Winning a rivalry sport can cement a legacy. These video games also can create legends. What occurs throughout a school soccer rivalry lives on as a few of the most iconic moments within the sport.
Sometimes it is a backup QB who should save the day. Sometimes it is an unheralded participant who saves his greatest efficiency for his crew’s most-hated opponent. Sometimes it is a participant who completely owned a rival.
From the Iron Bowl to the Territorial Cup to Michigan-Ohio State, every rivalry has “that guy.” He’ll get random autograph requests. He’ll by no means purchase a meal in his faculty city. His huge play will likely be a snippet in numerous YouTube movies. It’s all due to what he did throughout Rivalry Week.
Here are a couple of of our reporters favourite rivalry heroes:
Jump to a sport:
Egg Bowl | GT-UGA | Minn-Wisc | Mich-OSU | UF-FSU
Iron Bowl | Tex-A&M | SC-Clemson | ASU-UA | Pur-IU
Tenn-Vandy | UK-Lou| UNC-NCSt | ISU-KSU | UVa-VT
Record: Ole Miss leads 65-47-6
Mississippi State DBs Robert Bean and Eugene Clinton, 1999
The 1999 Egg Bowl will eternally be often known as “The Kick, Pick, Kick,” at the least in Starkville. Both groups had been nationally ranked, and Mississippi State rallied from a 20-6 deficit to tie the rating with 27 seconds left. There was no time beyond regulation in these days, and as a substitute of taking part in for a tie, Ole Miss determined to throw it down the sphere. That’s when the twosome of Bean and Clinton etched their names into Mississippi State soccer lore eternally.
“I just wanted to do something. Pull a rabbit out of the hat,” Clinton instructed tv station WAPT in 2014.
Bean leaped to intercept the cross, but it surely bounced off his arms and he by chance kicked the ball into the air. Clinton was there to intercept it on the Mississippi State 47 and returned it 27 yards the place he was knocked out of bounds on the Ole Miss 26. Scott Westerfield capped the unbelievable 23-20 win with a 44-yard subject purpose.
“We talk about the excitement from that one game and what it meant to us as individuals, to those seniors and what it meant to Mississippi State University,” Clinton mentioned in a narrative with MSU athletics. “After the years, it has grown to be something special and that game holds a special place in my heart.”
— Chris Low
Ole Miss WR Cory Peterson, 1997
Before he was a U.S. senator, Tommy Tuberville was Ole Miss’ head coach in 1997 and made the daring name to go for the win as a substitute of settling for a tie. After quarterback Stewart Patridge led the Rebels on a late 64-yard landing drive, then hit a diving Peterson on a crossing route with the 2-point conversion cross with 25 seconds left, it gave the Rebels a 15-14 win over No. 22 Mississippi State.
Ole Miss went to a bowl sport for the primary time in 5 seasons and beat Marshall within the Motor City Bowl. Peterson went to the sideline and instantly vomited after the play.
Peterson, whose father and uncle each performed at Mississippi State, had two different memorable TD catches main the Rebels to wins in 1998 towards LSU and 1999 towards Auburn. He mentioned the 2-point cross would have been batted away by the Mississippi State defensive deal with however that Ole Miss middle Matt Luke (previously the Ole Miss head coach and now the offensive line coach at Clemson) knocked the deal with down on the play. — Low
Record: Georgia leads 71-41-5
Georgia Tech RB Roddy Jones, 2008
Georgia entered the 2008 season with the No. 1 rating, contemporary off a Sugar Bowl win, and with a trio of stars — Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and AJ Green — main the offense. But defeats by the hands of rivals Alabama and Florida had upended expectations, and by the point the Dawgs reached their rivalry sport with Georgia Tech at season’s finish, a lot of the air was out of the balloon. Little did they know the way a lot worse issues may get — or that the supply technique for that distress can be from just a little recognized freshman A-back (Jones). It was Georgia Tech’s first yr working the triple choice beneath new coach Paul Johnson, and Jones had largely been a task participant within the backfield till the week earlier than, when he emerged with 97 yards on seven carries towards Miami. Against the Dawgs, nonetheless, he grew to become probably the most explosive participant on the sphere. Jones carried simply 13 occasions however ran for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns, together with a 54-yard rating that put Tech up 10 with simply 7:13 to play. The Yellow Jackets went on to win 45-42, and Georgia’s then-head coach Mark Richt fired most of his defensive workers days later.
Jones was a productive again for Georgia Tech for 3 extra years, ending his faculty profession with 2,259 scrimmage yards and 19 touchdowns, however he by no means had one other sport fairly like his first expertise with Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. After his soccer profession ended, he grew to become a radio voice for the Yellow Jackets earlier than touchdown a job with Raycom Sports and later with ESPN, the place he is now one of many community’s high shade analysts for faculty soccer and different sports activities.
“That game changed the path of my life. In the moment, I had no idea what it meant. I was just fired up to beat Georgia. But I spent the next three years of my playing career as one of the most popular players on the team because of that game against Georgia. Sixteen years later, it’s still the first thing Georgia Tech fans want to talk to me about, and it’s one of the best football memories I have.” — David Hale
Georgia RB Theron Sapp, 1957
Sapp, a former Georgia two-way star, continues to be remembered because the “Drought Breaker,” after he turned in huge play after huge play within the Bulldogs’ 7-0 upset victory over Georgia Tech in 1957, which ended the Yellow Jackets’ eight-game successful streak within the sequence.
After Sapp recovered Floyd Faucette’s fumble close to midfield early within the second half, Bulldogs quarterback Charlie Britt linked on a 13-yard cross to Jimmy Orr to maneuver to the Tech 26.
