Today in College Football History: Down Goes Heisman; Irish Get Boiling Mad
By Kyle Kensing
A Heisman Trophy winner’s margin for error is razor thin, but those chasing this season’s award can take solace knowing one of the past winners did so with a mediocre game on his resume. Of course, Bo Jackson’s 80 yards rushing in Auburn’s Sept. 28, 1985 loss to Tennessee weren’t the story — the unranked Volunteers stifling the prolific Jackson was.
Now, Tennessee was something of an unknown heading into this game, rightfully or otherwise. Johnny Majors lost considerable talent from a squad that lost a Sun Bowl heartbreaker the previous season to Maryland, 28-27. The Volunteers got the one point they needed in the ’85 season opener to tie tenth ranked UCLA, but that wasn’t quite enough to declare its presence on the national stage. The SEC opener and formally traditional rivalry match-up was — AU-UT was played in the last week of September annually, a la Alabama-UT playing on the third week in October (usually).
UT had a bye in Week 2, and thus an extra week to gameplan for the top ranked Tigers. The preparation showed. Jackson was stymied, and the Volunteers blasted ahead 24-0 by halftime. That gave Majors’ crew the cushion to ride out a key win, and jump into the polls for the remainder of the season.
Interestingly, after the loss AU would not reach No. 1 in the Top 25 until last season. Talk about a setback.
Another No. 1 fell on this day in 1974, when a rivalry still played on September’s last week added a thrilling installment in South Bend, Ind. Conference realignment hasn’t soured this pairing as it has AU-UT, but this year’s edition lacks the punch the match-ups of the late 1960s, early 1970s and late 1990s provided.
The Boilers used a multifaceted rushing offense to hammer away at the No. 1 Irish’s defense. Purdue’s Scott Dierking, Pete Gross and Mike Pruitt all carried over 100 times that season, and quarterback Mark Vitali added seven touchdowns to complement that triumvirate’s 11. Dierking scored what proved to be an integral touchdown late, as the Boilermakers knocked No. 1 from off its perch, 31-20.
It was the second time in six years the Boilers had beaten Notre Dame when it occupied one of the top two spots in the polls. In 1968, Purdue bested the Irish 37-22. Once again, it was in Notre Dame Stadium, and it was one of those remarkable No. 1 vs. No. 2 contests that have been so often mentioned this week here on SaturdayBlitz.com.
The great Purdue blog Hammer & Rails ranks ’68 No. 3 among the university’s greatest athletic years ever. With such a victory to its credit, it’s no wonder why.