This Week in College Football History

Sept. 22-Sept. 28

DALLAS -- September 16, 2008 - As part of an on- going series throughout the fall, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame posts in advance This Week in College Football History, which takes a look back at some of college football's landmark moments over the last 140 years. During the season, many of these events are featured in a changing exhibit at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.

The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.

FEATURED MOMENT:

Sept. 27, 1958: Football was revolutionized in West Point, N.Y., as Army Coach Earl "Red" Blaik unveiled the "Lonely End" offense against South Carolina. Future College Football Hall of Famer Bill Carpenter stands 18-25 yards away receiving visual signals from the huddle, while halfback Pete Dawkins (another future College Football Hall of Famer) rushes nine times for 113 yards and four touchdowns. The new offense amassed 529 yards in a 45-8 victory.


OTHER NOTABLE DATES:
Sept. 22, 1956: In the first-ever September loss for a Notre Dame team, the Irish fall to Southern Methodist University 19-13 in Dallas. Notre Dame fakes a punt in the fourth quarter to score and tie the game 13-13, but Mustang quarterback Charlie Arnold throws a 31-yard pass to Lon Slaughter to set up a 14- yard touchdown run for the win as time expires.

Sept. 23, 1967: Frank Dickinson, an economics professor at the University of Illinois, passes away at age 67. Dickinson developed a mathematical point system (Dickinson system) to divide football teams into two categories, those who had higher than .500 winning percentage and those below. The system was originally intended to award the top team in the Big Ten, but Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne convinced Dickinson to use the ranking nationally and to predate the ranking. The system was used from 1924-1940 to award the Rissman National Trophy and the Knute K. Rockne Intercollegiate Memorial Trophy.


Sept. 24, 1966: Florida State quarterback Gary Pajcic throws two touchdown passes, while future Florida State University President T.K. Wetherell returns a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown as the Seminoles down Miami 23-20 in the Orange Bowl.


Sept. 25, 1971: No. 10 Colorado stuns No. 6 Ohio State 20-14 in Columbus, Ohio. Buffs wide receiver Cliff Branch's sixth career kickoff touchdown return helps Colorado take the lead 13-0, while quarterback Ken Johnson adds a fourth-quarter touchdown to secure the win. Colorado guard Bud Magrum leads the defense with 20 tackles, stopping Ohio State twice inside the five-yard line.

Sept. 26, 1981: The nation's top two active coaches in winning percentage, John Robinson (.850) and Barry Switzer (.894), match up in a battle between No. 1 Southern California vs. No. 2 Oklahoma in Los Angeles. Trojans tight end Fred Cornwell emerges as a hero catching a seven-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left in the game, sealing a 28-24 USC win. The reception is only Cornwell's second career catch.


Sept. 28, 1892: At the Mansfield Fair in Mansfield, Ohio, fans watch Mansfield State Normal (Ohio) play Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) in the first college night game. The generators, running on banks of 20- and 30-watt bulbs, fail to deliver enough light, ending the game at halftime in a scoreless tie.

About The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame Founded in 1947 with leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 121 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, Play It Smart, the NFF-FWAA Football Forum, the NFF Gridiron Clubs of New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF awards the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings.