College Football 1981

the following special presentation is brought to you by 20th Century Fox video [Applause] [Music] the Georgia Bulldogs won the 1980 national championship of college football with a victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl the 1981 national champion would also be decided by the boys hi I'm bill Fleming your host for 20th Century Fox video sports in the many years that I've been covering college football I don't think I can recall a season that was more unpredictable more exciting or one that fooled the experts more than the season of 1981 and I think you'll enjoy reliving those thrilling moments as the drama unfolded in the scramble to be number one now in the preseason poll as made by the United Press International Board of coaches here's the way the top ten teams were ranked number 10 the Longhorns of Texas number 9 the Pitt Panthers Georgia the defending national champions ranked 8th Penn State number 7 the Cornhuskers of Nebraska's six number 5 the Trojans of Southern California number 4 the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame Alabama was ranked third the Oklahoma Sooners number two and the Michigan Wolverines were ranked number one but in week number one the Wolverines found that at Madison Wisconsin being rated number one was no sure path to victory the Badgers had not defeated Michigan in the last 14 games in the last four games the Wolverines had outscored them a hundred and seventy six to nothing the game was a defensive struggle until early in the second quarter when the defending Big Ten in those Bowl champions drove to the 4 and then sophomore quarterback Steve Smith scampers into the end zone to break the scoring I and Michigan moves to a seven to nothing lead the Badgers mounted the drive late in the half they took it down to the Michigan 17 yard line were top more quarterback just cold rows to wide receiver Marvin Niel he beats his man and goes into the end zone for the first Wisconsin touchdown to tie the game at 7 Hall then with just seconds remaining in the first half Wisconsin has the third down of the Michigan one and Chucky Davis pulls his way into the end zone with just two seconds to go and the Badgers have a shocking 14 to 7 halftime lead early in the third quarter the Wolverines turned to the man who had become Michigan's all-time greatest rushers tailback which Woolfolk he breaks tackles over the left side streaks down the sideline 89 yards for a Wolverine touchdown this was the second longest scoring run in Michigan history on his own 92 yarder is longer that was two years ago against Wisconsin score tied now 14 all four minutes later Wisconsin operating from the shotgun called a simple to the stream fans not designed for long yardage but this one certainly turned the tide for the Badgers tailback Johnny Williams streaks down the sidelines 71 yards for another Wisconsin touchdown giving the Badgers a $21 and the 70,000 couldn't contain their emotions Michigan did make one final desperate drive but the third interception of the day by safety man met Vanneman boom sealed michigan's doom the Badgers had done the impossible they had defeated number one ranked Michigan and Wisconsin coach Dave McLane was carried off the field the die had been cast for the nation's number one ranked team it turned out to be the most precarious spot to the end during the 81 season while this was taking place in Madison at South Bend Indiana the preseason number 14 Notre Dame was playing LSU it was a highly emotional moment as new Irish coach Gary Foust was making his college coaching debut after 18 highly successful years at Cincinnati Moeller high school on other names first possession the first touchdown of the Gerry Faust era comes rather easily what about Blair keel rolling left and throwing the fullback Larry Moriarity at the two and he's in for the score the Irish had easy-going building there following a third quarter LSU field goal to players who served under Faust Cincinnati came up with a touchdown pass combination Tim kayler the wide receiver Dave Conn DD 6 yards and a 27 - 3 Notre Dame lead with the game while at hand the fans were treated to a sensational LSU touchdown play initiated by freshman quarterback Timmy Byrd's pitch to another freshman tailback Eric Martin it's only 26 yards long but possibly one of the finest TV runs of the entire season no doubt the LSU bands were cheated by the performance a very young team and Gerry Faust was obviously elated with a 2079 victory over MSU in his first college game this was the moment he dreamed of all those lives the coach Notre Dame to victory and after a handshake with LSU coach Jerry Stovall coach paused mingled with the crowd soaking up all of the warmth of a victory but he had to begin immediate preparations for his next game at the Michigan defending national champion Georgia didn't have an easy time of its home opener down between the hedges had newly expanded Sanford Stadium against California naturally a great deal of attention was focused on sophomore running sensation Herschel Walker he set the NCAA freshman rushing record in 1980 with 16 hundred and 16 yards midway in the second quarter California leading ten to eight versatile Bulldog quaterback buck blue on the option picks his way into the end zone for a touch a field vote increased that margin to 17 to 10 at halftime but without the red lentil is running official Walker the Bulldogs really would have had their problems with the Golden Bears he shows his mind here getting down to the 12 yard line and then moments later carnie Norris follows the block of Walker fool a hole and into the end zone from the 6 a big touchdown and Georgia widens its margin to 24 to 10 and they finally go on to win it 27 of 13 over California however another team ranked in the preseason top 10 met with disaster as number 6 Nebraska travel to Iowa early in the first quarter Eddie Phillips a good starting running back pops through the end zone Iowa has a quick 7 to nothing lead over Nebraska defense played a big role over Iowa in this game and for that matter all season long Nebraska quarterback mark power has his past tip and then intercepted by Iowa's Brad Webb the archives were able to increase their lead to tender nothing by halftime with a field goal by freshman kicker Tom Nichols whose talented foot was to become a powerful weapon during the season Nebraska scored with less than 12 minutes to go in the game the Huskers were trailing 10 to 7 when they began their final drive with three minutes to play I back Roger Craig continuing the surge sprinting 13 yards to the 34 but here again another big defensive play Mauer loses the snap fumbles the ball and all big 10 defensive tackle mark quartz comes up with a football 251 to go and that's the way it ended the Hawkeye is holding on for a 10 to 7 upset over a team that beat him a year ago $57 so already in week number one things were to me to be mixed up among college football's elite week number two began with Notre Dame ranked number one visiting the Michigan Stadium and it's sun-drenched throng of nearly one hundred and six thousand fans it was a warm pregame meeting between Notre Dame's Gerry Faust in his second college game and Bo Schembechler of Michigan coaching in his 200th early in the second quarter with the game scoreless Steve Smith and Anthony Carter of Michigan team up Smith leads his receiver perfectly Carter Sprint's into the open the all-america flanker grabs the ball at the Notre Dame 29 and out speeds to understand for a 71 yard touchdown play [Applause] what was significant to the Michigan fans was that this young quarterback Steve Smith who was virtually in his first season sees he played very little a year ago had the savvy in the arm to find America's most explosive performance early in the third quarter Notre David its 27 Tony hunter taking the pitch throwing for tight end Dean mistake but defensive back Keith busta steps in front and intercepts shortly thereafter Smith tosses to Anthony cutter the sidelines and watch the move he puts on John Krim cutter dances into the end zone for another touchdown it's 13 to nothing Michigan the Wolverines built that lead to 19 another and what they were proving on this sunny afternoon in Ann Arbor was that despite an opening loss to Wisconsin they did have the strong potential that had been predicted for them Steve Smith putting in the clincher and the end result Michigan's 25 7 victory over Notre Dame was that a second number-one ranked team was defeated in this young college football season [Music] number two ranked Southern California was also in the Midwest that second week meeting Indiana at Bloomington USC's John Robinson was welcome to the Hoosier State by Indiana's bubbling coach Lee Corso who is even happier when his team held USC to a scoreless first half however Indiana couldn't contain Marcus Allen forever the great automatic our running back those 19 yards for the game's first touchdown coming in the third quarter and the Trojans take a slim seven to nothing lead fans got a preview of 1982 in the fourth quarter when Allen's understudy Brett pressure was turned loose then played in the game Marcus Allen kept the finest afternoon of his career with this 17-yard touchdown round yet all his 274 yards on 40 carries was a new high and it was solid evidence of what was to become a great season for Allen the Trojans win this one 21 to nothing capitalizing on Allen's finest performance today and Indiana was proud to of the way of the Hoosiers held USC in check at least for a time Georgia was now fourth ranked with a visited Death Valley in Clemson South Carolina however had discovered that being ranked number one in any season would proved to be a jinx in 1981 the tenor of this game was established