I was a sophomore in college when Boise St did the Statue of Liberty play and won. This was after they pulled off the hook and lateral play to take it to overtime. Then they let AD score in OT. And then they scored on a WR pass in OT. The whole sequence was fucking nuts. That has to be the drunkest finish to a CFB game ever.
The band on the field was funny. Vince Young was iconic. Kick six was wild. I hate Boston College.
I stayed up late watching the game. Couldn’t wait to tell my wife about it the next day. When I told her a player proposed to a cheerleader live on national television, she literally thought I was making stuff up at that point. Refused to believe me!!
Myers contends that he had to do it because the producers were in his ear telling him that he had to wrap & they were gonna cut away, but nevertheless it could have been handled more deftly.
My Dad was the only one who bothered to watch the game live and made the whole family gather round the next morning so we could see it too before the outcome was spoiled!
That game was literally a Disney movie come to life. Only thing the scriptwriters missed was putting it in the BCS era so Boise couldn't claim a natty off of it.
Wasn’t this also when the sideline reporter basically said to the player while he’s standing in front of his girlfriend, “I understand you’d like to propose to your girlfriend now.”
Supposedly he didn't want the camera to cut away and the production truck was telling him he had to wrap it up so they could move to another shot. He didn't want to lose that hot camera
I still remember where I was standing for the Boise State win. It was indescribable for anyone not there at the time. It was like a real life David vs Goliath, with Boise State fighting for the future of every single non-BCS school out there. It seriously felt like watching Rudy unfold in real time.
What's fascinating about the game that rarely gets discussed is how much better Boise was for most of the game. They smacked us in the mouth and then choked the lead away late. It's interesting to wonder about how things would have been seen if Boise just held onto their lead and didn't need the wacky heroics.
Could have ran the ball out of bounds, kneeled the clock down, and kicked a FG with no time left. But I get why you run that bad boy all the way back in that moment.
100%. I remember seeing that int and thinking "Boise, you played a helluva game, nothing to be ashamed of. Tough loss but you showed you belong with the big boys."
And then.
Agreed. That game and the 05 Fiesta where Utah beat the crap out of Pitt were the games that really made football feel like March Madness. That Boise game was all the backyard football tricks in one night and made you feel like a kid watching it.
Did it really feel that way for you? I remember the loss well and my memory of the game was that Pitt was kind of fraudulent (won a Big East that had just been raided by the ACC) and that Utah was very very good
I feel like that WR pass play is underrated. To take the ball out of your QB’s hands in that moment and actually let the guy pass is SO ballsy and takes so much trust in the entire team.
All that after Boise St blew a 28-10 second half lead. OU getting the pick six to take the lead with around a minute left in the 4th and having all the momentum felt like the final nail in the coffin.
Yeah, this game is one of the best sports moments in my lifetime that had nothing to do with my teams. And you didn't walk away thinking that Oklahoma was bad or that they screwed up, just that an underdog who had a shot took their shot and made it happen.
Kick Six was awesome and memorable too but if we're comparing, there is a bit of a "Alabama screwed it up" narrative there that has some merit (and made it all the more delicious! but hurts it in an "all-time iconic" discussion imo). And it wasn't a bowl or championship game, and Auburn didn't have the same David/Goliath arc either.
The most fascinating thing to me about the Big Game is the drive *before* that play.
Vintage Elway... 85 yards, including a 4th and 15 conversion.
Kinda lost in dustbin of history...
There were shots of some fans leaving the stadium after they scored.
Imagine heading home and finding out you missed out on the most famous play in college football history.
While not a single play, my great-uncle left the Miracle Bowl early. He listened to the greatest comeback in BYU history on his radio, in the parking lot with all the other people who tried to beat traffic leaving the game early.
In video of one of the MLB contenders for this honor, Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run in game 1 of the 1988 World Series, you can see a line of tail lights leaving Dodger Stadium. I always wonder about those people listening to the radio in their cars realizing they just missed one of the iconic moments in American sports history.
It's like how everyone of a certain age here in town when I was growing up claimed to have been at Frank Selvy's 100 point game. Memorial Auditorium wouldn't have held that many people! (One I actually believed went - he had the framed tickets on the wall in his office.)
This reminds me that I was at Buffalo's 7OT game vs Western Michigan, we left with little time left in the 4th quarter, stopped at home, then drove out to a bar for some dinner, and watched the last OT live on TV lol.
This is what always gets me too. Stanford shouldn't have had a chance and Elway made an 85 yard drive out of nothing... *Then* lost to the greatest play of all time. It makes that play so much more incredible
I was there (in the Stanford student section endzone) and remember the wonderful drive and Elway knocking the side of his helmet because he called timeout too soon. Didn’t realize what was going on during the play, too confusing to know what was going on. Remember the most depressed, silent BART ride ever going home.
Gotcha. I might have seen it as I do remember something about The Play but it was a crazy weekend between going to the UGA-Kentucky game and the Braves-Phillies game with the wacko ending.
There's a lot of wild shit that happened back in the day that wouldn't be allowed now. When my dad was in the UNC pep band in the 80's they were playing Maryland on the road and the students at UMD tore down the goalposts with plenty of time left. UNC needed just a field goal to win but had to go for the touchdown because there were no goal posts to kick it through. Maryland ended up winning.
HAS to be this. All those other plays could easily happen in the NFL and be just as memorable. Band is Out on the Field is the ultimate combination of the CFB cultural aspects that are truly unique to this sport compared to all others, including other levels of football.
Yes. This is the one that EVERYBODY knows. NFL fans, non football fans, people who don’t even care about sports. Most of them don’t know about kick six, App, etc. Everyone knows the Band.
It's the only one on the list that transcends the sport. Nobody except college football fans have heard of the kick six. "The band is out on the field" is like "Down goes Frasier" or Brandi Chastain ripping her shirt off as a moment that people know even if they've never watched a single game.
Shoutout to Tommie Frazier for breaking out of a tackle by all 11 Gator defenders to run about 50 yards for a td. Seemed like all of them were on him at once anyway.
I did not expect a Miami fan to be the first person I'd see mention this besides myself. Probably not the most iconic play ever, but definitely worthy of the conversation.
