Upsets just like Week 11’s hadn’t happened since 1985. Jim Harbaugh lost at Iowa both times.
College football’s history is rich enough that it is always producing moments familiar to those with an eye toward the past.
On Oct. 19, 1985, college football’s national title race officially began.
No. 4 Arkansas lost to Texas at home, thanks primarily to kicker Jeff Ward, who nailed a 34-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile in Norman, No. 3 Oklahoma lost 27-14 to visiting Miami; the Hurricanes’ young quarterback, Vinny Testaverde, had a coming-out party, and the Sooners’ own young quarterback, Jamelle Holieway, couldn’t bring the Sooners back.
That evening in Iowa City, Iowa took down an unbeaten, second-ranked Michigan led by QB Jim Harbaugh. A last-second, 33-yard field goal gave the Hawkeyes a 12-10 victory.
Also that evening, the World Series began. Kansas City ended a forever-long title drought by coming back from 3-1 down to take down St. Louis in seven games.
Everything old is new again. Remember how we were reliving the 1990s earlier this season? Well, break out your Back to the Future DVDs and crank the Tears for Fears. It’s 1985 all over again.
The parallels between that October day in 1985 and this past Saturday are downright eery, and not just because the Chicago Cubs just broke a forever-long World Series drought of their own (in seven games after falling 3-1 down, no less).
Like Arkansas, No. 2 Clemson suffered death by field goal at home, in the form of a last-second bomb from Pitt’s Chris Blewitt.
Like Oklahoma, Washington was overcome up front and fell victim to a big night from a young QB, USC’s Sam Darnold. The Huskies fell behind, 17-6, and succumbed, 26-13. Granted, Oklahoma’s young quarterback was a backup; Holieway was inserted when starter Troy Aikman suffered a broken ankle and was lost for the season. He wasn’t much of a passer, though he’d turn out to be one of Barry Switzer’s best option masters. In Washington’s case, Jake Browning was simply undone by USC’s defensive front.
The parallels in Iowa City, meanwhile, were so eery it almost felt forced.
Granted, the 1985 Hawkeyes were ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time, but Saturday’s game played out in similar fashion.
In both instances, Michigan’s offense was scattershot and inconsistent, and in both instances, a last-second field goal was the finishing blow. Hell, the score was even almost the same (12-10 in 1985, 14-13 in 2016). The only real difference is that Harbaugh was the quarterback 31 years ago ...
... and the head coach on Saturday.
As with 1985, 2016’s earth-shattering Saturday of upsets might not have actually changed the national title race all that much.
Oklahoma recovered from the Miami loss to knock out No. 1 Penn State in the Orange Bowl and, with help from Miami’s blowout loss to Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl, claim the ring. Michigan finished No. 2 at 10-1-1. The Sooners and Wolverines were arguably the two best teams in the country, and they finished in the top two spots, even if the path was a little odd.
Our wild string of upsets happened later in the year this time, but we could see the same thing play out in this calendar year. Granted, Alabama is a raging behemoth at the moment, and there was no equal to the Tide in 1985. But the Playoff means three extra contenders, and at the very least, Clemson and Michigan should still be in the top five in this week’s new rankings.
Washington’s position is dicier. The committee didn’t like the Huskies’ strength of schedule much, posting them behind one-loss (at the time) Texas A&M two weeks ago, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they fell below two-loss Wisconsin in Tuesday’s rankings reveal.
Still, a 12-1, Pac-12 champion Washington would boast a late-season win over Washington State and, possibly, a revenge win over USC. That might be enough, depending on who else wins and loses. (Colorado and Utah would have something to say about who the Huskies play in the conference title game.)
Saturday was what we’ve been waiting all year for.
Last week’s jinx attempt was successful. The top of the rankings won’t change much, but at the very least, Saturday evening’s run of upsets brought us to the brink of chaos. Now we’re only an upset or two away from arguing about the Playoff bona fides of teams like a two-loss Wisconsin, or either a two-loss Oklahoma or 11-1 West Virginia.
That’s closer to silliness than it appeared we would get. We’ll take it.