early the domination of Clemson's defense it swarms over the dogs Herschel Walker for a five-yard loss one of his few in his career things didn't get much better for Georgia on the next play but glue under heavy pressure he overthrows his intended receiver and princes Tim Childers picks it off giving the Tigers great field position deep in Georgia Territory Georgia's defense puts on a bit of pressure themselves forcing Clemson Cuauhtemoc Homer Jordan into the scrambling mode he fires a bullet to a diving the brother the end zone for a tiger touchdown seven to nothing cleanse of leaves late in the first half Walker was still having his problems a fumble here and William Perry recovers for Clemson the Tigers capitalized on this mistake with a field goal for attended nothing lead over the defending national champions and Georgia's 15 game winning streak the longest in the nation was indeed in jeopardy the Bulldogs came off running in the second half Walker spearheading the effort he was held at just 56 yards in the first half but just when Georgia began to get close that Clemson defense would rise to the occasion Baloo is sacked by tackled and finish for a negroid loss on third down Georgia had to settle for the field goal next a bit later by Clemson which held a 13 to 3 lead and now with just over a minute to go on the game Georgia tries to salvage a bit of pride trying to get into the end zone however by lose passes intercepted by the Tigers rod McSwain and it's all over for the dogs the young ranked Tigers have given notice of things to come in 1981 key defensive gems the set up and imaginative offense that coupled with the enthusiasm and leadership of Danny for the 33 year old clemson coach in his third full season at the helm boards background searching for fairly well he played and coached under Bear Bryant at Alabama in the third week of poly Southern California emerged as the nation's number one team the Los Angeles Coliseum was the site of usc's epic battle with Oklahoma this game arced the first time at the nation's number1 and number2 since the 1979 sugar bowl game matching alabama and penn state early in the first quarter sooner quaterback kelly phelps climaxing at 80 yard march going in to score for oklahoma that lead didn't last very long as the trojans called upon their crown jewel marcus allen he barely gets touched on this robbed as he Rockets 27 yards for the touchdown and that made the score seven all the Sooners continue to move the ball well and in fact extended their lead to 17 to 7 it looked like the number one jinx was about to strike again against USC what about John Mazur still in the first half fires to wide receiver Malcolm or this one good for 19 yards and USC has the ball of the two with time running out in the first half Mazur appears to hand off to Allen the sooner defense takes the fake leaving John command a wide open to the end zone and it's a Trojan touchdown with 43 seconds to go in the half Oklahoma leading 17 to 14 and that's the way it stood going to the fourth quarter when Darryl Shepherd takes it in for Oklahoma upping the lead to 24 to 14 the Trojans began to pick up the offensive tempo John maser spotting Jeff Simmons hoping over the middle connecting for 16 yards and down to the three ago then with fourth and one the Trojans call on Marcus Allen he delivers the end zone the score it's now 24 to 21 Oklahoma they're still dating six thirty seven to go on the game the Trojans began their final do-or-die effort Allen ripping off 19 big yards here then maser looking downfield spotting cimmyt he makes a superb leaping catch along the sidelines 26 yards in the first down and the Oklahoma 34 now 17 seconds to go Naser somehow comes through again this time two more first down at the seventh two passes failed with third down nine seconds to go Mazur scrambles spots off more tight and Fred Cornwall to the end zone and he's got a clear touchdown two seconds to play only his second catch of his entire career USC became the first number one survivors 28 to 24 in a real thriller over Oklahoma [Music] number three ranked Penn State traveled a link remembering the 21 to 7 defeat at the hands the Cornhuskers last year the Nittany Lions holding a three to nothing lead early in the second quarter with Nebraska quarterback Nick Mason spotting Jamie Williams in the clear over the middle and he rambles 55 yards down the field and then from the two Roger Craig gets airborne crosses the goal line Nebraska's out in front seven to three two more Penn State field goals won by Nebraska make the score 10 to 9 Lions mount another threat quarterback Todd Blackledge teaming up of pranker Kenny Jackson 33 yards and a touchdown the two-point conversion gives Penn State the lead at halftime 17 to 10 mark power now it comes in at quarterback for Nebraska in the third quarter firing the Williams he eludes a defendant and he goes all the way 17 Penn State regained the lead on Franco's fourth field goal 20 to 17 but then the Cornhuskers come right back with Mauer getting split and Scott Woodard with a 16 yard touchdown and that returns the lead to Nebraska 24 to 20 this seesaw battle continued in the fourth quarter as Blackledge connects with is tied in mike.mccluskey for 30 yards and a first down at the Nebraska free then Penn State regains the lead as tailback Joel Coles sticks his head into the pile up and into the end zone 10:59 to go Penn State was back on top 27 to 24 and this probably was the most significant play of the game for the Nittany Lions Kurt Warner turns the corner breaks away and scoops 56 yards to the Nebraska 20-yard line setting up Franco's fifth field goal of the day and a 30 to 24 lead for Penn State forcing Nebraska to go for a touchdown the Cornhuskers try desperately but Bowers pass is intercepted by defensive back Giuseppe Harris that preserved a 32:24 Penn State victory and it gave the Cornhuskers their second loss in three games after beginning as season number six judges Penn State was getting closer to number one even though the Nittany Lions have been right that hide during Joe Paterno's coaching career they never had finished to the top spot and now they have very high hopes for them number four ranked Texas hosted 15th ranked Miami of Florida and both teams brought two and all records into Austin's Memorial Stadium the Hurricanes had received two outstanding games from their quarterback Jim Kelly and there was no question about what the Hurricanes strategy would be in this game Miami came out firing Kelly playing the ball perfectly in the hands of halfback mark rush a 42 yard game to the Texas 11 yard line Kelly again this time looking for wide receiver Larry Brodsky but long horn cornerback Vance Bedford who had a great season in 81 times his move perfectly he dives in front of Brodsky for the interception near the goal line Miami pins Texas deep in its territory [Applause] forcing quarterback brick McIver the gamble on third down from the six watch this catch herkie walls bottling the ball but managing the [Applause] game Texas works to the Miami semi senior tailback AJ Jam Jones shows his strength breaking a tackle and carrying Miami's Fred Marion into the end zone for a 7 to nothing Texas lead the long horn card section acknowledged with pleasure the additional hook em side going into the fourth quarter Texas still in seven and nothing but Miami drove at the Texas 32 where Kelly facing a 3rd and 10 situation lays the ball again right into broadsky's arms and this ties the score at 7 all [Applause] Texas comes right back marching to the Miami 45 McIver finding Donnie Moodle all alone and the former Longhorn quarterback shows some fancy money breaking away from [Applause] this intersectional battle in the old tradition of college football comes to an end with Texas on top 14 to 7 rush net acres breathe a little easier now coming hurricanes have been conquered week number four pounds Southern California easily handling Oregon State number two Penn State shut out temple number three Texas was Idol number four Pittsburgh was stopping south carolina's and number five North Carolina was beginning to make waves moving into grant field of Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech the team that shocked the nation in its opener by beating Alabama 24 to 21 the Tar Heels going into this game worth 300 largely because of this man junior tailback Kelvin Bryant he had amazingly scored 15 touchdowns in his first three games and he was averaging more than a hundred 73 yards again he was well on his way to another great day in this contest that is until this play but costly as of the season for North Carolina you'll see Brian take a blocking tight tackle right here the cartilage and his left beam was damaged so that later he had to undergo surgery and he was forced to miss four games defenses had prevailed early in this game but the Tar Heels finally mount a drive midway in the second quarter rod Elkins nearly gets it in stopped just short of the goal line then Bryant's replacement Bale back Tyron Anthony makes the cutback and goes into the end zone from North Carolina touchdown the Tar Heels have a 7 to nothing halftime lead the big question at this point was could Carolina hang on to that lead with Kelvin Bryant out of action well Georgia Tech answered the question very quickly they come right back with full bag Ronnie cone going in to score and the game is tied at 7 all but that was changed very quickly when Elkins scored again to make it 14 to 7 North Carolina in fact Elkins Reedy had a remarkable day he has the heels moving again this one on a 28 yard pass to flanker Mark Smith and he gets pumped out of bounds just short of the goal line this drive is all wrapped up with alkanes throwing - Tyrone Anthony for the score