This Week in College Football History

Courtesy of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame

FEATURED MOMENT:

September 11, 1993- In Ann Arbor, Mich., a then-NCAA regular season record 106,851 people watched College Football Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz and No. 10 Notre Dame upset No. 2 Michigan 27-23. The Fighting Irish struck first when quarterback Kevin McDougal raced in on a 43-yard touchdown run on the game's opening possession. Notre Dame took ultimate control of the game in the second quarter when Mike Miller returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown, pushing the Fighting Irish lead to 17-3. Just before the half, McDougal notched his second rushing touchdown of the day, this from 11 yards out, to put Notre Dame on top 24-10 with six seconds remaining before intermission. The Wolverines added two late scores but fell short of the Fighting Irish, who finished the 1993 season No. 2 in the country with an 11-1 record.

TO SEE VIDEO OF THIS GAME CLICK HERE.

OTHER NOTABLE DATES:

September 5, 1981- College Football Hall of Fame coach Dick MacPherson made his debut at Syracuse as Rutgers beat the Orangemen 29-27 in Syracuse, N.Y. After winning four Yankee Conference championships at Massachusetts, MacPherson tallied a 66-38-4 record, including trips to five bowl games. He won national Coach of the Year honors in 1987 after leading Syracuse to an 11-0-1 mark and a No. 4 final ranking in the Associated Press poll.

September 6, 1980- Eventual national champion Georgia's campaign to glory nearly ended before it started as the No. 16 Bulldogs came from behind to beat Tennessee 16-15 in Knoxville, Tenn. The Volunteers grabbed an early 15-0 edge behind a touchdown pass and run from quarterback Jeff Olszeweski. The Bulldogs rallied behind College Football Hall of Fame running back Herschel Walker, who made his college football debut in the second quarter by gaining 84 yards on 24 attempts. Still trailing 15-9 in the fourth quarter, College Football Hall of Fame coach Vince Dooley's Bulldogs forced Tennessee into its fourth lost fumble of the day, which Walker capitalized on by scoring the game-winning touchdown on a nine-yard romp. Walker would go on to post one of the most impressive seasons ever for a freshman tailback by rushing 274 times for 1,616 yards and 15 touchdowns en route to a third place finish in that year's Heisman Trophy voting.


September 7, 1996- Arizona State outgunned No. 23 Washington 45-42 in an early season Pac-10 shootout in Tempe, Ariz. The Sun Devils, featuring College Football Hall of Famer Pat Tillman, gained a 42-21 edge with 12 minutes remaining behind quarterback Jake Plummer's three touchdown passes. Freshman quarterback Brock Huard rallied the Huskies in his college football debut with a touchdown pass and run, and fellow freshman Corey Dillon tied the contest with a seven-yard scoring run. Arizona State kicker Robert Nycz provided the winning score with a 38-yard field goal with just two seconds to play. The game proved to be crucial in the Pac-10 race, as Arizona State won the league with an 8-0 mark and eventually rose as high as No. 2 in the polls, while Washington finished 7-1 in conference play.

September 8, 1984- George Swarn and Otis Cheathem became the first opponents to ever rush for 200 yards in the same game. Swarn amassed 239 yards for Miami of Ohio while Western Michigan's Cheathem compiled 219 yards. Western Michigan topped the RedHawks 17-13 in Kalamazoo, Mich.

September 9, 2006- A college football first happened as an NCAA record seven games went into overtime across the nation. Army defeated Kent State 17-14, Purdue outlasted Miami of Ohio 38-31, Bowling Green topped Buffalo 48-40 in triple overtime, Boston College blocked an extra point to upset No. 18 Clemson 34-33 in two overtimes, No. 14 Iowa survived Syracuse 20-13 in double overtime, Wyoming fell to Virginia 13-12 on a missed extra point and, lastly, No. 24 Texas Tech beat UTEP 38-35.

September 10, 1977- No. 10 Maryland narrowly avoided a season-opening upset with a 21-14 win at Clemson. Trailing 14-7, quarterback Larry Dick came off the bench to ignite the Terrapins. Following a blocked field goal by defensive back Lloyd Burruss, Dick tied the game with a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chuck White on third-and-19. Dick, who completed five of seven passes for 118 yards, led a three play, 62-yard game-winning drive capped by a 43-yard catch-and-run strike to wide receiver Jim Hagan. The victory proved to be the final win in Maryland's school-record 21-game ACC winning streak.