The 2017 college football season was loaded with incredible drama, thrilling finishes and unthinkable upsets. Below are the 20 best games of the season:

1. UCLA 45, Texas A&M 44 (Sept. 3)

UCLA capped a 34-point comeback with quarterback Josh Rosen's fake-spike, game-winning touchdown pass to receiver Jordan Lasley with 43 seconds remaining. The Bruins' win, however, didn't save coach Jim Mora's job. And all but sealed Kevin Sumlin's fate at Texas A&M.

play 0:53 Mayfield, Sooners outduel Rudolph, Cowboys In a scoring fest, Baker Mayfield led Oklahoma to a crucial victory with a 500-plus-yard performance and six total touchdowns.

2. No. 6 Ohio State 39, No. 2 Penn State 38 (Oct. 28)

Delivering maybe the game of his career, Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett connected with tight end Marcus Baugh on a go-ahead, 16-yard TD with 1:48 left. Barrett finished 33-of-39 passing with four touchdowns. However, neither he nor the Buckeyes could keep the momentum rolling, as Ohio State fell to Iowa by 31 points the following week.

3. Western Michigan 71, Buffalo 68 (Oct. 7)

Running back Jarvion Franklin's touchdown lifted Western Michigan to victory in a record-tying seven overtime periods with a record-breaking 139 total points. Adding to the wackiness, the sister of Western Michigan tight end Donnie Ernsberger was initially flagged for running onto the field to celebrate her brother's TD during the first OT period.

4. Iowa State 38, No. 3 Oklahoma 31 (Oct. 7)

In his first career start, walk-on senior quarterback Kyle Kempt passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns, including a jump ball 25-yarder to receiver Allen Lazard that put Iowa State up for good with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter. The victory was just the Cyclones' second over OU since 1961. They would go on to take down another top-five team later in October with a 14-7 win over TCU.

5. No. 15 UCF 49, USF 42 (Nov. 24)

After a McKenzie Milton TD pass gave UCF an eight-point lead with 2:21 to play, South Florida knotted the game at 42 on quarterback Quinton Flowers' 84-yard scoring bomb to receiver Darnell Salomon, followed by a successful two-point try. UCF's Mike Hughes, however, returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards to give the Knights back the lead, and the UCF defense forced a late fumble to seal the win, sending the Knights to the American Athletic Conference championship game. The victory also gave UCF an 11-0 regular-season record, just two years after the Knights went 0-12.

6. No. 4 Penn State 21, Iowa 19 (Sept. 23)

PSU running back Saquon Barkley kick-started his Heisman campaign with 211 yards rushing and 94 receiving. But quarterback Trace McSorley produced the game-winning play, finding receiver Juwan Johnson for a 7-yard TD on the game's final snap in a thrilling Big Ten opener.

7. No. 5 Oklahoma 62, No. 11 Oklahoma State 52 (Nov. 4)

In the highest-scoring game in Bedlam history, Oklahoma State had a chance to take a late lead. But quarterback Mason Rudolph's fourth-down pass sailed over the head of receiver Tyron Johnson. And with a school-record 598 passing yards, OU's Baker Mayfield left Stillwater with a 3-0 mark against the rival Pokes.