Sapp, a bruising fullback and linebacker, took over from there, working six consecutive occasions to maneuver to the Tech 1. Britt was stuffed on a quarterback sneak on third-and-goal, and it appeared the Bulldogs may be turned away.
“When we got back to the huddle, everybody was yelling, ‘Give it to Sapp! Give it to Sapp!'” Sapp instructed the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. “I said, ‘Yeah, give it to me!'”
The Bulldogs gave the ball to Sapp on fourth down, and he scored on a 1-yard run. It was Georgia’s first landing towards Tech since 1953, and the one landing the Yellow Jackets gave up at Grant Field that season.
Sapp ran for 91 yards on 23 carries. When Sapp returned to the locker room after the sport, based on the Macon Telegraph, “blood was streaming from his face” and his nostril “looked like a piece of bologna that had been freshly sliced.”
It was Georgia’s first win over Tech in Atlanta since All-American Charley Trippi led them to a 33-0 rout in 1945.
Sapp’s No. 40 jersey was retired by Georgia simply over a yr later.
“I still get phone calls from people and they still remember the play and the game,” Sapp mentioned in 2001. “The old-timers still do. It was 40 years ago, but I’ll never forget that game.” — Mark Schlabach
Record: Wisconsin leads 63-62-8
Gophers security Jeff Rosga, 1993
In 1993, Wisconsin swaggered into the Metrodome at 6-0, with a roster that includes future NFL gamers and set to start a historic run beneath coach Barry Alvarez. Quarterback Darrell Bevell would cross for 423 yards that day, however Minnesota’s protection repeatedly turned away the Badgers, recording three interceptions and a key stand inside its personal 10-yard line. Rosga returned one in all Bevell’s interceptions 55 yards for a landing as Minnesota constructed a 21-0 lead and held on to win 28-21.
Rosga’s pick-six nonetheless follows him — the Ray Christensen-narrated spotlight will dwell eternally — however he remembers a less-glitzy play, when he broke up a cross to Lee DeRamus on a thin publish whereas in single protection late within the sport.
“You simply look back and you go, ‘Hey, what’s the chances that you’re going to be able to make that play when you’re in Cover 0 and you’re just out on an island with a guy that’s a NFL wide receiver, to make the play and then kind of seal the game, that’s a pretty special moment,” Rosga mentioned. “It’s that old saying: We bent, but we never broke, and we were able to keep them out of the end zone when it counted.”
Wisconsin wouldn’t lose once more, tying with Ohio State and beating UCLA within the Rose Bowl to complete No. 6 nationally.
“We eliminated their possibility for a national championship,” Rosga mentioned. “People certainly remember that game, which is always pretty special, even 30 years later.”
Rosga, a director at Life Time Fitness and a highschool coach who nonetheless lives within the Minneapolis space, nonetheless attends Minnesota video games. The Gophers-Badgers sport is additional particular in his household, since his brother, Tim, performed for Wisconsin within the late Nineties.
“We always try to watch it together,” Jeff mentioned. “Our kids are on the different sides of the fence when it comes to who they’re rooting for. They are absolutely rivals that day.” — Adam Rittenberg
Wisconsin RB Billy Marek, 1974
Marek has a idea on why Minnesota could not cease him within the 1974 rivalry conflict at Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium.
“They couldn’t find me in the fog,” he mentioned with amusing. “It was a drizzly, rainy, foggy kind of day.”
Marek, a Wisconsin Hall of Famer, set the college’s profession speeding (3,709 yards) and scoring (277 factors) data, and had no higher efficiency than the 1974 Axe sport. After a sluggish begin to the season, Marek confronted Minnesota on a sizzling streak, having eclipsed 200 speeding yards in his earlier two video games. The holes continued to open towards the Gophers and by no means closed. Marek even had a number of lengthy runs referred to as again on penalties.
“It’s the only game in my life I was actually very tired by the time we got to the fourth quarter,” Marek mentioned. “They had taken me out going into the fourth quarter and then they said they were going to put me back in. Somebody said, ‘You’re close to 300,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’ The place was going crazy.”
Marek completed with 304 speeding yards and 5 touchdowns in a 49-14 win over a Minnesota crew quarterbacked by Tony Dungy. His single-season crew speeding report stood till Ron Dayne broke it in 1996.
He just lately retired after a protracted profession in athletic licensing, most just lately with Pro Standard and Fanatics, which took him to many high sporting occasions. He’s additionally a daily at Wisconsin video games.
“I’ve always had four season tickets there, so my family, my kids, have grown up going to the games,” mentioned Marek, who lives in Chicago. “We always have [Minnesota] at the end of the year, and you want to finish strong.” — Rittenberg
Record: Michigan leads 61-51-6
Michigan WR John Kolesar, 1988
Kolesar may not have ended up at Michigan had it not been for the daddy of Jim Tressel. Kolesar’s dad, Bill, performed for Tressel’s dad, Lee, at Mentor (Ohio) High. Woody Hayes had simply taken over at Ohio State within the early Fifties. Lee Tressel then did not know what to make of Hayes. So, he inspired Bill Kolesar to play for Michigan as a substitute.
Ultimately, Hayes would turn into a Buckeyes icon. Jim Tressel would coach Ohio State to the 2002 nationwide title. And John Kolesar, who adopted his father to Ann Arbor, would turn into a Michigan legend.
In 1988, the Wolverines trailed late. But Kolesar returned the following kickoff 59 yards. Then, he hauled in a successful, 41-yard landing from quarterback Demetrius Brown for the 34-31 victory.
