Today in College Football History (Sept. 2): A Michigan-Notre Dame Stalemate

A tie is an outcome met with derision. Baseball fans still sneer at the 2002 MLB All-Star Game that ended in a 7-all final. But sometimes a tie is an outcome athletes will scratch, claw and battle to earn. There weren’t many points scored in the 1992 encounter between rivals Notre Dame and Michigan, but all were important, including the six Reggie Brooks scored KO’d.

No need to re-read, you saw that correctly. Brooks scored a touchdown in which he was actually knocked out. The greater understanding we have today for concussions make this something of a cringe-worthy play, yet it remains awe-inspiring.

For football fans of my generation, this was Michigan and Notre Dame in their primes. The rivalry was at a fever pitch, and this encounter remains a personal favorite because the two were so evenly matched — obviously.

Overtime was introduced three years later, perhaps because of the ’92 campaign. Michigan finished the season undefeated, but with three ties. The overtime system just may have led Michigan into the national championship race with Alabama, the only other squad to finish the season undefeated. But that in itself is a testament to the old format of win-in-regulation-or-don’t-win-at-all.

To wit, what would the 1988 Ric Flair vs. Sting match be with overtime?