This Week In College Football History, Dec. 4-10
Courtesy of The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, Inc.
December 3, 2007

FEATURED MOMENT:

Dec. 7, 1996: Army (9-1) and Navy (9-1) enter the December classic with their best records in 33 years. With an Independence Bowl bid riding on the outcome, the Black Knights edge the Midshipmen 28-24 in Philadelphia. Navy builds a 21-3 lead, but Army makes the then-biggest comeback in the 96-year history of the series behind QB Ronnie McAda’s 250 yards of total offense. President Bill Clinton is on hand to present the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to Army.

OTHER NOTABLE DATES:

Dec. 4, 1976: Future College Football Hall of Fame coaches Frank Broyles of Arkansas and Darrell Royal of Texas complete their on-field careers as UT downs the Razorbacks 29-12 in Austin. Another Hall of Famer and ’77 Heisman Trophy winner, Texas RB Earl Campbell, sparks the victory with 131 yards rushing as Broyles and Royal cap their legacies with 300-plus combined triumphs.

Dec. 5, 1997: Quarterback Chad Pennington and WR Randy Moss don’t let a heavy covering of snow slow down their game of pitch and catch, as Marshall wins the inaugural Mid-American Conference championship 34-14 over Toledo in Huntington,
W. Va.

Dec. 6, 1985: Wyoming defeats UTEP 24-21 in a Western Athletic Conference bout and first-ever FBS (formerly Division I-A) football contest played in Australia. The teams draw 22,000 at the Victoria Footbll League Park/Cricket Grounds in Melbourne.

Dec. 8, 2001: Hawai’i knocks Brigham Young from the ranks of the unbeaten and a possible first trek to a Bowl Championship Series contest with a 72-45 stunner over the Cougars in Honolulu. BYU, 12-0 at the time, falls in the wake of a school-most eight touchdowns and 543 passing yards by Warriors’ QB Nick Rolovich.

Dec. 9, 1876: Yale completes an undefeated season by downing Columbia 2-0 in a special neutral-site tussle at Hoboken, N.J. The Bulldogs finish the year at 3-0 for their third undefeated season in the first five years of Yale football.

Dec. 10, 1967: Philadelphia-area power West Chester (Pa.) falls to defensive-minded Morgan State of Baltimore in the Florida sunshine during the earliest Tangerine Bowl (by date) in history at Orlando. MSU’s 11-yard pass interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter proves decisive in the 20th anniversary of the initial Tangerine Bowl in 1947.