(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series of articles by Times News writer Rich Strack. After previously writing about the “Greatest Games” and “Greatest Comebacks” in sports history, Strack will now give his thoughts on the “Greatest Individual Performances.” Today’s topic is college football)
By Rich Strack
Almost every sport, from the professional and college ranks down to high school and youth leagues has recently seen their season suspended or canceled.
With the process of starting up sports again still in its infancy, there remains a void for the athletes and fans alike.
If you’re like me, with many years of devotion to athletic competition, some of the greatest events from the past are still being played in your memory rewind.
So sit back and let me distract you from public concerns for just a moment with Part 4 of a series on the “Greatest Individual Performances” that will remain forever in my personal Hall of Fame.
Today I give you two of the best single-game college football player performances of my lifetime and one other from the early 20th century that has local interest.
Nov. 11, 1911
Jim Thorpe vs Harvard
No, I wasn’t alive back then.
But I decided to tweak the rules I’ve been using when selecting games and players for my series of “The Greatest” sports in my lifetime.
I just had to include this game in my top three, mainly because the person who turned in the outstanding performance is someone buried in a local town that bears his name.
Jim Thorpe played for the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, a boarding school for Native Americans. The football team was coached by the legendary Pop Warner. The Indians faced undefeated Harvard at the Crimson’s home stadium in front of 25,000 fans on 11/11/11. Harvard coach, Percy Houghton was so sure his team would win, he played his second string at the start of the game.
Thorpe played running back, defensive end, kicker and punter. He led all backs in rushing yards and all defenders in tackles. His two field goals in the first half kept the Indians close as they trailed just 9-6 going into the third quarter. It still is an unconfirmed statistic whether Thorpe or Alex Arcasa scored the lone Carlisle TD, but the Indians took the lead at 12 -9. Thorpe would kick two more field goals, one of 40 yards as Carlisle led 18-9 going into the fourth quarter when Harvard finally entered its first string in the game.
Harvard blocked a Thorpe punt and returned it for a touchdown, but the Indians held on to win 18-15 in what is considered by many to be the greatest upset in college football history.
Carlisle’s record improved to 9-0, but the Indians would lose the following week to Syracuse.
There remains only one known full ticket from the game in a collector’s possession. In 2005, a ticket stub from the game sold for $1,160 at auction.
2006 Rose Bowl
Vince Young vs USC
Not only did the Texas QB Vince Young throw for 267 yards by completing 30 of his 40 passes, he rushed for 200 yards on 19 attempts. His 467 total yards remains a Rose Bowl record.
But Young’s performance was much greater than even what his statistics suggest.
Texas trailed the Trojans, 38-26, with 6:42 to play when Young culminated an eight play, 69-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown run. Then, Texas got the ball back with 1:50 on the clock and Young drove his team 56 yards on 10 plays with the winning TD - scored on his 8-yard scamper with just 19 seconds left.
Dec. 3, 1988
Barry Sanders vs Texas Tech
Arguably, the greatest college running back of all time, and if I might add, the best NFL back despite an early retirement, Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders broke an NCAA rushing record with his performance against Texas Tech.
The game was played in Tokyo and nine hours after Sanders was announced as the Heisman Trophy winner for the best player in college football, he carried the rock an amazing 44 times and gained an incredible 332 yards against Tech.
OSU trailed at the half, but Sanders kept splitting the Red Raiders’ defense on off tackle runs, speed options, and screen passes as the Cowboys defeated Texas Tech by a score of 45-42. His 332 yards are a program rushing record at Oklahoma State.
Final thoughts
In baseball, basketball, and hockey, an average athlete can have an extraordinary game, but then usually they return to the level of what their ability dictates.
In college football, superstars have super games. Thorpe is on everyone’s Top Ten list of the Greatest Athletes of All Time and was outstanding as a track and baseball star as well.
Young was inducted in the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. He passed for 267 yards, ran for 200 yards and scored three touchdowns against undefeated defending champion USC. In the previous Rose Bowl against Michigan, he rushed for 192 yards to go along with 180 passing yards and accounted for five touchdowns to help Texas to a 38-37 come-from-behind victory. In both Bowls, he scored on last minute drives to win and his victory against USC earned Texas a national championship.
Sanders was outstanding in both college and professional football. His electric runs and unrelenting determination made him arguably the best college running back of all time.
These three athletes played these games with super-human ability.
The opening of the old Adventures of Superman television show can appropriately describe their individual performances
“Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!”
Thorpe, Young, and Sanders were fast, strong and could jump over opposing tacklers. In big games, they were unstoppable forces and played as if there was an “S” on their chests and a cape on their backs.
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