Super Bowl III
Joe Namath guaranteed a win, and changed football forever. The New York Jets were an 18-point underdog to a Baltimore team that had beaten Cleveland 34-0 in the NFL championship game and NFL teams were generally considered a class above AFL teams. But Namath passed for 206 yards and the Jets forced five turnovers in a 16-7 win that turned the Super Bowl into an event and helped legitimize the merger of the two leagues a year later.

Gardner beats Karelin
Rulon Gardner built himself into a big wrestler working on his family’s dairy farm. He then built a career on his win over Russia’s Alexander Karelin in the 2000 Olympics. And with good reason. Karelin had never lost in international competition, and rarely even gave away a point. He had three gold medals and was expecting a fourth when he met the little-known American in Sydney. Gardner got a point when Karelin broke his hands on a clinch early in the second period and held on for a 1-0 win.

1985 NCAA championship game
Georgetown was the defending national champion, and had Patrick Ewing. But Villanova had a plan, and there was no shot clock. The No. 8 seeded Wildcats made 13 of their first 18 shots and took a one-point lead at halftime. Then they played 20 minutes of near-perfect basketball in the second half, making nine of 10 field goals in the stunning 66-64 win.

Upset Wins
Man O’War was the greatest horse at a time when horse racing was one of the greatest sports in America. He started 21 races, and won 20 of them. On Aug. 13, 1919, though, he was beaten for the only time by the appropriately named Upset in the Sanford Memorial. There would have been no upset for Upset if the race would have gone another 20 feet because Man O’War had closed to within a neck and would have overtaken the winner. For years, legend had it that the term “upset” was coined in this race, but researchers later found references to upsets in sports in newspapers of the 19th century.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Flying on the hardwood, racing on the rink, getting physical on the gridiron, and much more. more photos

So, there. Six moments in six different sports with nothing in common other than they were all so utterly unpredictable and all so indelibly memorable.

By getting blown out against Florida, the Patriots may be remembered merely as a team that won a few games they weren’t supposed to when it mattered most.

MORE FROM COLLEGE BASKETBALL

College basketball Section Front

UCLA will make noise eventually   Vote: Who will be player of the year? Beyond the Arc: ’Nova facing issues with frosh Seton Hall basketball player charged with DWI Beyond the Arc: Carolina will be scary good by March Syracuse sends Boeheim to 800th victory Beyond the Arc: Boeheim’s 800th in perspective   5 Razorbacks suspended for opener Men’s Top 25 preview, analysis, stats, more Davis: Kansas tops 2009-10 hoops storylines College basketball Section Front   Add College basketball headlines to your news reader: