As part of an ongoing series throughout the fall, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame posts in advance This Week in College Football History, which takes a look back at some of college football’s landmark moments over the last 139 years. During the season, many of these events are featured in a changing exhibit at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.
If you choose to use this content in whole or in part, as a courtesy, please credit The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.
FEATURED MOMENT:
Dec. 31, 1975: In the first Sugar Bowl contested in the Louisiana Superdome, No. 4 Alabama (11-1) tops No. 3 Penn State 13-6 for a share of the national championship. QB Richard Todd’s clutch passing (10-of-12 for 210 yards) out of the ‘Bama wishbone offense propels the Crimson Tide over Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions. Alabama mentor Paul “Bear” Bryant sheds his trademark houndstooth hat. “Mama told me never to wear a hat inside,” he relates to reporters after the game.
OTHER NOTABLE DATES:
Dec. 25, 1978: Playing for the fourth consecutive year on Christmas Day, the Fiesta Bowl features No. 2 Arkansas and No. 15 UCLA in a 10-10 standoff in Tempe, Ariz. Bruins running backs James Owens and Theotis Brown combine for 205 yards rushing but no touchdowns against a bend-not-break defense by coach Lou Holtz’s Razorbacks. UA defensive tackle Jimmy Walker paces that effort with 13 total stops and five tackles for losses.
Dec. 26, 1936: Two-sport All-America Vern Huffman of Indiana is named Most Valuable Player for Big Ten football as recipient of the Chicago Tribune Silver Cup. He later becomes IU’s MVP in basketball for 1936-37 and remains as the only football and basketball All-America in Hoosiers’ history.
Dec. 27, 1999: Marshall concludes an undefeated (13-0) season by downing Brigham Young 21-3 in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit. The Thundering Herd gets all three touchdowns on runs by Doug Chapman and advances to 35-4 in three years after moving up to NCAA Division I-A (now FBS). Marshall also finishes a school-highest No. 10 in the final polls.
Dec. 28, 2000: Iowa State captures its first bowl win in school history with a 37-29 victory over Pittsburgh in the first Insight.com Bowl played at Bank One Ballpark (later Chase Ballpark) in Phoenix, Ariz. Pleasant night weather conditions allow the teams to keep the stadium roof open for the entire contest, and DB Jamaine Phillips sparks the triumph with a 72-yard punt return.
Dec. 29, 1893: Stanford blanks Washington 40-0 in the first meeting between the future Pacific-10 Conference rivals. An estimated crowd of 600 takes in the contest in West Seattle, Wash., and the teams do not meet again until 1920.
Dec. 30, 1983: No. 11 Florida forces five turnovers to slow down an Iowa offense with the third-highest total offense average nationally – 490 yards per game – in a 14-6 Gator Bowl verdict in Jacksonville. Both teams struggle to move the ball in a mini “frozen tundra” game with a below zero chill factor at kickoff.
- NFF -
