Stewart Mandel opens up the mailbag an talks about what he thinks are the most significant college football games in recent history.

Guess who, made number 1 (albeit for a loss):

1. Florida State 46, Virginia Tech 29, Sugar Bowl, Jan. 4, 2000: While the Seminoles won the game, Michael Vick's epic performance was the single biggest impetus to the influx of athletic-style quarterbacks we see today. It's not that there weren't "mobile" quarterbacks before Vick, but coaches rarely gave them the freedom to improvise. Vick helped convince any remaining cynics of just how big an impact such a player could have on a game if properly unleashed, a la Vince Young in this year's Rose Bowl.

What I remember most about that season is how few people had heard of Vick prior to the Sugar Bowl. Having had the pleasure to catch a lot of the games that year, I knew first hand about Vick's talents. I remember sitting on my seat for a total of about 20 minutes during the game. As soon as I'd sit down, I'd have to jump back up to see Vick on the run again.

It wasn't until Tech made it to the Sugar Bowl that people started to take them seriously. (And because of the convoluted BCS formula they were almost kept out.) The greatest compliment Vick received that day came from Bobby Bowden who, when asked about Florida State's performance during the post-game interview, said something like: "Did you get a load of that Vick?!"