Winning a rivalry game can cement a legacy. These games can also create legends. What happens during a college football rivalry lives on as some of the most iconic moments in the sport.
Sometimes it’s a backup QB who must save the day. Sometimes it’s an unheralded player who saves his biggest performance for his team’s most-hated opponent. Sometimes it’s a player who absolutely owned a rival.
From the Iron Bowl to the Territorial Cup to Michigan-Ohio State, each rivalry has “that guy.” He’ll get random autograph requests. He’ll never buy a meal in his college town. His big play will be a snippet in countless YouTube videos. It’s all because of what he did during Rivalry Week.
Here are a few of our reporters favorite rivalry heroes:
Jump to a game:
Egg Bowl | GT-UGA | Minn-Wisc | Mich-OSU | UF-FSU
Iron Bowl | Tex-A&M | SC-Clem | ASU-UA | Pur-IU
Tenn-Vandy | UK-Lou| UNC-NCSt | ISU-KSU | UVa-VT
Record: Ole Miss leads 65-47-6
Mississippi State DBs Robert Bean and Eugene Clinton, 1999
Record: Georgia leads 71-41-5
Georgia Tech RB Roddy Jones, 2008
Record: Wisconsin leads 63-62-8
Gophers safety Jeff Rosga, 1993
Record: Michigan leads 61-51-6
Michigan WR John Kolesar, 1988
Kolesar might not have ended up at Michigan had it not been for the father of Jim Tressel. Kolesar’s dad, Bill, played for Tressel’s dad, Lee, at Mentor (Ohio) High. Woody Hayes had just taken over at Ohio State in the early 1950s. Lee Tressel then didn’t know what to make of Hayes. So, he encouraged Bill Kolesar to play for Michigan instead.
Ultimately, Hayes would become a Buckeyes icon. Jim Tressel would coach Ohio State to the 2002 national title. And John Kolesar, who followed his father to Ann Arbor, would become a Michigan legend.
In 1988, the Wolverines trailed late. But Kolesar returned the ensuing kickoff 59 yards. Then, he hauled in a winning, 41-yard touchdown from quarterback Demetrius Brown for the 34-31 victory.
“Kolesar won the game for us,” legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler said afterward. “He really bailed us out.”
Kolesar’s son, Caden, also attended Michigan and played a key role on special teams for the Wolverines’ national championship team last season. John Kolesar said he has had many Buckeyes fans buy him a beer over the years while living in the Cleveland area.
“And the biggest question I get is, ‘Oh man, I could never forget [the 1988 game]. Why’d you go to Michigan?'” said Kolesar, who now resides in Florida, though plans to attend this week’s game against Ohio State. “But there are just countless stories of how these two teams are so mirrored and tied to one another.” — Jake Trotter
Ohio State QB Troy Smith, 2006
Record: Florida leads 37-28-2
Florida QB Noah Brindise, 1997
Steve Spurrier has been known to have a flair for the dramatic. But the 1997 game against Florida State took that to another level. Facing undefeated and No. 1 Florida State at home, the two-loss Gators had one goal in mind: Ruin the Seminoles’ national championship chances. To do it, Spurrier made one of the most unconventional decisions of his career: He would rotate Brindise, a former walk-on, and Doug Johnson at quarterback. Not every series.
Every play.
The Gators had scuffled on offense in the second half of the season, and Spurrier had grown frustrated and impatient with all three of his quarterbacks — playing a combination of Johnson, Brindise and freshman Jesse Palmer. To beat the Seminoles, and the No. 3 defense in the country, Spurrier decided switching between quarterbacks would give them the best chance because he could not only coach each between plays — he could send the quarterbacks in with the plays and avoid any signal stealing.
“We were like, it sounds kind of crazy, but let’s do it,” Brindise recalled.
Florida State took a 17-6 lead, but the Gators stormed back and the teams traded the lead in the fourth quarter. With less than two minutes to play, down 29-25, Johnson called for a curl-and-go for Jacquez Green that went for 62 yards. Fred Taylor scored the winning touchdown and Florida won 32-29 in what is still regarded as one of the greatest games ever played in the Swamp. Brindise took the final snap to close out the win, and still has that ball in his office.
