With all the talk about how this Saturday could be a great day for college football,
I thought back to maybe the best Saturday I can recall- October 15, 2005.
It was a day that had everything for each of us.
Also, it inspired a college assignment for me.
In one of my college media classes,
we were asked to rewrite an article we found interesting.
This is a 2005 article I chose: Playoff Supporters Should Be Careful What They Wish For - October 17, 2005 - The New York Sun
The following is what I wrote:
“A college football Saturday for the ages”
On Saturdays throughout the fall, college football can be such an amazing thing to see. Throughout the year, so many games can have such dramatics. But, never have there been so many such finishes as there were on October 15, 2005- probably the greatest one-day for college football in history outside of the January bowl games. That day, amazing games, sensational performances, incredible comebacks, and crazy endings, things normally seen in an entire season all happened on the same day.
It all started when Ohio State blocked a field goal before halftime and returned it for a touchdown to narrow a 10-point deficit to three. Sparked by the late score, the Buckeyes rallied in the second half for a 35-24 comeback win over Michigan State. Then, you had Wisconsin scoring with only 30 seconds to beat Minnesota- by blocking a punt! As if that wasn’t enough, you had Alabama kicking a late field goal at the end of regulation time to edge plucky Ole Miss 13-10.
That alone might be enough for one entire day of college football, but those were just the early games! The afternoon games were among the most amazing and dramatic you will ever see.
A struggling Michigan team had played undefeated Penn State close throughout the game, before Penn State scored with barely a minute left to take the lead, only to have the Maize and Blue win on a touchdown pass with one tick left on the final play of the game. Also, you had Boston College edging out a game Wake Forest team in a back-and-forth thriller with a 35-30 win on three late touchdown passes by Matt Ryan, as well as West Virginia overcoming a 24-7 deficit against Louisville and ultimately prevailing in a 46-44 triple overtime shootout by stopping a two-point conversion.
Additionally, you had Oregon State surprising 18th ranked California by a field-goal and LSU edging Florida in an emotional 24-17 game down in Death Valley.
As great as those finishes were, they were still window dressing compared to USC-Notre Dame. The underdog Irish played the mighty Trojans to a near standstill, and when Brady Quinn scored to put the Irish ahead, it seemed too good to be true- the mighty Men of Troy, on the verge of a stunning upset.
Turns out, it was too good to be true after all, thanks to Matt Leinart’s two clutch plays- a 4th and 9 pass to Dwayne Jarrett that went 61 yards, and his QB sneak for a winning touchdown. Remarkably, the latter play almost didn’t even happen- on the previous play, while trying to dive for a TD, Leinart fumbled the ball out of bounds near the pylon, and it seemed as if the game was over. As it was, they got a second chance, and rather than kicking a field goal to send the game into overtime, they went for it with no timeouts and managed to escape by the skin of their teeth with a remarkable 34-31 win. That game alone could go down as one of the greatest ever, and on a day with so many more dramatic endings, that will make this epic game grow in legendary status as time goes on.
Remarkably, there were a few more great moments in the night games that followed. An undefeated UCLA team was down 21 points to Washington State, but managed to rally for a 44-41 overtime win. Also, you had Virginia stunning undefeated Florida State 26-21- as if that alone wasn’t surprising enough, this was nearly a decade after the Cavaliers also recorded an upset of a highly-ranked Seminoles team in Charlottesville.
What you just read took place in one day. One day! That is the type of drama that can take place throughout an entire season, but this was on the same day. Heck, even the rare blowouts on this amazing day had to catch your eye. Texas Tech demolished Kansas State 59-20 with quarterback Cody Hodges throwing for a staggering 643 yards, the fourth-most ever in a single game. Texas routed a ranked Colorado team 42-17, as Vince Young completed all but four of his passes to complement his 5 touchdowns (2 passing, 3 rushing).
On a typical college football day, the double-digit comebacks of UCLA and West Virginia would have been stop-the-presses material. On this day, they were merely in the background. That’s how amazing this college football Saturday was.
