Biggest play in school history?

[Schadenfreude]

Where’s the Fat Punter I always hear about?

It was big... for Central Michigan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCKPvkk8mQs

[Schadenfreude]

Listening to 50k+ people instantly fall SILENT as their season came crashing down in week 2.

That was awesome. I listened on the radio (because, as you say, this wasn't televised at all), and it comes through loud and clear.

Biggest moment I ever saw in person might have been the 45-42 win over Indiana at home in 2014. I've seen bigger wins in person, but none had quite the drama of James Knapke hitting Roger Lewis for the go-ahead touchdown with 9 seconds.

I'm coming around to the idea that Josh Harris to Charles Sharon at Purdue may be the biggest play ever. If we don't win that game, the Falcons probably don't finish nationally ranked in 2003.

[Schadenfreude]

But I have to say this was a pretty amazing comeback. From the Sept. 22, 1985, Blade

Substitute Neiman Leads BG to 28-24 Triumph
by Dave Hackenberg
Blade Sports Writer

BOWLING GREEN, O. -- If anyone, upon picking up last Sunday's newspaper, found Bowling Green's last-minute win over Kentucky somewhat unbelievable, well, yesterday's victory over Miami University may be flat impossible to comprehend.

The Falcons, playing all of the second half without quarterback Brian McClure, who had injured a knee cap, rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 3½ minutes of play of play, then put on an inspired defensive stand as the clock ran out for a 28-24 triumph at Doyt Perry Field.

Rick Neiman, a senior backup quarterback who had never taken an important snap from center, passed 13 yards to Bernard White for a touchdown with 1:24 to play, then -- after BG had recovered an onside kick -- ran seven yards for another score just 21 seconds later to produce a 28-24 lead that sent a crowd of 23,500 into a frenzy.

But it wasn't over. Miami, taking over with 0:57 on the clock, moved from its own 32 to the BG 12, where the Redskins had a first down with 21 seconds to play.

However, Miami was still on the 12 when the sideline marker flipped to fourth down, and BG linebacker Paul Schweitzer deflected Al Marlow's last pass at the goalline as the clock made it's final tick.

"There are certain games that you just can't explain," BG coach Denny Stolz said. "There aren't any adjectives to describe this one.

"All I could think of while Miami was taking it down the field at the end was what an injustice it would be if we didn't hold them and if Rick Neiman wasn't able to be the hero."

Just then, Neiman walked into the interview area next to the BG locker-room.

"You're going to have to tell these guys how to spell your last name," Stolz shouted at Neiman. "They've never heard of you."

Neiman responded: "Hey, I didn't even know where the interview room was until now."

Neiman also didn't know enough to get scared when McClure went down with 3:47 left in the first half. Operating on a second-down play from BG's 18, McClure scrambled away from a sack by Miami's Dave Brown only to be hit low, and clean, by tackle Mark Turner just as he released the ball.

McClure, who wears a knee brace, was taken off the field on a motorized cart and the preliminary diagnosis was a strained knee cap which, according to Stolz, included no injury to the knee joint.

Results of X-rays were not available.

"I had to get ready," Neiman, a fifth-year senior from Euclid, O., said. "There wasn't any time to get nervous. It took one or two series for everybody to get comfortable with me and it took some time for me to get some confidence, too."

Owning a 7-3 halftime lead, Neiman found his confidence the first time the Falcons (3-0, 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference) touched the ball in the third quarter.

On the first play of the half, Marlow completed a pass to Dave Dauch, his tight end. But Dauch fumbled and Sean Dykes recovered at the Miami 36. One play later, Neiman passed 29 yards to Stan Hunter for a touchdown that gave the Falcons a 14-3 edge.

The Redskins, though, cut it to 14-10 on an 8-yard TD pass from Marlow to Dauch with 4:56 left in the third quarter, then seemed to take total command with two fourth-quarter scores, the first on a one-yard dive by fullback Tom Graham and the finale on a 10-yard scamper by George Warn that made it 24-14 with 3:45 left in the game.

"When Neiman went in, I expected him to play well because he's a fifth-year senior," Stolz said. "But I would never have expected him to bring the ballclub back from two touchdowns behind going into the wind."

But that's just what the 6-3 191-pounder did. He engineered a 78-yard drive which took 10 plays and 2½ minutes off the clock.

The killer, though, for Miami was when BG's Rick Howard recovered the ensuing onsides kick, giving the Falcons possession at the Miami 47 with 1:24 left.

"It looked like they (Miami) didn't want to go after the ball," Howard said. "So I just dived on it. The next thing I knew, everybody was going crazy.

"We knew another opportunity was all the offense needed. After I recovered the ball, I just knew we would score.

Said Miami coach Tim Rose: "We were too conservative... backing off and not going after the ball. We practice it every day just like every team in America, but we didn't get the job done."

