Some college football records are more interesting

Exploring college football’s record book is an eye opening experience. In many ways the history of the game unfolds right in front of you. Reviewing passing records reveals the transition from three yards and a cloud of dust to the spread offenses that dominate offensive stats today. Individual performances jump off the pages, like the incredible year Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State had in 1988 where his season was not defined by 200 yard games, but the four he had over 300.

A figure that is really kind of staggering, even when considering the high powered offenses of today, is the single game passing record held by David Klinger of Houston. In a 62-45 win over Arizona State he threw the ball around all day, and when the air was cleared had passed for 716 yards.

There are other records we don’t think about very often that are interesting because when we see them, we just scratch our heads and ponder the reality of them. When you recall the 1916 game between Cumberland and Georgia Tech it is difficult to figure how there is even enough time for one team to score 222 points. The reason may be an offense for Cumberland that was just as inept as their defense, since they were shut out in the game.

But we don’t recall some moments because they did not happen in an era when replay is found for every game played from pee-wee to the NFL. Records are broken at all levels as well, and sometimes it is hard to find the superlatives that occur in the levels below the Bowl Championship Division of the NCAA, you know, Division I. Beyond being broke at lower levels, it is special teams that cause the curious to stop and ponder just what the day was like for the record holder.

For example, in 1976 Ove Johansson sent a field goal 69 yards off a 2-inch tee against East Texas State. It was an NAIA game, but hey, 69 yards is 69 yards in high school, college or the NFL. How do you even begin to line that one up and decide how much to get under it? What was the wind like? When the ball came off Johansson’s foot you have to wonder at what point he knew it was good. It would be hard to imagine he kicked it and instantly raised his arms making the call; after all, the ball would have taken almost as long to reach the uprights as it does to fly from Atlanta to Miami. While we would like for a kick of this distance to have some magnitude as every player and fan held their breath to see if the short par three drive would be good or not, this is not the case. The final score of the game was 17-0.

What is a busy day for your team’s punter? Do you even know his name? If you saw him ten times a game you would probably want the offensive coordinator fired. It was 1939 and Texas Tech played Centenary during a downpour in Shreveport. The game was an event that would cause current Tech coach, Mike Leach, to have a stroke. On that day the Red Raiders Charlie Calhoun punted the ball thirty-six times. THIRTY-SIX! He was credited with 1318 kicking yards that day. Twenty of his attempts were returned, eight went out of bounds while six were downed. For the day the number one was only used twice to describe Calhoun’s efforts. He had one roll into the end zone for a touchback and one blocked. Of his punts that day the most eye opening number is thirty-three. That is how many times he punted the ball on first down. Guess the coaches felt field position was important that day. The outcome? A scoreless tie.

Kicking the ball is easy compared to setting a record the way T.J. Mayer did in a 2003 game when Waldorf played SMSU. Mayer had the privilege of returning thirteen kickoffs before the final gun sounded. How does one guy get into a position to return that many kickoffs in four quarters of football? You lose the game by a score of 84-7. Obviously on a team outmanned in every way, Mayer had to walk the field over and over that day, and run headfirst into a swarm of SMSU players. His blocking could not have been any better than the teams other skill players had that day. And he had a head full of steam every time. Beyond this particular game Mayer was given plenty of other return opportunities that season. Waldorf went 0-11 and gave up seventy or more points in three other games.

This year keep an eye on the record book, and the next time you hear someone asking a superstar how they feel about having their longstanding record broken think of poor A.J. His record might never be broken, and more important there is probably not a player out there that wants his title.

Gary Brown
gary@secmatchups.com