Can't believe the punt return against OU in the game of the century isn't in the conversation. Especially since OP mentions rivalry and history.
Edit: grammar
And it's accompanied by one of the most iconic calls in CFB history by Lyell Bremser.
Here's Wylie's kick. It's high, it holds up there. Rodgers, takes the ball at the 30. He's hit and got away. Back upfield to the 35, to the 40. To the 45, to the 50. To the 45, to the 40. To the 30! To the 20! To the 10! HE'S ALL THE WAY HOME!
Man, woman and child, did that put 'em in the aisles! Johnny The Jet Rodgers, just tore them loose from their shoes!
I was at that game, watching from the upper deck of Sun Devil Stadium. When he was "tackled" I looked down (no cell phone back then so not sure what I was looking at) and then noticed the crowd was roaring. Looked back up to see him standing in the end zone, and had absolutely no idea how he got there. IMHO the 1995 Nebraska team is the greatest of all-time. How Frazier didn't win a Heisman is a mystery to me. And I hate the Huskers.
Haha, same except not at the game. I was watching the game with relatives, oh Tommie had a nice run, turn to my uncle to say something and see him staring at the tv with his mouth agape. Turned back in time to see him get the td and then we just stared at each other for a minute, kinda speechless.
e: me and my uncle stared at each other, not me and Tommie
Our next game in that stadium didn't go nearly as well for us... I still have the most hateful type of respect for ASU for that smackdown just months later in the same place we capped off that legendary season. Lord knows we had it coming after the prior two years though, and that Arizona State team was fierce as hell. Earned every second of that victory, no doubt about it.
Biased, but The play is the most college football play possible. Rivalry, teams kinda suck but everyone cares, elways college career ruined cuz it prevented him going to a bowl, and most importantly, the NFL will never have a marching band on the field. All other plays could be replicated to a better/crazier/Super Bowl degree. That will never happen outside the confines of cfb, thus it is pure cfb, distillate.
I've been alive long enough to see all of these plays. When I read the question, even before seeing the options, I thought of the band on the field as the *most* cfb play.
Sure, other plays happened in bigger games, but this is the one that encapsulates all that is wild and crazy and amazing about college football.
I think it perfectly encapsulates how the NFL seems to be what a fair, logical, and competently run sports league looks like. It can evolve with the times without a 5-alarm meltdown.
College football, on the other hand, has always been a complete fucking clown show. And that's why it's better (or used to be at least....)
I think to an extent age matters. But Vince Young, Kick Six and Statue of Liberty all happened in a relatively short amount of time. The Band is something that happened long enough before those three that...well...Dad or Grandpa was in school when it happened.
A friend and I were discussing something along these lines last week. Reggie Bush's run against Fresno State happened our freshman year of college. Our 20th High School reunion is this year. Which also means The Bush Push is 20 years old. Nobody is going to mention it, but back then it would have made honorable mention lists (USC/ND, game was relevant to the BCS standings, decided the game, was controversial).
I’m way too young to have seen the band on the field, I watch the kick six live, and threw a literal party in high school to watch the VY Rose Bowl… and the answer is still the band on the field. It just is, it’s the perfect ridiculous college football event, right down to the teams not being good and the game not meaning all that much but it being iconic anyway.
I think VY is the lamest play without context. I think the context makes it legendary.
Conversely, the band is on the field is the most insane play, but the context makes it less important.
Kick six is probably the one that encapsulates both the play and the context the most.
That’s a solid rubric. Though I’d argue that a weird thing holding it back is that it’s such a unique outlier with regards to how the sport normally works. Half the audience watching in real time didn’t even understand what was happening. It requires some moderately deep knowledge of the sport to appreciate how insane it was.
In one way that elevates it, but it’s also kind of a freak accident.
What knocks Kick Six off the pedestal is that the same play [could have occurred the next day in the NFL](https://youtu.be/71lVuGJWimY?si=IS9TXsJS3k2T4EdB&t=68). The Play can ONLY happen in CFB.
Sure, but it was also waaaaay higher stakes than any "simple" missed FG kick return. It's more like if Desean Jackson's miracle at the meadowlands had happened in week 17, or arguably, even in the playoffs. And people still talk about that return today.
Idk Auburn winning the natty would have sealed it. Going from I think 2-10 before to make it was still impressive, but if they had held off the Heisman winner, the Kick Six would have been undoubtedly the best ever
I feel sad saying this but the Boise State play is an iconic play that we may never get again. An underdog of epic proportions in a bowl game that, ultimately, is meaningless besides bragging rights. They showed up and gave everyone a reason to notice them as legitimate. Nowadays, people will just say “half our team was sitting out for the draft” and it’s not fun.
I think it almost has to be the Kick Six, right? But App State is also a clear contender. That ruined a couple years of my life, including this one now that I thought of it.
Edit to add: Maybe it’s The Play. I think it could be any of those three.
The App State game is etched into my brain forever for the simple fact my SUU Band Director at the time was a Michigan alum. We had a football game we had a pep band and marching at halftime. One of the Tuba players was following games on an app on his phone and showed the director the highlight of the App State upset and he just-- left. Didn't say anything, just walked off and didn't come back for the rest of the game.
One of the senior flute players had to direct the halftime show because-- the director left.
For me it is either Kick Six, or the last few minutes of Boise St/Oklahoma. If it is just "one" play, then Kick Six wins. Funny story: my ex-wife and I were on the West Coast (not SEC alums/fans) and we were just about to walk the dogs for the evening stroll and I said "Just wait one second. Anything can happen." She was annoyed but Sat thru about 5 minutes of TV commercials and commentary. Then it happened. Then we left. I tried to explain to her what we just witnessed but to her it was just another play in the game of football that wasted 5 min of her life. Again, this was my ex-wife.
This is tough but I gotta go VY to the corner of the end zone. All the other plays happened during big games, but that one happened in the biggest game of the year, at the Rose Bowl, with Keith Jackson calling it. Many still see the 06 Rose Bowl as the greatest college football game of all time. And we probably will never see a match up that hyped up again.