“Kolesar won the game for us,” legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler mentioned afterward. “He really bailed us out.”
Kolesar’s son, Caden, additionally attended Michigan and performed a key position on particular groups for the Wolverines’ nationwide championship crew final season. John Kolesar mentioned he has had many Buckeyes followers purchase him a beer through the years whereas residing within the Cleveland space.
“And the biggest question I get is, ‘Oh man, I could never forget [the 1988 game]. Why’d you go to Michigan?'” mentioned Kolesar, who now resides in Florida, although plans to attend this week’s sport towards Ohio State. “But there are just countless stories of how these two teams are so mirrored and tied to one another.” — Jake Trotter
Ohio State QB Troy Smith, 2006
In 1936, Tippy Dye grew to become the primary Ohio State quarterback to defeat Michigan three years in a row. Seventy years later, the Buckeyes lastly had a second quarterback obtain the identical feat.
In 2006, Smith clinched the Heisman Trophy by throwing 4 landing passes to 4 totally different receivers, propelling top-ranked Ohio State to a 42-39 victory over No. 2 Michigan. The efficiency gave Smith his third consecutive win over the Wolverines and catapulted Ohio State into the nationwide championship sport.
In 2005, Smith engineered a livid two-score comeback within the last seven minutes, lifting the Buckeyes to a 25-21 win. And, in 2004, Smith rushed for 145 yards to associate with three complete touchdowns in a 37-21 victory.
Over his three wins over the Wolverines, Smith produced 9 touchdowns and 857 passing yards. — Trotter
Record: Florida leads 37-28-2
Florida QB Noah Brindise, 1997
Steve Spurrier has been recognized to have a aptitude for the dramatic. But the 1997 sport towards Florida State took that to a different stage. Facing undefeated and No. 1 Florida State at dwelling, the two-loss Gators had one purpose in thoughts: Ruin the Seminoles’ nationwide championship possibilities. To do it, Spurrier made some of the unconventional selections of his profession: He would rotate Brindise, a former walk-on, and Doug Johnson at quarterback. Not each sequence.
Every play.
The Gators had scuffled on offense within the second half of the season, and Spurrier had grown annoyed and impatient with all three of his quarterbacks — taking part in a mix of Johnson, Brindise and freshman Jesse Palmer. To beat the Seminoles, and the No. 3 protection within the nation, Spurrier determined switching between quarterbacks would give them the perfect likelihood as a result of he couldn’t solely coach every between performs — he may ship the quarterbacks in with the performs and keep away from any sign stealing.
“We were like, it sounds kind of crazy, but let’s do it,” Brindise recalled.
Florida State took a 17-6 lead, however the Gators stormed again and the groups traded the lead within the fourth quarter. With lower than two minutes to play, down 29-25, Johnson referred to as for a curl-and-go for Jacquez Green that went for 62 yards. Fred Taylor scored the successful landing and Florida received 32-29 in what continues to be considered one of many biggest video games ever performed within the Swamp. Brindise took the ultimate snap to shut out the win, and nonetheless has that ball in his workplace.
“It was one of those magical nights,” mentioned Brindise, who now works in medical system gross sales. “I still get it pretty regularly from Gator fans who tell me, ‘That was the greatest game I’ve ever seen.’ I think my actual role in helping us win has been inflated quite a bit over the years, but it definitely feels special that I was a part of that.” — Andrea Adelson
FSU QB Marcus Outzen, 1998
Entering its sport towards Florida in 1998, Florida State knew it needed to win to maintain its nationwide championship hopes alive. After Chris Weinke was misplaced for the season due to a neck damage in early November, these championship hopes rode with Outzen, affectionately often known as “The Rooster” for his pink hair and fiery persona. Outzen had been buried on the Seminoles’ depth chart, however a succession of accidents landed him because the starter when Weinke went down. He received his first begin towards Wake Forest, however the offense performed inconsistently. The fourth-ranked Gators would supply a a lot larger check. In reality, there have been so many questions on how the Seminoles would play with Outzen behind middle, they entered the sport as underdogs.
A pregame fracas — through which Doug Johnson threw a ball that almost hit Bobby Bowden — solely served to underscore the animosity between the 2, and the excessive stakes. Florida jumped out to a fast lead, however the sport turned on a fluky play within the third quarter. Florida security Marquand Manuel jumped in entrance of an Outzen cross, solely to let it slip via his arms. Peter Warrick caught it on the deflection, placed on a couple of strikes, received a powerful block from Snoop Minnis and scored a 32-yard landing. The Seminoles by no means trailed once more, shutting out Florida within the second half to win 23-12. Outzen completed 13-of-22 for 167 yards and a rating, and he used his legs to maintain the Gators protection off stability, too, because the Seminoles locked up their spot within the nationwide title sport towards Tennessee.
In the locker room afterward, Bowden sang an outdated people quantity a few Rooster in entrance of the whole crew. Outzen mentioned afterward, “It’s a dream come true for me.” Outzen died earlier this yr at age 46 from a uncommon immune deficiency dysfunction. His place in Florida State lore, nonetheless, won’t ever be forgotten. — Adelson
Record: Alabama leads 50-37-1
Auburn DB David Langner, 1972
Langner returned two blocked punts for touchdowns on back-to-back possessions within the fourth quarter, each blocked by Bill Newton, to rally Auburn previous No. 2 and unbeaten Alabama in a 17-16 win at Legion Field in a 1972 sport that may eternally be often known as “Punt Bama Punt.”
