College football’s 150th anniversary: The 150 best moments that stood the test of time
By Zach Bigalke
138. The Toilet Bowl (1983)
Rivalry games are almost always exciting affairs, no matter how good or how bad the two teams playing happen to be in a given season. When the game boils down to state bragging rights, it carries even more significance.
That “almost” has to be put into the statement as a qualifier, however, thanks to the 1983 Civil War game between Oregon and Oregon State. The 87th meeting between the Ducks and the Beavers went down in the record books as the last scoreless tie in college football history, maintaining that ignominious distinction for 13 years before ties were eliminated by the institution of overtime rules.
The Ducks were 4-6 entering the game, and the Beavers were even worse at 2-8. On a windy, rain-soaked day at Autzen Stadium, the rivals traded six fumbles and five interceptions. Neither team could find the endzone, and both teams missed a pair of field goal attempts. While not the prettiest of memories, the game that went down in college football history as the Toilet Bowl is certainly memorable.
137. Pettis Breaks Return Record (2017)
No player in the history of college football has been quite as prolific at returning punts as Dante Pettis. Toward the end of his storied career in Seattle, the Washington receiver and return man broke the NCAA record for career punt return touchdowns against Oregon in 2017.
Pettis returned his first punt for a score as a freshman in 2014. A year later during his sophomore year, Pettis broke two punts for touchdowns. Pettis pulled off the same feat as a junior in 2016, setting himself up for a run at the career record as a senior. When he ran back punts in each of the first three games of the season, it appeared that Pettis might obliterate the extant record of eight career return touchdowns.
Pettis ultimately had to wait until early November, when the Huskies welcomed rival Oregon to Seattle. Fielding the ball at his own 36, Pettis darted from the left hashmark upfield and toward the right sideline. Breaking three tackles along the way, the senior turned on the afterburners and left the last chasers in his wake. It would prove to be his last punt return touchdown of a storied college career.
136. Coach Dies on Sideline (1971)
College football history is replete with stories of players who died from injuries sustained on the gridiron. The sport, inevitably violent by design, takes a real physical toll on its athletes. The game also puts stresses on the coaches that manage programs, impacting and exacerbating any extant health issues as we have seen in recent years with individuals such as Urban Meyer and Jerry Kill.
What is rare, however, is seeing a coach actually collapse on the sideline. Midway through his first season at TCU, 46-year-old head coach Jim Pittman suffered a heart attack on the sideline early in the first quarter of a SWC showdown against Baylor in Waco.
Pittman was rushed from the stadium, but he died shortly after suffering the episode. His Horned Frogs team was informed of their coach’s passing at halftime. Down at the break, TCU rallied to defeat Baylor 34-27. Assistant coach Billy Tohill, who left Tulane to follow Pittman to Fort Worth, took over as interim coach in a season that ended with a 6-4-1 record and a third-place finish in the SWC standings.