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It's not quite on par with either of Adam Vinatieri's Super Bowl winning kicks and not nearly as well remembered as Doug Flutie's Hail Mary, but David Gordon's 41-yard boot to upend top-ranked Notre Dame in 1993 has to rank as one of the biggest plays in New England football history.
As a fourteen-year-old baseball fan, there's a good chance that this might have been the first college football game I ever watched in its entirety. I can't really say why I picked that Saturday afternoon to spend three hours in front of my brother's 13" black and white television - all I can figure is that was around the time my weird desire to attend Boston College began (for about three years, until I actually looked into cost and majors and stuff like that, I "knew" I was going to BC), although it could've been as simple as being interested in seeing the number one team in the nation play a school from my own backyard.
I don't remember a lot of details about the game itself. Glen Foley led the Eagles to a seemingly insurmountable 38-17 fourth quarter lead...then the Irish charged back with three scores of their own, plus a two-point conversion, to take a one point lead into the final minutes of play.
It should've been a great escape for Notre Dame, the type of necessary speed bump that great teams have to face before they can take their place among history's best. Should've been...
Instead, Foley took the ball and started the two-minute drill, moving down the field as the Irish watched their title hopes slip away, yard by yard. His day finished at the 24-yard line, seconds left on the clock, Gordon taking his place as the centerpiece of the offense. The lefty kicker, who was either a freshman or a senior if I'm remembering correctly (and I'm probably not), made a perfect approach that sent the ball up...breaking to the right, it's gonna go wide right...no, it's straightening out...GOOD!! 41-39, game over.
That's all I remember - a handful of details and the fact that when Gordon's kick went through, I was so excited that I performed the first and only backwards somersault - in midair - of my life. It wasn't the most graceful of maneuvers - My poor mother was convinced that New Hampshire was experiencing a rare earthquake and the house was going to come down around her ears. But hey, such is the price of youthful exuberance.
Anyway, let's hope Saturday's game between Boston College and Notre Dame is exciting for different reasons...because this time, the Eagles are the team that's looking to prove they belong near the top of the rankings and the Irish are the guys looking for the upset.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Visual Crack: The Third Greatest Field Goal In New England Sports History
Posted by One More Dying Quail at 7:32 PM
Labels: Boston College, college football, David Gordon, Glen Foley, Notre Dame, visual crack
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7 Comments:
I was on the wrong side of this one (as an ND fan). This game was about as painful as it gets. If Pete Bercich didn't drop the easy INT that went right into his hands on that last drive, ND would be national champions.
I was also 14, attending a Jesuit high school and an avid ND hater. I have very clear memories of watching this entire game and thinking "there's too much time left."
thanks for posting this
Wow, great job by the holder--that snap was above his head.
I think the biggest play of the drive was before it started. ND receied a 15 yard personal foul on the kickoff and BC got the ball at about their own 40. I think there was about :40 seconds left so without that play, the winning kick probably wouldn't have happened.
funny, I had the exact same experience, 14, swore I would go to B.C., and later became aware of the cost and that Jesuit means "not protestant". It was a great game...I could be wrong, but i believe that B.C. has faired pretty well against Notre Dame ever since.
John C. That's an excellent memory and you're right, that penalty was the key play that no one remembered. However, you're a little off on the details. The return man had fumbled the kickoff and only gotten to the 10. So the 15 yard penalty was huge as it took BC to the 25. Foley also missed his first 2 passes so it was 3rd and 10 before the drive started clicking.
Also, the campus went nuts that night. The state police had to be called in. Some dude threw a full beer can through a police car's window and several cars were overturned or had their roofs smashed in from people gathered on them. Good times, good times.
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