1995 was not a very fun year in college football. If 1994 was the sparkling summer jewel then 1995 was the hour before sunset. The Southwest Conference was on life support merely awaiting the inevitable removal of the ventilator. The Bowl Coalition had already passed into history as a failed experiment. Several long admired programs - and one hated one - were about to go through their own versions of the valley of the shadow of death. The season began under the backdrop of the most famous murder trial of the 20th century starring a former Heisman Trophy winner and ended with a Heisman candidate accused of domestic violence drinking in cheers of the faithful after winning the most lopsided national championship game in football history.
There were some bright spots. Auburn, who had gone through 21 games before losing the 1994 finale, was off probation and eligible for the SEC and national titles. Nebraska had finally gotten over the hump to win Tom Osborne his long desired championship. Steve Spurrier was in the midst of becoming the most dominant SEC coach since Bear Bryant reeled off five SEC titles in a row in the early 1970s. Oklahoma State had become one of the few major colleges to take a chance on an African-American head coach when they hired former Colorado assistant Bob Simmons, who left Boulder after Bill McCartney's recommendation that Simmons succeed him was rejected by the CU administration, who quickly (and to their ultimate regret) settled on the slick looking Rick Neuheisel, who had all of zero head coaching experience when tapped to take over a solid Colorado program. There was also a fresh-faced NFL assistant moving to his first big-time college job and possessing the name of a well-respected former NFL coach, Nicholas Lou Saban, Jr. The retirement of George Perles at Michigan State brought the Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator back to Lansing, where he had spent five years as an assistant and had helped the team win the 1988 Rose Bowl. And a young quarterback - also with a famous namesake - was behind center in Knoxville, hoping to carve out an identity for the Manning name as a winner.
But the negatives outweighed the positives in 1995. Two recent national champions - Alabama (1992) and Miami (1991) - were hit with NCAA penalties consequent to investigations that had dragged on for years. Alabama's appeal would swallow its season into a forgettable memory of frustration and underachievement. The long-term consequences would send the program spiraling into the darkest decade in its history. Miami, meanwhile, was looked upon by most of the fans as finally getting a dose of what they deserved. The Canes had a systemic athletic program problem that crossed into the tennis, baseball, and golf programs and revealed cash payments to players as far back as the Jimmy Johnson era along with doctored drug tests the enabled at least three players to play despite testing positive. The penalties - most notably the 24 lost scholarships - would implode the program for a number of years as new coach Butch Davis opted to take a number of penalties "sooner rather than later" in order to press onward.
AP PRE-SEASON RANKINGS
1) Florida State 2) Nebraska 3) Texas A/M 4) Penn St 5) Florida 6) Auburn 7) USC 8) Tennessee
COACHES POLL PRE-SEASON RANKINGS
1) Florida St 2) Nebraska 3) Texas A/M 4) Penn St 5) Florida 6) USC 7) Auburn 8) Notre Dame
The Pigskin Classic, played at Disneyland 1990-94, became an on-campus affair in 1995, and they chose a historic venue, the Big House in Ann Arbor. #16 Virginia bolted out to a 17-0 lead only to watch it vanish as the Wolverines edged the Cavs, 18-17, with a touchdown on the game's final play. Arch rival Ohio State began its quest in the annual Kickoff Classic in New Jersey, the Buckeyes blasting Boston College, 38-6, with Bobby Hoying finding a new long threat in WR Terry Glenn. On the Saturday before Labor Day, Nebraska stood up and began its quest for a repeat.
It was Bob Simmons's debut in Stillwater, and the heat was stifling as Nebraska came to town. After a light first quarter, the Huskers ripped into the Cowboys for a 30-point second quarter and pulled the starters with a 50-7 lead only five minutes into the third quarter. Lawrence Phillips rushed for 153 yards and 3 TDs on only 12 carries in the first 26 minutes of the game. The Huskers eventually ground out 671 yards of total offense and 64 points in the shellacking. But the story of the day was - once again - in South Bend, where perennial also-ran Northwestern, a team that had not won more than four games in a season since 1970 (and had zero wins in five different years), utterly stunned Notre Dame and the entire world with one of the biggest upsets in college history. Northwestern pretty much owned the entire game, leading throughout and holding off an Irish two-point conversion with 6:15 left that netted a 17-15 shocking upset win. Northwestern students did not even begin the school year for two more weeks, so the partying in Chicago was long and hard in the celebration of the upset. As it turned out, the Wildcats - about to generate a huge amount of support via their journalism graduates in many outposts - were just beginning.