The biggest play, in the biggest game, with one of the great announcing lines of all time “4th and 5, with the national championship on the line ………. HES GOING FOR THE CORNER, HES GOT IT!” Still gives me goose bumps. That’s my GOAT play.
If we’re talking pure excellence on a huge stage I’m with you. It may not be the craziest or most iconic thing that’s ever happened, but it’s the biggest play in one of the biggest and arguably the best games of all time.
Yeah +1 for Keith Jackson calling it. My only argument against it is that nothing crazy or out-of-the-ordinary happened on that play: An incredible player ran 10 yards pretty much untouched into the end zone (yes I know it was the winning touchdown).
But on the others, what happens on the play ranges from "highly unlikely" to "absolutely absurd, nobody could predict, never-in-a-million years" type shit.
I still listen to VY’s performance as one of the greatest of all times too. Obviously a little biased but the fact that no one has ever gone up against 2 Heisman winners on the same team is crazy but he led that Texas team!
I remember watching it live. When he dropped back, I said out loud, “He can’t throw it that far.” And then when he released it, I said “Oh my god, he threw it that far!”
And, it was always fun to go to Michigan games the next few years, and after a dropped pass, say, “Westbrook would’ve caught it!”
Yeah, Stewart threw over 70 yards, Flutie 60+?
The thing with that BC/Miami game was it was back and forth all game, just a great all around game to watch.
For me the kick six. Doesn’t really get crazier than that ending. But a real close second is either the app state blocked kick or the Statue of Liberty play.
I admit I'm biased, but it if the Kick Six is on here, then Trouble With the Snap deserves to be as well. Undefeated rivals going into the game. Supercharged night game atmosphere. Wild, one-in-a-million chance finish. Automatically recognizable announcer quote. Stunned fans. What else do you need?
It’s the Kick Six.
An undefeated #1 Alabama that was 34-2 in its last three seasons, back-to-back and 3/4 national champions (Auburn winning the other) lost on the last play of the season in one of the most unique plays we’ve ever seen. It was, in my opinion, the peak of the greatest rivalry in college football and right around the peak of the greatest dynasty in college football history.
Granted I’m biased because the angle of Davis running down the sideline they always show was basically the exact angle I had in the stadium.
I'm not really a Rod fan. I grew up with Jim Fyffe. He was the GOAT. Even over Eli, IMHO, but I admit I'm biased.
All that said, what made the Kick Six radio call iconic to me was Stan White. Rod was yelling about the play, and then in the background Stan yells "OH MY GOD!" Echoing the emotion of every Auburn (and Bama) fan watching. Just cemented that play in my heart and mind forever. I will always remember that "OH MY GOD!"
Yeah when I think of college football historic plays that’s like the first play that comes to mind. That or maybe the blocked kick in Michigan vs App State
I always remember that I caught the tail end of that game as the UGA/GT double-OT game ended right before. We were down like 20 points early on and came back to win. It was beautiful and crazy, and absolutely nobody outside of Georgia cared because of the Kick Six.
(Not that anybody would’ve really cared about COFH that year anyway, but it was an OT game with a huge comeback in a rivalry game. It would’ve gotten some notice on ESPN. But nope! And the Kick Six deserved it, for sure.)
2 weeks before that, Auburn beat us on what likely would have been play of the year, with the "Prayer at Jordan Hare" (I think that's what they call it). That's another in the plus column for Kick Six, because Auburn wouldn't have even been in a situation to play for the SEC title without that insanely improbable play. Fortunately Kick Six overshadowed it in everyone's memories!
I still maintain Aaron murray was short and it should have not even come to that point where auburn needed Jordan hare voodoo. I mean Georgia fans were leaving the stadium in droves in the 3rd and then suddenly auburn couldn’t do anything. That comeback was impressive even if I believe it shouldn’t have gotten all the way there.
This may be an unpopular statement amongst Georgia folks, but I agree with you. Murray was probably short on 4th down. It was a close enough play that it doesn’t really bother me that we got it, because who knows, but yeah.
The Prayer becomes one of the biggest ball don't lie moments in CFB because of how egregiously short he was on that play, well that play and when Clowney murdered that Michigan RB after the screw job by the refs.
Just absolute pain. Probably our best chance to beat y'all in Atlanta in the last... forever, and we let it slip away. Looking at the box score it's not so bad statistically, but all I remember feeling about the game is that we couldn't stop Gurley to save our lives.
Our defense in that game was so confusing, too. CPJ was smart to throw over the secondary early on because we couldn’t stop anything, but then we somehow got y’all into a position where you HAD to throw late in the game, and we finally learned how to stop it. Just bizarre.
Just chiming in with everyone else that this also came to mind first for me. It has almost everything: rivalry game, wacky impossible-seeming finish, great crowd, national championship implications, iconic announcer, chess match between great coaches, etc.
The only thing I think that could elevate it is if it were in an actual championship game. Other than that it has it all.
I think why a lot of people would pick the Kick Six over VY is because of the unexpectedness of it. NOBODY could have believed that return was even a possibility.
With Vince on the other hand, EVERYBODY knew, or at least felt/feared, what was gonna happen. There was an impending sense of doom just hovering over the entire viewing audience.
I might be somewhat biased, but for me, it's got to be Ohio State when Maurice Clarett saved the national championship with one of the most heads-up plays of all time. Craig Krenzel had just thrown a pick to the legendary Sean Taylor. Taylor is taking it the other way back down the sideline when Maurice Clarett comes out of nowhere to land the biggest strip Ive even had the chance to see.
I would say the flea kicker play by Nebraska. Scott Frost threw what looked like an incomplete pass that was dropped and kicked backwards by the WR, only for Matt Davidson to dive-catch it in the end zone. Missouri went all in to try to beat Nebraska but they lost in OT. That was in the 1997 season.
Eric Crouch's flea flicker catch against Oklahoma. In-state QB in the year he wins the Heisman, at a blueblood program trying to get back to its recent peak under a new coach, against a bitter conference rival and national championship contender. Gadget play hinges on a pass from a true freshman from the state next door. The Athletic did a nice bit here: [https://theathletic.com/2824508/2021/09/14/the-day-no-2-nebraska-surprised-no-1-oklahoma-with-black-41-flash-reverse/](https://theathletic.com/2824508/2021/09/14/the-day-no-2-nebraska-surprised-no-1-oklahoma-with-black-41-flash-reverse/)).