The Crimson Tide led 16-3 with slightly below six minutes to play when Langner returned the primary blocked punt 25 yards for a landing and the second 20 yards for a landing with lower than two minutes remaining. Langner additionally intercepted a last-ditch cross by Alabama to seal the win. It was Alabama’s solely SEC loss between 1970 and 1976, and it was one other decade earlier than Auburn would beat Alabama once more.
“Both of the balls looked identical to me,” Langner mentioned after the sport. “They just bounced into my hands. All I had to do was pick them up and run. It was by far the greatest thrill I’ve ever had.”
The Alabama punter that day was Greg Gantt. He and Langner went to highschool collectively at Woodlawn High in Birmingham. Sadly, they each died younger and solely 2½ years aside, Gantt in 2011 of issues from coronary heart illness and diabetes, and Langner in 2014 of most cancers. — Low
Alabama DB Rory Turner, 1984
The Iron Bowl is full of its personal nicknames for sure video games, and the star of the “Wrong Way Bo” sport in 1984 was Alabama security Rory Turner. Alabama was on its option to its first dropping season in 27 years, making the 17-15 upset of No. 11 Auburn and Bo Jackson even sweeter. On fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 3:27 to play, Auburn coach Pat Dye determined to go for the landing as a substitute of kicking the quick subject purpose. Jackson misheard the playcall and went the flawed method, and Brent Fullwood was left with out a lead blocker. Turner drove Fullwood out of bounds for a 3-yard loss.
Fullwood had earlier pulled Auburn inside two factors on a 60-yard landing run. The Alabama college students had been sitting in that finish zone for that fourth-down play, and it was so loud that Jackson misheard the decision on the line of scrimmage and left Fullwood one-on-one with Turner.
After the sport, Turner famously instructed reporters, “I just waxed the dude.” Auburn nonetheless had an opportunity to win it within the last seconds, however Robert McGinty’s 42-yard subject purpose try was no good. — Low
Record: Texas leads 76-37-5
Texas DB Mark Berry, 1990
In the mid-Eighties, a proud Texas soccer program was mired in mediocrity. Fred Akers went 20-14-1 in his last three seasons between 1984-86 and was changed by David McWilliams, who then went 16-18 in his first three seasons. Even worse, Texas was on a six-game dropping streak to Texas A&M over that span. The Longhorns had been misplaced.
By 1990, there was hope. Unranked within the preseason polls, the Longhorns beat No. 21 Penn State within the opener, earlier than falling 29-22 to Colorado (which might go on to assert the nationwide title after an Orange Bowl win over Notre Dame). Heading into the rivalry sport towards the Aggies, the Longhorns had been 9-1 and on what they referred to as the “Shock the Nation” tour after beating No. 4 Oklahoma in Dallas and No. 3 Houston at dwelling. The Aggies got here into the sport unranked regardless of being 9-2-1 with street losses to LSU and Houston by a mixed 14 factors and a tie towards Baylor. They’d received 4 straight heading into Austin with bragging rights on the road.
Darren Lewis, who had turn into the Southwest Conference’s main rusher, had 25 carries for 150 yards towards Texas that day and have become simply the fifth participant ever to cross 5,000 profession speeding yards. With 3:46 left, Aggies QB Bucky Richardson, who had simply scored on a 32-yard choice keeper, pulled A&M to inside 28-27, and coach R.C. Slocum opted to go for 2 and get the win in Austin. The Aggies ran an alternative choice play, kicked it out proper to Lewis, and nook Mark Berry discovered himself one-on-one with the star working again, an outdated buddy he grew up with in Dallas. Lewis slipped briefly, however Berry shed a block and dropped Lewis.
“When I got to Darren, I could see it in his eyes,” Berry mentioned after the sport. “He had nowhere to go but over me. We’re good friends, but this time I won.”
The deal with was the distinction within the sport, ending the Longhorns’ dropping streak to the Aggies.
“I think that’s the only tackle we had on Darren Lewis all day,” McWilliams mentioned. “But if I had to pick a time to have one, that would be it.”
Berry went on to turn into a firefighter, a paramedic and returned to Texas in 2002 to get his diploma in social work. He lives in Dallas, and his spouse, Tamejia, is the assistant fireplace chief of Dallas Fire Rescue and the highest-ranking girl within the division. —Dave Wilson
Texas A&M WR Matt Bumgardner, 1999
In 1999, Texas A&M’s bonfire, an annual custom earlier than the Aggies performed Texas, collapsed per week earlier than the sport, killing 12 Aggies who had been engaged on the stack of logs and injuring 27 extra.
The groups performed the sport the next week, an emotionally fraught scene in College Station in entrance of the biggest crowd ever to observe a soccer sport in Texas at that time. The No. 24 Aggies had simply misplaced 37-0 at Nebraska two weeks prior, whereas No. 7 Texas got here in on a five-game successful streak, contemporary off a 58-7 win over Texas Tech.
A&M gamers had missed two days of observe following the tragedy, together with serving to to raise logs off the pile whereas serving to seek for survivors. Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum was involved all week about his crew sporting down as a result of real-world feelings concerned. And by the half, the Aggies trailed 16-6. But by late within the sport, Texas A&M was driving. With 5:02 left within the sport, quarterback Randy McCown was speculated to throw left, however he regarded proper and noticed his roommate, Matt Bumgardner. Bumgardner was an enormous, bodily receiver, however he had caught simply three touchdowns in his Aggies profession. McCown lofted it up, and Bumgardner, who later instructed the Houston Chronicle that he momentarily misplaced the ball within the afternoon shadows, retrieved it, catching a 14-yard TD cross and giving the Aggies a 20-16 lead.