Peyton Manning led his first comeback the following week, trailing Georgia by four in the fourth quarter. After a missed 53-yard field goal with the score tied at 27, Manning took Tennessee close enough to win on a 34-yarder at the buzzer. Nebraska smashed Michigan State, 50-10, in Nick Saban's debut, but it was what happened after the game that would mar Nebraska's season and Tom Osborne's pristine reputation. Nebraska's quarterback of the future was a Stanford transfer named Scott Frost. Star running back Lawrence Phillips, who had just romped for another four touchdowns against Michigan State, received a phone call from a girl who knew that Phillips was still infatuated with his ex-girlfriend, Kate McEwen, a Cornhusker basketball player. McEwen was spending the night at Frost's apartment, and the caller let Philllips know this enraging information. Phillips raced over to Frost's third-floor apartment, scaled the complex, broke through the sliding glass door and found McEwen in the bathroom. After first striking her, Phillips dragged McEwen by her hair down three flights of stairs until confronted and stopped by two bypassers and Frost himself. Phillips fled and by Monday morning, Osborne announced Phillips had been "dismissed" from the team, noting however, that "dismissed" did not mean he was actually gone but only that he wouldn't play for a time deemed by Osborne. The coach further defended his actions by noting that Phillips had an excellent chance of winning the Heisman but was now guaranteed not to do so. Phillips was not Osborne's only problem, however, as Phillips's backup, Damon Benning, was also arrested for domestic violence but not removed from the team. The situations were hardly the same (Benning stated the girl had keyed his car and tried to enter his apartment, and he restrained her from doing so - and most importantly had a witness), but they contributed to the rapid decline of Osborne's reputation for dignity. Another player, Riley Washington, was accused of second-degree attempted murder at a Lincoln convenience store and suspended, but because Osborne had no evidence that Washington even owned a gun chalked it up to a case of mistaken identity. The rap sheet on Nebraska was growing longer over the previous years, and it wasn't only black players in lily white Lincoln, either. Defensive tackle Christian Peter had been convicted of third-degree sexual assault in 1993, a conviction that would later result in Peter's NFL rights being relinquished at the request of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who said he could not justify drafting Peter and made him the first drafted player in NFL history to ever be waived before training camp began. Nebraska's season was already tarnished, particularly against the backdrop of the OJ Simpson case, and it would only get worse six weeks later when Osborne reinstated Phillips and permitted him to play.
Alabama, meanwhile, was doing a rather interesting encore of 1994's cardiac kids despite losing Jay Barker and Sherman Williams. The Tide scraped by Vanderbilt, 33-25, then went all the way to the game's final play against Southern Mississippi. A sack of QB Brian Burgdorf put the Tide in a fourth down and 16 at the USM 36 with only seconds remaining. Burgdorf went for it all and got it, a touchdown reception by Toderick Malone that gave the Tide a hard-earned and narrow 24-20 win. Alabama's play the first two weeks had been borderline inept, bailed out only greater ineptitude in overmatched opponents. The following Saturday, the Tide would finally pay dearly for all the close games of the previous season.
Former Gadsden, Alabama native - and Clemson national title winning coach - Danny Ford brought the Razorbacks of Arkansas into Bryant-Denny Stadium on the heels of an embarrassing loss to upstart SMU in Dallas, thanks in large part to the ineptitude of Hawgs QB Barry Lunney. A win against overmatched South Carolina hardly silenced the complaints, but Arkansas took a 10-3 lead into halftime only to watch Alabama take a 19-10 lead in the third quarter. The Tide led despite quarterback troubles of their own, as Burgdorf was 6 of 17 for 90 yards, and nearly half of that came on a touchdown pass to Curtis Brown. Arkansas narrowed the gap to 19-13 and then went on a drive up the field, aided by a missed 12 men on the field penalty. With seconds remaining and fourth and goal at the Tide three, Lunney tossed a pass to J.J. Meadors that he trapped......or caught.....or trapped. It was hard to tell for sure, but in those days of no instant replay, the referee's "touchdown" call tied the game, and the PAT afterward won it. The Tide could be 3-0 or even 0-3, but there was a deep level of frustration with the loss and perhaps the sense that the SEC office wanted to avoid a repeat of the Auburn debacle of the previous two years. In the end, it would not matter save for the bitter pill of defeat for the first time in conference against the Hawgs. Florida blasted Tennessee, 62-37, a score all the more amazing given that the Vols led, 30-14, just before halftime. Air Spurrier unleashed 48 points and total game yardage of nearly 600 in the win that would eventually become routine: Peyton Manning simply couldn't beat Florida. New coach Gerry DiNardo led LSU to a stunning upset of Auburn, 12-6, and it began to appear that the probation and narrow wins of 1993 and 1994 might prove to be difficult to maintain with Terry Bowden's own recruits. Nebraska massacred Arizona State, 77-28, but surely the stunner of the week was Northwestern's shocking loss to Miami of Ohio following the earlier win over Notre Dame. This loss, in fact, began the narrative that Northwestern had merely won a fluke victory over the Irish. Auburn disappeared from the top ten, Alabama's poor performances had them dropping from 12 in the pre-season to 23 after the Hawgs loss, and Ohio State was moving towards the top.
