back into title game

Washington was hanging around with defending champion Alabama in the 2016 Peach Bowl when a sudden turn of events changed the...well...tide of the game. The Huskies were down 10-7 and attempting to get some points on the board before halftime when linebacker Ryan Anderson picked off Jake Browning's pass in the flat and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown. 

Browning dropped back but was immediately pressured, which forced his errant throw to Lavon Coleman right into Anderson's hands. What was at first a promising half for Washington turned into a 10-point Alabama lead, and the Tide never looked back. They added another score and won, 24-7.

No. 7 - Clemson blanks Urban Meyer

This was not so much a singular moment as much as a statement. Clemson, which lost a heartbreaking championship game to Alabama the year before, got a chance to get its revenge by blanking Ohio State, 31-0. It was a complete defensive domination. 

Ohio State gained just 215 total yards and turned the ball over three times in the loss. It was the first time the Buckeyes had been shut out since 1993 and the first time an Urban Meyer team was ever shut out. It was also the first time Ohio State had been blanked in a bowl game since the 1921 Rose Bowl.

No. 6 - Derrick Henry's stiff-arm

The 2015 Cotton Bowl was well in hand for the Alabama Crimson Tide, as they held a 31-0 lead late. 'Bama had the ball on the Michigan State 11-yard line and handed it to Derrick Henry, who threw a stiff arm to the Spartans' Shilique Calhoun before diving in to the end zone for a touchdown. Henry was at first stuffed at the line of scrimmage before bouncing right to the outside. There, Calhoun pursued Henry for a tackle-for-loss when Henry's arm caused him to front-flip to the turf. Alabama won the game, 38-0.

No. 5 - Oregon piles it on in the third quarter

In the first College Football Playoff, defending national champion Florida State entered the Rose Bowl game against Oregon riding a 29-game winning streak. The past two Heisman Trophy winners, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, faced off in what many expected to be a shootout. The Ducks waddled out of halftime with an 18-13 lead and began a dominating third quarter. Just over three minutes in, Royce Freeman punched in a touchdown to give the Ducks a 25-13 advantage.

After a Seminoles score, Oregon scored three touchdowns in a five-minute period. Darren Carrington caught a 56-yard touchdown, and then two minutes later (after a 'Noles fumble) he caught a 30-yard touchdown. On the ensuing drive, linebacker Tony Washington picked up a Winston fumble and returned it 58 yards for a TD. In that five-minute frame, Oregon turned a 25-20 game into a 45-20 blowout. Oregon tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to salt away the game, 59-20.

No. 4 - Clemson's fake punt against Oklahoma

It was still early in the 2015 Orange Bowl when the Tigers decided to pull off a trick play. Not wanting to waste a Deshaun Watson 46-yard scamper, Clemson decided to fake a punt at the Oklahoma 45-yard line. Despite failing badly in the ACC Championship Game, this time punter Andy Teasdall threw a perfect pass to defensive lineman Christian Wilkins for 31 yards. Wilkins caught the ball while twisting around, and if he could've kept his balance he would have walked into the end zone. Watson scored later in the drive, and Clemson won the game, 37-17.

No. 3 - Cyrus Jones' punt return ends Sparty's hopes

Alabama and Michigan State were in a defensive struggle, but the Tide took hold of the game after an Amari Cooper touchdown grab gave 'Bama a 17-0 lead. With Michigan State punting out of its own end zone, Jones took the punt at his own 43-yard line, found a seam and shook off a couple of would-be tacklers to score a touchdown and give Alabama a seemingly insurmountable 24-0 lead. Jones also picked off the Spartans' Connor Cook late in the first half to kill a promising drive. Alabama tacked on two more touchdowns to win the first shutout in College Football Playoff history and the first in the Cotton Bowl since 1963.

No. 2 - Ezekiel Elliott's 85-yard romp

In the 2014-2015 semifinal, top-seeded Alabama and Ohio State were in a tussle at the Sugar Bowl. The Buckeyes erased a 15-point deficit and scored 28 straight points to give themselves a 34-21 lead. A Blake Sims TD run got the Crimson Tide to within six, and the two defenses began to dig in and stifle the offensive flow. 

Buried deep in its own territory, Ohio State gave the ball to Elliott, who ran left, shot through a hole and galloped 85 yards for a touchdown that gave the Buckeyes breathing room. 'Bama scored on an Amari Cooper touchdown, but a final Hail Mary was intercepted and Ohio State moved on to the National Championship Game.

No. 1 - Sony Michel goes (walk) off in the Rose Bowl

The 2018 Rose Bowl was one for the ages for senior running back Sony Michel. He broke off touchdown runs of 75 yards and 38 yards and had a 27-yard touchdown in the second overtime — the final touchdown to give the Bulldogs the 54-48 win in double overtime. He carried the ball just 11 times but piled up 181 yards and even caught a touchdown pass. Despite his lofty stats, he was nearly the goat in the game. His fumble midway through the fourth quarter was picked up and returned by Oklahoma's Steven Parker for a 46-yard touchdown, which gave the Sooners a 45-38 lead.

After trading field goals in the first overtime, Michel broke loose for the game-winning score in walk-off fashion. With the lead changes and the big plays, the 2018 Rose Bowl was easily the most compelling College Football Playoff semifinals we've had thus far.