Neiman did, avoiding a blitz on the first play and firing to Greg Meehan down the left sidelines for a 40-yard gain. After an incomplete pass, Neiman rolled out to throw again, saw nothing but green grass into the endzone, and when seven yards for the score.

"You can't go from a Brian McClure to a Rick Neiman in click-click fashion without some adjusting," Stolz said. "But the main thing is that nobody panicked.

"As far as that last touchdown, we were better off with Rick being in there because, unlike Brian's style, Neiman doesn't hesitate to scramble out of the pocket. The instant he made the commitment to run, I knew he'd make it."

Neiman ended up with 25 net rushing yards on three carries and completed 11 of 20 pass attempts for 156 yards. McClure left after making good on 7 of 15 attempts for 86 yards and one touchdown.

[kdog27]

Purdue was really in good in 2003 too. They went 9-4 which isn’t spectacular or anything but I think their four losses were a combined 14 points.

[mbenecke]

I guess I represent the younger crowd here, being 24 now but only 4 years old in 2002, so I don’t remember any of that.

I’ve been following BG football since I could begin to remember the games. I remember watching Freddie Barnes break the catch record in the bowl game against Idaho, and that’s probably my first BG football memory.

That being said… I don’t necessarily know what the biggest play would be, since 2009? Obviously there are team accomplishments from the past 15 years that are a highlight. I was there when the team won the MAC in 2015 (as a senior in high school). I had such a different experience than a lot of you while I was in school, though, as I had 3 years of Mike Jinks and then the first Loeffler year. The best moment while I was in school has to have been when we finally beat Toledo in 2019. Maybe it was Grant Loy’s epic touchdown run? Or the blocked FG just before halftime? Hard to pin down one single play from that game, but winning that game did feel like the greatest relief and joy I have had as a sports fan.

[MarkL]

I would say the biggest play of the UT game in 2019 was the first play from scrimmage. Loy running downfield for 50+ yards. It set the tone that today would be different.

[Flipper]

Purdue was really in good in 2003 too. They went 9-4 which isn’t spectacular or anything but I think their four losses were a combined 14 points.

2003 is my all time favorite season of Falcon football...the Purdue win, right in it to the end against OSU (we actually got hosed) beating Toledo at home after a snow storm the night before allowed some enterprising Falcon youths to draw "F**K UT" in huge letters on the golf course hill and the bowl game win against Northwestern. That Harris to Magner TD is still my favorite play because Ford Field was reasonably full..almost all of it Falcon fans and the win was on national cable so people everywhere could see it and it locked up not just the game, but our top 25 ranking.

And most importantly...I was there with my fam and we had seats next to an incoming BGSU freshman and his family...explaining "Ay Ziggy Zoomba" to them was fun.

The only downers that year? Getting trucked by Big Ben and the Red Hawks. They were unreal that year

[Falcon Commander]

Not to hijack but…how about one of our Greatest Coaches (if you’ve not seen this)…

https://youtu.be/u3zKXnJbPTI

(When will we have a Bronze Statue??)

[ZuluWarrior]

Schaden, thanks for posting that article. Hard to believe that game, my freshman year, was 37 years ago!

[Beaker]

In reality though the Harris->Sharon TD from Purdue will probably always be my favorite play in BG football history. A strange string of events that resulted in me being at that game. Purdue was ranked top 20 at the time and considered one of the favorites to compete for the Big10. The fact that the game wasn't televised and that small video clip posted above is one of only pieces of evidence it happened. Listening to 50k+ people instantly fall SILENT as their season came crashing down in week 2. Everything adds up to make that game my single happiest in person live sporting event, and that play was what made it so. (and yeah I was at some of the other games mentioned in this thread as well, but that '03 Purdue was special).

This is a great topic for discussion. Thinking about all the huge moments over the years and hearing about the ones I wasn't around for really gets the football juices flowing. That '85 Miami game had to be as good as it gets. After reading this thread and watching those clips, I wish opening day was tomorrow.

I may have posted this years ago, but to this day I am still kicking myself for not attending that Purdue game. Could have gone, but don't even remember now why I didn't. I lived out in the sticks at the time and not sure internet radio was an option then. The only radio at my house that would pick up the game clearly was my truck, so me, my dog and a cooler spent the afternoon sitting in my truck in the garage listening to the game. There's probably the makings of a country music song there. Maybe the best game I never saw, but the radio crew called it well and I remember my dog looking at me funny, wondering why I'm screaming and cheering.

[hammb]

In reality though the Harris->Sharon TD from Purdue will probably always be my favorite play in BG football history. A strange string of events that resulted in me being at that game. Purdue was ranked top 20 at the time and considered one of the favorites to compete for the Big10. The fact that the game wasn't televised and that small video clip posted above is one of only pieces of evidence it happened. Listening to 50k+ people instantly fall SILENT as their season came crashing down in week 2. Everything adds up to make that game my single happiest in person live sporting event, and that play was what made it so. (and yeah I was at some of the other games mentioned in this thread as well, but that '03 Purdue was special).

