Although the 2015 season won’t officially kick off until September 3 (or August 29 if you’re an FCS fan), it’s never too early to get excited about college football.
With that in mind, here are seven random plays to get you excited for the 2015-’16 campaign.
As always, if there’s a great play missing from this list, please send me an email, and I’ll add it to the vault.
7. The Catch (Notre Dame at Michigan, 1991)
It’s a good thing that I’m not a college football coach. If I were, some of the top plays in the sport’s history never would have happened.
This is one of them.
Here was the situation: No. 3 Michigan led No. 7 Notre Dame, 17-14, in the fourth quarter. Rather than run a quarterback sneak or a quick handoff to the fullback on fourth and inches, Gary Moeller went to the air. Quarterback Elvis Grbac took the snap from center, pump faked, and then heaved the ball to Desmond Howard, who made a diving chatch in the end zone.
This highlight reel grab gave the Wolverines a commanding 10-point lead, and took the wind completely out of the Fighting Irish’s sails.
It also propelled Howard to the top of many Heisman ballots. He went on to win this prestigious award a few months later.
6. Fake Field Goal Flip (Florida at Kentucky, 2013)
You’ve got to give Mark Stoops credit for this brilliant decision.
Let’s be honest: three points weren’t going to be enough for the Wildcats. Sure, it was still the first quarter, but with the way the Florida defense was playing, UK knew it had to get in the end zone if it was going to remain in the contest.
The fake was set up perfectly. Florida’s outside man on this play certainly expected the sure-footed Joe Mansour to kick the ball, crashing down to go for the block. However, the holder flipped the ball over his shoulder to Mansour, who outran a stunned Gator defense into the end zone to tie the game at 7.
Unfortunately, this score was the lone offensive highlight for Kentucky. Florida’s defense dominated the rest of the game, limiting the ‘Cats to 173 yards of total offense.
5. Halfback Jump Pass (Syracuse at Cincinnati, 2012)
When Butch Jones took over at Tennessee, a couple of fans emailed me to ask what they could expect from him.
I sent them this video clip.
Make no mistake about it: this was a very gutsy call. After all, the Bearcats were mired in a two-game losing streak and trailing this contest, 10-7. If ‘Cuse came up with a stop, the Cincinnati players might have started thinking, “Here we go again.”
However, this gamble paid off.
To be honest, it looked like this decision was going to backfire. George Winn ran the ball right into a host of Orange tacklers, who seemingly had him stopped in the backfield. However, Winn pulled the ball down, and threw a jump pass to a wide open Travis Kelce, who strolled across the goal line untouched.
This surprise score injected life into the Bearcat offense, which had only 59 yards when the drive started. Cincinnati eventually racked up 470 yards of total offense to win the contest 35-24.
4. Crouch “Keeper” (Nebraska at Missouri, 2001)
Unlike all of the plays above, this one wasn’t planned. It was an excellent effort by a quarterback who made something happen when the play broke down.
Backed up in its own end zone, Nebraska opted to throw the ball. However, no one was open and Missouri’s defensive line was closing on Eric Crouch. After averting a safety, Crouch made some nifty moves in the open field, making several Tiger defenders look silly in the process. He then turned on the jets and outran the UM defense to the end zone.
This score put the ‘Huskers up 22-3 and ended any hope of a Mizzou comeback. Crouch would win the Heisman Trophy and lead the Nebraska to the BCS National Championship Game.
3. Dyer’s Run (Oregon vs. Auburn, 2011 BCS Championship Game)
Every coach I played for insisted on two things: never quit until the whistle blows and play every down as though the national championship depends on it.
That’s precisely what Michael Dyer did. With 2:07 to play in the game, he took a handoff and ran for what appeared to be a six-yard gain. However, Dyer alertly realized that he never touched the ground (he was on top of the Oregon defender but not on the ground), and sprinted up the sideline for a 37-yard gain.
As a result his extra effort, Auburn had the ball at the Duck 23 with just under 2 minutes remaining. The Tigers would kick the game-winning (and title-clinching) field goal five plays later.
2. Hail Flutie (Boston College at Miami, 1984)
Much like Boise’s Hook and Ladder, I’ve seen this play a million times.
It never gets old.
What stands out the most about this play is the hopelessness of the situation. After all, Miami was the defending national champion, and it was playing in the Orange Bowl, where visiting teams rarely won in the 1980s. Add in the fact that the Eagles were throwing into a 30+ mph wind, and it seemed like the ‘Canes would get the “W.”
But, they didn’t. Boston College head coach Jack Bicknell called 55 Flood Tip, and asked quarterback Doug Flutie to throw the ball as far as he could. The 5’ 9” signal caller surprised everyone in the stadium by tossing it over every Miami defender and into the hands of Gerard Phelan for the game-winning TD.
This thrilling victory vaulted the Eagles into the top 10 and essentially handed Flutie the Heisman Trophy.
1. Holieway’s Home Run Ball to Keith Jackson (Penn State vs. Oklahoma, 1986 Orange Bowl)
Yes, I saved my “Big Guy” TD for last this week.
Why? Because the touchdown by tight end Keith Jackson propelled the Sooners to the 1985 national championship.
This was a brilliant play call from Barry Switzer. Faced with a 3rd and 25, he expected Penn State to bring pressure. Quarterback Jamelle Holieway read the blitz immediately, and threw the ball deep to Jackson, who simply ran by the Penn State defender on a streak route. After picking up a timely block from an OU reciever, Jackson took it to the house to give the Sooners a 10-7 lead.
Oklahoma’s defense would take over the game from there, limiting Penn State to 267 yards of total offense and forcing 5 turnovers en route to a 25-10 victory.
