The Play
"The Play" refers to a dramatic and unforgettable moment in college football during the 1982 game between the University of California Golden Bears and Stanford University Cardinal, a rivalry noted for its intensity and history. In this particular match, both teams were struggling in the season, tied for sixth place in the Pac-10 conference. As the game neared its conclusion, Stanford took the lead with a field goal, leaving California with a mere four seconds to respond. What followed was a chaotic series of laterals by California players, culminating in a touchdown run by Kevin Moen, who navigated through both defenders and a crowd of Stanford band members who had inadvertently taken the field, believing the game was over.
The successful play resulted in California winning the game 25 to 20, despite Stanford's protests about the legality of the play. The event became legendary over time, frequently referenced in discussions about remarkable sports moments and analyzed in various media outlets, including a prominent feature in Sports Illustrated. The Play not only highlights the unpredictability of sports but also reflects the passionate rivalries and traditions that are central to college football culture.
The Play
The Event The University of California defeats Stanford University with a bizarre, last-second kickoff return
Date November 20, 1982
Place Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California
The 1982 NCAA football game between California and Stanford had little meaning apart from the intense rivalry between its participants, since neither one was ranked that season. However, the wild and unorthodox nature of California’s last-second kickoff return, the heated controversy it caused, and the appearance of the Stanford band on the field while the play was still ongoing combined to produce what is often considered American football’s most memorable play.
The football rivalry between the University of California Golden Bears and the Stanford University Cardinal is one of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football’s longest and most intense. The 1982 game between the two schools, the eighty-fifth in the rivalry, featured two teams that had experienced disappointing seasons. They were tied for sixth place in the Pac-10 conference, and each had suffered several lopsided defeats. The game proved to be as close as their similar records would have suggested. With little time remaining, Stanford trailed 19 to 17 and faced a fourth down with seventeen yards to go. The team’s star quarterback, John Elway , completed a pass for a first down and then drove the Cardinal to within field-goal range. Kicker Mark Harmon then kicked a successful field goal, putting Stanford ahead, 20 to 19, with only four seconds remaining.
What happened next left everyone in shock. Harmon kicked a short rolling kickoff that was fielded by California’s Kevin Moen on the Golden Bears’ forty-three-yard line. As the Stanford players approached, he lateraled the ball to Richard Rodgers along the left sideline. Rodgers quickly pitched the ball to Dwight Garner, who ran straight into a crowd of tacklers and was swarmed. As several Cardinal players began to celebrate, the ball flew out of the pile back to Rodgers, who raced across the field with a pack of teammates close behind. On the Stanford forty-five-yard line, he confronted a defender and pitched the ball to Mariet Ford. Ford took the ball another twenty yards where, as he was being wrapped up by a trio of tacklers, he blindly threw it over his shoulder to Moen. Moen had only one Cardinal between him and the goal with a teammate already blocking the defender, but surprisingly, the Stanford band had wandered onto the field, assuming the game to be over, so Moen had to run the final twenty yards through a sea of red-coated students racing wildly to get out of his way. As he crossed the goal line, he leaped into the air to celebrate and fell directly onto trombone player Gary Tyrrell, who was oblivious to the chaos occurring behind him.
Though penalty flags had been thrown all across the field and with Stanford insisting that Garner had been tackled before lateraling the ball, officials decided that the play was legal and that California had won the game, with a final score of 25 to 20.
Impact
The incident—which became known as the Play—quickly became legendary. Sports Illustrated published an extensive analysis of the play in a feature article less than a year later, and the play regularly appeared in polls and retrospectives highlighting the most memorable moments in sports history.
Bibliography
Bradley, Michael. Big Games: College Football’s Greatest Rivalries. Dulles, Va.: Potomac, 2006.
Mandell, Ted. Heart Stoppers and Hail Marys: The Greatest College Football Finishes, Since 1970. South Bend, Ind.: Hardwood, 2006.