A "back in the day" note on publicity

[JohnStOnge]

I didn't know where else to put this but I was struck by it. In 1980 Georgia won the mythical national championship. It was Herschel Walker time. Along the way they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with this 3rd and 12 play from deep in their own territory with something like 1:30 left in the game to gain a 26-21 win over Florida:

phpBB [video]

I was watching a replay of the game on the SEC network. A few minutes before that play came up ABC put up a list of the games that were going to be in the second half of that day's double header. Here it is:



Back then McNeese was in the top level of NCAA football and was in the midst of a run where they went 21-3 during 1979 and 1980. They beat Louisiana Tech by 45-8 in that game and went on to go to the Independence Bowl where they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Southern Miss by 14-16. I say snatched defeat from the jaws of victory because they had possession around their own 20 with Southern Miss out of timeouts late in the game but fumbled the football. Southern Miss then scored on a fourth down play to win.

I guess it's kind of an example where, if publicity is what you care about, you can say you get more publicity playing at the top level. Back then there weren't all the cable networks and internet things. This was ABC putting your name up near the end of what was undoubtably a very highly watched nailbiter game.

[css75]

I think ABC was obligated to carry a few lower level schools during the season.


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[CID1990]

Bullcrap

Everybody knows that you don't have to play at the top level

just go to the Sunbelt




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[JohnStOnge]

I think ABC was obligated to carry a few lower level schools during the season.


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Probably so. But it still plays into that thing schools going from FCS to FBS say about publicity.

Doesn't change my own preference. As I've written before McNeese was at the top level for 7 years and went to the Independence Bowl three times. Won the first one against Tulsa and lost the other two against Syracuse (with Joe Morris and Art Monk) and Southern Miss (with Sammie Winder). I experienced being a McNeese fan in high school then a McNeese student when that was going on. Two of the bowls happened when I was a student and I went to each. I had a great time. And that was back when there were only 12 (1976) and 15 (1979, 1980), bowl games so a team actually had to accomplish something during the season to get there (McNeese's regular season bowl season records were 9-2, 11-0, and 10-1). Back then you didn't have 68% of FBS teams (78 of 129 in 2017) going to bowl games and you weren't going to be playing post season after a 6-6 or even a 5-7 record.

But the first time I sat in my car listening to McNeese's first playoff appearance in 1991 against #1 seed Nevada, an intense 22-16 loss where the underdog Cowboys had a chance until the final minute, I was hooked. Then if there was any question it evaporated when I saw McNeese and Idaho line up for the opening kickoff of the Cowboys' first home playoff game. The body language of the players. The obvious intensity. It was just way beyond the intensity of any of the bowl games. To this day I say bowl games are exhibition games. Playoff games really mean something.

Which is why I hope McNeese never returns to what is now known as FBS. I wish McNeese could return to actually winning playoff games sometimes. But I'd rather keep hoping for that than having them play for a possible spot in something like the New Orleans Bowl.

[DuckDuckGriz]

I didn't know where else to put this but I was struck by it. In 1980 Georgia won the mythical national championship. It was Herschel Walker time. Along the way they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with this 3rd and 12 play from deep in their own territory with something like 1:30 left in the game to gain a 26-21 win over Florida:

phpBB [video]

I was watching a replay of the game on the SEC network. A few minutes before that play came up ABC put up a list of the games that were going to be in the second half of that day's double header. Here it is:



Back then McNeese was in the top level of NCAA football and was in the midst of a run where they went 21-3 during 1979 and 1980. They beat Louisiana Tech by 45-8 in that game and went on to go to the Independence Bowl where they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Southern Miss by 14-16. I say snatched defeat from the jaws of victory because they had possession around their own 20 with Southern Miss out of timeouts late in the game but fumbled the football. Southern Miss then scored on a fourth down play to win.

I guess it's kind of an example where, if publicity is what you care about, you can say you get more publicity playing at the top level. Back then there weren't all the cable networks and internet things. This was ABC putting your name up near the end of what was undoubtably a very highly watched nailbiter game.