The big news of September 23 was the stunning loss by Miami, who had not lost to an unranked foe since 1984. The loss of recruits and the upcoming probation scholarship losses were already mounting for Butch Davis as the Canes lost to Va Tech, 13-7. Colorado, expected to regress after losing three skill position players and their long-time head coach, knocked Texas A/M from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 29-21 victory in Boulder. Attention shifted for the final Saturday in September to the American Midwest. Penn State, with a 19-game winning streak, bumbled its way to a 17-9 loss in Happy Valley against rising Wisconsin. Ohio State fell behind 10-0 and 17-7 before the Buckeyes ripped off three touchdowns in six minutes en route to a blowout of the Fighting Irish, 45-26. It was Lou Holtz's first game back on the sidelines after spinal surgery. Michigan State completed a three-game sweep of Boston College by the Big Ten, with Ohio State and Michigan also knocking off BC. Alabama flattened Georgia, 31-0, in what would be the Tide's best all-around performance of the year. It is likely no accident this result followed both the Arkansas loss and a week off to stew about it. And then came the most memorable day of the entire year of 1995.
On October 3, millions were watching when former Heisman winner O.J. Simpson was found "not guilty" of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her male friend, Ron Goldman. What had seemed an open and shut case - OJ's blood at the crime scene, the victims' blood in his house, the infamous Bronco chase, the suicide note, and the DNA evidence - was swept away when the jury deliberated only four hours before returning a "not guilty" verdict. It also served as a reminder of what an issue race was (and would continue to be) in the country. The verdict was the kind of thing that could only have hurt Lawrence Phillips's chances for reinstatement, given that the pendulum in public opinion towards Simpson flipped when the infamous 911 call of him beating his now dead ex-wife was released. Phillips remained suspended as the leaves fell and the annual Florida State-Miami game unfolded.
This was not the rivalry of bygone years. The sanctions and new coach Butch Davis had put a clamp down on the old days of on the field thuggery and off the field trash talking. FSU was a contender, Miami a has-been, and the Noles proved it by blasting the Canes, 47-17. Kansas stunned the nation by knocking off Colorado in Boulder, 40-24. Peyton Manning seemingly ended the Arkansas dream of a division title by scoring on six straight possessions in a 49-31 drubbing. Ohio State emerged in just one year from the 63-14 shellacking at Penn State's hands to a victory that moved the Buckeyes up to number four and garnered them some first place votes. But all of these failed by comparison to Northwestern adding to a glorious season by beating Michigan for the first time since 1965 and doing so in the Big House, 19-13. The star for the Wildcats was LB Pat Fitzgerald (yes, THAT Pat Fitzgerald), who recorded 14 tackles in the win. This second upset and national sentiment vaulted the Wildcats up to #17. And Texas Tech ended Texas A/M's 29-game SWC winning streak by holding them to only 7 points and winning the game, 14-7, on a pick six. But the following Saturday really marked the beginning of the legend of Peyton Manning.