remarkably in a span of 55 seconds the Tar Heels have scored two touchdowns and the lead has suddenly been built to 21 to 7 the Carolina fans could freely breathe easier after this play Elkins flipping it out to Allen burrows down the sidelines he goes and he gets the ball all the way to the Tech one from there it's reserved fullback James Jones getting the call he goes the final yard for another Tar Heel touchdown and a 28 to 7 pick three over Georgia Tech this was a big win for North Carolina's coach dick Brown but a big loss of the injury to his talented tailback Kelvin Bryant the most talked about player in college football coming into this game the sixth ranked Sooners of Oklahoma had seen their quest for the national championship dimmed somewhat by that last-second loss to USC but they had high hopes in their opener in the big 8 against Iowa State against the Trojans the Sooners have lost 5 of 10 fumbles and they were determined to hang on to the today what about Kelly Phelps optioning right hangs onto the ball tightly and gets 19 yards the drive moves deeper into Iowa State Territory good thinking here it appears Phelps his sack but the wishbone maneuvering gets the ball to freshman Steve Sewell down the sidelines for a touchdown in the 7-nothing lead that lead prevailed until the fourth quarter when Daryl Shepard who is now in as Oklahoma's quarterback passes for Chet winters big play for Iowa State here as John Arno dives in for an interception in the Sooner 46 the Cyclones begin moving behind one of the most powerful runners in college football 246 pounds tailback Duane Crutchfield his fans just love to watch him crying through the opposition [Music] time touchdown came with a little over seven minutes to play normally plenty of time for the powerful Oklahoma offense to score Kelli Phelps is back in at quarterback for the Sooners to run the wishbone and he comes through with a fine 23 yard run [Applause] and then the old nemesis returns the fumble full bag Stanley Wilson is hit hard by middle linebacker Chris Washington the ball is loose and James ransom has it for out of state with four and a half minutes to go Crutchfield carries the site close to an in field goal range with fourth and goal 108 to go in the game Alex Giffords comes in to try a 23 yard field goal for the Cyclones unbelievably it's off to the right not good [Music] the uncharacteristic stands of change seven to seven with Iowa State after a hair-raising 24 to 19 big tree over Stanford the previous week the seventh ranked Ohio State Buckeyes returned home to face Florida State the first meeting ever with the Big Ten team for the Seminoles early in the first quarter fullback Tim Spencer bouncing off a tackler going into the end zone and Ohio State has a quick seven to nothing lead the Seminoles get a field goal did I get seven to three and then Ohio State's Gary alders is back to five but it's blocked a wild scramble is on by five Florida State plays linebacker Ron Hester finally comes up with the ball and he goes in to score 10 to 7 Florida State leading the temple is now set for this rather topsy-turvy content the Buckeyes drive to the Seminole seven quota backs riester pitches to tailback Jimmy the extra point is best but Ohio State is back on top 13 to 10 Mike wedding takes time to read the Ohio State defenses he sweeps breaks tackles keeps his balance and picks up 37 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the Buckeye nine yard line the Seminoles are stopped Buckeye five so they try a field goal or seemingly they do it's a fake and Kelly Lowery the holder takes the ball dashes for the corner of the endzone and he makes it in Florida State leads 17 to 13 over Ohio State this has become a game of big plays Easter looks for one of his own passing to split end Gary Williams along the sideline he breaks tackle after tackle it's reading miraculous how he gets into the clear but he does and he goes 52 yards for an Ohio State touchdown the Buckeye has regained the lead 21 to 17 [Music] doesn't stay that way for long what about Rick stock still fires a pass to Tony Johnson he's over the middle into the end zone for a score and it's 23 to 21 a half-time Florida State over Ohio State in the third quarter the scoring continues Stockstill picks up right where he left off he connects with tight ends Sam Childers with the goal line it's another Florida State touchdown and the Seminoles go while over there 32 21 lead and our Florida State puts this game on ice of this very warm day in Columbus stark still pitching to tailback Ricky Williams he lowers his head and Bulls his way into the end zone for another touchdown it's 36 to 21 Ohio State added a touchdown on the fourth quarter but it was too late and Florida State comes up with a convincing 36:27 victory to further mix up the top ten lurking back in the number 10 spot after a shocking loss to Georgia Tech was Alabama at this point Bear Bryant now had 309 victories in his historic countdown toward the record of 314 Ole Miss fumble early and the Crimson Tide takes advantage to add back Jeff Baker joins some determined running in this 15 yard blast into the end zone and a 7 to nothing lead [Applause] although this was the fifth game of the season it was the first game at home in Tuscaloosa that gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about in the second quarter Ole Miss quarterback John for Kade throwing it's deflected off the hands of Steve berry and intercepted by Jeremiah Castile and he returns at 29 yards before the last man for Kade brings him down galvanizing on the turnover what about Ken goalie keeps races 19 of those 20 yards and he gets it to the wide [Applause] Benny Patrick does the rest over the goal line for the touchdown Tom of the universe [Music] now that amazon top court seemed to nothing that was extended to 17 to nothing at halftime over the Reds in the third quarter new quarterback Walter Lewis scores another touchdown for Alabama from the 8th that extends the lead to 24 to nothing in a game that does not count in the Southeastern Conference standings but one that was really needed to build the confidence of the Crimson Tide team in the fourth quarter Alabama began pulling farther away with plays like this Lewis finding split ends Darrel white for a 27 yard touchdown to extend the lead to 31 to nothing when this one was all over it was 38 to 7 Alabama and the fans of the tide were seeing their team slowly coming back into the top 10 the bear gained his three hundred and tenth career victory and so moving into week number five number one ranked USC seemingly was safe and heavily favored over the Wildcats of Arizona in the Los Angeles Coliseum it turned out to be a very important game and a big surprise to that just in the pac-10 but on the national scene as well Marcus Allen gets a quick start in his fifth straight 200 yard plus games a spectacular display of his dazzling skills leaving Wildcats at his waist all the way 74 you and a trojan touchdown [Applause] coming into this game USC had compiled a porno record but had a tough time beating Indiana then had to survive it's Oklahoma encounter by scoring with just two seconds to go on the clock things looked a little more comfortable here USC leading 7 to nothing over a team that they've never been defeated by in the previous nine meetings the Trojans extended the lead to tendon tunning with a field goal but then they began running into problems a fumble here and the Wildcats recover at the USC 47 Arizona sophomore quarterback Tom Tunnicliffe had an outstanding day he gets the Wildcats close to the goal line with this past a flanker Bob Carter [Applause] [Music] then with just 30 seconds left in the first half barefoot kicker brett weber kicks a 41-yard field goal to narrow the USC lead to 10 to 3 at halftime he added another field goal in the third quarter and that brought the score to 10 to 6 [Applause] USC tried to revive its offense but another crucial mistake is forced here backup tailback Fred cruncher finds a big hole and does some dazzling running cutting across the grain but Arizona's Randy Robbins hits him hard he charged the ball loose and Jerome crimes recovers for the Wildcats at their own 41 talked about a significant play Arizona returns to the arm of Tunnicliffe who passed for 293 yards on this day against the Trojans this one to Brad Anderson sophomore squid and he has it at a first down at the Trojan 15 and the play that did it technically from the 13 passes to Vance Johnson he takes the ball securely at hand and goes into score Arizona is on top 13 to 10 and that's how it ended fantastic upset victory for Arizona coach Larry Smith he's carried triumphantly from the field in what he said was the greatest moment in his coaching career and so the number one teams have been toppled for the third time in five weeks of the 1981 college football season and while this was happening number two Penn State was balling Boston College number 3 Texas was playing Oklahoma in the annual shootout of the Cotton Bowl in Dallas action began right at the opening kickoff the ball bouncing off the shoulder pads of Texas receiver John Walker and Oklahoma's John Truitt recovers at the 16 yard line that led to a sooner touchdown in a 7 and nothing lead after that initial shock Texas rebound what about Rick McIver passing to Carl Robinson for 27 to set up the first Longhorns scoring opportunity and that came when Raul Alegre gets Texas on the scoreboard on the first play of the second quarter and a 34 yard field goal to back it 7 to 3 bull dykes standing Wilson sets up Oklahoma second touchdown with his 11 yard burst of the two Wilson then scored in Oklahoma Hale the 14 to 3 lead over Texas at halftime in the third quarter the momentum began to change in favor of Texas McIver's spotting Maurice Maloney wide open he dashes down the sideline all the way to the floor and then from the one tailback Jam Jones hurls himself over the line and into the end zone for a Texas touchdown the Longhorns added a field goal moments later to trail by only one point 14 to 13 the tough Texas defense got the ball back very quickly and the Longhorns drive to the sooner 36 McIver finds Maloney all alone the end zone it's another Texas touchdown and for the first time in the game texas leads 20 to 14 midway in the fourth quarter texas extends its lead McIver freezes the defense with a fake to jones then lobs a pass to Lauren 17 for the touchdown 27:14 Texas and to add insult to injury the Longhorns scored on the final play of the game Rodney tape rambling 17 yards into the end zone Texas wins this one big 34-14 Longhorns hang on to number three and aim higher fourth ranked Pittsburgh faced a tough test traveling to West Virginia without their quarterback Dan Marino who was out with a shoulder injury the Panthers were undefeated three and oh the Mountaineers were also undefeated at pono coming into this game the loss of Marino made particularly big headlines because at that time the Panther quarterback was the top ranked passer the nation in college football it's all in this game the slack was taken up by the ground troops a fact Brian Thomas breaking off tackle overpowering several would-be tacklers and romping all the way for a touchdown this fine run gave Pitt a 7 to nothing halftime lead [Music] [Applause] then added the fuel goal midway through the third quarter to lead 10 to nothing and that put the pressure on West Virginia Mountaineers were trying desperately to get something started and with this third and nine of their own 21 the roof caves in as quarterback Oliver Luck throws but it's intercepted by a rib cleaner this is the break that the Panthers were waiting for because it gives Pitt the ball deep in West Virginia territory and once again it's Thomas on the ground bursting over for his second touchdown and Pittsburgh SEALs are 17 an epic victory over West Virginia a highly improved ballclub at 81 if it's Jackie Sheryl is congratulated by Don Nehlen on a hard-earned victory accomplished without the leadership of quarterback Dan Marino [Music] [Applause] [Music] seventh ranked Alabama was in for a big surprise in Week five playing unranked but undefeated Southern Mississippi late in the third quarter a 3-3 tie Alabama's Joe Carter evades all kinds of trouble staying on his feet goes into the end zone for a tied touchdown at Alabama leads 10 to 3 on the answering Drive Southern Mississippi put on a display a personal offensive for the law their fans won't soon forget [Music] [Applause] renji Collier ties the score at 10 all Alabama got a field goal to lead 13 to 10 but with less than three minutes to play the Golden Eagles got the ball back and their hearts began to pound they were out of timeouts but with only eight seconds to go Alabama made a critical mistake that I'd call timeout and that gave Southern Mississippi a chance to tie with a field goal kicker Steve Clark won't ever forget this moment from 40 yards out he makes it good at a game is tied at 13 off it's a devastating blow to the Alabama fortunes one loss and one time in the tie its first five games week six found the Longhorns of Texas boosted in the number one spot with a foreigner record but they had to travel to Fayetteville Arkansas the home of the Razorbacks Latta Markham 4 and 1 and the number 1 jinx struck early on the first Texas possession what about Rick MacGyver can he'll will snap the ball pops right into the arms of all-america defensive tackle Billy Ray Smith at the Longhorn 19 and the Razorback fans go while he moved to the wine and quarterback Tom Jones takes a terrific shot but he scores the touchdown the extra point failed however moments later the Razorbacks got a safety lead eight to nothing and it wasn't long before they were back knocking on the door again this time however Lance Bedford of Texas moves in to make a key interception near the goal line the good fortune doesn't last very long once again disaster strikes Texas the handoff is to hide the jam Jones the ball squirts loose and Jeff recovers for Arkansas at the Texas five Razorbacks capitalize immediately Gary Anderson cutting off at free clock by number six to sixteen Court and he's in for the touchdown 15 to nothing is the score to 54 to go in the first quarter at halftime Arkansas led 25 to 3 early in the third quarter Jones goes four yards to make a 30 and things keep getting worse for Texas McIver's pass he picked off by Jeff Goff this resulted in another touchdown and finally Arkansas upped the ante to 42 before Texas finally got going with reserve quarterback Robert Brewer he passes here two big tight end Lauren sample none for 20 yards then tailback Rodney Tate gets outside for 23 yards this sets up with only long horn touchdown of the day Brewer passes to Danni little the two-point conversion was good final score 42 to 11 the fourth number one team goes down to defeat in the first six weeks of this unbelievable season while number two Penn State was rolling over Syracuse number three Pittsburgh coached by jackie sherrill on the right face Florida State goes by Bobby Bowden far distinct right number 10 panther quarterback Dan Marino is back in good form after missing the West Virginia game of the shoulder injury he hits Brian Thomas here for a first down at the Seminole 21 yard line then Moreno being very cool at the quarterback spot connects with Wayne DeBartolo and the Pittsburgh fullback slips away from for Seminole defenders and he goes all the way through the touchdown this gives Pitt late in the first water Varda states rick Scott still is a pretty fair passer himself but he runs into trouble here we as low as picked off by Sall Sunseri and it's a language dream come true he goes all the way to score and pittsburgh has a 14 to nothing lead Sunseri by the way is one of only seven seniors on the 72 man hit squad Panther fans get more to cheer about as Seminole all-america funnier onstart booms 147 yards to Tom Flynn he takes one quick step to the right and then zoom up the middle he goes breaks into the open and there's no catching him he goes 83 yards for another Pittsburgh touchdown so midway in the second quarter the Panthers are threatening to turn this game into a runaway Florida State 1980 that permitted them from a possible national championship the scores increased to twenty eight to seven in the third quarter and hit apply the clincher Moreno working from the 18 and he goes in for a score [Applause] [Music] go to touchdown but Pittsburgh prevails in this one 42 to 14 and the Panthers players get jackie sherrill a victory ride in this most satisfying triumph Pittsburgh is now challenging to be number one Florence Bragg North Carolina travel to Carter Finley stadium in Raleigh without its star running back Kelvin Bryant to face archrival North Carolina State both back was really fired up for this one hoping to knock the Tar Heels out of their lofty rankings this Avery to Friday mask that was extended to ten to nothing at halftime [Music] North Carolina came up with an outstanding replacement for Kelvin Bryant in freshman Tyrone Anthony he played like a seasoned veteran in this game Allen Burris at the end of the Tarheels on the scoreboard then came a big break Wolfpack tailback Joe McIntosh bobbles the ball and Daryl Nicholson has it for North Carolina Anthony does the rest into the end zone for a touchdown for the first time in this game the Tar Heels lead 14 to 10 [Music] if everything's were put in plain black and white for North Carolina State hunter Calvin Warren this was it from his twenty to one tries to punch blocking it is wall plaque and guess who recovers it rocky White at the 7th Allen Burris puts the finishing touches on the play he leaps up and over from the three brats are he'll touchdown so rallying from a 10 to nothing halftime deficit North Carolina wins at six straight 21 to 10 over North Carolina State and the Tar Heels number four ranked against eight because in Ann Arbor the fifth ranked Wolverines of Michigan are having big problems with 12th ranked Island following a fumble recovery I was at the Michigan 36 what about Gordy Bohannon scrambles away fine split and Dave Moore it's 410 yards to the Michigan 36 Bohannon again somehow he escaped linebacker Paul gear gash and manages to get the ball to I every web for 25 yards to the Wolverine 11 that sets up a 20 yard field goal attempt by freshman kicker Tom nickel it's up and it's good at Iowa has a three to nothing lead and this was followed by another nickel field-goal 36 yards six to nothing I'll at the end of the first quarter the Wolverines get moving in the second period Steve Smith closed Anthony come he's got it for a touchdown next two-point foots the Wolverines in front seven to six at halftime the archives would produce the Big Ten's best defense in 1981 and here's an example Michigan's all-time greatest pressure puts Woolfolk has dropped for a two-yard loss by defensive end Andre Tippin the consensus all-american and on the next play Smith is back to pass throwing 404 from the endzone the ball is deflected and Mel called intercepts that proved to be one of the key plays of the game and this certainly was a key game of the season for both Michigan in Iowa the hawk eyes were trying to remain undefeated in the big 10 their fans would certainly reflect on this play when recalling the game what about guardia Bohannon simply had nobody to throw to so he did the only thing he could do run as hard as he could for the first down [Music] and he got it setting up a 30-yard field goal attempt Tom nickel an unheralded