Man, that Georgia radio call has to be one of the best of all time

In watching older videos I've noticed a fair amount of regional coverage with small schools too - or even the scoreboard you'd see pop up in games up til the late 90s.

I'd really like to see FCS step up and try to get their own night on national TV. The Mountain West + BYU have done a remarkable job of dominating college football on Friday nights. Feels like FCS could have done that years ago. Hell, take Wednesdays or Thursdays.

[JohnStOnge]

An interesting thing about that 1980 Georgia vs. Florida game is that Herschel Walker was Herschel Walker but nobody remember it. He rushed for 238 yards on 37 carries (6.4 yards per pop). Georgia's first touchdown was a 72 yard Herschel Walker run.

But when the team needed it Scott made the big play. I did watch that game on TV back then and I was pulling for Georgia. My next door neighbor's son-in-law, George Haffner, was offensive coordinator at Georgia at the time. He'd been the starting quarterback at McNeese State when I was a kid and used to throw the football to us. He'd married the girl next door. I was pulling HARD for Georgia to win the national championship.

And I also remember that I stayed tuned to watch McNeese State blow out Louisiana Tech.

BTW to this day I think it's a shame that Herschel Walker didn't go to the NFL to start instead of the USFL. And it REALLY would've been cool if he'd gone to the Los Angeles Rams system where Eric Dickerson flourished. I think if you'd have put Walker into the spot Dickerson got into he'd have done better than Dickerson did. That was an offense he would've fit into. And he was bigger, faster, stronger, better than Dickerson in that kind of system. There's no telling what kind of numbers he'd have put up.

[CID1990]

An interesting thing about that 1980 Georgia vs. Florida game is that Herschel Walker was Herschel Walker but nobody remember it. He rushed for 238 yards on 37 carries (6.4 yards per pop). Georgia's first touchdown was a 72 yard Herschel Walker run.

But when the team needed it Scott made the big play. I did watch that game on TV back then and I was pulling for Georgia. My next door neighbor's son-in-law, George Haffner, was offensive coordinator at Georgia at the time. He'd been the starting quarterback at McNeese State when I was a kid and used to throw the football to us. He'd married the girl next door. I was pulling HARD for Georgia to win the national championship.

And I also remember that I stayed tuned to watch McNeese State blow out Louisiana Tech.

BTW to this day I think it's a shame that Herschel Walker didn't go to the NFL to start instead of the USFL. And it REALLY would've been cool if he'd gone to the Los Angeles Rams system where Eric Dickerson flourished. I think if you'd have put Walker into the spot Dickerson got into he'd have done better than Dickerson did. That was an offense he would've fit into. And he was bigger, faster, stronger, better than Dickerson in that kind of system. There's no telling what kind of numbers he'd have put up.

The runner up to Walker's Heisman was Kelvin Bryant, who also went to the USFL, and also likely would have done better in the NFL. He did eventually go to the Redskins in 1986 and started, but he got hurt.


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[andy7171]

An interesting thing about that 1980 Georgia vs. Florida game is that Herschel Walker was Herschel Walker but nobody remember it. He rushed for 238 yards on 37 carries (6.4 yards per pop). Georgia's first touchdown was a 72 yard Herschel Walker run.

But when the team needed it Scott made the big play. I did watch that game on TV back then and I was pulling for Georgia. My next door neighbor's son-in-law, George Haffner, was offensive coordinator at Georgia at the time. He'd been the starting quarterback at McNeese State when I was a kid and used to throw the football to us. He'd married the girl next door. I was pulling HARD for Georgia to win the national championship.

And I also remember that I stayed tuned to watch McNeese State blow out Louisiana Tech.

BTW to this day I think it's a shame that Herschel Walker didn't go to the NFL to start instead of the USFL. And it REALLY would've been cool if he'd gone to the Los Angeles Rams system where Eric Dickerson flourished. I think if you'd have put Walker into the spot Dickerson got into he'd have done better than Dickerson did. That was an offense he would've fit into. And he was bigger, faster, stronger, better than Dickerson in that kind of system. There's no telling what kind of numbers he'd have put up.

