College football’s 150th anniversary: The 150 best moments that stood the test of time
By Zach Bigalke
15. Rodgers Elevates Game of the Century (1971)
A Big Eight battle on Thanksgiving Day 1971 treated the country to a duel of the top two teams in the country. No. 1 Nebraska headed south to Norman to take on No. 2 Oklahoma in a game that proved an instant classic. While the game broke open in the final three quarters, the biggest play of the game came on special teams.
Unable to move the ball on their opening possession, Oklahoma launched a punt high into the air above Owen Field. Johnny Rodgers, the Nebraska flanker who would go on to win the Heisman Trophy the following year as a senior, caught the ball at his own 28. The first coverage guy lunges low at Rodgers almost immediately, spinning the speedy star. Putting a hand down on the turf, Rodgers managed to stay on his feet and burst in an arc upfield.
Two other defenders had their shot to take the return man down, and Rodgers seemed to slow down the game around him as he darted past multiple Sooners. By the time Rodgers juked Tim Welch just on the other side of midfield, nobody had a shot at catching the star. In a game Nebraska won by four points, Rodgers’ early score was the catalyst for the Cornhuskers victory.
14. Billy Cannon’s Halloween Run (1959)
LSU welcomed Ole Miss to Tiger Stadium on Halloween night in 1959 hoping to maintain their chance at an undefeated season. For most of the game, a stout Rebels defense held the Bayou Bengals scoreless. With dreams of a major upset on their minds and time running off the clock, head coach Johnny Vaught instructed quarterback Jake Gibbs to punt the ball out of bounds to force their hosts to run the length of the field to tie or win the game.
Instead, Gibbs booted a ball that bounced but couldn’t quite roll all the way out. Defying coach Paul Dietzel’s instructions not to field punts so close to the endzone, Billy Cannon snared the ball on the hop and jetted toward history. Shaking off seven Rebels special teamers, Cannon streaked down the sideline and put LSU ahead with their only touchdown of the game.
A 14-13 loss the following week at Tennessee ended the perfect season and a shot at defending the 1958 national title, but Cannon’s Halloween run was instrumental in earning what remains LSU’s only Heisman Trophy.
13. Punt Bama Punt (1972)
Heading into the 1972 Iron Bowl at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama was 10-0 and had already locked up the SEC championship. Against a rival Tigers squad that entered the game 8-1, the Crimson Tide entered the fourth quarter with a 16-0 lead and looked poised to cap a perfect regular season.
Auburn had a different idea. After the offense stalled and was forced to end the shutout with a field goal, the Tigers defense awakened and stiffened. Forcing a punt, Bill Newton broke through to block Greg Gantt’s punt. David Langner recovered the ball and returned the errant kick 25 yards to cut the lead to 16-10.
Several minutes later, another Alabama drive stalled and the punt team came out. Once again, Newton blocked Gantt and Langner returned the ball for the go-ahead score. In the waning moments of the game, Langner capped his hero status on the Plains with an upset-sealing interception that ended Bama’s shot at a national title and boosted the Tigers to a 10-1 finish and a top-five spot in the final AP poll.