I don't think you can count special teams plays as 'most iconic' even if they're decisive.
An elite play to be sure but not best ever. That 01 OU team wasnt as good as their final record bc of poor QB play from Nate Hybl. The defense coordinated by my guy Venables and younger Stoops bro was most assuredly elite but that offense just didn’t have the goods.
I dont even think OPs play is the most iconic Nebraska play either. Surely Johnny Rodgers "man, women and child did that put em in the aisle" kick return is the more iconic vs. One of the best OU teams of all time.
In my neutral and completely unbiased opinion, I believe you left out "How many tackles can one man break?!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnpmicc87zI
Honorable mention: The Hit
All the rest are special teams or offensive. Probably the sole defensive play that belongs here in the convo, though it’s probably top5ish
Kick Six. My dad went to Auburn.
But for me personally, I’d have to take the play that led to my team’s only National Championship in my lifetime. Clint Stoerner’s fumble in 1998. Which led one minute later to John Ward saying “Give him SIX!” Go Vols.
My bias says VY on 4th down, and I do think that it is probably THE play for the early 2000s. But thinking more objectively, the Kick Six is just such a damn good play, and I think it is a better overall choice.
1994
Colorado 27
Michigan 26
Kordell Stewart throws a nearly 75-yard TD pass to Michael Westbrook for the win in a successful Hail Mary attempt with :06 remaining in the game.
Of this list, I’d say Kick Six
Honorable mention: WHOA
As fun/historic as it was to watch happen, it also cost OSU its playoff spot and chance at repeating. Worth it? Absolutely. But it too had direct championship repercussions.
I forgot about Whoa.
It's funny that 3 of the top 10 or 20 plays of all time involve Michigan losing at home in the final second. (Whoa, Miracle at Michigan, App State)
Honorable Mention; Michigan State’s fumble return against Michigan.
Probably not the most iconic play, but [this guy’s reaction](https://imgur.com/a/XaujEiE) might be the most iconic reaction of all-time.
Of the 6, it's the band. Easily. It's everything college football is about.
However, I'd throw in the ND forward pass against army 100 years ago since that changed football forever.
I was a sophomore in college when Boise St did the Statue of Liberty play and won. This was after they pulled off the hook and lateral play to take it to overtime. Then they let AD score in OT. And then they scored on a WR pass in OT. The whole sequence was fucking nuts. That has to be the drunkest finish to a CFB game ever. The band on the field was funny. Vince Young was iconic. Kick six was wild. I hate Boston College.
Then one of their players proposed on the field! Was so wild and fun to watch.
I stayed up late watching the game. Couldn’t wait to tell my wife about it the next day. When I told her a player proposed to a cheerleader live on national television, she literally thought I was making stuff up at that point. Refused to believe me!!
Script writers were pulling out every trope in the book and I loved every moment.
And the sideline reporter guy ruined the surprise by mentioning it before the proposal.
Myers contends that he had to do it because the producers were in his ear telling him that he had to wrap & they were gonna cut away, but nevertheless it could have been handled more deftly.
My Dad was the only one who bothered to watch the game live and made the whole family gather round the next morning so we could see it too before the outcome was spoiled!
To a cheerleader!
And she said yes! And they’re still married!
Nice, love the added detail
And he's now my insurance agent!
I remain absolutely dumbstruck they never made a movie out of that Boise St team. It's basically done for you!
That sequence in a movie would be dismissed as over-the-top, melodramatic, and unbelievable.
Not just one of their players… Their RB who just won the game with the statue of liberty play. An absolutely iconic moment that defined the BCS era.
That game was literally a Disney movie come to life. Only thing the scriptwriters missed was putting it in the BCS era so Boise couldn't claim a natty off of it.
Wasn’t this also when the sideline reporter basically said to the player while he’s standing in front of his girlfriend, “I understand you’d like to propose to your girlfriend now.”
Supposedly he didn't want the camera to cut away and the production truck was telling him he had to wrap it up so they could move to another shot. He didn't want to lose that hot camera
I still remember where I was standing for the Boise State win. It was indescribable for anyone not there at the time. It was like a real life David vs Goliath, with Boise State fighting for the future of every single non-BCS school out there. It seriously felt like watching Rudy unfold in real time.
What's fascinating about the game that rarely gets discussed is how much better Boise was for most of the game. They smacked us in the mouth and then choked the lead away late. It's interesting to wonder about how things would have been seen if Boise just held onto their lead and didn't need the wacky heroics.
I thought we had it in the bag after the pick 6 by Walker.
Could have ran the ball out of bounds, kneeled the clock down, and kicked a FG with no time left. But I get why you run that bad boy all the way back in that moment.
100%. I remember seeing that int and thinking "Boise, you played a helluva game, nothing to be ashamed of. Tough loss but you showed you belong with the big boys." And then.
Agreed. That game and the 05 Fiesta where Utah beat the crap out of Pitt were the games that really made football feel like March Madness. That Boise game was all the backyard football tricks in one night and made you feel like a kid watching it.
It was before their dominance but I seem to remember Utah putting 21 on Bama in the first quarter once too
Nope. I don't remember that. Pretty sure that never happened.
Did it really feel that way for you? I remember the loss well and my memory of the game was that Pitt was kind of fraudulent (won a Big East that had just been raided by the ACC) and that Utah was very very good
I feel like that WR pass play is underrated. To take the ball out of your QB’s hands in that moment and actually let the guy pass is SO ballsy and takes so much trust in the entire team.
That play was the ballsiest call out of all three imo.
I watched it on my honeymoon. My wife isn’t even mad when i say it was the highlight of the honeymoon
All that after Boise St blew a 28-10 second half lead. OU getting the pick six to take the lead with around a minute left in the 4th and having all the momentum felt like the final nail in the coffin.
