The most famous games in the history of college football: The game

Some plays in college football history will remain immortal. Some plays in college football history will be immortalized in folklore, discussed in bars and stadiums and anywhere else sports fans gather to discuss or argue about a particular moment in the annals of the big game. Other plays, however, require much more.

The most famous plays in college football history: Even after 40 years, “The Play” is still a cult classic

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There are so many things that make a single moment unforgettable. Players making incredible plays. Coaches making the boldest decisions. The time. The place. The event. So many factors can affect how a game or play is forever remembered, immortalized and passed on to the next generation. The Big Game of 1982 had all of that and more.

The time? November 20, college football’s traditional rivalry week. The place? California Memorial Stadium, home of a Cal Golden Bears team that struggled to earn a bowl season invitation. The event? The Big Game, the annual Stanford-Cal rivalry in which the two teams played for the Stanford Axe and much more than the usual rivalry spoils.

The two teams traded blows, with Cal taking an early 10-0 lead before Stanford rallied and overwhelmed the Bears with 14 answered points and a lead of their own. Joe Kapp’s Cal team fought back and scored the next nine points, missing a two-point attempt that would have given them a clear touchdown lead.

That decision seemed crucial when two Stanford field goals – including one deep in the fourth quarter – gave the Cardinal a 20-19 lead with eight seconds left. Even the usually upbeat radio announcer had given up hope. Everyone thought the game was over and Stanford had won a decisive victory to qualify for the bowl. Everyone.

“All right, here we go with the kickoff,” Cal commentator Joe Starkey begins one of the most famous radio lines in all of college football.

“Harmon will probably try to intercept the ball and he does. The ball comes loose and the Bears have to get out of the field. Rodgers, on the sideline, one more… they’re still in big trouble at midfield, they’ve made a couple of attempts – the ball is still loose when they get it to Rodgers! They’re bringing it back to the 30 now, they’re down to the 20… Oh, the band’s on the field! He’s going to go in the end zone! He’s got in the end zone!”

The band is on the field. Words that send shivers down the spines of college football fans of all generations. The scene when Kevin Moen – who touched the ball first in “The Play” before getting it back several seconds and several touches later – raced through the Stanford band and several other people on his way to the end zone will never be seen again.

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Extraordinary. Unique. Bizarre.

There are many other adjectives to describe a moment that would ironically leave you speechless. Controversy is another example: Stanford maintains to this day that Dwight Garner was down and that Mariet Ford’s cross pass to Moen was an illegal forward pass. “The Play” truly had it all and is a perfect example of why college football is simply the best.

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