Manning had been the starter for about a year, and he had played okay if not exactly spectacularly. He was a solid and capable quarterback and steady for a freshman, but he had not yet beaten any of his arch foes or left a national audience dazzled. Entering the game, Tennessee had not beaten Alabama in ten years, going all the way back to the Tony Robinson era. Three Alabama coaches had owned the Vols, recording a record of eight wins and a tie, and winning games in every way imaginable, from blowouts (1986, 1987, 1989) to shifting momentum on the final possessions (1990) to just merely surviving (1991, 1992, 1994). On October 14, 1995 - the first time since 1914 the game was not played on the Third Saturday in October - and with a national ESPN audience watching, Manning stepped into the spotlight by absolutely shredding a solid Alabama defense that led the nation with a +22 turnover margin. On the first play from scrimmage, Manning tossed one 17 yards over the defense to wide receiver Joey Kent in the seam, who outran the defense to the end zone for a lightning quick 80-yard touchdown that seized momentum that Vols never let go. Five Alabama turnovers contributed to a quick 21-0 deficit that saw backup QB Freddie Kitchens replace Brian Burgdorf and lead two Tide TD drives, but Alabama never threatened to take the game, and the Tide was as good as dead in the SEC race after losing, 41-14. Florida smoked Auburn, 49-38, to seize control of the East race. Ohio State - who had twice gone into Madison with top five rankings and left in defeat (1985, 1993), left with a 27-16 win on the back of Eddie George, who overcame a poor first half to help lead the Buckeyes to the win. The Big Eight was rising, four teams in the top ten. That, however, would come to an end just one week later.
October 21 saw the first World Series game in two full years, the Atlanta Braves and their Hall of Fame pitching staff taking on the Cleveland Indians, baseball's most potent offense in over fifty years with a plethora of .300 hitters. The Braves were built on pitching and defense, and it was defense that had carried Kansas State into the #8 ranking as they headed to Lincoln. It turned out that their national leading scoring defense was only #1 because the Wildcats hadn't actually played anyone decent. Sure, they had recorded three straight shutouts against the likes of Akron, N Illinois, and Missouri. They'd only given up 45 points in six games. Nebraska - without Lawrence Phillips - had 42 in the third quarter and ended the game with a 49-25 pasting of Bill Snyder's charges. Alabama's defense again carried the day in a lackluster 23-9 win over Ole Miss. Alabama led 16-0 with nine of the points coming courtesy of a Dwayne Rudd safety on the game's first series and a Ralph Staten pick six. The Tide offense totaled only 239 total yards against a team ransacked by crippling sanctions and talk was rampant of the need to change quarterbacks. USC fell from the top five thanks to some motivation of something that never happened. USC's mouthy WR Keyshawn Johnson was alleged to have made some harsh comments about Notre Dame, who used it as motivation in a 38-10 blistering of the Trojans in South Bend. The Trojans made five trips in the Irish red zone and came away with four turnovers and three points. This outcome suddenly created problems for Ohio State, who now appeared to be in the same shoes as Penn State in 1994. The hope was that both teams would reach the Rose Bowl undefeated and play for the national championship, but the USC loss suddenly made this all but impossible. And Oklahoma, now entering a down period, lost to (of all teams) Kansas and badly, 38-17, in Norman. The Big Eight was making lots of news and noise and not always for the best reason as the following Tuesday revealed.
On October 24, Lawrence Phillips practiced with Nebraska for the first time since his September 10 suspension. Osborne announced that Phillips would practice but not travel with the team to its upcoming game in Boulder but would play in the following game on November 4 against Iowa State. To say the news media (not just sports) came unglued would be an understatement. The heat intensified enough that Osborne walked out of a press conference when a CBS reporter asked him if Phillips had committed the same crime against his own family would he have reinstated him to the football team. Suggestions were made that Osborne was bringing back Phillips in order to ensure Nebraska beat Colorado, a ridiculous assertion given that Phillips was not even going to make the trip to Boulder. But the last weekend of October cleared out the SEC race in ways unimaginable before the season began. Florida routed Georgia - that was common place even though the game was moved to Athens because the Gator Bowl was being refurbished - but the SEC West had an unexpected leader after another major upset. Holding the ball for 23 minutes in the first half, Arkansas stormed out to a 27-0 lead over Auburn. These kind of games, of course, were precisely the kind that Auburn had won the previous two seasons. Auburn climbed off the mat and with less than a minute remaining closed the margin to 30-28. After recovering the onsides kick with 15 seconds left and completing a pass, it appeared yet another Auburn miracle was in the making. But this year it was Arkansas getting all of the Auburn luck, tipping the attempted 52-yard field goal attempt and holding on to win the game and take the inside track towards the division title. Northwestern - all the way up to number eight in the polls - fell behind Illinois, 14-0, and scored 17 points to have the lead with second left. The Illini desperation heave into the end zone was intercepted, and Northwestern's fairy tale season continued. And Nebraska staked their claim to a number one ranking by blowing out the Buffaloes in Boulder, 44-21.....without Lawrence Phillips. As October ended, the race was very much in doubt. The impressive win moved Nebraska ahead of Florida State. The Noles now had their chance to make a claim.