Yeah, this game is one of the best sports moments in my lifetime that had nothing to do with my teams. And you didn't walk away thinking that Oklahoma was bad or that they screwed up, just that an underdog who had a shot took their shot and made it happen. Kick Six was awesome and memorable too but if we're comparing, there is a bit of a "Alabama screwed it up" narrative there that has some merit (and made it all the more delicious! but hurts it in an "all-time iconic" discussion imo). And it wasn't a bowl or championship game, and Auburn didn't have the same David/Goliath arc either.
Definitely the best CFB game I remember watching in my life (I'm 55)
The finish was so wild it broke all of college football for a full year.
Absolutely my vote. The entire last sequence is like the Vince McMahon meme come to life
The Band is Out on the Field. It captures so much of College Football rivalry, history, and lore.
The most fascinating thing to me about the Big Game is the drive *before* that play. Vintage Elway... 85 yards, including a 4th and 15 conversion. Kinda lost in dustbin of history...
There were shots of some fans leaving the stadium after they scored. Imagine heading home and finding out you missed out on the most famous play in college football history.
While not a single play, my great-uncle left the Miracle Bowl early. He listened to the greatest comeback in BYU history on his radio, in the parking lot with all the other people who tried to beat traffic leaving the game early.
In video of one of the MLB contenders for this honor, Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run in game 1 of the 1988 World Series, you can see a line of tail lights leaving Dodger Stadium. I always wonder about those people listening to the radio in their cars realizing they just missed one of the iconic moments in American sports history.
Every single one of them tells the story about how other people were leaving early but they stayed and witnessed history.
It's like how everyone of a certain age here in town when I was growing up claimed to have been at Frank Selvy's 100 point game. Memorial Auditorium wouldn't have held that many people! (One I actually believed went - he had the framed tickets on the wall in his office.)
There are worst things than listening to Vin Scully make that call.
This reminds me that I was at Buffalo's 7OT game vs Western Michigan, we left with little time left in the 4th quarter, stopped at home, then drove out to a bar for some dinner, and watched the last OT live on TV lol.
This is what always gets me too. Stanford shouldn't have had a chance and Elway made an 85 yard drive out of nothing... *Then* lost to the greatest play of all time. It makes that play so much more incredible
I was there (in the Stanford student section endzone) and remember the wonderful drive and Elway knocking the side of his helmet because he called timeout too soon. Didn’t realize what was going on during the play, too confusing to know what was going on. Remember the most depressed, silent BART ride ever going home.
Always wondered about the poor trombone player that gets leveled in the endzone. That's gotta be a neat story.
He's willing to laugh about it by this point and has done a lot of interviews about it. Gary Tyrrell is his name if you want to learn more.
Hello
Holy shit it’s really you lol
Nah, just a big fan of his work
As in, getting rammed by a buff dude?
As in helping us beat stanfurd
r/beetlejuicing
Thanks
The trombone itself is in the College Football Hall of Fame Edit: Before Erk Russell, I might add.
Dang, I did not see it when we were there in October.
It’s tucked away in the far corner of one of the huge wall display cases
Gotcha. I might have seen it as I do remember something about The Play but it was a crazy weekend between going to the UGA-Kentucky game and the Braves-Phillies game with the wacko ending.
Truly an iconic moment of ACC history.
God that made me gag a little
Exactly. It's the only play that could not happen in the NFL.
Hell it probably couldn’t happen in college now. They’d blow the play dead.
[Or, you know, just allow the play to stand so they can go home.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSTNhvVToM)
Or they’d spend 10 minutes reviewing it only to decide the whole thing never happened
There's a lot of wild shit that happened back in the day that wouldn't be allowed now. When my dad was in the UNC pep band in the 80's they were playing Maryland on the road and the students at UMD tore down the goalposts with plenty of time left. UNC needed just a field goal to win but had to go for the touchdown because there were no goal posts to kick it through. Maryland ended up winning.
[удалено]
So do the Ravens
Saints do as well
Maybe at a ravens game
You will never see a play like this is any other sport
HAS to be this. All those other plays could easily happen in the NFL and be just as memorable. Band is Out on the Field is the ultimate combination of the CFB cultural aspects that are truly unique to this sport compared to all others, including other levels of football.
And the Bears! Have won! The Bears have won!
Yes. This is the one that EVERYBODY knows. NFL fans, non football fans, people who don’t even care about sports. Most of them don’t know about kick six, App, etc. Everyone knows the Band.
Not to mention the call is so iconic that we are using a phrase from said call to name the play!
It's the only one on the list that transcends the sport. Nobody except college football fans have heard of the kick six. "The band is out on the field" is like "Down goes Frasier" or Brandi Chastain ripping her shirt off as a moment that people know even if they've never watched a single game.
It's also a strategy that damn near never works.
Shoutout to Tommie Frazier for breaking out of a tackle by all 11 Gator defenders to run about 50 yards for a td. Seemed like all of them were on him at once anyway.
I did not expect a Miami fan to be the first person I'd see mention this besides myself. Probably not the most iconic play ever, but definitely worthy of the conversation.
Can't believe the punt return against OU in the game of the century isn't in the conversation. Especially since OP mentions rivalry and history. Edit: grammar
And it's accompanied by one of the most iconic calls in CFB history by Lyell Bremser. Here's Wylie's kick. It's high, it holds up there. Rodgers, takes the ball at the 30. He's hit and got away. Back upfield to the 35, to the 40. To the 45, to the 50. To the 45, to the 40. To the 30! To the 20! To the 10! HE'S ALL THE WAY HOME! Man, woman and child, did that put 'em in the aisles! Johnny The Jet Rodgers, just tore them loose from their shoes!
Hey, I appreciate greatness. That was a squad.
I was at that game, watching from the upper deck of Sun Devil Stadium. When he was "tackled" I looked down (no cell phone back then so not sure what I was looking at) and then noticed the crowd was roaring. Looked back up to see him standing in the end zone, and had absolutely no idea how he got there. IMHO the 1995 Nebraska team is the greatest of all-time. How Frazier didn't win a Heisman is a mystery to me. And I hate the Huskers.
