I was in the stands at that game, as a Cal student. My friends and I were part of a very large group of Cal fans (maybe the majority among students?) who did not really care much about the football, but went to every home game to enjoy the snacks, sun and substances. Because of the intervening years and maybe the substances, I rarely think about that play or that game, but I can tell you that at the time it was a total blast to be there. None of us were sure what had happened, but we knew it was crazy, and we flooded the field and the streets afterwards in a joyous celebration. It’s probably important, too, to understand the bitterness of that rivalry. Even beyond football, Stanford and Stanford students were thoroughly detested by everyone I knew. It was an elite, expensive private school (still is, of course), while Berkeley was public and inexpensive. Even though Berkeley was considered the flagship of the UC system, it was still a UC school, and at that time in-state tuition was only a few hundred dollars a semester, and if you had a certain high school GPA and test scores, you were guaranteed admission to one of the UC schools, and usually your first or second choice. A large proportion of Berkeley students were at Berkeley either because they were rejected at Stanford, or couldn’t afford it. Or both. We were all very sure that Berkeley gave the equivalent (or superior) education, but Stanford students absolutely were NOT in agreement with that. They treated us with condescending pity, and we treated them with angry resentment.
So it wasn’t just a football rivalry, but a much deeper and wider rivalry. All that made this unusual victory all the sweeter. T-shirts with the play diagrammed on them appeared on campus within a week.
Not a college game, but my favourite for weirdest game-ender is still the CFL game between the Montreal Alouettes and the Toronto Argos back in 2010, where a missed field goal by Montreal on the last play of the game ends with a Montreal touchdown.
*Many insist the final lateral that came from Cal’s Mariet Ford appeared to be a forward lateral, which called for a penalty.
When Vogt interviewed Kapp, a couple of Cal players from that ’82 season were present.
“They had some game tapes on 16-millimeter from the ’82 Big Game there,” Vogt said. “They had never seen the tapes before. I asked if I could use them. I blew the film up and you can see Ford’s lateral glancing off a helmet. That’s why it looks forward.”*
I came in here to mention this one. It gets my vote. The stakes were much higher, it was on a bigger stage, and the rivalry and absurdity of the whole thing is about the same as the Cal-Stanford play.
I thought so. I’ve been telling my wife that Cal students are convinced that their education is every bit as good as those who go to Stanford and that they very much resent Stanford people’s attitude towards them.
That was a crazy play in its own right (all the better that it beat 'bama) but I still take “The Play,” mostly because of “the band is out on the field!”
Can I throw in the last play of the 2007 Appalacian State v. Michigan game where App
State blocks a 37 yard field goal try with 6 seconds left for one of the biggest upsets of all time in college football.
Hell, the radio call is enough to lift my spirits.
This is not true. In any level of football, a game cannot end on a penalty against the defense. If, on the last play of the game, a defensive player commits a penalty (say, defensive pass interference in the end zone), the game continues and there is one untimed down.
But if an offensive player would commit the same penalty (offensive pass interference), the game would be over, even if the offense scored a touchdown. The touchdown would not count.
If an illegal forward pass had been called against Cal on The Play, the game would have been over at that point and Stanford would have been the winner.
I remember watching that with a bunch of Michigan fans. When it happened, we all just sorta looked on in shock and then went “Huh, alrighty then”. Because of that my spouse has taken up the mantra “It ain’t over until it’s over.”
One Michigan fan got brief fame out of it- the student striking the “surrender cobra” pose just after the play on the coverage. Apparently in the weeks after the game, a ton of women wanted to pose with him as he did that pose. I hope he got some phone numbers and a few dates out of it.
What made the Boise State-OU ending (and those last two plays) memorable was the fact that nobody had ever taken Boise St seriously as a football program; OU had won a championship under Bob Stoops in 2000 and they had competed for championships and conference championships in other years. And of course they were a powerhouse under Switzer in the 1980s.
Boise St jumped out to an early lead but OU clawed back and eventually took the lead late in the 4th quarter on a pick 6. And at that time, it appeared that the game was sealed - until that amazing hook and ladder that absolutely nobody saw coming.
And then the decision to go for two after scoring a potentially tying touchdown, and that play. It’s the best football play-calling and execution I’ve ever seen.
In case nobody’s mentioned it already, let’s not forget “the return” by Auburn against Alabama in the Iron Bowl, to deny Alabama a shot at the BCS title game in 2013.
No, I am correct. I just downloaded a copy of the NFL 2019 rule book. On page 15, Rule 4, Section 8:
EXTENSION OF A PERIOD OR A HALF
…
ARTICLE 2. PERIOD EXTENDED. At the election of the opponent, a period may be extended for one untimed down, if any of the following occurs during a down during which time in the period expires:
(a) If there is a live-ball foul by the defensive team that is accepted, the offensive team may choose to extend the period by an untimed down after enforcement of the penalty. If the first or third period is not so extended, any accepted penalty is
enforced before the start of the succeeding period.
(b) If there is a foul by the offense, there shall be no extension of the period. If the foul occurs on the last play of the half, a score by the offense is not counted.
…
Bolding mine.
Pretty much what I said in Post #51.
I haven’t looked, but I’m 99.99% certain that the NCAA rule book reads much the same way.
Extension of Periods
ARTICLE 3. a. A period shall be extended for an untimed down if one or more
of the following occurs during a down in which time expires (A.R. 3-2-3-I-VIII):
A penalty is accepted for a live-ball foul(s) (Exception: Rule 10-2-5-a). The period is not extended if the foul is by the team in possession and
the statement of the penalty includes loss of down (A.R. 3-2-3-VIII).
There are offsetting fouls.
An official sounds his whistle inadvertently or otherwise incorrectly
signals the ball dead.
b. Additional untimed downs will be played until a down is free of the
circumstances in statements 1, 2 and 3 of Rule 3-2-3-a (above).
c. If a touchdown is scored during a down in which time in a period expires,
the period is extended for the try (Exception: Rule 8-3-2-a).
The bolding is exactly as you said in the college game. My apologies to Don and you.