The runner up to Walker's Heisman was Kelvin Bryant, who also went to the USFL, and also likely would have done better in the NFL. He did eventually go to the Redskins in 1986 and started, but he got hurt.


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Kelvin Bryant was a great Redskin for a couple years.

[CID1990]

The runner up to Walker's Heisman was Kelvin Bryant, who also went to the USFL, and also likely would have done better in the NFL. He did eventually go to the Redskins in 1986 and started, but he got hurt.


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Kelvin Bryant was a great Redskin for a couple years.

He was a REALLY great Tarheel

[89Hen]

I guess it's kind of an example where, if publicity is what you care about, you can say you get more publicity playing at the top level. Back then there weren't all the cable networks and internet things. This was ABC putting your name up near the end of what was undoubtably a very highly watched nailbiter game.

FWIW, and maybe anecdotal at best... I had never once heard of McNeese until the Southland moved to I-AA. Yes, I was a I-AA fan, but I watched a LOT of I-A football too.

[andy7171]

I guess it's kind of an example where, if publicity is what you care about, you can say you get more publicity playing at the top level. Back then there weren't all the cable networks and internet things. This was ABC putting your name up near the end of what was undoubtably a very highly watched nailbiter game.

FWIW, and maybe anecdotal at best... I had never once heard of McNeese until the Southland moved to I-AA. Yes, I was a I-AA fan, but I watched a LOT of I-A football too.

Oh So you are somewhat normal. Would there be a hard core only I-AA fan out there? Besides the plain states?

[89Hen]

FWIW, and maybe anecdotal at best... I had never once heard of McNeese until the Southland moved to I-AA. Yes, I was a I-AA fan, but I watched a LOT of I-A football too.

Oh So you are somewhat normal. Would there be a hard core only I-AA fan out there? Besides the plain states?

I'm pretty sure we have a few here.

[andy7171]

Oh So you are somewhat normal. Would there be a hard core only I-AA fan out there? Besides the plain states?

I'm pretty sure we have a few here.

Montana, North and South Dakota? Who else could be so far ranged out of normal networking? You'd figure Nebraska fills in all those holes. Iowa State and Iowa(bows to clenz)

[89Hen]

I'm pretty sure we have a few here.

Montana, North and South Dakota? Who else could be so far ranged out of normal networking? You'd figure Nebraska fills in all those holes. Iowa State and Iowa(bows to clenz)

Not sure it's that, but I recall a few guys here pretty adamant about being only I-AA football fans. Hate I-A.

[andy7171]

Montana, North and South Dakota? Who else could be so far ranged out of normal networking? You'd figure Nebraska fills in all those holes. Iowa State and Iowa(bows to clenz)

Not sure it's that, but I recall a few guys here pretty adamant about being only I-AA football fans. Hate I-A.

I mean I remember watching a JMU playoff game and then switched over to a Clemson game a couple years ago. It wasn't even comparable. Its a lower level. I joke around about D.III being 13th grade football or small white man football. It is what it is.

[CID1990]

Montana, North and South Dakota? Who else could be so far ranged out of normal networking? You'd figure Nebraska fills in all those holes. Iowa State and Iowa(bows to clenz)

Not sure it's that, but I recall a few guys here pretty adamant about being only I-AA football fans. Hate I-A.

I'm probably one of those. I've probably been vocal about it here somewhere before. I despise just about everything I-A has done to college football, and the trickle down effect it has had on I-AA

It's one of the reasons I wasn't a fan of App State going up


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[JohnStOnge]

I guess it's kind of an example where, if publicity is what you care about, you can say you get more publicity playing at the top level. Back then there weren't all the cable networks and internet things. This was ABC putting your name up near the end of what was undoubtably a very highly watched nailbiter game.

