Featured Moment: Nov. 13, 1999

This report courtesy of the National Football Foundation.

Published by Bonesville on Nov. 9, 2013

FEATURED MOMENT

NOV. 13, 1999: In Madison, WI, 2013 Hall of Fame inductee Ron Dayne (Wisconsin) broke the NCAA record for career rushing yards when the Badgers faced Iowa in 1999. Dayne rushed for 216 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries for a career total of 6,397 yards. The performance pushed Dayne over the top of the mark set the year before by former Texas running back and 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams (6,279). Wisconsin quarterback Brooks Bollinger added 144 yards in the air and three TDs as the Badgers racked up a 41-3 win. Later in the season, Dayne became the first player to reach the 7,000-yard plateau (7,125 yards). He would go on to claim the 1999 Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp, Maxwell and Doak Walker awards as one of the most decorated players in college football history.

OTHER NOTABLE DATES

NOV. 11, 1939: One of the strangest games in NCAA history took place in Shreveport, LA, in 1939 between Texas Tech and Centenary. A heavy rainstorm flooded the field, and the conditions made advancing the ball nearly impossible. The two teams combined for an NCAA record 77 punts. The Red Raiders punted 39 times, and the Gents booted the ball away on 38 occasions. Texas Tech punter Charlie Calhoun punted a remarkable 36 times for 1,318 yards, an NCAA and school record that will likely never be broken. The Red Raiders only netted -1 offensive yard on 12 plays. The Gents fared slightly better, amassing 30 total yards on offense. The game ended in a scoreless tie.

NOV. 12, 1988: Hall of Fame quarterback Andre Ware (Houston) threw for 295 yards as the host Cougars knocked off unbeaten Wyoming. Quarterback Randy Welniak and the Cowboys led the nation in total offense, but they were no match for a Cougar defense that racked up 16 sacks and held Wyoming to -37 yards rushing. Leading the way for Houston’s defense was defensive tackle Glen Montgomery with six sacks and 14 tackles. The Cougars got off to an early 28-3 lead and never looked back. Ware threw for two touchdowns while kicker Roman Anderson connected on a career-high four field goals. In 1989, Ware had one of the greatest seasons by a quarterback in NCAA history, winning the Heisman Trophy while setting 26 NCAA and 15 Southwest Conference records.

NOV. 14, 2009: In Columbia, SC, 2009 William V. Campbell Trophy winner Tim Tebow (Florida) led Florida to its 20th straight victory with a win over South Carolina and Coach Steve Spurrier, a Hall of Fame player for the Gators in the 1960s. Tebow threw for 199 yards and Florida’s defense picked off South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia twice, including a 53-yard interception return by defensive end Justin Trattou early in the fourth quarter. The return set up a one-yard touchdown run by Tebow, which tied him with Kevin Faulk (LSU) for the most overall touchdowns (53) in SEC history. With the win, Florida secured its first perfect SEC regular season since 1996 and went on to beat Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl 51-24.

NOV. 15, 1980: A record-setting day in Provo, UT, by Hall of Fame quarterback Jim McMahon (Brigham Young) clinched the WAC title for the Cougars against conference foe Colorado State. McMahon was 23 of 33 passing for 441 yards and five touchdowns. He set the NCAA mark for passing yards in a season (3,834), and extended his records of consecutive games of 300-yards (9) and 400-yards passing (5). Also figuring in on the scoring were wide receiver Lloyd Jones (71-yard TD), tight end Clay Brown (2 TDs) and defensive end Brad Arnae (45-yard interception return for TD). Led by Hall of Fame coach LaVell Edwards, the Cougars finished the season 12-1, topping Southern Methodist in the Holiday Bowl, a game considered to be among the greatest comebacks in college football history.

NOV. 16, 1968: Washington defensive back Al Worley broke the NCAA record with his 14th interception of the season in the host Huskies’ 6-0 win over UCLA. The All-America selection also set the NCAA single-season mark with 1.4 interceptions per game during the 1968 season (10 games). Nicknamed “The Thief,” Worley picked off four passes against Idaho (NCAA record is 5) and recorded at least one interception in three consecutive games twice during the year. Worley intercepted 18 passes during his three-year collegiate career.

NOV. 17, 1934: In one of the more stunning upsets in history, Yale’s 11 starters played the entire 60 minutes, the last time in college football this ironman feat took place. The 3-3 Bulldogs went on the road and shocked undefeated Princeton, who had won 15 straight games under Hall of Fame coach Fritz Crisler. The 7-0 defeat would be the only loss in the careers of many Tiger players, including Hall of Fame guard John Weller. Hall of Fame end Larry Kelley, who caught the winning touchdown pass for Yale, won the Heisman Trophy two years later in 1936.

The Bonesville staff contributed to this report.

11/16/2013 12:52 AM