This is a great topic for discussion. Thinking about all the huge moments over the years and hearing about the ones I wasn't around for really gets the football juices flowing. That '85 Miami game had to be as good as it gets. After reading this thread and watching those clips, I wish opening day was tomorrow.

I may have posted this years ago, but to this day I am still kicking myself for not attending that Purdue game. Could have gone, but don't even remember now why I didn't. I lived out in the sticks at the time and not sure internet radio was an option then. The only radio at my house that would pick up the game clearly was my truck, so me, my dog and a cooler spent the afternoon sitting in my truck in the garage listening to the game. There's probably the makings of a country music song there. Maybe the best game I never saw, but the radio crew called it well and I remember my dog looking at me funny, wondering why I'm screaming and cheering.

I was totally stoked with that game going into the season, but had no intentions of actually attending it (had already paid Big10 prices for the OSU game). That year some buddies and I participated in a 1470 AM (now defunct Toledo based sports talk radio station) golf league and I remember getting into an argument with some of the show hosts at the time that I thought BG could win the Purdue game. They insisted that no matter how good BG was set to be (and we all knew they should be good) that Purdue was one of the best teams in the Big10 and I shouldn't expect a victory that day.

Well roll around to the night before that game and we're hitting Downtown, heading in a friend of min (OptionQB) is the doorman there and tells me he's got a couple extra tickets to the Purdue game, but they're in his car. So we ended up staying until last call at the bar so we could meet him at his car to grab 2 tickets to the game. Go home and sleep for a couple of hours with nothing more than loose directions of how to find West Lafayette (remember Google Maps and smart phones weren't a thing back then). Ended up getting lost on the way so missed out on any actual tailgate time, but we got into the stands for kickoff. Stands were like a sardine can (god I hate Big10 stadiums), and of course none of us are skinny folk. I think OptionQB actually spent half the game sitting on the steps in the walkway because it wasn't physically possible for our entire row to actually sit on the bench.

But boy oh boy did we have fun with those Purdue fans that day. Made sure to congratulate the team a bit on their way to the busses before we left too. Ran into a couple guys that I knew from the Blackney days that washed out with Urb, that were REALLY regretting that they were there as fans and not players.

Other than MAYBE Gameday later that season it was the most fun I've ever had as a BG fan. The 2003 season is without any shadow of a doubt the most fun I've ever had as a BG fan. MAC titles are nice (and god damn did I want to beat Roethlisberger), but no team since has ever captured me like that '03 group did. I also think that '03 Miami team was the best MAC team in the last 20 years (maybe not quite as good as Pennington/Moss Marshall), and that BG group was right there with them. J5 was magic and is by FAR my favorite BG football player of my lifetime.

[Schadenfreude]

Other than MAYBE Gameday later that season it was the most fun I've ever had as a BG fan. The 2003 season is without any shadow of a doubt the most fun I've ever had as a BG fan.

It was a great season. For me, ESPN Gameday and the battle of two ranked MAC teams was the highlight. The crowd was so big that day. And loud.

I also think that '03 Miami team was the best MAC team in the last 20 years (maybe not quite as good as Pennington/Moss Marshall)

The RedHawks were the best team in Ohio that year. No doubt in my mind. They thrashed us twice. Ohio State barely beat us.

[Beaker]

It's hard to compare teams from different eras, although the Marshall team referenced was in the same era as the 2003 Miami team. Marshall was great that year and went undefeated and certainly an argument can be made for them being better, but IMO, that Miami team may have been the best MAC team in history, at least by the end of the season. They stumbled in their opener at Iowa because Ben R. had his 1 bad game of the year - I think he threw something like 4 picks? Aside from that, they generally hammered people that year. I'm right there with you guys on 2003 being a special year that I don't think will ever be replicated and was by far my favorite season of BG football. That was such a fun team to watch on both sides of the ball. I watched all but about 2 of those games that season (in the era before we could watch them all on internet), so I logged a few miles following that team. Knowing how good they were puts that Miami team at the top of the heap for all time MAC teams for me. O$U got lucky to squeak past us but that Miami team took us apart twice. With the roll they were on, I don't think there were more than 5 or so teams that would have beaten them in a bowl game at the end of that season. It really suck that they had to pick that year to have their best team ever and spoil what would have been a conference championship for us in pretty much any other year.

BGSU 33, I also have the picture of Harris releasing that pass to Sharon in the Purdue game hanging in my mancave, sans the autograph. I didn't know it existed until around 2006ish I saw it hanging on the wall at the Max and Erma's in Perrysburg and embarked on a quest to try to find out who had it so I could get a copy. One of my most favorite in the moment sports photos ever.