AP POLL AND COACHES POLLS BOTH
1) Nebraska 2) Florida State 3) Florida 4) Ohio State 5) Tennessee
There were some bright spots. Auburn, who had gone through 21 games before losing the 1994 finale, was off probation and eligible for the SEC and national titles. Nebraska had finally gotten over the hump to win Tom Osborne his long desired championship. Steve Spurrier was in the midst of becoming the most dominant SEC coach since Bear Bryant reeled off five SEC titles in a row in the early 1970s. Oklahoma State had become one of the few major colleges to take a chance on an African-American head coach when they hired former Colorado assistant Bob Simmons, who left Boulder after Bill McCartney's recommendation that Simmons succeed him was rejected by the CU administration, who quickly (and to their ultimate regret) settled on the slick looking Rick Neuheisel, who had all of zero head coaching experience when tapped to take over a solid Colorado program. There was also a fresh-faced NFL assistant moving to his first big-time college job and possessing the name of a well-respected former NFL coach, Nicholas Lou Saban, Jr. The retirement of George Perles at Michigan State brought the Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator back to Lansing, where he had spent five years as an assistant and had helped the team win the 1988 Rose Bowl. And a young quarterback - also with a famous namesake - was behind center in Knoxville, hoping to carve out an identity for the Manning name as a winner.
But the negatives outweighed the positives in 1995. Two recent national champions - Alabama (1992) and Miami (1991) - were hit with NCAA penalties consequent to investigations that had dragged on for years. Alabama's appeal would swallow its season into a forgettable memory of frustration and underachievement. The long-term consequences would send the program spiraling into the darkest decade in its history. Miami, meanwhile, was looked upon by most of the fans as finally getting a dose of what they deserved. The Canes had a systemic athletic program problem that crossed into the tennis, baseball, and golf programs and revealed cash payments to players as far back as the Jimmy Johnson era along with doctored drug tests the enabled at least three players to play despite testing positive. The penalties - most notably the 24 lost scholarships - would implode the program for a number of years as new coach Butch Davis opted to take a number of penalties "sooner rather than later" in order to press onward.
AP PRE-SEASON RANKINGS
1) Florida State 2) Nebraska 3) Texas A/M 4) Penn St 5) Florida 6) Auburn 7) USC 8) Tennessee
COACHES POLL PRE-SEASON RANKINGS
1) Florida St 2) Nebraska 3) Texas A/M 4) Penn St 5) Florida 6) USC 7) Auburn 8) Notre Dame
The Pigskin Classic, played at Disneyland 1990-94, became an on-campus affair in 1995, and they chose a historic venue, the Big House in Ann Arbor. #16 Virginia bolted out to a 17-0 lead only to watch it vanish as the Wolverines edged the Cavs, 18-17, with a touchdown on the game's final play. Arch rival Ohio State began its quest in the annual Kickoff Classic in New Jersey, the Buckeyes blasting Boston College, 38-6, with Bobby Hoying finding a new long threat in WR Terry Glenn. On the Saturday before Labor Day, Nebraska stood up and began its quest for a repeat.
It was Bob Simmons's debut in Stillwater, and the heat was stifling as Nebraska came to town. After a light first quarter, the Huskers ripped into the Cowboys for a 30-point second quarter and pulled the starters with a 50-7 lead only five minutes into the third quarter. Lawrence Phillips rushed for 153 yards and 3 TDs on only 12 carries in the first 26 minutes of the game. The Huskers eventually ground out 671 yards of total offense and 64 points in the shellacking. But the story of the day was - once again - in South Bend, where perennial also-ran Northwestern, a team that had not won more than four games in a season since 1970 (and had zero wins in five different years), utterly stunned Notre Dame and the entire world with one of the biggest upsets in college history. Northwestern pretty much owned the entire game, leading throughout and holding off an Irish two-point conversion with 6:15 left that netted a 17-15 shocking upset win. Northwestern students did not even begin the school year for two more weeks, so the partying in Chicago was long and hard in the celebration of the upset. As it turned out, the Wildcats - about to generate a huge amount of support via their journalism graduates in many outposts - were just beginning.