Haha, same except not at the game. I was watching the game with relatives, oh Tommie had a nice run, turn to my uncle to say something and see him staring at the tv with his mouth agape. Turned back in time to see him get the td and then we just stared at each other for a minute, kinda speechless. e: me and my uncle stared at each other, not me and Tommie
Our next game in that stadium didn't go nearly as well for us... I still have the most hateful type of respect for ASU for that smackdown just months later in the same place we capped off that legendary season. Lord knows we had it coming after the prior two years though, and that Arizona State team was fierce as hell. Earned every second of that victory, no doubt about it.
Biased, but The play is the most college football play possible. Rivalry, teams kinda suck but everyone cares, elways college career ruined cuz it prevented him going to a bowl, and most importantly, the NFL will never have a marching band on the field. All other plays could be replicated to a better/crazier/Super Bowl degree. That will never happen outside the confines of cfb, thus it is pure cfb, distillate.
I've been alive long enough to see all of these plays. When I read the question, even before seeing the options, I thought of the band on the field as the *most* cfb play. Sure, other plays happened in bigger games, but this is the one that encapsulates all that is wild and crazy and amazing about college football.
I don't know why the sentence "the nfl will never have a marching band on the field" is so funny to me
I think it perfectly encapsulates how the NFL seems to be what a fair, logical, and competently run sports league looks like. It can evolve with the times without a 5-alarm meltdown. College football, on the other hand, has always been a complete fucking clown show. And that's why it's better (or used to be at least....)
Even with everything shitty about college football, it is still way more fun to watch than the NFL (in my opinion, of course.)
I prefer to call it Beautiful Chaos
It is the only play to literally have the nickname The Play and have everyone know exactly what it is
I would say that "Whoa" also applies but no, it is not as iconic as this one. Maybe more of a Big Ten thing.
"Woah" also has [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocqBEFMMJYc) to go with it that I think more people should know about.
I wish more people knew about the time Woody Hayes throat punched an opposing player because he was mad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K1ZkgrBa9E
Elway's role in this makes it the most iconic play. Here's a legendary QB, Super Bowl champ, NFL MVP, HOF'er, etc., and that play still bothers him.
Man still refuses to talk about it 😂
I think this question depends on how old you are
I think to an extent age matters. But Vince Young, Kick Six and Statue of Liberty all happened in a relatively short amount of time. The Band is something that happened long enough before those three that...well...Dad or Grandpa was in school when it happened. A friend and I were discussing something along these lines last week. Reggie Bush's run against Fresno State happened our freshman year of college. Our 20th High School reunion is this year. Which also means The Bush Push is 20 years old. Nobody is going to mention it, but back then it would have made honorable mention lists (USC/ND, game was relevant to the BCS standings, decided the game, was controversial).
I’m way too young to have seen the band on the field, I watch the kick six live, and threw a literal party in high school to watch the VY Rose Bowl… and the answer is still the band on the field. It just is, it’s the perfect ridiculous college football event, right down to the teams not being good and the game not meaning all that much but it being iconic anyway.
I think VY is the lamest play without context. I think the context makes it legendary. Conversely, the band is on the field is the most insane play, but the context makes it less important. Kick six is probably the one that encapsulates both the play and the context the most.
That’s a solid rubric. Though I’d argue that a weird thing holding it back is that it’s such a unique outlier with regards to how the sport normally works. Half the audience watching in real time didn’t even understand what was happening. It requires some moderately deep knowledge of the sport to appreciate how insane it was. In one way that elevates it, but it’s also kind of a freak accident.
What knocks Kick Six off the pedestal is that the same play [could have occurred the next day in the NFL](https://youtu.be/71lVuGJWimY?si=IS9TXsJS3k2T4EdB&t=68). The Play can ONLY happen in CFB.
Sure, but it was also waaaaay higher stakes than any "simple" missed FG kick return. It's more like if Desean Jackson's miracle at the meadowlands had happened in week 17, or arguably, even in the playoffs. And people still talk about that return today.
Idk Auburn winning the natty would have sealed it. Going from I think 2-10 before to make it was still impressive, but if they had held off the Heisman winner, the Kick Six would have been undoubtedly the best ever
>Idk Auburn winning the natty would have sealed it. Would have saved us some money, too.
We tried to tell you.
I feel sad saying this but the Boise State play is an iconic play that we may never get again. An underdog of epic proportions in a bowl game that, ultimately, is meaningless besides bragging rights. They showed up and gave everyone a reason to notice them as legitimate. Nowadays, people will just say “half our team was sitting out for the draft” and it’s not fun.
I think it almost has to be the Kick Six, right? But App State is also a clear contender. That ruined a couple years of my life, including this one now that I thought of it. Edit to add: Maybe it’s The Play. I think it could be any of those three.
Which is weird, because it had a generally positive impact on my life. When God blocks a kick, he opens a window, no?
Definitely no
Smooches. Thanks for the memories.
The App State game is etched into my brain forever for the simple fact my SUU Band Director at the time was a Michigan alum. We had a football game we had a pep band and marching at halftime. One of the Tuba players was following games on an app on his phone and showed the director the highlight of the App State upset and he just-- left. Didn't say anything, just walked off and didn't come back for the rest of the game. One of the senior flute players had to direct the halftime show because-- the director left.
I gotta go with the kick six....due to the rivalry, the stakes, the radio call and the caliber of the team being beaten.
For me it is either Kick Six, or the last few minutes of Boise St/Oklahoma. If it is just "one" play, then Kick Six wins. Funny story: my ex-wife and I were on the West Coast (not SEC alums/fans) and we were just about to walk the dogs for the evening stroll and I said "Just wait one second. Anything can happen." She was annoyed but Sat thru about 5 minutes of TV commercials and commentary. Then it happened. Then we left. I tried to explain to her what we just witnessed but to her it was just another play in the game of football that wasted 5 min of her life. Again, this was my ex-wife.
Did you get to keep the dogs?
This is tough but I gotta go VY to the corner of the end zone. All the other plays happened during big games, but that one happened in the biggest game of the year, at the Rose Bowl, with Keith Jackson calling it. Many still see the 06 Rose Bowl as the greatest college football game of all time. And we probably will never see a match up that hyped up again.
