2007 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Joe Paterno led Penn State to its first conference championship in 1994.

As part of an ongoing series throughout the fall, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame posts in advance This Week in College Football History, which takes a look back at some of college football’s landmark moments over the last 139 years. During the season, many of these events are featured in a changing exhibit at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.

If you choose to use this content in whole or in part, as a courtesy, please credit The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.

FEATURED MOMENT:

Nov. 12, 1994: Penn State clinches its first-ever Big Ten Conference championship with a nail-biting 35-31 comeback win over Illinois with a pair of 90-plus yard drives in the second half. The winning push, still known in University Park as “The Drive” takes up over seven minutes of time in the fourth quarter and results in the four-point triumph for 2006 Gold Medal co-recipient PSU head coach Joe Paterno.

OTHER NOTABLE DATES:

Nov. 6, 1869: First college football game is played between Rutgers and Princeton in New Brunswick, N.J., and the future Scarlet Knights edge the future Tigers 6-4.

Nov. 7, 1925: Brown and Boston University attempt a “scripted” game where each team ran 40 plays (20 each) from scrimmage each quarter without a running clock. Brown prevails 42-6 in the Providence, R.I. tussle.

Nov. 8, 1958: Oklahoma Panhandle State standout RB Junior Wolf scores eight touchdowns (all rushing TDs) and 48 points in an 81-18 triumph over St. Mary of the Plains (Kan.).

Nov. 9, 1912: The lateral pass is used as an offensive weapon for the first time by head coach William F. Carney of Worcester Tech in a 14-13 Tech triumph over Amherst (Mass.).

Nov. 10, 2001: NC State head coach Chuck Amato upsets his former boss Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden 34-28 in Tallahassee. The loss marks Bowden’s first-ever Homecoming loss in 25 seasons with the Seminoles and FSU’s first ACC home defeat since joining the league in 1992.

Nov. 11, 1939: Texas Tech and Centenary (La.) play in a torrential downpour in Shreveport, La., resulting in an NCAA-record 77 punts (39 by Tech, 38 by the Gentlemen) and a scoreless tie. There are also 42 punts returned (another NCAA game mark), four blocked kicks, 67 punts on first down, and 22 consecutive first-down kicks by both teams during a skein in the third and fourth periods. Texas Tech runs a total of 12 offensive plays (10 rushes, two passes) for a net of negative one yard.


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