A&M’s Jay Brooks compelled a fumble by Major Applewhite, and linebacker Brian Gamble recovered it to complete off the sport with an emotional scene as he raised his arms to the sky in per week the Aggies desperately wanted it.
Bumgardner told the Chronicle in 2019 that individuals nonetheless inform him how necessary that catch was to them.
“You can see how much that win means to fans and former students, people who were watching it with their mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters at home,” Bumgardner mentioned. “Everyone was hurting a lot — the whole Aggie community was hurting.”
Bumgardner went on to work as a conduct specialist for emotionally unstable kids in faculties within the Houston space and ran a nonprofit aiding college students with particular must get gear they want. “The kids I’ve worked with? They’ve put my life into perspective,” he mentioned. — Wilson
Record: Clemson leads 73-43-4
Clemson WR Rod Gardner, 2000
For South Carolina followers, the play will eternally be often known as “The Push-Off.” That’s not how Rod Gardner — or anybody in Clemson orange, for that matter — remembers it, although.
The Gamecocks led 14-13 with simply 19 seconds to play of their tilt with rival Clemson on Nov. 18, 2000. The Tigers, led by QB Woody Dantzler, had been deep in their very own territory, dealing with a third-and-12. They wanted a miracle. Gardner delivered with both some of the exceptional catches at school historical past or, for the parents from Columbia, some of the egregious non-calls within the rivalry’s historical past. Dantzler heaved a cross deep down the suitable sideline, and Gardner — with three South Carolina defenders surrounding him — hauled within the catch for a 50-yard achieve. Clemson sprinted to the road of scrimmage, spiked the ball, then booted a brief subject purpose for a 16-14 win.
The Tigers anointed the play “The Catch II,” the inheritor obvious to the unique “Catch,” made by Jerry Butler in a 1977 win over the Gamecocks.
Gardner grew to become a first-round draft decide the subsequent spring, going fifteenth general to the Washington Redskins. He completed his rookie season with 741 yards — together with 208 in a sport towards Carolina that yr — and 4 touchdowns, then blossomed in 2002, catching 71 passes for 1,006 yards and eight touchdowns. In 2003, he even received some work at QB, throwing two TDs. After 4 seasons with Washington, he spent components of 2005 and 2006 with Kansas City, Carolina and Green Bay earlier than retiring from soccer. He’d later star on season 36 of “The Amazing Race” together with his spouse. They completed third.
“I did have my hand on his shoulder. But I never pushed him. Never extended,” Gardner instructed The Athletic in 2020. “I just had my hand on his shoulder to feel where he was at, and when the ball came, I made the catch and it was game over. And it was the best play ever.” — Hale
South Carolina QB Mike Hold, 1984
In 1984, QB Mike Hold had alternated with Allen Mitchell at QB that season then helped rally the Gamecocks from a 21-3 deficit on the street towards Clemson.
With seconds left, Hold scored the successful 1-yard landing, giving South Carolina its first win at Clem
It was a wild end, as Hold’s TD tied the sport after he accomplished an enormous 36-yard cross a couple of minutes earlier. But the Gamecocks wanted the additional level to win it. Scott Hagler hooked the PAT to the left, however Clemson had 12 males on the sphere. Hagler received one other likelihood and made it this time. Clemson received the ball again however could not get a primary down.
The sport ended with Hold taking a knee and famously handing the ball to large Clemson DT William “Refrigerator” Perry, who would not take it. There’s an iconic picture of that second.
Hold later appeared in “The Program” and “The Waterboy” as a school quarterback. — Low
Record: Arizona leads 51-45-1
Arizona State DL James Brooks, 2010
At roughly 270 kilos when taking part in for the Sun Devils, one would count on that defensive finish James Brooks’ athleticism can be proven horizontally greater than vertically. Yet on a Saturday night time in Tucson throughout the 2010 season, Brooks’ leaping skills saved ASU not as soon as however twice in a double-overtime thriller.
When QB Nick Foles led the Wildcats to what regarded like a game-winning drive with 30 seconds left within the fourth quarter, Arizona wanted solely a PAT to emerge victorious. But because the ball was kicked, Brooks leapt within the air and blocked it, sending the sport into time beyond regulation. In time beyond regulation, Brooks did it once more. Arizona wanted to match ASU’s landing within the second time beyond regulation interval, however after it received into the top zone, all of it got here down to a different PAT. Brooks as soon as once more flew via the air, and this time his block was a walk-off that put Arizona State at six wins and despatched it to a bowl sport.
“I go down in the books as a Sun Devil forever,” Brooks mentioned on the time. “More important than getting the glory, I get to be around ASU and the history books forever.”
Brooks left the crew the next yr for private causes, however he has carved out a profession for himself within the European League of Football. Brooks first performed for the Cologne Falcons in 2013 and has been suiting up at defensive finish for the Prague Lions for the previous 4 seasons. — Paolo Uggetti
Arizona Okay Max Zendejas, 1985
As a place-kicker, you aren’t going to earn the nickname “Sun Devil killer” with out coming via in some essential rivalry spots. Zendejas, who spent 4 years in Tucson, did it not simply as soon as however a number of occasions towards an ASU crew that, at one level, included his brother, Luis.
In 1983, the 2 confronted off towards one another in that yr’s Territorial Cup. Luis hit three subject objectives throughout that sport, and a late landing put ASU up 15-14. Max wasn’t performed. With time expiring, the opposite Zendejas made his mark on the sport by splitting the uprights from 45 yards as time expired, giving the Wildcats a rivalry win.