freshman kick his third of the game and Iowa has regained the lead 9 to 7 Michigan made a last-ditch effort in the fourth quarter Anthony Carter on a flanker reverse his men at the line of scrimmage by Marc ports Andre tippet and Pat Dean Iowa takes over on downs the hawkeye's beat Michigan for the first time since 1962 taking a giant step toward the big 10 coach championship and the Rose Bowl USC's position as the number 16 was greatly enhanced by the Michigan defeat but the Trojans were facing a Stanford team with an explosive offense the Trojans had moved to attend a nothing lead and turn things over to their defense which was determined not to let Stanford quarterback John Elway have too much time to throw he's dumped by USC's Georgia Chica back at the 2 back to pass again Elway has a bigger problem he's trapped in the end zone it's a safety as Dennis Edward makes the tackle for USC but even increases to 12 to nothing for the Trojans and it has the USC fans on their feet cheering in there is no sign of a sputtering purging offense this week as it was against Arizona what about John Mazur competing at 18 pastor Jeff Simmons at the Stanford 22 the ball pops loose but the play had been blown dead USC moves to the 8th maser passing Timmy white receiving a great catch in such close coverage by Stanford's Daryl Grissom the Trojans now lead 19 to nothing the USC defense continue to frustrate John Elway he had the Cardinals on the move and throws from the Trojan 11 but this pass is tipped away by middle linebacker chip banks and Stanford had to settle for a field goal by halftime it was 22 to 3 and at the end it was USC 25 to 17 over Stanford going into week 7 Penn State became the fifth number-one rated teams but the Nittany Lions faced the tough West Virginia Mountaineers coming in with a 5 and 1 record losing on into Pittsburgh the Lions had a perfect mark 5 and oh that could be in trouble since they were without the services of Kurt Warner their great running back who was injured Warner's replacement number 44 sophomore John Williams was up to the test [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Penn State took that seven to nothing lead into the second quarter facing West Virginia quarterback Oliver Luck one of the nation's top scholar athletes a Rhodes Scholar candidate who had had all A's in college with the exception of one B as a freshman he delivers here to sophomore flanker rich hollows who grabs the ball and out runs the penn state secondary 54 yards in a mountaineer touchdown the score is tied at 7 all and the Penn State fans began to wonder would the number one jinx be striking them [Applause] a field-goal breaks that tie for Penn State leaning ten to seven at halftime the Nittany Lions drive to the West Virginia 11 yard line Midway of the third quarter what about Todd Blackledge throwing for the endzone the ball is tipped by free safety Tim Agee right into the waiting hands of sophomore flanker Kenny Jacksonville touchdown Penn State takes a 17 to 7 lead into the fourth quarter and it doesn't take very long for the Nittany Lions to apply the clincher Kenny Jackson on the reverse takes off down the sidelines and he's finally brought down at the one-yard line by Lynn Murray full-back Mike Meade does the rest leaping over the pile up for another Penn State touchdown Alliance scoring again late in the game for a convincing 32 7 victory Gus Joe Paterno holds on to his team's number1 ranking but must face five more very tough games while this was going on number two Pittsburgh was beating Syracuse and number 3 North Carolina was shocked by South Carolina number four ranked Southern California travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame a team that had lost three of its first five games the game was scoreless going into the third quarter it was obvious in the first half the Irish were keying on Marcus Allen so us he changed the strategy Allen was the decoy fullback Todd Spencer on the full-back trap was carving out big games and then when the defense adjusted to stop Spencer Marcus out of the nation's leading rusher all season found the room he needed to move and he got the game's first touchdown in the third quarter USC leading 7 to nothing Notre Dame was solid on the returns rushed a great effort by tailback Phil Carter from the five gives the Irish that's the way it stayed until late in the game 534 to go Notre Dame still wary of the full backslashes allows Allen to frank loose he picks up 21 yards and then it happened the Trojans disguised the offense once again the fake to Allen and Todd Spencer gallops to the outside for the go-ahead touchdown USC forges in front 14 to 7 [Music] Notre Dame still wasn't out of it recovering a fumble the Irish move to the 33 and on a crucial 4th and 1 Phil Carter goes as hard as he can but is met by the Trojan wall USC was happy to leave the Notre Dame Stadium with a 14 to 7 victory over the stubborn Irish going into the eighth week of the season the top ranked Nittany Lions of Penn State were in Miami Florida to take on the dangerous hurricane this was a game that really had coach Joe Paterno worried and he reflected on that after the season was over I was concerned with our physical condition which started to deteriorate all around by the Miami game time because Chait Paulo Vecchio did not play against Miami Kurt Warner had had gotten hurt prior to the West Virginia game and hadn't played against Miami played some but wasn't up to par I was concerned with Robinson who was banged up but foul who was not practicing well because he was banged up and because we had lost calls Paterno's fears were well-founded Miami jumped off to a six to nothing lead and then late in the second quarter water back Jim Kelly spots wide receiver Larry Brodsky open and Brodsky goes in to score the Hurricanes have a touchdown Rancho downpour made things very tough for both teams in the second half Penn State trailing 17 to nothing in the fourth quarter Todd Blackledge passes to John Williams for a first down Blackledge finds flanker Greg Garrity slanting over the middle he's got 21 yards to the Miami 29 the nation's number one team is fighting desperately from the 13 the Lions finally get on the scoreboard Blackledge connects with mike.mccluskey he hangs on despite an interference called against Miami the two-point conversion failed was 17 to 6 and then all of a sudden things got tight a screen pass to Williams picking up blocks by Romano and Ferrell he high steps up into the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown however it wasn't enough Penn State lost 17 to 14 so with Penn State being the fifth top ranked team to be toppled Pittsburgh was in a perfect spot to move into number one the Panthers had all they could handle before pulling out a 29 24 victory over Boston College and number three USC was matched against the back tens upstart Washington State the Cougars were undefeated going into this game with only a 1717 tie against UCLA tomorrow their record gets the Cougars finest start in 51 years and the opening kickoff looked promising taken by Washington State's camera Mitchell at the goal line he Sprint's straight up the field 42 yards before he's finally hauled out what a back tweet Kasper back to pass finding split and TJ Jones well the play bobbles it he hangs on for a 20-yard gain to the trojan 38 the Cougars moved to the one where Kasper keeps it and goes in to score Washington State's in front seven to nothing [Music] the Trojans got a field goal to make the score seven to three and then they turned loose their defense Washington State and its own 20 sending Jeff Keller on the end around he's hit by a swarm of trojans chip banks strips the ball away and Joey Ronnie recovers for USC at the state 29 Marcus Allen flashing the form that earned him the Heisman powers his way into the endzone from 18 yards out on a great run the trojans move in front by the score of 10 to 7 but Washington State ties it with a field goal and it's only in the first quarter late in the first half USC moved to the cougar 1 Allen going airborne into the end zone to score and USC takes a hard earned 17 210 lead at halftime coming into this game the Cougars had the best defense in the pac-10 it's being severely tested on this day as quarterback John Mazur begins to riddle the defense with his pinpoint passing connecting with split end Jeff Simmons setting up another Allen touchdown to increase the lead 24 to 10 and then just to mix things up Mazur looks for an unfamiliar receiver Marcus Allen Allen takes the ball at the 4 and steps in for his fourth TD of the game but this was the only touchdown pass USC career final score 41 217 the Cougars first loss head coach Jim Walden congratulate us sees John Robinson on what was a very impressive victory as week number nine unfolded Pittsburgh was named number one and the Panthers didn't fail as they beat Rutgers 47 to 3 Southern California took over the number two spot and stopped California but it was number three Clemson that climbed the farthest the Tigers were not even ranked in the top 20 preseason poll but they've moved steadily upward and coming into this game against ninth ranked North Carolina they are undefeated in eight games North Carolina quarterback rod out consists with his team to the Clemson seven but the tenacious Tiger defense is hungry living Elkins is smothered for a seven-yard loss at the Tar Heels have to settle for a field goal and a three to nothing lead Clemson's offense is also powerful and the Tigers roar downfield with a North Carolina 7 where fullback Jeff McCall wounds his way in for the score Clemson taking a 7 to 3 lead over the Tar Heels then with just 14 seconds left in the first half one of the most important plays of the crimson punt the ball