Peyton Manning led his first comeback the following week, trailing Georgia by four in the fourth quarter. After a missed 53-yard field goal with the score tied at 27, Manning took Tennessee close enough to win on a 34-yarder at the buzzer. Nebraska smashed Michigan State, 50-10, in Nick Saban's debut, but it was what happened after the game that would mar Nebraska's season and Tom Osborne's pristine reputation. Nebraska's quarterback of the future was a Stanford transfer named Scott Frost. Star running back Lawrence Phillips, who had just romped for another four touchdowns against Michigan State, received a phone call from a girl who knew that Phillips was still infatuated with his ex-girlfriend, Kate McEwen, a Cornhusker basketball player. McEwen was spending the night at Frost's apartment, and the caller let Philllips know this enraging information. Phillips raced over to Frost's third-floor apartment, scaled the complex, broke through the sliding glass door and found McEwen in the bathroom. After first striking her, Phillips dragged McEwen by her hair down three flights of stairs until confronted and stopped by two bypassers and Frost himself. Phillips fled and by Monday morning, Osborne announced Phillips had been "dismissed" from the team, noting however, that "dismissed" did not mean he was actually gone but only that he wouldn't play for a time deemed by Osborne. The coach further defended his actions by noting that Phillips had an excellent chance of winning the Heisman but was now guaranteed not to do so. Phillips was not Osborne's only problem, however, as Phillips's backup, Damon Benning, was also arrested for domestic violence but not removed from the team. The situations were hardly the same (Benning stated the girl had keyed his car and tried to enter his apartment, and he restrained her from doing so - and most importantly had a witness), but they contributed to the rapid decline of Osborne's reputation for dignity. Another player, Riley Washington, was accused of second-degree attempted murder at a Lincoln convenience store and suspended, but because Osborne had no evidence that Washington even owned a gun chalked it up to a case of mistaken identity. The rap sheet on Nebraska was growing longer over the previous years, and it wasn't only black players in lily white Lincoln, either. Defensive tackle Christian Peter had been convicted of third-degree sexual assault in 1993, a conviction that would later result in Peter's NFL rights being relinquished at the request of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who said he could not justify drafting Peter and made him the first drafted player in NFL history to ever be waived before training camp began. Nebraska's season was already tarnished, particularly against the backdrop of the OJ Simpson case, and it would only get worse six weeks later when Osborne reinstated Phillips and permitted him to play.
Alabama, meanwhile, was doing a rather interesting encore of 1994's cardiac kids despite losing Jay Barker and Sherman Williams. The Tide scraped by Vanderbilt, 33-25, then went all the way to the game's final play against Southern Mississippi. A sack of QB Brian Burgdorf put the Tide in a fourth down and 16 at the USM 36 with only seconds remaining. Burgdorf went for it all and got it, a touchdown reception by Toderick Malone that gave the Tide a hard-earned and narrow 24-20 win. Alabama's play the first two weeks had been borderline inept, bailed out only greater ineptitude in overmatched opponents. The following Saturday, the Tide would finally pay dearly for all the close games of the previous season.
Former Gadsden, Alabama native - and Clemson national title winning coach - Danny Ford brought the Razorbacks of Arkansas into Bryant-Denny Stadium on the heels of an embarrassing loss to upstart SMU in Dallas, thanks in large part to the ineptitude of Hawgs QB Barry Lunney. A win against overmatched South Carolina hardly silenced the complaints, but Arkansas took a 10-3 lead into halftime only to watch Alabama take a 19-10 lead in the third quarter. The Tide led despite quarterback troubles of their own, as Burgdorf was 6 of 17 for 90 yards, and nearly half of that came on a touchdown pass to Curtis Brown. Arkansas narrowed the gap to 19-13 and then went on a drive up the field, aided by a missed 12 men on the field penalty. With seconds remaining and fourth and goal at the Tide three, Lunney tossed a pass to J.J. Meadors that he trapped......or caught.....or trapped. It was hard to tell for sure, but in those days of no instant replay, the referee's "touchdown" call tied the game, and the PAT afterward won it. The Tide could be 3-0 or even 0-3, but there was a deep level of frustration with the loss and perhaps the sense that the SEC office wanted to avoid a repeat of the Auburn debacle of the previous two years. In the end, it would not matter save for the bitter pill of defeat for the first time in conference against the Hawgs. Florida blasted Tennessee, 62-37, a score all the more amazing given that the Vols led, 30-14, just before halftime. Air Spurrier unleashed 48 points and total game yardage of nearly 600 in the win that would eventually become routine: Peyton Manning simply couldn't beat Florida. New coach Gerry DiNardo led LSU to a stunning upset of Auburn, 12-6, and it began to appear that the probation and narrow wins of 1993 and 1994 might prove to be difficult to maintain with Terry Bowden's own recruits. Nebraska massacred Arizona State, 77-28, but surely the stunner of the week was Northwestern's shocking loss to Miami of Ohio following the earlier win over Notre Dame. This loss, in fact, began the narrative that Northwestern had merely won a fluke victory over the Irish. Auburn disappeared from the top ten, Alabama's poor performances had them dropping from 12 in the pre-season to 23 after the Hawgs loss, and Ohio State was moving towards the top.
