COLLEGE FOOTBALL - 1983 SEASON
10/09/83 - Florida (19) @ (19) USC - In a tight game at the LA Coliseum, USC almost engineered a 1st win for new coach Ted Tollner. Floida led 13-10 at the half and 19-13 with 46 seconds left when USC QB Sean Salisbury led the Trojans 80 yards to the game-tieing 25 yard TD pass on the games final play. But USC fumbled the PAT snap and the game-winning kick was never attempted, ending the game a tie. Florida were led by QB Wayne Peace, RB's Neal Anderson and John L Williams and LB Wilber Marshall. USC also featured LB's Jack Del Rio and Keith Browner (8, Missing 1st play of 1st USC possession, 2 Discs, USA Network - Walden/Firestone, NTSC)
10/09/83 - BYU (36) @ (40) Baylor - A tight 1st half exploded in the 2nd half as the Bears of Baylor outlasted the Cougars of BYU in a shootout. BYU, led by QB Steve Young, led the Cougars to a 14-7 lead at the half but the 2-QB rotation employed by Baylor brought the Bears back to a 26-21 lead at the end of 3 quarters. Both teams traded scores until Baylor RB Alfred Anderson scored on a 2 yard TD run with 49 seconds left to give Baylor the edge 40-36. BYU had one last chance but a Hail Mary on the last play fell incomplete and the Bears held on for the win. Baylor featured QB's Cody Carlson and Tom Muecke and WR Gerald McNeil. BYU QB Steve Young finished with 1 TD pass and 2 TD runs (8, Player-to-Recorder copy, Slight jitter and colour bars in 1st half only, 2 Discs, KBYUTV - Monsen/Olsen, NTSC)
24/09/83 - Texas Tech (26) @ (11) Baylor - Texas Tech upset the Bears in Waco with an inspired Offensive and Defensive performance. Led by QB Jim Hart (11-18-131-0 + 8-32-2), RB Timmy Smith (15-71-0) and WR Leonard Harris, the Red Raiders overcame an early Baylor FG to score 26 unanswered points and take the win. The Texas Tech defense, featuring DL Brad White and DB Stan David, also did their part by forcing 4 fumbles and 1 interception. The Bears, led on Offense by QB's Cody Carlson and Tom Muecke, RB Alfred Anderson and WR Gerald McNeil, did have success but penalties and turnovers at inopportune times doomed any chance of a comeback (8, Audio crackle throughout, 2 Discs, ABC - Gowdy/Swann, NTSC)
01/10/83 - Miami (56) @ (17) Duke - #15 ranked Miami moved to 4-1 on the season with an Offensive explosion in Durham. The Hurricanes set a new school record for single-game total offense with 613 yards and single-game passing yards record with 381 yards. After a sloppy start, Miami only led 21-10 at the half as Duke forced Miami into 5 turnovers (3 interceptions + 2 fumbles). But in the 2nd half, Miami out-scored the Blue Devils 35-7 to take the win. The Hurricanes Defense also had a big game, holding Duke to 225 yards of total Offense including only 32 yards rushing. Miami featured Bernie Kosar (14-19-250-2 inc. 73 yd TD pass), RB Albert Bentley (8-83-0 + 3-57-0), WR Eddie Brown (3-95-2), DL Kevin Fagan and LB Jay Brophy. Duke featured QB Ben Bennett (27-47-162-0), RB Mike Grayson (9-28-1 + 6-36-1) and TE Scott Russell (6-49-0) (7, Downloaded from the internet, 1 Disc, ABC - Gowdy/Swann, PAL)
01/10/83 - Notre Dame (27) @ (3) Colorado - In the 1st ever match-up between the teams, Notre Dame ended a 2-game losing streak by soundly beating Colorado in Boulder. The Irish used a dominating ground game to pound out 354 yards rushing and 494 yards of total Offense compared to only 236 yards total Offense for the Buffaloes. After each team scored on their 1st possession, the Irish took control and scored 20 unanswered points, using the ground game to wear down the Buffaloes defense. Notre Dame's Defense also played their part, keeping Colorado out of the end-zone. The Irish featured Freshman QB Steve Beuerlein (8-12-133-0), who was making his 1st career start, RB's Allen Pinkett (18-136-1), Chris Smith (10-72-1) and Hiawatha Francisco (10-49-0), WR Joe Howard (4-83-0), TE Mark Bavaro (2-27-0), DL Mike Golic and LB Mike Kovaleski. Colorado featured QB's Steve Vogel (12-25-90-0) and Derek Marshall (3-7-38-0), RB Lee Rouson (11-54-0) and WR Loy Alexander (3-21-0) (8, Downloaded from the Internet, 1 Disc, ESPN - Kalas/Connor, NTSC)
01/10/83 - BYU (35) @ (33) UCLA - In the 1st ever meeting between the 2 teams, it was BYU that triumphed, handing UCLA their 1st home loss in 6 years. Both teams were evenly matched, but BYU had more experience at QB with Steve Young (25-36-270-2 + 14-67-0) out-dueling UCLA QB Steve Bono (25-34-399-3 + 15-55-1) who was making his 1st career start. BYU took a 21-14 lead in at the half and kept the Bruins at arms-length the rest of the way. UCLA did close the gap to 3 points with a last minute TD but BYU recovered the on-side kick to secure the win. BYU also featured RB Casey Tiumalu (17-137-0 + 6-51-0), WR Gordon Hudson (7-67-1) and LB Todd Shell (13 tackles, 4 sacks). UCLA also featured RB Frank Cephous (13-51-1), WR's Mike Young (6-136-2) and Mike Sherrard (3-61-1) and DB Don Rogers (14 tackles) (9, Downloaded from the Internet, 1 Disc, ESPN - Scott/Buttita, NTSC)
01/10/83 - Arizona (33) @ (33) California - A high scoring shootout in Berkeley saw Cal rally from a big 2nd half deficit to tie the game in the final minute. #3 ranked Arizona, led on Offense by QB Tom Tunnicliffe (18-36-317-2) and RB Vance Johnson, and on Defense by LB Ricky Hunley (57 yard interception return TD), staked the Wildcats to a 26-3 lead in the 3rd quarter before Cal started to go to the air to get back in the game. Cal QB Gale Gilbert (24-37-344-2) threw TD passes of 80 yards and 61 yards and the special teams chipped in with a 66 yard punt return TD to reduce the deficit to 3 points. When Johnson fumbled with 4 minutes remaining, Cal had their chance to rescue the draw and kicked the game-tieing kick with 48 seconds left. A last play 62 yard FG by Arizona fell short and the honours were shared (8, Last 4:20 of game time the video is slightly jerky, 2 Discs, ABC - Jackson/Broyles/Brant, NTSC)
08/10/83 - LSU (6) @ (20) Tennessee - LSU had never beaten Tennessee in Knoxville, and the Volunteers made sure the trend continued with a big Defensive performance on a Saturday night. The Vols Defense shut down the Tigers high-powered rushing attack, led by DL Reggie White (12 tackles, 3 sacks) who had a career day, holding the Tigers out of the end-zone. The Offense made sure the Defensive effort wasn't wasted, building on a 10-7 lead at the half with 10 more points in the 2nd half. Tennessee also featured QB Alan Cockrell (1 TD run) and RB's Chuck Coleman and Randall Morris. LSU featured QB Jeff Wickersham, RB's Dalton Hilliard and Gary James and WR's Herman Fontenot and Eric Martin (8, Downloaded from the internet, 1 Disc, TBS - Neal/Foley, NTSC)
29/10/83 - Washington (24) @ (27) UCLA - A top of the table clash ended up a shootout as UCLA used a late TD to beat the Huskies. A defensive 1st half ended 6-3 to UCLA but both teams Offenses got going in the 2nd half, with UCLA QB Rick Neuheisel (25-27-286-1) and Washington QB Steve Pelleur (19-25-305-2) almost flawless. Neuheisel led the Bruins to the game-winning TD with 1:55 left which the Defense then secured by forcing Pelleur into the Huskies only turnover of the game, an interception by DB Don Rogers with 51 seconds left. The Bruins also featured RB's Kevin Nelson and Derek Tennell, WR's Mike Sherrard, Karl Dorrell and Michael Young + DB's Lupe Sanchez and Ron Pitts. The Huskies also featured DL Ron Holmes and DB's J.C. Pearson and Vestee Jackson (8, Tracking line at the bottom of the screen, 2 Discs, ABC - Gowdy/Swann, NTSC)
19/11/83 - Holy Cross (7) @ (47) Boston College - Boston College QB Doug Flutie led the Eagles in a rout against the Crusaders while the BC defense forced 6 interceptions. BC also featured RB Troy Stradford. Holy Cross featured OL Bruce Kozerski (6, Occasional tracking line, Missing last 8 minutes 54 secs with score 34-0 BC, 1 Disc, ABC - Unknown, NTSC)