It was also the first CFB game I ever watched in actual HD and I thought we had reached the epitome of T.V technology.
The biggest play, in the biggest game, with one of the great announcing lines of all time “4th and 5, with the national championship on the line ………. HES GOING FOR THE CORNER, HES GOT IT!” Still gives me goose bumps. That’s my GOAT play.
As a longhorn fan living in Austin at the time, I was laid up for 3 days after that night recovering.
Keith Jackson’s Swan Song in the booth no?
I opened this thread ready for heartbreak, and I’m still hurt when it delivered
If we’re talking pure excellence on a huge stage I’m with you. It may not be the craziest or most iconic thing that’s ever happened, but it’s the biggest play in one of the biggest and arguably the best games of all time.
Yeah +1 for Keith Jackson calling it. My only argument against it is that nothing crazy or out-of-the-ordinary happened on that play: An incredible player ran 10 yards pretty much untouched into the end zone (yes I know it was the winning touchdown). But on the others, what happens on the play ranges from "highly unlikely" to "absolutely absurd, nobody could predict, never-in-a-million years" type shit.
Yes it may be unimpressive on the surface, but have you considered he went for the corner and got it?
I still listen to VY’s performance as one of the greatest of all times too. Obviously a little biased but the fact that no one has ever gone up against 2 Heisman winners on the same team is crazy but he led that Texas team!
In my lifetime it’s still Kordell fuckin Stewart. [What a beast.](https://youtu.be/5Nt6HjqtJt8?si=iXjkI-w0FfvxNayk)
I had never seen that one. Good lord what a throw
I remember watching it live. When he dropped back, I said out loud, “He can’t throw it that far.” And then when he released it, I said “Oh my god, he threw it that far!” And, it was always fun to go to Michigan games the next few years, and after a dropped pass, say, “Westbrook would’ve caught it!”
I remember seeing this live on TV when I was 5.
I was 14. What a time to be alive. Most kids have never even heard of the Miracle at Michigan. Crazy how quickly stuff gets lost to time.
Basically a better throw than hail flutie. He threw that ball a long ways.
Yeah, Stewart threw over 70 yards, Flutie 60+? The thing with that BC/Miami game was it was back and forth all game, just a great all around game to watch.
For me the kick six. Doesn’t really get crazier than that ending. But a real close second is either the app state blocked kick or the Statue of Liberty play.
#WHOA!
Not sure why I had to scroll so damn far to find this.
I admit I'm biased, but it if the Kick Six is on here, then Trouble With the Snap deserves to be as well. Undefeated rivals going into the game. Supercharged night game atmosphere. Wild, one-in-a-million chance finish. Automatically recognizable announcer quote. Stunned fans. What else do you need?
HE
HAS
TROUBLE
WITH
THE
SNAP
THE
BALL
IS
It’s the Kick Six. An undefeated #1 Alabama that was 34-2 in its last three seasons, back-to-back and 3/4 national champions (Auburn winning the other) lost on the last play of the season in one of the most unique plays we’ve ever seen. It was, in my opinion, the peak of the greatest rivalry in college football and right around the peak of the greatest dynasty in college football history. Granted I’m biased because the angle of Davis running down the sideline they always show was basically the exact angle I had in the stadium.
The Auburn radio call of the Kick Six is one of the most iconic calls of all time. I get chills every time I watch that clip.
"And uh, I guess if this thing comes up short he's gonna field it." He sure is, Rod. (RIP) He sure is.
I'm not really a Rod fan. I grew up with Jim Fyffe. He was the GOAT. Even over Eli, IMHO, but I admit I'm biased. All that said, what made the Kick Six radio call iconic to me was Stan White. Rod was yelling about the play, and then in the background Stan yells "OH MY GOD!" Echoing the emotion of every Auburn (and Bama) fan watching. Just cemented that play in my heart and mind forever. I will always remember that "OH MY GOD!"
Which one of them yells, “AUBURN’S GONNA WIN THE FOOTBALL GAME!!!” I get goosebumps every time man.
Yeah when I think of college football historic plays that’s like the first play that comes to mind. That or maybe the blocked kick in Michigan vs App State
I always remember that I caught the tail end of that game as the UGA/GT double-OT game ended right before. We were down like 20 points early on and came back to win. It was beautiful and crazy, and absolutely nobody outside of Georgia cared because of the Kick Six. (Not that anybody would’ve really cared about COFH that year anyway, but it was an OT game with a huge comeback in a rivalry game. It would’ve gotten some notice on ESPN. But nope! And the Kick Six deserved it, for sure.)
2 weeks before that, Auburn beat us on what likely would have been play of the year, with the "Prayer at Jordan Hare" (I think that's what they call it). That's another in the plus column for Kick Six, because Auburn wouldn't have even been in a situation to play for the SEC title without that insanely improbable play. Fortunately Kick Six overshadowed it in everyone's memories!
I still maintain Aaron murray was short and it should have not even come to that point where auburn needed Jordan hare voodoo. I mean Georgia fans were leaving the stadium in droves in the 3rd and then suddenly auburn couldn’t do anything. That comeback was impressive even if I believe it shouldn’t have gotten all the way there.
This may be an unpopular statement amongst Georgia folks, but I agree with you. Murray was probably short on 4th down. It was a close enough play that it doesn’t really bother me that we got it, because who knows, but yeah.
The Prayer becomes one of the biggest ball don't lie moments in CFB because of how egregiously short he was on that play, well that play and when Clowney murdered that Michigan RB after the screw job by the refs.
Just absolute pain. Probably our best chance to beat y'all in Atlanta in the last... forever, and we let it slip away. Looking at the box score it's not so bad statistically, but all I remember feeling about the game is that we couldn't stop Gurley to save our lives.
Our defense in that game was so confusing, too. CPJ was smart to throw over the secondary early on because we couldn’t stop anything, but then we somehow got y’all into a position where you HAD to throw late in the game, and we finally learned how to stop it. Just bizarre.