bounces out of the end zone for a safety the Tar Heels had they recovered it would have had a touchdown instead they settle for a 7 to 5 score instead of a possible lead Clemson gets a field goal and now the score is 10 to 5 in the 3rd quarter and North Carolina comes up with a trick play Tyrone Anthony fakes the sweep pulls up and fires to wide receiver Larry Griffin who takes it for a 21-yard pickup and a first down at the Clemson for North Carolina tailback Kelvin Bryant was making his first appearance after injuring his left knee five weeks ago and it wasn't exactly the game to make your reappearance in the Clemson defense waiting in ambush showing great pursuit and Bryant goes down for the five-yard loss back to the nine so North Carolina settle for a field goal here and narrowed the lead to 10 to 8 then early in the fourth quarter North Carolina gets another break Jeff Hayes fumbles the punt here's the break the Tar Heel fans were hoping for however just as they had done all season long the Tiger defense became downright mean when fronting no game for Brian and then this is the play that really didn't number 66 nose guard William Perry all 295 pounds of him dumps North Carolina quarterback Scott stand cabbage for a big 10 yard loss and it knocks the Tar Heels out of full goal range song Clemson left Kenan Stadium with the 10 to 8 victory the Tigers were grateful for the two-point squeaker knowing that but for a few rolls of the football on a blocked kick things might have been different not only in this game but for the entire season previously top-ranked Texas had an opportunity to improve on its number five ranking against Houston because number four Georgia barely got by Florida the Cotton Bowl bid was at stake in this hospital contest with the Southwest Conference champion to be SMU ineligible because of probation early in the first quarter Texas quarterback rich Macabre going to the air but Houston's butch Lacroix picks it off and brings it back to the foghorn 22 yard line Houston quarterback Lionel Wilson avoids a heavy Texas Russian hits LAN Elfi whose wide open and he's finally stopped after a 17-yard gain at the Texas 7 veteran coach Bill yeoman whose beer option offense is very tough to stop has an excellent quarterback to run it Wilson takes it into the end zone on the bear option and the coach nothing lead over Texas partisan Houston crowd showing his appreciation the Longhorns and McIver are suffering through a rough first half wave in the second quarter things don't get any better his passes intercepted by Kelly Macdonald and once again Houston takes over deep in Texas territory Longhorn coach Freddie Akers is upset and he became even more so when his team is called for a roughing the holder penalty after a missed field goal attempt by Houston the Cougars take advantage as fullback David Barron barrels over from the one and Goosen has a 14 to nothing halftime lead over Texas Texas did get a third quarter field goal to make it 14 to 3 and the Longhorns finally start moving in the fourth period on a key fourth down gamble tailback John Walker takes the pitch gallop 22 yards to the Houston 7 first and goal ago Walker gets the call again and the sophomore responds with a superb effort breaking through a big hole hurling himself over the last defender into the endzone and it's now Houston 14 Texas nine the Texas fans finally have something to really cheer about Akers calls on reserve quarterback Robert Brewer and he's successful on the two-point conversion strike it's now 14 of 11 all right says Fred I administer play brewer quickly moves the Longhorns in the cougar territory he fires here to wide receiver Don evil 19 yards in a first down at the Houston 44 time running out Texas moves closer to set up a 47-yard field goal attempt by Raul Alegre this could tie it up it's up and it's good who did it am i great dancing a leg roast style to the side mind and that's the way it ended a 15:14 time the tie at least was not a Southwest Conference lost and approved to be very important by keeping Texas in the running for the Cotton Bowl although it cost the Longhorns their number five ranked the 10th week of the rankings found number one Pittsburgh having an easy time with army 48 to nothing clemson disposed of ACC rival Maryland 21 to 7 number 3 USC faced gale force winds and torrential rains in Seattle as the Trojans squared off against the defending pecten champions from Washington a must game for each team to determine the Rose Bowl selection at times the winds were gusting over 50 miles an hour USC's Marcus Allen never worked harder for yardage in his entire life these 13 yards enabled him to reach the unprecedented 2,000 yards barrier the first college player to reach that mark the elements were so cruel the fans needed all the protection they could get as the two teams battled to a three-three halftime time then late in the fourth quarter still 3-3 Washington quarterback Steve poll or finds fullback Chris James wide open he gets 17 yards for being dropped down at the USC 35 the frick bogs down in the monsoon so Chuck Nelson comes in to try a 46-yard field goal he connects Washington takes a 6 to 3 lead over Southern California 2 minutes and 19 seconds to go on the game and although the Husky fans are cheering they know the Trojans still have time to pull it out but here's the play but not only cost us see a chance at the pac-10 title at the Rose Bowl bid but maybe even a possible national championship on the kickoff Nelson's boot bounces in front of the receivers and sports toward the end zone it's touched by the Trojans so everyone frantically tries to get to the free ball coming up with it is Washington freshman my girlfriend small it's a touchdown for the Huskies they win it 13 to 3 and despite the wind and the rain the fans could care less as toughest ones to lose votes John Robinson congratulate ston James on the Huskies biggest win of the season number four ranked Georgia fought its way back from its earlier loss to Clemson and has a crucial SEC meeting with Auburn the Bulldogs are 8 in 1 and at home in Athens Harvard is trailing 3 to nothing early in the second quarter pull back Ron O'Neal breaks loose in piles up 26 yards before he's brought down at the 22 mamas later on the Bulldog a the pitch goes to tight end Mike Edwards and he goes in the deep 15 to go in the half Barbour takes a 7 to 3 lead in this oldest rivalry of the deep south the 80 15 dating back to 1892 georgia capitalizes on a turnover what about buck balloon takes advantage waits for Norris Brown to beat his man and then completes a 46-yard touchdown pass to put Georgia in front in the seventh Marshall Walker was headed for another big day it all he gained a hundred and sixty-five yards of this game and he gets 12 of those here setting up another Georgia touchdown with one minute and 12 seconds to go in the first half but Balu operating from the Auburn 5 he's right on target to Clarence cage the end zone charge it moves out to a 17 to 7 lead at halftime it should be recalled in documenting the 1981 season defense - they lost 24 Lederman from the 1980 national championship team and yet here are the dogs to the chase for the coveted title again they keep up the pace in the second half as Balu and Lindsay Scott team up it's just a matter of time now before Georgia will score again with their personal offense from the - Herschel Walker crashes in as Georgia moves out with 24 - 7 lead and eventually for a 24 to 13 victory the length of the season coach Dooley knew after this game his team was definitely in the running for number one the best match of week number 10 took place at University Park Pennsylvania where 5th ranked Penn State played host to Alabama ranked number six Joe Paterno greeted the legendary Paul Bear Bryant prior to the game in which the bear could tie the Amos Alonzo Stagg victory mark of 314 early in the game - tied at the State 37 quarterback walter Lewis lets it fly Penn State's Roger Jackson as an untimely spill and Alabama's Jesse bendre says a timely touchdown Alabama leading 7 to nothing Penn State got a field goal to make it 7 to 3 but Alabama's on the move again halfback Paul Carruth sweeping to the 9 and then guru wedging it underneath the wall of tacklers at Alabama was on top 14 to 3 beside added a field goal to make it 17 degree and then they were threatening again at the Penn State 5 Lewis fakes short spots Bend Ross in the corner of the end zone and it's a Crimson Tide touchdown at halftime Alabama seemingly is in total control with a commanding 24 to 3 lead however Penn State comes out of the second half with an impressive March for the back Todd Blackledge drilling 1 to the diving Kenny Jackson at the Alabama 4 but it's here that the Alabama defense freely began to shine playing with great emotion for the bear Mike need is hell's of no gain at the one-yard line finally because of a pass interference penalty this is Penn State's sixth straight crack at the end zone from inside the floor and Kurt Warner is repulsed a tremendous display of defense [Music] Alabama wins 31 to 16 presenting Bear Bryant with his 314 career victory still dreaming of a national championship with one game to play in week number 11 top-ranked Pittsburgh held on to that tenuous spot for the third straight week beating temple 35 to nothing however Clemson number two was engaged in its annual war against South Carolina in the Gamecocks William rice stadium the Tigers realized they could possibly take over the number one spot with an impressive showing midway through the first period the Gamecocks leading 7 to nothing but they're forced to punt gets locked by Clemson's Rob McSwain the ball bounces in the end zone and Johnny Rembert recovers for a cleansing touchdown the extra point