The big news of September 23 was the stunning loss by Miami, who had not lost to an unranked foe since 1984. The loss of recruits and the upcoming probation scholarship losses were already mounting for Butch Davis as the Canes lost to Va Tech, 13-7. Colorado, expected to regress after losing three skill position players and their long-time head coach, knocked Texas A/M from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 29-21 victory in Boulder. Attention shifted for the final Saturday in September to the American Midwest. Penn State, with a 19-game winning streak, bumbled its way to a 17-9 loss in Happy Valley against rising Wisconsin. Ohio State fell behind 10-0 and 17-7 before the Buckeyes ripped off three touchdowns in six minutes en route to a blowout of the Fighting Irish, 45-26. It was Lou Holtz's first game back on the sidelines after spinal surgery. Michigan State completed a three-game sweep of Boston College by the Big Ten, with Ohio State and Michigan also knocking off BC. Alabama flattened Georgia, 31-0, in what would be the Tide's best all-around performance of the year. It is likely no accident this result followed both the Arkansas loss and a week off to stew about it. And then came the most memorable day of the entire year of 1995.
On October 3, millions were watching when former Heisman winner O.J. Simpson was found "not guilty" of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her male friend, Ron Goldman. What had seemed an open and shut case - OJ's blood at the crime scene, the victims' blood in his house, the infamous Bronco chase, the suicide note, and the DNA evidence - was swept away when the jury deliberated only four hours before returning a "not guilty" verdict. It also served as a reminder of what an issue race was (and would continue to be) in the country. The verdict was the kind of thing that could only have hurt Lawrence Phillips's chances for reinstatement, given that the pendulum in public opinion towards Simpson flipped when the infamous 911 call of him beating his now dead ex-wife was released. Phillips remained suspended as the leaves fell and the annual Florida State-Miami game unfolded.
This was not the rivalry of bygone years. The sanctions and new coach Butch Davis had put a clamp down on the old days of on the field thuggery and off the field trash talking. FSU was a contender, Miami a has-been, and the Noles proved it by blasting the Canes, 47-17. Kansas stunned the nation by knocking off Colorado in Boulder, 40-24. Peyton Manning seemingly ended the Arkansas dream of a division title by scoring on six straight possessions in a 49-31 drubbing. Ohio State emerged in just one year from the 63-14 shellacking at Penn State's hands to a victory that moved the Buckeyes up to number four and garnered them some first place votes. But all of these failed by comparison to Northwestern adding to a glorious season by beating Michigan for the first time since 1965 and doing so in the Big House, 19-13. The star for the Wildcats was LB Pat Fitzgerald (yes, THAT Pat Fitzgerald), who recorded 14 tackles in the win. This second upset and national sentiment vaulted the Wildcats up to #17. And Texas Tech ended Texas A/M's 29-game SWC winning streak by holding them to only 7 points and winning the game, 14-7, on a pick six. But the following Saturday really marked the beginning of the legend of Peyton Manning.
Manning had been the starter for about a year, and he had played okay if not exactly spectacularly. He was a solid and capable quarterback and steady for a freshman, but he had not yet beaten any of his arch foes or left a national audience dazzled. Entering the game, Tennessee had not beaten Alabama in ten years, going all the way back to the Tony Robinson era. Three Alabama coaches had owned the Vols, recording a record of eight wins and a tie, and winning games in every way imaginable, from blowouts (1986, 1987, 1989) to shifting momentum on the final possessions (1990) to just merely surviving (1991, 1992, 1994). On October 14, 1995 - the first time since 1914 the game was not played on the Third Saturday in October - and with a national ESPN audience watching, Manning stepped into the spotlight by absolutely shredding a solid Alabama defense that led the nation with a +22 turnover margin. On the first play from scrimmage, Manning tossed one 17 yards over the defense to wide receiver Joey Kent in the seam, who outran the defense to the end zone for a lightning quick 80-yard touchdown that seized momentum that Vols never let go. Five Alabama turnovers contributed to a quick 21-0 deficit that saw backup QB Freddie Kitchens replace Brian Burgdorf and lead two Tide TD drives, but Alabama never threatened to take the game, and the Tide was as good as dead in the SEC race after losing, 41-14. Florida smoked Auburn, 49-38, to seize control of the East race. Ohio State - who had twice gone into Madison with top five rankings and left in defeat (1985, 1993), left with a 27-16 win on the back of Eddie George, who overcame a poor first half to help lead the Buckeyes to the win. The Big Eight was rising, four teams in the top ten. That, however, would come to an end just one week later.