Two years later, Zendejas did it once more. This time, with the Sun Devils being a win away from a Rose Bowl berth and main 13-3, Zendejas hit two clutch subject objectives within the fourth quarter: a 57-yard bomb that matched the college report and tied the sport at 13 in addition to a 32-yarder to place the Wildcats forward for good. That yr Zendejas led the convention with 22 subject objectives and was named the crew’s MVP. He went on to be drafted within the fourth spherical in 1986 by the Cowboys and spent 4 seasons within the NFL with 4 totally different groups.
“Playing against ASU, kicking against my brother and putting them out of the Rose Bowl, there were a lot of great memories here,” Zendejas mentioned in an interview with Arizona Football earlier this yr. — Uggetti
Record: Purdue leads 77-42-2
Purdue LB Mike Marks, 1980
Whenever Purdue followers meet Mike Marks, they inevitably carry up the 1980 Bucket sport with Indiana and his heroic play to thwart a Hoosiers’ comeback. Purdue had received 4 straight within the sequence and was sending off record-setting quarterback Mark Herrmann. But Indiana practically spoiled the social gathering after Steve Corso, son of coach Lee Corso, hauled in a landing cross with 17 seconds left to make the rating 24-23.
Lee Corso went for 2 and the win, however Marks, a standout linebacker, deflected Tim Clifford’s cross meant for Steve Corso. Indiana recovered an onside kick and tried a 59-yard subject purpose for the win, however Marks once more received his arms on the ball.
“It’s amazing how many people remember it,” Marks mentioned. “Most players don’t think, they react. That’s what it was in that moment. I had a responsibility, I knew what it was, and I happened to be at the right place at the right time.”
Marks remembered Lee Corso coming into Purdue’s locker room after the sport to deal with the crew.
“He was so gracious,” Marks mentioned. “I remember him standing up on a bench in front of the lockers and said, ‘You guys deserve this great game. This will go down in history.'”
Marks coincidently performed “the best game of my life” the week earlier than towards Michigan, recording 26 tackles, an interception, a fumble restoration and a blocked kick. But Purdue misplaced 26-0. His efficiency within the Bucket sport sticks. — Rittenberg
Indiana Okay Austin Starr, 2007
As an oral surgeon in Bloomington, Indiana, former Indiana kicker Austin Starr typically meets sufferers with connections to the Hoosiers’ program and particularly his most memorable second, a 49-yard subject purpose to beat Purdue within the 2007 Bucket sport. But one just lately introduced him full circle.
He was eradicating the knowledge enamel of an adolescent whose mom went into labor on Nov. 17, 2007, apparently from pleasure or anxiousness round Starr’s kick.
“I love and will never get sick of hearing when people were at when it happened,” Starr mentioned.
His biology professor emailed him the day after the sport, noting that Starr was answerable for interrupting a peaceable second at a campus bus cease due to the “enormous roar from the North” at Memorial Stadium. Another affected person of Starr’s was driving and needed to pull over due to nerves — and to get a transparent sign for broadcaster Don Fischer’s name.
Starr’s kick capped off an emotional yr for Indiana, which misplaced coach Terry Hoeppner to mind most cancers that June. Hoeppner’s purpose was to “Play 13,” a thirteenth sport that will finish Indiana’s 13-year drought with out a bowl look. The Purdue win clinched the postseason.
“It meant so much to me,” mentioned Starr, who went to Indiana’s dental college after which did his residency at Ohio State, and nonetheless sees Hoeppner’s widow, Jane, in Bloomington. “Coach Hoeppner always preached about team and family and unity and coming together to achieve a common goal. I have applied so many principles since I was an athlete here at IU to life. The one word I go back to is gratitude.” — Rittenberg
Record: Tennessee leads 80-33-5
Tennessee DB Eric Berry, 2008
It was Phillip Fulmer’s final sport as Tennessee’s coach in 2008, because the college introduced earlier within the season that he wouldn’t return. Vanderbilt was within the midst of one in all its greatest seasons and favored within the sport for the primary time since 1984. The Vols, assured of a dropping season, weren’t going to a bowl and had been limping to the end of the season in Nashville.
Eric Berry, a future College Football Hall of Famer, was an enormous a part of ensuring that day that his Hall of Fame coach went out a winner. Berry returned an interception 45 yards for a landing within the first half, and Tennessee received 20-10 regardless of finishing simply 4 passes within the sport.
Berry set an SEC single-season report that yr with 265 interception return yards. — Low
Vanderbilt WR Earl Bennett, 2005
Vanderbilt snapped a 22-game dropping streak towards Tennessee in 2005 and received 28-24, the primary time the Commodores had crushed the Vols since 1982 and the primary time at Neyland Stadium since 1975. The hero of the sport was receiver Earl Bennett, a freshman who caught all three passes and accounted for each yard within the game-winning drive, together with a 6-yard TD cross with 1:11 left.
Bennett caught 14 passes that day, the begin to a stellar profession at Vanderbilt. He set the SEC single-season report for receptions by a freshman that season (79), none larger than his last catch.
Throwing it again to Jay Cutler’s game-winning landing cross to Earl Bennett to seal our 2005 win over Tennessee. #RTI | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/DpwOUaAw8G
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) August 14, 2020
“You see grown men crying and you realize how long it’s been since we’ve won,” Vandy quarterback Jay Cutler mentioned after the sport. “It tells us how much it means to this program.”