[Schadenfreude]

Figured I'd throw this one up there, too. I seem to remember someone -- Classof61, maybe -- mentioning the play where Ed McCoy advanced his own punt for a first down. That was big. It kept the game-winning drive going.

From the Sept. 18, 1972, Blade.

Nobody Becomes Somebody
Falcons Shock Purdue, 17-14
by Dave Woolford
Blade Sports Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- There will be no more of that Bowling Green who prattle at Purdue for some time to come.

Bowling Green State University, considered here to be a nobody in comparison to Purdue of the Big Ten, became a somebody Saturday with a 17-14 victory at Ross-Ade Stadium in maybe the biggest triumph in BGSU football history.

The Falcons celebrated the 10th anniversary since any other Mid-American Conference team has defeated the Boilermakers with such boldness and vigor that it made the casual observer wonder if maybe they thought Purdue was the only team on their schedule.

Coming off the flu and suspected food poisoning which grounded 31 players last Wednesday, BG was anything but anemic as it kept PU with its back to the wall all day before the largest crowd ever to watch an MAC team, 51,859.

Purdue had played MAC teams 10 times prior to Saturday, losing only to Miami, 10-7 in 1962. One wire service voted it the upset of the year. Certainly Saturday's shocking of a team rated in teh [sic] top 20 in the nation has to be considered an upset of major proportions.

The Boilermakers had the size and strength, especially defensively, where its line averaged 237 pounds. But BG managed to score more points against Purdue than any other MAC team. Miami's 10 was the highest previous total.

The drive that netted the winning field goal by Bowling Green freshman Don Taylor was sparked by one of the wierdest [sic] plays ever seen in what was other wise a wild and whacky game anyway.

It was late in the third quarter and BG faced a fourth down-and-17 on its own 17-yard line. Former quarterback Ed McCoy went back to punt.

McCoy got the snap from center but was rushed by two Purdue offensive linemen. he started to run. As one player grabbed him, McCoy kicked the ball striaght [sic] up into the air.

The ball came down, bounced off the ground into McCoy's hands, and easy Ed was off and running. He got out to the 38-yard line before being tackled. It was plenty for the first down to sustain the drive.

The ball did not pass the line of scrimmage and was therefore a free ball, which means the offense can advance it.

"I saw it come down and it just bounced into may [sic] hands," McCoy said. "One of our guys was going to tap it dead and I thought one of their guys was going to catch the ball.

"Purdue is so big defensively that I wasn't going to stand there and get caught holding the ball."

Purdue's Dooms Day Defense was doomed from there on.

The Boilermakers were socked with two penalties amounting to 20 yards to aid the Falcons as they marched to the Boilermakers 12-yard line.

The drive halted there, however, and it was time for Taylor to come to the forefront.

Don who?

With the new freshman eligible rule, an MAC team is allowed only 85 players on campus before school starts. Taylor, a kicking specialist of little renown, couldn't join the team until last Tuesday when another player was sent home.

The 5-10, 170 pounder from North Canton, O., responded with a 29-yard field goal that provided the Falcons with their margin of victory.

"It wasn't that far," Taylor said. "I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. I guess that first extra point sort of calmed me down. I never kicked a field goal in high school (Oakwood), and I kicked 9 of 12 extra points. I had two blocked."

The Boilermakers fumbled six times, losing five, and the Falcons were quick to take advantage of the breaks, which they needed to stay with PU.

Purdue's first costly fumble came midway in the first period. Fullback Skip Peterson coughed up the ball, and BG defensive end Tom Fisher almost swallowed it on the Purdue 21.

On the first play from scrimmage, BeGee quarterback Reid Lamport found split end Roger Wallace all alone in the corner of the end zone, and it was a quick six. Taylor added the conversion.

it was only 69 seconds later before Purdue scored the tying points. Peterson and All-American halfback candidate, Otis Armstrong, ripped off long runs, with Peterson carrying it in from the BeeGee 40 for the score. The conversion was good, and the score was 7-7.

BeeGee defensive tackle Tom Hall pounced on a Peterson fumble just before the end of the first period at the Purdue 19, and BeeGee quickly drove to the seven.

on first down, Lamport fumbled. The ball rolled into the end zone, and Falcon wingback Billy Pitman fell on it for the score. Taylor made it 14-7.

Purdue took advantage of the only BeeFee fumble it could gather in (the Falcons fumbled four times) to set up the tying TD with less than two minutes left before the half.

Armstrong raced up the middle from the 17 and the conversion made it 14-14.

BG coach Don Nehlen had said before the game that if the Falcons could be close to Purdue at halftime BG stood a good chnce [sic] of winning because the Boilermakers might have to start grabbing at straws in the second half. That's basically what happened.

* * *

[There was more, but it jumps to another page, and I couldn't find the rest of it.]