College football’s 150th anniversary: The 150 best moments that stood the test of time

108. The Earthquake Game (1988)

Entering their SEC showdown with Auburn in 1988, LSU had already lost two games while the Tigers from the Plains were sitting at a perfect 4-0 in the standings. The Bayou Bengals lost back-to-back road games against Ohio State and Florida, and through the first 58 minutes in Baton Rouge, it looked like the hosts were preparing for a third defeat in a row.

Auburn played ferocious defense, holding LSU to only one drive longer than 10 yards in the first half. A pair of Win Lyle field goals had Auburn sitting on a 6-0 lead as LSU received the ball one more time inside the final two minutes.

Driving the team downfield, the offense bogged down inside the red zone. Auburn forced a fourth down, leaving LSU one play to find the endzone. Tigers quarterback Tommy Hodson found Eddie Fuller from 11 yards out to steal victory at the very end, and the crowd reaction in Tiger Stadium was so pronounced that it set off seismographs on the LSU campus. When the seismograph reading was discovered the following day, one of college football’s most memorable finishes found a fitting name in perpetuity.

107. The Last Tie (1995)

In a world where resolution is a demand, there is something nostalgic about ties. Some of college football’s classic contests ended in deadlocked scorelines, demonstrating that excitement is not dependent on victory and defeat. Still, plenty of people have nothing but derision for draws. For them, the showdown between the Wisconsin and Illinois on November 25, 1995, is undoubtedly a bright moment in the annals of college football history.

The Badgers and Illini did not play a particularly exciting football game. Wisconsin quarterback Darrell Bevell was knocked out of his final college game with a lacerated kidney, and the two teams managed just a pair of field goals. Illinois attempted a 54-yarder late in the game, but while it flew true on path the pigskin fell a few feet short of the crossbar.

With no more ties over the final games of the season, though, the 3-3 tie between the Badgers and Illinois constitutes what is almost certainly the last time two college football teams will battle to stalemate. The Kansas rules were implemented full-time in 1996, and overtime overtook the humble tie.

106. Ashley Martin Makes History (2001)

Football has been viewed as a masculine game by most fans from its inception, but women do have a long history of playing the sport. In 2001, Ashley Martin carved out her own place in history when she became the first woman to score points in an NCAA football game.

Martin, who grew up in Georgia before attending Jacksonville State in Alabama to play for the women’s soccer team. She was a two-sport star in high school, suiting up for the football team as a placekicker as well as taking to the soccer pitch. Going 79-of-92 on extra points and 2-of-4 on field goals in high school, Martin earned a chance to suit up for the Gamecocks as a backup kicker.

Martin got her chance to make history on August 31, 2001, when she took the field for the extra-point attempt on Jacksonville State’s second touchdown of a 72-10 blowout over Cumberland. The kick sailed through the uprights, and Martin kicked two more successful attempts over the course of the rout. Two years later, Katie Hnida became the first woman to score at the I-A level with New Mexico.