11-28-2020, 06:06 AM
The Big Game has a way of producing heroes, some more likely than others. Although Thomas Booker is one of our best players, I think he fits the "unlikely" qualification because blocked kicks are pretty rare, and he had not one but two of them in the 2020 Big Game.
Below is my list of Big Game heroes who were relatively unheralded players and/or stepped up to make a dramatic play. I avoided naming guys like Troy Walters, Andrew Luck, Ty Montgomery, or Christian McCaffrey on this very subjective list.
1989: Tuan Van Le for blocking the field goal to preserve the tie
1990: Onside kick team
1995: Kwame Ellis for stripping Tony Gonzalez
1997: Chris Draft for intercepting Justin Vedder with Stanford up 21-18 and Cal approaching field goal range late in the fourth quarter
1998: Emory Brock for his two catches for 100 yards, including the one that set up the game's only touchdown; the defense for sacking Vedder something like nine times
1999: Casey Moore
2000: Casey Moore (again)
2007: Nick Sanchez
2017: Ben Edwards for intercepting Ross Bowers
Who would be on your list?
Below is my list of Big Game heroes who were relatively unheralded players and/or stepped up to make a dramatic play. I avoided naming guys like Troy Walters, Andrew Luck, Ty Montgomery, or Christian McCaffrey on this very subjective list.
1989: Tuan Van Le for blocking the field goal to preserve the tie
1990: Onside kick team
1995: Kwame Ellis for stripping Tony Gonzalez
1997: Chris Draft for intercepting Justin Vedder with Stanford up 21-18 and Cal approaching field goal range late in the fourth quarter
1998: Emory Brock for his two catches for 100 yards, including the one that set up the game's only touchdown; the defense for sacking Vedder something like nine times
1999: Casey Moore
2000: Casey Moore (again)
2007: Nick Sanchez
2017: Ben Edwards for intercepting Ross Bowers
Who would be on your list?
Formerly posted on TOS as YCF, mostly a lurker now