I thought back to maybe the best Saturday I can recall- October 15, 2005.
It was a day that had everything for each of us.
Also, it inspired a college assignment for me.
In one of my college media classes,
we were asked to rewrite an article we found interesting.
This is a 2005 article I chose: Playoff Supporters Should Be Careful What They Wish For - October 17, 2005 - The New York Sun
The following is what I wrote:
“A college football Saturday for the ages”
On Saturdays throughout the fall, college football can be such an amazing thing to see. Throughout the year, so many games can have such dramatics. But, never have there been so many such finishes as there were on October 15, 2005- probably the greatest one-day for college football in history outside of the January bowl games. That day, amazing games, sensational performances, incredible comebacks, and crazy endings, things normally seen in an entire season all happened on the same day.
It all started when Ohio State blocked a field goal before halftime and returned it for a touchdown to narrow a 10-point deficit to three. Sparked by the late score, the Buckeyes rallied in the second half for a 35-24 comeback win over Michigan State. Then, you had Wisconsin scoring with only 30 seconds to beat Minnesota- by blocking a punt! As if that wasn’t enough, you had Alabama kicking a late field goal at the end of regulation time to edge plucky Ole Miss 13-10.
That alone might be enough for one entire day of college football, but those were just the early games! The afternoon games were among the most amazing and dramatic you will ever see.
A struggling Michigan team had played undefeated Penn State close throughout the game, before Penn State scored with barely a minute left to take the lead, only to have the Maize and Blue win on a touchdown pass with one tick left on the final play of the game. Also, you had Boston College edging out a game Wake Forest team in a back-and-forth thriller with a 35-30 win on three late touchdown passes by Matt Ryan, as well as West Virginia overcoming a 24-7 deficit against Louisville and ultimately prevailing in a 46-44 triple overtime shootout by stopping a two-point conversion.
Additionally, you had Oregon State surprising 18th ranked California by a field-goal and LSU edging Florida in an emotional 24-17 game down in Death Valley.
As great as those finishes were, they were still window dressing compared to USC-Notre Dame. The underdog Irish played the mighty Trojans to a near standstill, and when Brady Quinn scored to put the Irish ahead, it seemed too good to be true- the mighty Men of Troy, on the verge of a stunning upset.
Turns out, it was too good to be true after all, thanks to Matt Leinart’s two clutch plays- a 4th and 9 pass to Dwayne Jarrett that went 61 yards, and his QB sneak for a winning touchdown. Remarkably, the latter play almost didn’t even happen- on the previous play, while trying to dive for a TD, Leinart fumbled the ball out of bounds near the pylon, and it seemed as if the game was over. As it was, they got a second chance, and rather than kicking a field goal to send the game into overtime, they went for it with no timeouts and managed to escape by the skin of their teeth with a remarkable 34-31 win. That game alone could go down as one of the greatest ever, and on a day with so many more dramatic endings, that will make this epic game grow in legendary status as time goes on.
Remarkably, there were a few more great moments in the night games that followed. An undefeated UCLA team was down 21 points to Washington State, but managed to rally for a 44-41 overtime win. Also, you had Virginia stunning undefeated Florida State 26-21- as if that alone wasn’t surprising enough, this was nearly a decade after the Cavaliers also recorded an upset of a highly-ranked Seminoles team in Charlottesville.
What you just read took place in one day. One day! That is the type of drama that can take place throughout an entire season, but this was on the same day. Heck, even the rare blowouts on this amazing day had to catch your eye. Texas Tech demolished Kansas State 59-20 with quarterback Cody Hodges throwing for a staggering 643 yards, the fourth-most ever in a single game. Texas routed a ranked Colorado team 42-17, as Vince Young completed all but four of his passes to complement his 5 touchdowns (2 passing, 3 rushing).
On a typical college football day, the double-digit comebacks of UCLA and West Virginia would have been stop-the-presses material. On this day, they were merely in the background. That’s how amazing this college football Saturday was.