FWIW, and maybe anecdotal at best... I had never once heard of McNeese until the Southland moved to I-AA. Yes, I was a I-AA fan, but I watched a LOT of I-A football too.

How old are you? I wonder that because there was a 1974 McNeese at Delaware where both teams entered ranked in D-II. McNeese was up 24-7 in the 4th quarter but Delaware came back to win 29-24.

To me that would be a game that a Delaware fan would remember if he was old enough at the time because it was two ranked D-II teams, it looked like Delaware was getting handled, then all of a sudden the Blue Hens came back. Some McNeese fumbles helped. But also I remember that Delaware was a lot bigger than McNeese on the line of scrimmage and I thought that was a factor.

BTW by 1974 the D-II playoffs had started and Delaware went. McNeese did not as they had three subsequent losses that year.

[UNI88]

FWIW, and maybe anecdotal at best... I had never once heard of McNeese until the Southland moved to I-AA. Yes, I was a I-AA fan, but I watched a LOT of I-A football too.

How old are you? I wonder that because there was a 1974 McNeese at Delaware where both teams entered ranked in D-II. McNeese was up 24-7 in the 4th quarter but Delaware came back to win 29-24.

To me that would be a game that a Delaware fan would remember if he was old enough at the time because it was two ranked D-II teams, it looked like Delaware was getting handled, then all of a sudden the Blue Hens came back. Some McNeese fumbles helped. But also I remember that Delaware was a lot bigger than McNeese on the line of scrimmage and I thought that was a factor.

BTW by 1974 the D-II playoffs had started and Delaware went. McNeese did not as they had three subsequent losses that year.

I would guess that 89 was about 7 years old at the time of that game.

[GannonFan]

How old are you? I wonder that because there was a 1974 McNeese at Delaware where both teams entered ranked in D-II. McNeese was up 24-7 in the 4th quarter but Delaware came back to win 29-24.

To me that would be a game that a Delaware fan would remember if he was old enough at the time because it was two ranked D-II teams, it looked like Delaware was getting handled, then all of a sudden the Blue Hens came back. Some McNeese fumbles helped. But also I remember that Delaware was a lot bigger than McNeese on the line of scrimmage and I thought that was a factor.

BTW by 1974 the D-II playoffs had started and Delaware went. McNeese did not as they had three subsequent losses that year.

I would guess that 89 was about 7 years old at the time of that game.

Yup, I was personally just a few months of 2 years old for that game. Was probably there, but clearly I don't remember it firsthand. It certainly is a game that stands in Delaware lore, but I probably didn't become aware of it until late into my teens.

[89Hen]

FWIW, and maybe anecdotal at best... I had never once heard of McNeese until the Southland moved to I-AA. Yes, I was a I-AA fan, but I watched a LOT of I-A football too.

How old are you? I wonder that because there was a 1974 McNeese at Delaware where both teams entered ranked in D-II. McNeese was up 24-7 in the 4th quarter but Delaware came back to win 29-24.

To me that would be a game that a Delaware fan would remember if he was old enough at the time because it was two ranked D-II teams, it looked like Delaware was getting handled, then all of a sudden the Blue Hens came back. Some McNeese fumbles helped. But also I remember that Delaware was a lot bigger than McNeese on the line of scrimmage and I thought that was a factor.

BTW by 1974 the D-II playoffs had started and Delaware went. McNeese did not as they had three subsequent losses that year.

I was 7 and could possibly have been at that game as I used to go a lot as a kid, but can't say I really recall an oddball opponent like MSU. UD had a lot of strange opponents back then like the Merchant Marine Academy and CW Post. I probably chalked it up to one of those.

[css75]

I would guess that 89 was about 7 years old at the time of that game.

Yup, I was personally just a few months of 2 years old for that game. Was probably there, but clearly I don't remember it firsthand. It certainly is a game that stands in Delaware lore, but I probably didn't become aware of it until late into my teens.

I was a jr at ISU then, they were actually relevant at that time.


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