was missed but a short time later the Tigers got a field goal to go ahead 9 to 7 early in the second quarter South Carolina quaterback Pardee Beckham trying to get things going through the air but Hollis Hall proved here that the Clemson defense was alive and well [Music] [Applause] the offense responded to that effort with a homer Jordan touchdown with Clemson holding at 15 to 7 halftime lead the Tiger fans could begin to taste a perfect regular season but things weren't exactly open Beckham spotting flanker Horace Smith wide open over the middle and all of a sudden the score is 15 to 13 Clinton the Tigers did open some breathing room later in the period with the touchdown to hold a 23 to 13 weed and then Clemson puts the game on ice with his fourth quarter play tailback chuck McSwain does it on his own a 23-yard touchdown gym putting the jubilant Tigers bar out in front giving him a 29 to 13 victories Clemson ending its regular season with a 11 straight victories the only team in major college football with a perfect play both number three Georgia and number-4 alabama we're idle in week number 11 and number five Nebraska was beating Oklahoma but in Ann Arbor the 18th ranked Ohio State Buckeyes invaded the Michigan Stadium to plays 6th ranked Michigan Wolverines leading 3 to nothing and they're at the Buckeye of 34 quarterback Steve Smith putting it up but the Ohio State secondary under fire much of the season was at its peak this tip pass was intercepted by Marcus Barrett running it back 8 yards to the 18 and the Spalding the Michigan advance early in the second quarter the Buckeyes are at the Michigan 49 km/h in Spencer waits for the hole to develop then he comes through it for 14 tough yards moments later after calling several audibles at the line of scrimmage water back arched Easter has the Buckeyes at the one he dives in for the touchdown and a 7 3 Ohio State lead [Applause] [Music] coming up a key first-half play Michigan has a fourth down and one at the Ohio State 39 Smith tries to make it over the top and closing in on him is Marcus Merritt no game the Buckeye fans are happy with their team's 703 halftime lead but that was erased with a pair of Michigan field goals in third period Michigan leading 9 to 7 in the fourth quarter it was here that Ohio State staged one of its finest drives ever Spencer high is the blocking heads outside and picks up 19 yards before he slides out of bounds and coming up is the play that won't be forgotten for many years to come the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player archly stirred showing his uncanny sense of timing waits for fullback palm broad next to lay a driving block that takes out two defenders and then Ashley stirrers slides into the end zone for the winning touchdown Ohio State wins 14 to 9 the Buckeye players are ecstatic they wrenched the championship and the Rose Bowl get away from Michigan and they carry Earle Bruce off the field in victory clinching a co championship with Iowa in the meantime of the East its Penn State against Notre Dame a must battle for the Nittany Lions before their showdown with number one ranked Pittsburgh the ones top ranked Lions have slipped to number 14 after losses to Miami in Alabama but they still have a 7 and 2 record they certainly wasted no time in getting going in this game tailback john williams barrels would the line and goes 40 yards to the Notre Dame for and on only the third play of the game they set up inside the five yard line Williams gets the call he turns the corner goes into the end zone for a Penn State touchdown it's seven to nothing with barely a minute elapsed in the game it seems that everybody's fired up for this one the Irish fight right back the target of a Blair Keough pass is little Joe Howard five feet nine 165 pounds and a freshman he broke into the starting lineup of the seventh game and he averaged over 32 yards of cash Bill Carter powers it in and the score is tied at 7 Hall however Notre Dame coach Jerry Foust was later concerned when the Nittany Lions turned the fumble punt into a touchdown and then added a field goal early in the second period to take a 17 to 7 lead obviously his glue was not shared by the Midna lion fans but with two minutes left in the half the Irish recover a fumble of their own moving into Penn State Territory Kiel passes the ball is tip wingback Tony hunter manages to hang on to it for a touchdown for Notre Dame making the score 17 to 14 with just 23 seconds to go in the half and the Notre Dame fans love Penn State coach Joe Paterno can only shake his head and disbelief now early in the third quarter the Lions are faced with a third and fourth their own 15 what about Todd Blackledge decides to pass he overthrows his receiver and Notre Dame's all-american linebacker Bob Grable intercepts he's the all-time leading tackler in Irish history and he shows he could have been a pretty good fullback getting the ball back to the Penn State six now from the five Notre Dame goes to the air he lofts the pass for John Sweeney he makes a spectacular leaping catch landing on his back inside the end zone Notre Dame moves out in front 21 to 17 after trailing by 10 but Penn State is not to be denied late in the fourth quarter the Lions mount an 82-yard Drive tailback Kurt Warner playing only sparingly the last two weeks for the hamstring injury still has the moves and this great effort puts the ball in the one the very next play the play the Irish didn't expect the old quarterback sneak and Todd Blackledge performs it perfectly touchdown Penn State in one of the best games of the season the Nittany Lions down Notre Dame 24 to 21 coach Joe Paterno can only tell iris coach Gary Foust and his young son Steve that this one could have gone either way [Music] the final week of the regular season number one ranked Pittsburgh against archrival Penn State the largest crowd since 1938 jammed pit stadium the scene of the Panthers could hold on to number one and a perfect season against the challenge of 9th ranked Penn State on pits first possession at the Lion 28 quarterback Dan Marino close to sophomore flaker Dwight Collins at the goal line he's in for the touchdown four minutes gone with the game it takes us seven to nothing lead the Panthers get the ball right back they moved to the nine Marino again to Collins he has it inbounds for the second touchdown of the afternoon Pittsburgh has been looked shockingly easy however the complexion of this game changed dramatically the Lions scored after an interception to make it 14 to 7 then following another interception Penn State moves to the Pitt eight on this black wedge to kenny Jackson pads Blackledge scored the winning touchdown against Notre Dame on a sneak a week ago he extends it a bit here into a draw with the same result touchdown Penn State and it's all tied at 14 the Nittany Lions had maintained at their tougher schedule and honed a sharper edge for this game and it began to look as if they were right early in the third quarter panther fullback bill Beach cracks in the line but the ball is stripped loose by Roger Jackson Penn State linebacker Chuck Parnevik yo recovers for the Lions at the Penn State 44 they move the ball down to the pit 42 Blackledge back to pass spots Kenny Jackson of the 20 and watch this move to 10 a 180 degree pirouette spinning away from the defender charging untouched into the endzone for that go-ahead touchdown Penn State 21 Pittsburgh 14 the fans go wide [Music] Penn State on the prowl again from the pit 45 black way it's looking downfield he can't believe his eyes Jackson is all alone he hits him up the nine and Jackson goes into the end zone untouched 28 14 Brian Frankel and a two field goals John Farrow recovered a fumble in the end zone to increase the lead 41 to 14 in the late stages Pittsburgh was just trying to salvage something out of this nightmare when Marino's pass was picked off by Mark Robinson the down field escort forms at all Pittsburgh gets at Robinson is one of his shoes he knows 91 yards to score the final blowing hits crumbling number one-ranked [Music] [Applause] coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions stunned the previously undefeated Panthers 48 to 14 the sixth number-one deemed to be dethrone in the wild unpredictable 1981 college football season Pittsburgh came back with a stirring 2420 victory in the Sugar Bowl over Georgia jackie sherrill then announced that he was going on to Texas A&M to become athletic director and head coach Penn State beat Southern California in the Fiesta Bowl saw with the Pittsburgh loss clemson moved into the number one spot the Tigers needed a victory of the Orange Bowl over number for Nebraska and clinched the national championship Clemson fans indeed were convinced that we're number one as they revved up for the class that would decide college football's most undecided issue the two opposing coaches Nebraska's Tom Osborne and Clemson's Danny Ford greet one another before the frame these two teams meeting for the first time in history the Cornhuskers jumped off to a 7 to 3 lead midway through the first quarter but the tiger defense tough all season looks very good at this point all-america linebacker Jeff Davis stopping Roger Craig at the pond Husker 16 and the assault continues in the next play as quarterback Mark Mauer is sacked by sophomore safety man Jim Childers and 11 five Clemson moves down into scoring position and Donald inget we can try as a 37-yard field goal it's up and it's good Nebraska's lead is narrowed to 706 as the first quarter ends the Tigers begin opening up offensively quarterback Homer Jordan lofting a long pass downfield this one is tipped by cornerback Rick Lindquist right into the hands of Frank Magwood 42 yard gain while though Nebraska stopped this drive