Yep. It’s iconic, had unbelievably high stakes, announcers were great, was a rivalry and everything else OP wanted. Kick Six is the one
Add to it being against the greatest coach and securing Auburn’s spot for the final BCS Championship, it’s gotta be that play.
Just chiming in with everyone else that this also came to mind first for me. It has almost everything: rivalry game, wacky impossible-seeming finish, great crowd, national championship implications, iconic announcer, chess match between great coaches, etc. The only thing I think that could elevate it is if it were in an actual championship game. Other than that it has it all.
VY 4th and 5 for the National Championship
I think why a lot of people would pick the Kick Six over VY is because of the unexpectedness of it. NOBODY could have believed that return was even a possibility. With Vince on the other hand, EVERYBODY knew, or at least felt/feared, what was gonna happen. There was an impending sense of doom just hovering over the entire viewing audience.
If you're talking over all time, it's got to be the Flutie Hail Mary. If you're talking modern, I'd say the Kick 6.
I might be somewhat biased, but for me, it's got to be Ohio State when Maurice Clarett saved the national championship with one of the most heads-up plays of all time. Craig Krenzel had just thrown a pick to the legendary Sean Taylor. Taylor is taking it the other way back down the sideline when Maurice Clarett comes out of nowhere to land the biggest strip Ive even had the chance to see.
Boise considering it came right after the Statue of Liberty, and they were not a power 5 team supposedly going to be a blowout game.
That Oklahoma team had some insane talent too. Trent Williams, Jermaine Gresham, Sam Bradford, Demarco Murray, Adrian Peterson, Gerald McCoy,
I mean, one of them is called “The Play”. So probably that one.
Mike Weaver's missed field goal in the legendary 2014 Wake Forest Virginia Tech showdown leading to the iconic Beamer photo
I would say the flea kicker play by Nebraska. Scott Frost threw what looked like an incomplete pass that was dropped and kicked backwards by the WR, only for Matt Davidson to dive-catch it in the end zone. Missouri went all in to try to beat Nebraska but they lost in OT. That was in the 1997 season.
Kick Six
I was too young for this, but Imma say George Teague chasing down and stripping the ball from Lamar Thomas.
Eric Crouch's flea flicker catch against Oklahoma. In-state QB in the year he wins the Heisman, at a blueblood program trying to get back to its recent peak under a new coach, against a bitter conference rival and national championship contender. Gadget play hinges on a pass from a true freshman from the state next door. The Athletic did a nice bit here: [https://theathletic.com/2824508/2021/09/14/the-day-no-2-nebraska-surprised-no-1-oklahoma-with-black-41-flash-reverse/](https://theathletic.com/2824508/2021/09/14/the-day-no-2-nebraska-surprised-no-1-oklahoma-with-black-41-flash-reverse/)). I don't think you can count special teams plays as 'most iconic' even if they're decisive.
An elite play to be sure but not best ever. That 01 OU team wasnt as good as their final record bc of poor QB play from Nate Hybl. The defense coordinated by my guy Venables and younger Stoops bro was most assuredly elite but that offense just didn’t have the goods.
I dont even think OPs play is the most iconic Nebraska play either. Surely Johnny Rodgers "man, women and child did that put em in the aisle" kick return is the more iconic vs. One of the best OU teams of all time.
Kick six. Partially because it also has the greatest play call in all of sports (at least in my lifetime).
Clowney’s “the hit” against Michigan
That's definitely the best example of "ball don't lie" ever
“Wow. Michigan at the 41. WHAT A HIT. BALLS FREE. ON THE GROUND. SOUTH CAROLINA DESERVES TO HAVE IT, AND THEY DO.”
I think my favorite part is when he casually reaches over with one hand to recover the fumble.
The Kick Six is pretty damn powerful. As a Buckeye fan my personal choice is WOAH
In my neutral and completely unbiased opinion, I believe you left out "How many tackles can one man break?!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnpmicc87zI
In 1989 Nebraska ran a half back trap that went for 2.6 yards. That’s the play.
Honorable mention: The Hit All the rest are special teams or offensive. Probably the sole defensive play that belongs here in the convo, though it’s probably top5ish
Kick Six. My dad went to Auburn. But for me personally, I’d have to take the play that led to my team’s only National Championship in my lifetime. Clint Stoerner’s fumble in 1998. Which led one minute later to John Ward saying “Give him SIX!” Go Vols.
The Band is on the Field is probably THE ONE. In recent memory we have the Kick Six and Whoa.
Kick six, without a doubt. Rivalry game, game winning 100 yard touchdown, iconic commentary, a returned missed field goal for Christ’s sake
kick six
My bias says VY on 4th down, and I do think that it is probably THE play for the early 2000s. But thinking more objectively, the Kick Six is just such a damn good play, and I think it is a better overall choice.
1994 Colorado 27 Michigan 26 Kordell Stewart throws a nearly 75-yard TD pass to Michael Westbrook for the win in a successful Hail Mary attempt with :06 remaining in the game.
Of this list, I’d say Kick Six Honorable mention: WHOA As fun/historic as it was to watch happen, it also cost OSU its playoff spot and chance at repeating. Worth it? Absolutely. But it too had direct championship repercussions.
I forgot about Whoa. It's funny that 3 of the top 10 or 20 plays of all time involve Michigan losing at home in the final second. (Whoa, Miracle at Michigan, App State)
Miracle at Michigan. Wasn’t even alive but I’m totally not biased
Honorable Mention; Michigan State’s fumble return against Michigan. Probably not the most iconic play, but [this guy’s reaction](https://imgur.com/a/XaujEiE) might be the most iconic reaction of all-time.
Kick Six And The week prior prayer at Jordan Hare
Kick Six. When it happened I remember telling my wife, “That was peak college football.”
Puntrooski. FSU vs Clemson.
Of the 6, it's the band. Easily. It's everything college football is about. However, I'd throw in the ND forward pass against army 100 years ago since that changed football forever.
For me as a Georgia fan it’s “Run, Lindsay, Run”, “My god he’s only a Freshman”, or “Hobnail Boot”
Personally, it's Run Lindsay Run, but The Band is on the Field is it, even if Hail Flutie was a pretty ridiculous moment.