19/11/83 - Utah (7) @ (55) BYU - BYU finished their season 10-1 with a huge win over their big rivals. Led by QB Steve Young (22-25-268-6) the Cougars ran out to a 35-7 lead at the half and coasted home. Young also had help from RB Casey Tiumalu (12-89-0) and a Defense that forced 4 interceptions off of Utah QB Mark Stevens (20-36-192-1). The BYU defense was led by LB Todd Shell (7, 1 Disc, KBYUTV - Monsen/Olsen, NTSC)
03/12/83 - Auburn (23) @ (20) Alabama - Auburn stunned Alabama as RB Bo Jackson (256 yards rushing) took apart the Tide, and set-up the game winning FG with 15 seconds left. The game is also remembered for a Typhoon that blew through Birmingham in the 4th quarter (8, 1 Disc, ABC - Jackson/Broyles, NTSC)
31/12/83 - Bluebonnet Bowl - Oklahoma State (24) v (14) Baylor - In Oklahoma State coach Jimmy Johnson's final game as coach of the Cowboys, his players sent him out a winner. The Cowboys ran out to a 24-7 lead at half-time and used great defense to keep the Bears at bay in the 2nd half. The Cowboys Defense shut down the rushing attack of the Bears and held them to only 134 yards on the ground while also forcing 2 interceptions. The Cowboys were led by QB Rusty Hilger (12-17-137-2), who left the game in the 1st half due to injury, RB's Earnest Jackson (27-143-1) and Shawn Jones, DL Leslie O'Neal and DB Chris Rockins. The Bears were led by QB's Cody Carlson (1 TD Pass) and Tom Muecke, RB Alfred Anderson (21-103-0), WR Gerald McNeil (2 TD catches) and LB's Pat Coryatt and Kevin Hancock (7, Downloaded from the internet - contains side bars to fill out a 16:9 presentation to 4:3, 2 Discs, Mizlou - Harmon/Maguire/Dow, NTSC)
02/01/84 - Rose Bowl - UCLA (45) v (9) Illinois - The #4 ranked Fighting Illini were humbled by a dominating UCLA team that excelled in all aspects of the game. The UCLA defense forced 3 interceptions from Illinois QB Jack Trudeau (23-39-178-1), with DB Don Rogers snagging 2 of them. The UCLA offense, led by MVP QB Rick Neuheisel (22-31-298-4) and WR's Karl Dorrell (5-61-2) and Mike Young (5-129-1) broke open a close game with a 21 point 2nd quarter and coasted home in the 2nd half. Illinois' vaunted DL of Don Thorp and Mark Butkus were no match for the Bruins OL (9, JIP after opening kick-off, 2 Discs, NBC - Enberg/Olsen, NTSC)
02/01/84 - Cotton Bowl - Georgia (10) v (9) Texas - In a big upset in Dallas, #7 ranked Georgia ended #2 ranked Texas's National Championship hopes with a late TD. Texas boasted the nations #1 ranked Defense but Georgia also showed up on that side of the field too, as both teams Offense's struggled to get in the end-zone. The game was tied 3-3 at the half but Texas moved out to a 9-3 lead late in the game. With 4:35 left the game turned in Georgia's favour as Texas muffed a punt and the Bulldogs recovered at the Texas 23. 3 plays later, the Bulldogs scored the game-winning TD and held on for the upset win. 7 hours later, #1 Nebraska also lost, handing the title to Miami. Georgia featured QB John Lastinger (6-19-66-0 + 12-19-1), RB Keith Montgomery (11-40-0), WR Kevin Harris (2-33-0), DL Freddie Gilbert, DB Terry Hoage and OL Guy McIntyre. Texas featured QB Rick McIvor (8-26-0), RB Ronnie Robinson (28-88-0), WR Bobby Micho (2-59-0), DL Tony Degrate, LB Jeff Leiding and DB Jerry Gray (8, Downloaded from the Internet, 1 Disc, CBS - Nelson/Haden/O'Brien, NTSC)
02/01/84 - Orange Bowl - Miami (31) v (30) Nebraska - The Miami dynasty started with a win against one of the greatest offensive college football teams ever. #1 ranked Nebraska featured Heisman Trophy winning RB Mike Rozier, QB Turner Gill and WR Irving Fryar. Miami featured QB Bernie Kosar and WR Eddie Brown. Miami started quickly with 3 TD's in the 1st quarter before the Cornhuskers came back. When Nebraska scored with 2 minutes left, they trailed by 1 point. Cornhusker coach Tom Osborne decided to go for 2 points and the win. The pass was knocked down and Miami held on to win and claim their 1st National Championship (8, 2 Discs, NBC - Criqui/Brodie, NTSC)