USD Football 1996

lDI lOURNAMfNl Of CHAMPION~ W elcome back to Touchdown lllustrated's Tournament of Champions. '17Georgioloch '17~1edi

'87 Miami

'87 Mxlmi

'32 Southern Col '88 Notre Oome

'34Minnesoto '47 Notre Dome

Last week we got under way with eight of the 16 first-round matches; this week we'll finish up round one. If you weren't with us and are wondering what this is all about, here's a quick recap... TD/ has selected 32 of the great– est college football teams of all time and is sending them head to head in a fantasy tournament, to be updated in each issue. The field was selected according to the following criteria: Only unde– feated, untied teams that were declared national champions by a major poll were eligible . Teams prior to 1912 were not considered, due to drastic differe nces in the rules and styles of play. The pairings in the tournament bracket were det ermined by random selection. All games are played at neutra l sit es on grass fiel ds, using 1996 college footba ll rules. Now, let's get back t o t he games... 1987 MIAMI VS. 1932 SOUTHERN CAL For one quarter, it was a game. Southern Cal got the bal l first and marched 83 ya rds in 12 plays to take a 7- 0 lead. But after the teams traded punts, t he Hurricanes went on a scoring spree, racking up touchdowns on four consecu– tive possessions to take a 28-7 halftime lead. By the start of the fourth quarter it was over: Miami's swarming defense smothered Cotton Warburton and the Trojans' attack, while quarterback Steve Walsh (19-of-26, 290 yards, four touch–

'88 Notre Dome

'56 Oklohomo

'lrnttsburgh '74 Oklohomo

'560klohomo

'44Army

'725outhernCd

'44Army

'72Southern(ol '71 Nebrosko

'69 Texos '23 Illinois

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'llNebrosko ~ -– '24 Notre Dome

'45Army

'45Army

'25 Dartmouth

'59 Syrocuse

'25 Dartmouth

'59 Syracuse

'30 Notre Dome '61 Alobomo

'15Cornell

AMPION

CH

'95 Nebraska

'61 Alobomo ~-– '47Michigon '86 Penn Stole '86 Penn State ~--

'95 Nebrosko

'92Alobomo '550klohomo

'55 O~ohomo

'22 Cornell '29 Notre Dome

'76 Pittsburgh '73 Notre Dome

'20(olifornio

'79 Alobomo

'79 Alobomo

'20 Colnornio

utes later, Oklahoma quarterback Steve Davis fumbled a snap from center, and USC recovered t he ba ll at the OU 31. From there it took just four plays and another Anthony Davis TD ru n to make it 14-0. With a comfortable margin in place, the Trojans' defense took over, "holding " Oklahoma's powerful running game to 312 yards-nearly 127 below its average. The Sooners closed it to 17-10 at halftime but never could make it all the way back, as Southern Ca l pulled away for a 31-17 win. 1971 NEBRASKA VS. 1924 NOTRE DAME It was all Nebraska from the very start, as the Huskers scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to build

a 21-14 win over Pop Warner's Panthers. The Irish took the lead on a first-quarter scoring pass from Tony Rice to Ricky Watters, then played ball control, with Rice (77 rushing yards), Tony Brooks (95) and Mark Green (82) wearing out the Pitt defense. Jimmy DeHart picked up 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns for the Panthers, who were stopped on downs in Notre Dame territory four times.

1974 OKLAHOMA VS. 1972 SOUTHERN CAL

John McKay's Trojans took control of this one early, marching 69 yards on 13 plays on the game's opening drive, capped by Anthony Davis' scoot around right end for a 13-yard touchdown. Min- TOURNAMENT RUSHING LEADERS

an insurmountable lead. Notre Dame's Four Horsemen had a rather forgettable day: The sta– ble managed only 179 total yards while committing four of Notre Dame's six turnovers. Mean– while, Nebraska quarterback Jerry Tagge enjoyed a big game, completing 16 of 22 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns, all to wingback Johnny Rodgers,

downs) ridd led a confused Tro– jans defense. Michael Irvin had three TD receptions for the 'Canes, who stormed to a 45-14

LG

TD

ATT YDS AVG

G

31 71

3 1 2 1 0 2 2 1 2 0

4.9

142 133 113 109

29 13 18 16 12 16 12 15 22 16

Tony Dorsett, '76 Pitt........1 Brick Muller, '20 Cal ..........1 Jimmy DeHart, '16 Pitt ....1 Jeff Kinney, '71 Neb ........1 Tony Brooks, '88 ND ........1 Glenn Davis, '44 Army ......1 Glenn Davis, '45 Army ......1 Wayne Bullock, '73 ND ....1 Anthony Davis, '72 USC....1 Red Grange, '23 111 ••••. .••.••. 1

10.2

win.

6.3 6.8 7.9 5.9 7.7 6.0 4.0 5.4

22 18 18 27 33 20 16 24

95 94 92 90 88 87

1988 NOTRE DAME VS. 1916 PITTSBURGH Three Fighting Irish runners picked up 75 yards or more as Lou Holtz's charges pounded out

CONTrNUED touc:hmJ