October 21 saw the first World Series game in two full years, the Atlanta Braves and their Hall of Fame pitching staff taking on the Cleveland Indians, baseball's most potent offense in over fifty years with a plethora of .300 hitters. The Braves were built on pitching and defense, and it was defense that had carried Kansas State into the #8 ranking as they headed to Lincoln. It turned out that their national leading scoring defense was only #1 because the Wildcats hadn't actually played anyone decent. Sure, they had recorded three straight shutouts against the likes of Akron, N Illinois, and Missouri. They'd only given up 45 points in six games. Nebraska - without Lawrence Phillips - had 42 in the third quarter and ended the game with a 49-25 pasting of Bill Snyder's charges. Alabama's defense again carried the day in a lackluster 23-9 win over Ole Miss. Alabama led 16-0 with nine of the points coming courtesy of a Dwayne Rudd safety on the game's first series and a Ralph Staten pick six. The Tide offense totaled only 239 total yards against a team ransacked by crippling sanctions and talk was rampant of the need to change quarterbacks. USC fell from the top five thanks to some motivation of something that never happened. USC's mouthy WR Keyshawn Johnson was alleged to have made some harsh comments about Notre Dame, who used it as motivation in a 38-10 blistering of the Trojans in South Bend. The Trojans made five trips in the Irish red zone and came away with four turnovers and three points. This outcome suddenly created problems for Ohio State, who now appeared to be in the same shoes as Penn State in 1994. The hope was that both teams would reach the Rose Bowl undefeated and play for the national championship, but the USC loss suddenly made this all but impossible. And Oklahoma, now entering a down period, lost to (of all teams) Kansas and badly, 38-17, in Norman. The Big Eight was making lots of news and noise and not always for the best reason as the following Tuesday revealed.
On October 24, Lawrence Phillips practiced with Nebraska for the first time since his September 10 suspension. Osborne announced that Phillips would practice but not travel with the team to its upcoming game in Boulder but would play in the following game on November 4 against Iowa State. To say the news media (not just sports) came unglued would be an understatement. The heat intensified enough that Osborne walked out of a press conference when a CBS reporter asked him if Phillips had committed the same crime against his own family would he have reinstated him to the football team. Suggestions were made that Osborne was bringing back Phillips in order to ensure Nebraska beat Colorado, a ridiculous assertion given that Phillips was not even going to make the trip to Boulder. But the last weekend of October cleared out the SEC race in ways unimaginable before the season began. Florida routed Georgia - that was common place even though the game was moved to Athens because the Gator Bowl was being refurbished - but the SEC West had an unexpected leader after another major upset. Holding the ball for 23 minutes in the first half, Arkansas stormed out to a 27-0 lead over Auburn. These kind of games, of course, were precisely the kind that Auburn had won the previous two seasons. Auburn climbed off the mat and with less than a minute remaining closed the margin to 30-28. After recovering the onsides kick with 15 seconds left and completing a pass, it appeared yet another Auburn miracle was in the making. But this year it was Arkansas getting all of the Auburn luck, tipping the attempted 52-yard field goal attempt and holding on to win the game and take the inside track towards the division title. Northwestern - all the way up to number eight in the polls - fell behind Illinois, 14-0, and scored 17 points to have the lead with second left. The Illini desperation heave into the end zone was intercepted, and Northwestern's fairy tale season continued. And Nebraska staked their claim to a number one ranking by blowing out the Buffaloes in Boulder, 44-21.....without Lawrence Phillips. As October ended, the race was very much in doubt. The impressive win moved Nebraska ahead of Florida State. The Noles now had their chance to make a claim.
AP POLL AND COACHES POLLS BOTH
1) Nebraska 2) Florida State 3) Florida 4) Ohio State 5) Tennessee