Bennett continues to be at Vandy. He was promoted to senior affiliate athletic director this yr, after returning to his alma mater in 2021 in a participant developmental position on the soccer workers. After incomes his undergraduate and grasp’s levels at Vanderbilt, he received his doctorate at Houston. — Low
Record: Kentucky leads 20-15
Louisville RB Tony Stallings, 2000
In the one time beyond regulation sport in Governor’s Cup historical past, Louisville prevailed because of a standout effort from tailback Tony Stallings, who sealed the win with a 25-yard scamper up the center for a landing, strolling off with the victory late within the night time after the sport had been suspended resulting from rain for greater than an hour.
The Cardinals trailed for a lot of the sport however took a 20-19 lead late within the third quarter, however Kentucky’s Marlon McCree scooped up a fumble and returned it for a rating to present UK the lead once more. Louisville tied it late, however McCree regarded to present the Wildcats the win when he recovered one other fumble, returning it to the Louisville 2. But the Cardinals’ protection held and Curry Burns blocked an 18-yard subject purpose attempt to ship the sport to OT. Anthony Floyd picked off Kentucky QB Jared Lorenzen within the first body of time beyond regulation, and Stallings got here on to attain the sport winner on Louisville’s first play of additional time.
Stallings completed the 2000 season with 810 speeding yards and wrapped his Louisville profession in 2001 with 1,569 scrimmage yards. He hung out taking part in soccer within the Canadian, Arena and European soccer leagues, however retired together with his sights set on an appearing profession.
Now going by T.C. Stallings, his appearing credit embody “Secretariat,” “War Room” and “The Watchers.” He has additionally printed a number of books and is a Christian minister. — Hale
Kentucky QB Stephen Johnson, 2017
Kentucky entered the sport, because the gamers famous beforehand, with an 8% likelihood to win based on ESPN’s metrics, Stephen Johnson recalled. He was the junior faculty switch QB. On the alternative sideline was the eventual Heisman winner and two-time NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson. It was a rivalry sport, but it surely was additionally a Cinderella story for the Wildcats. Kentucky’s offense got here to life with Johnson on the helm, and the Wildcats took a 38-31 lead early within the fourth quarter. But Jackson nonetheless had loads of magic left, tying the sport at 38 with 7:44 to play and threatening the win with a first-and-goal on the UK 9 with 1:45 to go. But Jackson fumbled on the subsequent play, and Johnson drove Kentucky 60 yards on seven performs to arrange the game-winning 47-yard subject purpose. He completed with three landing passes and a career-high 338 passing yards within the 41-38 win.
Johnson’s Kentucky profession was marred by accidents, together with surgical procedure on a knee and each shoulders, and his faculty profession ended after he was hit — late, by his estimation — within the Music City Bowl in 2017. Johnson introduced quickly afterward that he was retiring from soccer relatively than pursuing a professional profession, and he went on to spend the subsequent seven years residing in his hometown of Rancho Cucamonga, California. He just lately moved to Michigan, the place his spouse will pursue a doctorate at University of Michigan.
“When I’m back in Kentucky, people always talk about that game and the Tennessee game [from 2017]. But that game in particular, that stood out the most because we were such an underdog and it was a rivalry game, so it made it that much sweeter.” — Hale
Record: UNC leads 68-39-6
UNC RB Giovani Bernard, 2012
The 2012 rivalry sport between North Carolina and NC State was back-and-forth all through, with UNC leaping to a 15-0 lead, NC State combating again to take a 35-25 lead within the fourth quarter, then the Heels connecting on a Bryn Renner TD cross and a subject purpose to tie the sport with simply 1:24 left to play. NC State’s ensuing drive stalled, and the Wolfpack lined as much as punt with 30 seconds remaining in regulation, and for causes unknown nonetheless, Tom O’Brien’s crew punted on to Giovani Bernard.
The UNC star returned the kick 74 yards, crossing the purpose line with 13 seconds to play. Bernard completed with an astounding line: 135 speeding yards and two scores, 95 receiving yards and the 74-yard punt return TD for an all-purpose yardage complete of 304. Bernard stole the present from an in any other case ridiculous QB battle through which NC State’s Mike Glennon threw for 467 yards and 5 touchdowns and Renner threw for 358.
The victory additionally snapped a five-game successful streak for the Wolfpack, handing the Heels their first win within the sequence since 2006.
Bernard completed that 2012 season because the ACC’s runner-up for participant of the yr honors, racking up 12 speeding touchdowns, 5 receiving and two on punt returns. He completed his UNC profession with 2,481 speeding yards and three,596 all-purpose yards. Bernard entered the NFL draft after the 2012 season, and he was chosen within the second spherical — thirty seventh general — by the Cincinnati Bengals. Bernard had a 10-year NFL profession with the Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, speeding for greater than 3,700 yards and totaling 36 profession touchdowns earlier than retiring after the 2022 season. — Hale
On one sideline was a future first-round NFL draft decide and beginning QB for the New England Patriots, Drake Maye. On the opposite was a fourth-string legacy who’d thought-about quitting the crew a couple of months earlier. Guess which one grew to become the hero of the 2022 UNC-NC State showdown? Maye by no means fairly discovered his footing for the Tar Heels towards an attacking Wolfpack protection, however Ben Finley — the youthful brother of former Pack star Ryan Finley, who’d opened the yr behind three different gamers on the depth chart — was excellent, throwing for 271 yards and two touchdowns within the 30-27 double OT win that marked the fruits of a ridiculous season of overcome adversity for each the QB and the crew.