Danny Ford is obviously pleased with Jordans work and following this timeout the strategy worked perfectly the call was for number 70 tailback cliff Austin to take it on a sweep and that he did for a touchdown the try for a two-point conversion failed at Clemson had taken a 12 to 7 lead over Nebraska to set off a wild jubilation one the tiger paw included Clemson fans [Music] midway in the third quarter Clemson mounts a 12-play 75-yard Drive clam accident from the Nebraska 15 those were split in any trouble he's gotten to the corner of the end zone and with 612 to go in the period Clemson is now commanding 19:17 over Nebraska it's extended 22 to 7 light of the period on another 36 yard field goal by Inga weekend but Nebraska comes charging back on a 69-yard eight play Drive Roger Craig sweeping wide goes in for the touchdown from 26 yards out to make the score 22 213 nice move there [Applause] the Cornhuskers really make things exciting on the two-point conversion attempt great taking the pitch and he sails into the endzone the score is now 22 to 15 crimson and another eight-point effort could give Nebraska the victory the scoreboard shows seven minutes 49 seconds to go at his boys bull all America safety man Terry Canard in his team-mates since the victory is at hand when he and his teammates get the ball back to Clemson with 524 to go the game Nebraska's last desperate Drive fell short and then it was all over the emotions of a national championship were too great to hold back Danny Ford is exalted by his players in a wild celebration the Tigers have completed a perfect 12 in all season a national championship and for Danny Ford the honor of being named coach of the year [Applause] [Music] so when the bowl games were completed the final poll showed the Clemson Tigers rising dramatically they become the nation's top college team of 1981 Pittsburgh for the second year in a row for the second losing only to Penn State the number three team Texas is for the defending national champion Georgia number five Alabama six Washington seventh North Carolina was eighth Nebraska wound up ninth and Michigan the preseason favorite was ten well there's one record probably that will not be so fast for some time to come that was set in 1981 and that's the fact that seven different teams were ranked number one during the season the experts were right on one thing in fact they were right on three things they predicted the Jim McMahon a BYU would have a great passing season he did they also predicted that Marcus Allen would have a sensational year for USC and he did and that Paul Bear Bryant would become the winningest coach in the history of college football all those three things happen as we shall see Jim McMahon at Brigham Young University had to overcome a number of setbacks on his way to collegiate stardom a childhood accident nearly caused him the sight of one eye he still wears glasses off the field numerous other injuries have threatened his career including a knee operation that saw him sit out the entire 1979 season and knee problems in 1981 that put him on the sidelines for two games he established 55 NCAA season or career records in total offense in passing and the computers are still searching for more marks that he may have shattered it's impressive for a quarterback to win one national statistical title but McMahon Believe It or Not led the nation in three categories both in 1980 and 1981 in addition to all the records he rewrote he did it in portions of basically three seasons as he was primarily a during his freshman year he destroyed the career total offense market division 1a by more than 1200 yards his passing yards were nearly 350 more than Mark Harmon gave in four seasons BYU fans saw McMahon lead their team to the sixth black title in a row and McMahon himself received the Offensive Player of the Year trophy for the second year in a row in 1981 Jim McMahon simply became the greatest passer in the history of intercollegiate football the virtuosity of USC's Marcus Allen was unparalleled number 33 became the Heisman Trophy winner following in the footsteps of three other Trojan tailbacks who won that award Oh Jay Simpson Mike Garrett and Charles White but what set out on apart from the others was that he became the first player at any collegiate level to rush for more than 2,000 yards his accomplishments were staggering in 1981 he obliterated tony dorsett single-season mark by nearly 400 yards his 213 yards per game average top ed Marineros record at Cornell during his career Allen rushed for more than 200 yards in a record eight games five consecutively in 1981 it should be further noted that out and played tailback only during his junior and senior years he was a nun long blocking fullback for Charles white in his sophomore year and was a defensive back as a freshman Allen amassed his yardage on the famous Trojans student body left or right sweeps those powerful players off time Marcus Allen did a 1981 but no one had ever done before and it may be a while before anyone can surpass all William Bryant is known as the bear to his faithful followers he's America's best coach but it came down to Alabama season finale against Auburn for the bear to become college football's winningest coach in its 113 year history if he didn't win here at Legion Field in Birmingham this historic day probably would have to wait until sometime in the fall of 1982 early in the first quarter Alabama quarterback Alan gray shows Auburn that he's are running thread he goes 63 yards and puts the tide in scoring position at the 20 moments later from the one Ray just gets home with a plane of the goal line for an Alabama touchdown and the tie feed seven to nothing it was apparent from the opening whistle that Auburn coached by Pat dye a former player and assistant coach under the bear was a determined football team quarterback Joe Sullivan passing complete to ed West and he gets the ball down to the Alabama 90 now with a first and goal to go at the eighth Tiger Quarterback Kent hobby throws toward a crowded corner of the endzone Tommy Wilcox leads the play at intercepts for Alabama stopping an Auburn scoring threat and that gets the Crimson Tide's wrong turned up midway in the second quarter still 7 nothing Alabama but the situation changes look out Bob Byrne fullback George people's darts through a hole and he's off to the end zone 63 yards for the touchdown and the game is tied at 7 all this is turning out to be the kind of battle that these two old rivals have been engaging in down through the years [Music] there is no question about motivation in this game the Alabama team wants this win for the bear what about Ken Coley tosses a little shovel pass to split and Jesse Ben draws the Tigers are caught off guard just long enough to pick up Stephen doing regains the lead 14 to 7 and next what could become a candidate for the football funny of 1981 it's actually an Auburn pun Allen Bollinger gets it away and then crazy things start happening Alabama's Joey Jones can't handle it the ball becomes a hot potato and finally after quite a few awkward bounces Chuck Clinton pounces on it for a burn at the Alabama 2 yard line as a result Lionel James makes it across the goal line and midway through the third quarter Auburn has tied this memorable early in the fourth quarter father moved into the lead on a field goal to make it 17 to 14 needless to say quite a bit was riding on Alabama's next possession at the auburn 38 quarterback Walder Lewis using a play invented by Amos Alonzo Stagg himself the forward pass it's complete to Jessie Penrose and he has a touchdown Alabama's back on top 21 17 the tied defense forces an Auburn punt and the tide is at the tiger 49 Linda Patrick showing the kind of dedication the Alabama players had for winning this game he breaks for seemingly short tackles before he's finally stopped by Auburn's Dan Dickerson at the 17 yard line a superlative effort from the 15 Patrick gets the call again he dodges desperate Auburn defenders and dances into the end zone for one of the biggest insurance touchdowns ever scored in college Alabama has a 28 to 17 lead that he will never surrender this game belongs to the Crimson Tide and to Bear Bryant on Saturday November the 28th 1981 Legion Field in Birmingham Alabama he now had his 315 victory to surpass amos alonzo stagg the chase for the record ended and all Bear Bryant stood alone at the top of football's morning's [Music] college-football 1981 has now been entered into the record books and we're left with a legacy of warm memories the colourful stadiums the emotions of the game how pleasant it is to recall those moments that occurred on what General Douglas MacArthur called the friendly fields of strike the football gridiron is a stage for the strength of youth about which Samuel Ullman once wrote youth is not a time of life it's a state of mind it's not a matter of rosy cheeks red lips or supple means it's a matter of the will a quality of the imagination a vigor of the emotions it's the freshness of the Deep Springs of life from the young energy of a Danny Ford to the season face of the veteran Bear Bryant the names and coaching are legend Bible spearmen plate Chrysler Dobie angle parole Jones lady month near poster bond Rockne Shaughnessy Shaw steak Waldorf Warner Wilkinson Yoast ends up key and the men they coached what names punch dot the horse tank buck Marchi bruiser wizard ox Crazy Legs gold and Greek in the galloping ghosts this is college football it touches all of us because we see in at a spirit that lasts a lifetime [Music] [Applause]

Channel: Tim McCartney

Views: 10,759

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Id: _T9KpiYAQ3E

Length: 90min 0sec (5400 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 24 2019