In last Sunday’s game, the Saskatchewan Roughriders (as usual) were struggling, but as is also usual, they kept it alive to the last couple of minutes, when anything can happen.
With just under a minute to go, they were trailing B.C., 24 to 18. Then at 0:54 left in the fourth, they scored a touchdown. Score now 25-24, Riders.
Riders kick-off to B.C.
On first down, B.C. quarterback throws to a B.C. player, who can’t bring in it; he hits the ball with his hand in trying; ball shoots up and then down into the waiting hands of Eddie Davis of the Riders, who runs it in 34 yards for a touchdown at 0:37 - just 17 seconds after the Riders’ previous touchdown.
Riders win, 32-24!
So, 17 seconds by the clock between touchdowns - anywhere close to the record?
NBC was carrying a game between the Raiders and Jets in 1968, which was going to be the lead-in to their Sunday Night Movie, an adaptation of “Heidi.”
The Raiders started a comeback late in the 4th quarter (and just before 7:00 p.m. EST) but NBC went to commercial and then started Heidi on time. Meanwhile, the Raiders scored twice to take the win. Unfortunately, no one saw it.
The “Heidi Game” is the reason that networks stay with games to their entirety now, schedules be damned.
It’s a bit off topic, but I think that it might actually have been a mistake for him to score the second touchdown. IIRC, the clock & time out situation was such that if the Riders kept the ball after the interception, they could have run out the clock. However, when he scores the touchdown they’re still only up by 8, and BC still has a chance to tie the game.
As to your main question, I don’t know if that’s the fastest two touchdowns, but they were pretty fast :). I’d think that at some point someone has fumbled the kickoff after a touchdown and had it run in on them, which would probably be faster than 17 seconds.
There was some discussion in the stands afterwards about the going down and keeping posssesion option, but the basic reaction was “Go!” It wasn’t seen as a time to be strategic.