Finley received the beginning towards UNC solely after Devin Leary and MJ Morris had been harm and Jack Chambers was benched. All three had already recorded a win for the Wolfpack, making Finley the fourth member of the depth chart so as to add a victory to his résumé that season.
“I was running around trying to hug everyone,” Finley said after the game.
“It’s good to maintain the Finleys undefeated right here,” NC State coach Dave Doeren mentioned.
He began NC State’s bowl loss to Maryland a month later earlier than transferring to Cal. He began three video games for the Bears, too, and transferred once more this season to Akron, the place he has thrown for two,410 yards and 14 touchdowns. — Hale
Record: Iowa State leads 53-50-4
Kansas State QB Adam Helm, 1999
Iowa State gained 332 yards within the first half and led 28-7 at halftime. Bill Snyder needed to bench starter Jonathan Beasley after he went 3-for-10 for twenty-four yards and an interception.
In their 1999 Big 12 opener, Kansas State’s season threatened to go off the rails. But backup QB Adam Helm steadied the ship; he scored on the finish of an 80-yard drive to carry the Wildcats inside 28-14, and David Allen’s 94-yard punt return introduced them nearer. The sport was tied when Helm plunged in for a 1-yard rating with 2:34 left, and the Wildcats survived. Beasley would discover his footing, and Okay-State would roll to 11-1 and end sixth within the AP ballot. But the whole season may need fallen aside in September if Helm hadn’t commanded the college’s largest-ever second-half comeback.
Helm’s profession ended with simply 489 passing yards, however the household lineage continues in Manhattan: His nephew, Beau Palmer, walked onto the crew in 2020 and has made two profession begins with 28 profession tackles for the Wildcats. — Bill Connelly
His first carry went for 71 yards and a landing. His fifth, 77 yards and one other rating. Late within the third quarter, he burst straight up the center for 60 extra yards and a 3rd rating. Abu Sama III has up to now crafted an honest profession for himself at Iowa State, speeding over 1,000 profession yards with three 100-yard video games as a part of a secure of backs over two seasons. But in what needs to be thought-about probably the most aesthetically pleasing Farmageddon matchup ever performed — it was an evening sport in a snow storm — Sama rushed for 276 yards in simply 16 rushes, carrying the Cyclones to a 42-35 win.
You maybe cannot name it a life-changing second; he is not even ISU’s main rusher this season. But it doesn’t matter what occurs from right here, Sama’s time in Ames will likely be remembered due to a single night time in Manhattan. — Connelly
Record: Virginia Tech leads 61-38-5
Virginia DL Eli Hanback, 2019
Eli Hanback grew up in Ashland, Virginia, as an enormous Virginia fan, dreaming about in the future taking part in for the Cavaliers. During his childhood, the rivalry with Virginia Tech was not a lot of a rivalry: Going again to 1999, the Hokies had received each matchup besides one, and the streak continued as soon as Hanback received to Virginia and earned a beginning job on the defensive position.
That is, till 2019.
The total season, Hanback mentioned the Virginia motto was, “Beat Tech,” after a heartbreaking time beyond regulation loss the earlier season. Both groups went into the sport 8-3, with veteran quarterbacks on both sides main the best way. It went back-and-forth everything of the second half. Virginia went up 33-30 with 1:23 to play, however needed to defend dual-threat quarterback Hendon Hooker to shut out the sport. Virginia followers had grown accustomed to anticipating the worst, however Hanback ensured there can be a special ending this time round.
On third-and-21 from the Virginia Tech 7, Mandy Alonso sacked Hendon Hooker, forcing the ball free in the long run zone. Hanback noticed it and pounced for a game-sealing landing. When he received up, he raised the ball triumphantly into the air. Virginia secured a 39-30 win — its first over the Hokies since 2003 — and a spot within the ACC championship sport.
“That streak was hanging over my head forever, and as a player I could finally have an impact on it in my last year, in my last game at Scott Stadium,” mentioned Hanback, who works at Capital One in Virginia.” I don’t think I’d ever in my wildest dreams would’ve imagined doing that.” — Adelson
Virginia Tech WR Jermaine Holmes, 1995
The play that may dwell eternally as one of many biggest moments in Virginia Tech historical past was meant for receiver Jermaine Holmes.
How else to elucidate how he ended up with the game-winning rating? The Hokies trailed rival Virginia in 1995 with lower than a minute left within the sport. That is when probably the most memorable swap at school historical past occurred. Holmes, normally the slot receiver, switched with Cornelius White and went to the surface. White had run a number of deep routes and wanted a break.
The name got here in to quarterback Jim Druckenmiller. He was going to throw it for Holmes.
“When Jim signaled that play, it was one of those moments where you know you’re about to score a touchdown, and it’s going to be huge,” Holmes mentioned.
Indeed, the hook-and-go name — which concerned a pump pretend to make Virginia chew — went to Holmes, streaking down the center of the sphere. It landed completely into his arms in the long run zone — a 32-yard landing catch that helped the Hokies win 36-29.
Virginia Tech followers stormed the sphere. Yes, they stormed Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, in what turned out to be a program defining win. The Hokies made it to the Sugar Bowl, starting their stretch of dominance beneath then-coach Frank Beamer.
Holmes has his Sugar Bowl jersey and a photograph of his game-winning catch hanging up in his dwelling. A second he calls extraordinary as a result of “it could have very well been Cornelius in that position.”
“This is one of those moments that will live on forever and I am just proud to be a part of it,” mentioned Holmes, who’s now a undertaking supervisor working scientific trials. “God put me in that position to be able to have that moment, and it’s cool to be able to have conversations about it 29 years later.” — Adelson