“It was one of those magical nights,” said Brindise, who now works in medical device sales. “I still get it pretty regularly from Gator fans who tell me, ‘That was the greatest game I’ve ever seen.’ I think my actual role in helping us win has been inflated quite a bit over the years, but it definitely feels special that I was a part of that.” — Andrea Adelson
FSU QB Marcus Outzen, 1998
Record: Alabama leads 50-37-1
Auburn DB David Langner, 1972
Langner returned two blocked punts for touchdowns on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter, both blocked by Bill Newton, to rally Auburn past No. 2 and unbeaten Alabama in a 17-16 win at Legion Field in a 1972 game that will forever be known as “Punt Bama Punt.”
The Crimson Tide led 16-3 with just under six minutes to play when Langner returned the first blocked punt 25 yards for a touchdown and the second one 20 yards for a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining. Langner also intercepted a last-ditch pass by Alabama to seal the win. It was Alabama’s only SEC loss between 1970 and 1976, and it was another decade before Auburn would beat Alabama again.
“Both of the balls looked identical to me,” Langner said after the game. “They just bounced into my hands. All I had to do was pick them up and run. It was by far the greatest thrill I’ve ever had.”
The Alabama punter that day was Greg Gantt. He and Langner went to high school together at Woodlawn High in Birmingham. Sadly, they both died young and only 2½ years apart, Gantt in 2011 of complications from heart disease and diabetes, and Langner in 2014 of cancer. — Low
Alabama DB Rory Turner, 1984
Record: Texas leads 76-37-5
Texas DB Mark Berry, 1990
Record: Clemson leads 73-43-4
Clemson WR Rod Gardner, 2000
For South Carolina fans, the play will forever be known as “The Push-Off.” That’s not how Rod Gardner — or anyone in Clemson orange, for that matter — remembers it, though.
The Gamecocks led 14-13 with just 19 seconds to play in their tilt with rival Clemson on Nov. 18, 2000. The Tigers, led by QB Woody Dantzler, were deep in their own territory, facing a third-and-12. They needed a miracle. Gardner delivered with either one of the most remarkable catches in school history or, for the folks from Columbia, one of the most egregious non-calls in the rivalry’s history. Dantzler heaved a pass deep down the right sideline, and Gardner — with three South Carolina defenders surrounding him — hauled in the catch for a 50-yard gain. Clemson sprinted to the line of scrimmage, spiked the ball, then booted a short field goal for a 16-14 win.
The Tigers anointed the play “The Catch II,” the heir apparent to the original “Catch,” made by Jerry Butler in a 1977 win over the Gamecocks.
Gardner became a first-round draft pick the next spring, going 15th overall to the Washington Redskins. He finished his rookie season with 741 yards — including 208 in a game against Carolina that year — and four touchdowns, then blossomed in 2002, catching 71 passes for 1,006 yards and eight touchdowns. In 2003, he even got some work at QB, throwing two TDs. After four seasons with Washington, he spent parts of 2005 and 2006 with Kansas City, Carolina and Green Bay before retiring from football. He’d later star on season 36 of “The Amazing Race” with his wife. They finished third.
“I did have my hand on his shoulder. But I never pushed him. Never extended,” Gardner told The Athletic in 2020. “I just had my hand on his shoulder to feel where he was at, and when the ball came, I made the catch and it was game over. And it was the best play ever.” — Hale
South Carolina QB Mike Hold, 1984
In 1984, QB Mike Hold had alternated with Allen Mitchell at QB that season then helped rally the Gamecocks from a 21-3 deficit on the road against Clemson.
With seconds left, Hold scored the winning 1-yard touchdown, giving South Carolina its first win at Clem
It was a wild finish, as Hold’s TD tied the game after he completed a huge 36-yard pass a few minutes earlier. But the Gamecocks needed the extra point to win it. Scott Hagler hooked the PAT to the left, but Clemson had 12 men on the field. Hagler got another chance and made it this time. Clemson got the ball back but couldn’t get a first down.
The game ended with Hold taking a knee and famously handing the ball to massive Clemson DT William “Refrigerator” Perry, who wouldn’t take it. There’s an iconic photo of that moment.
Hold later appeared in “The Program” and “The Waterboy” as a college quarterback. — Low
Record: Arizona leads 51-45-1
Arizona State DL James Brooks, 2010
At roughly 270 pounds when playing for the Sun Devils, one would expect that defensive end James Brooks’ athleticism would be shown horizontally more than vertically. Yet on a Saturday night in Tucson during the 2010 season, Brooks’ leaping abilities saved ASU not once but twice in a double-overtime thriller.
When QB Nick Foles led the Wildcats to what looked like a game-winning drive with 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Arizona needed only a PAT to emerge victorious. But as the ball was kicked, Brooks leapt in the air and blocked it, sending the game into overtime. In overtime, Brooks did it again. Arizona needed to match ASU’s touchdown in the second overtime period, but after it got into the end zone, it all came down to another PAT. Brooks once again flew through the air, and this time his block was a walk-off that put Arizona State at six wins and sent it to a bowl game.
“I go down in the books as a Sun Devil forever,” Brooks said at the time. “More important than getting the glory, I get to be around ASU and the history books forever.”
Brooks left the team the following year for personal reasons, but he has carved out a career for himself in the European League of Football. Brooks first played for the Cologne Falcons in 2013 and has been suiting up at defensive end for the Prague Lions for the past four seasons. — Paolo Uggetti
Arizona K Max Zendejas, 1985
Record: Purdue leads 77-42-2
Purdue LB Mike Marks, 1980
Record: Tennessee leads 80-33-5
Tennessee DB Eric Berry, 2008
Record: Kentucky leads 20-15
Louisville RB Tony Stallings, 2000
Record: UNC leads 68-39-6
UNC RB Giovani Bernard, 2012
Record: Iowa State leads 53-50-4
Kansas State QB Adam Helm, 1999
Record: Virginia Tech leads 61-38-5
Virginia DL Eli Hanback, 2019
Eli Hanback grew up in Ashland, Virginia, as a huge Virginia fan, dreaming about one day playing for the Cavaliers. During his childhood, the rivalry with Virginia Tech was not much of a rivalry: Going back to 1999, the Hokies had won every matchup except one, and the streak continued once Hanback got to Virginia and earned a starting job on the defensive line.
That is, until 2019.
The entire season, Hanback said the Virginia motto was, “Beat Tech,” after a heartbreaking overtime loss the previous season. Both teams went into the game 8-3, with veteran quarterbacks on each side leading the way. It went back-and-forth the entirety of the second half. Virginia went up 33-30 with 1:23 to play, but had to defend dual-threat quarterback Hendon Hooker to close out the game. Virginia fans had grown accustomed to expecting the worst, but Hanback ensured there would be a different ending this time around.
On third-and-21 from the Virginia Tech 7, Mandy Alonso sacked Hendon Hooker, forcing the ball free in the end zone. Hanback saw it and pounced for a game-sealing touchdown. When he got up, he raised the ball triumphantly into the air. Virginia secured a 39-30 win — its first over the Hokies since 2003 — and a spot in the ACC championship game.
“That streak was hanging over my head forever, and as a player I could finally have an impact on it in my last year, in my last game at Scott Stadium,” said Hanback, who works at Capital One in Virginia.” I don’t think I’d ever in my wildest dreams would’ve imagined doing that.” — Adelson
Virginia Tech WR Jermaine Holmes, 1995
The play that will live forever as one of the greatest moments in Virginia Tech history was meant for receiver Jermaine Holmes.
How else to explain how he ended up with the game-winning score? The Hokies trailed rival Virginia in 1995 with less than a minute left in the game. That is when the most memorable swap in school history happened. Holmes, usually the slot receiver, switched with Cornelius White and went to the outside. White had run several deep routes and needed a break.
The call came in to quarterback Jim Druckenmiller. He was going to throw it for Holmes.
“When Jim signaled that play, it was one of those moments where you know you’re about to score a touchdown, and it’s going to be huge,” Holmes said.
Indeed, the hook-and-go call — which involved a pump fake to make Virginia bite — went to Holmes, streaking down the middle of the field. It landed perfectly into his arms in the end zone — a 32-yard touchdown catch that helped the Hokies win 36-29.
Virginia Tech fans stormed the field. Yes, they stormed Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, in what turned out to be a program defining win. The Hokies made it to the Sugar Bowl, beginning their stretch of dominance under then-coach Frank Beamer.
Holmes has his Sugar Bowl jersey and a photo of his game-winning catch hanging up in his home. A moment he calls extraordinary because “it could have very well been Cornelius in that position.”
“This is one of those moments that will live on forever and I am just proud to be a part of it,” said Holmes, who is now a project manager running clinical trials. “God put me in that position to be able to have that moment, and it’s cool to be able to have conversations about it 29 years later.” — Adelson
