College football’s 150th anniversary: The 150 best moments that stood the test of time
By Zach Bigalke
51. The Johnny Bright Incident (1951)
College football’s historic memories are not always happy memories. That is the case with the 1951 Missouri Valley Conference showdown between Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University) and the Drake Bulldogs, a game that is remembered for a vicious late hit on Drake’s star quarterback Johnny Bright.
Bright, the first African-American to play against Oklahoma A&M when the Bulldogs met the Cowboys two years earlier, was targeted even before the game started. Bright was a preseason Heisman candidate who was critical to Drake’s 5-0 start to the 1951 season. Between the talent he brought to the Bulldogs and the color of his skin, he was a marked man when Drake traveled to Lewis Field.
Oklahoma A&M defensive tackle Wilbanks Smith harassed Bright, knocking him unconscious on three separate occasions in the first quarter with vicious elbows to the head. The third hit broke Bright’s jaw, forcing him to exit a football game A&M eventually won 27-14. The incident led Drake to withdraw from the conference in protest, ending its time as a major program.
50. Cougar Comeback Stuns SMU at the Holiday Bowl (1980)
Boasting the Pony Express backfield of Eric Dickerson and Craig James, SMU was emerging in 1980 as one of the burgeoning powerhouses of college football. Tied for second in the SWC behind Baylor, SMU opted to accept a trip to San Diego to square off against another up-and-coming program.
Under LaVell Edwards, BYU had come to dominate the WAC. Since taking over in 1972, the Cougars had won six of the nine conference championships available. If not for a season-opening upset against New Mexico, BYU would have arrived in southern California with a perfect record. As it was, the Cougars were 11-1 and ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll entering the game.
SMU dominated the first half, with a 29-13 lead heading into the locker room at the halftime break. Dickerson added his second rushing touchdown of the game early in the third quarter. By the start of the final frame, BYU found itself down 38-19. But the Cougars snapped awake in the final minutes, scoring three touchdowns in the final two and a half minutes. The last score, a Hail Mary from Jim McMahon to Clay Brown, capped the improbable comeback in what BYU fans still remember as the Miracle Bowl.
49. BYU Wins National Championship (1984)
As the 1984 season wound down, only one team completed their regular-season schedule without a blemish. After winning on the road at No. 3 Pittsburgh to open the campaign, BYU followed with wins over Baylor and Tulsa before running through the WAC slate. Within the first two weeks of the season, BYU had vaulted from unranked to No. 8 in the AP Poll.
As teams kept losing ahead of them, BYU kept creeping up the list. By the end of October, the Cougars were up to No. 4 and chipping away at the advantage. When No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 South Carolina both lost in their regular-season finales, to Oklahoma and Navy respectively, it opened the door for LaVell Edwards and his crew to make history.
First, they had to finish business in the Holiday Bowl. Playing a Michigan side that knocked off top-ranked Miami to open the new year but fell to 6-5 by the end of the regular season, the Cougars needed a fourth-quarter comeback to prevail. With Robbie Bosco throwing for 371 yards and the game-winning touchdown to Kelly Smith with 1:23 remaining, the Cougars stayed atop the polls to become the first and as yet only mid-major of the modern era to win a national title.