When Nate Whitaker kicked the winning field goal last night against USC, it was the first time Stanford won a game on the last play of the game since . . . well, it depends on how you look at it.
The last time Stanford won a game on the last play was against UCBerkeley in the 2000 Big Game. That was an overtime game, and when Randy Fasani hit Casey Moore for a TD, Stanford had a 36-30 win. But of course, overtime is a different sort of thing. There was no clock to beat. Nobody knew it would be the last play until after it happened.
The last time Stanford won a game on the last play of regulation time was the 2000 game against USC . . . almost, but not officially. Stanford trailed 30-26 and had time for one more play. Chris Lewis hit Jamien McCullum with a TD pass as the clock reached 0:00, giving Stanford the win, 32-30. But that wasn\'t actually the last play. Stanford was required to attempt the conversion, because there was a theoretical chance that USC could have recovered a fumble or blocked a kick and returned it for 2 points to tie the game. Stanford had to kneel down on the conversion attempt before the result was official. So it wasn\'t officially a "last play" win.
The last time Stanford officially won a game on the last play of regulation time was the Notre Dame game in 1999, when Mike Biselli kicked a field goal with no time remaining to give Stanford a 40-37 win. That game had some similarity to last night\'s game. Notre Dame scored a TD and a 2-point conversion with 1:32 remaining to tie the game, 37-37. Todd Husak then drove the Cardinal down the field to set up Biselli\'s winning FG.
But that 1999 Notre Dame game lacked one element that was present last night against USC. That ND game was tied, so if the FG attempt had been unsuccessful, there would have been overtime, rather than a loss. It wasn\'t a "do or die" situation where a score meant a win, and an unsuccessful attempt meant a loss. The 2000 Big Game wasn\'t "do or die" either -- if the pass had been incomplete, Stanford still would have had the ball with a chance to win. So far as I can tell, the last time Stanford won a game on the last play in a "do or die" situation was the 1990 Big Game, when John Hopkins kicked the game-winning FG as time expired to give Stanford a 27-25 win.
All of which is by way of saying that last night\'s final-play victory was a special, rare win. The fact that it came against USC, on national TV, on our home field, in front of a sell-out crowd, on a perfect night for football, just made it that much sweeter. . .
The last time Stanford won a game on the last play was against UCBerkeley in the 2000 Big Game. That was an overtime game, and when Randy Fasani hit Casey Moore for a TD, Stanford had a 36-30 win. But of course, overtime is a different sort of thing. There was no clock to beat. Nobody knew it would be the last play until after it happened.
The last time Stanford won a game on the last play of regulation time was the 2000 game against USC . . . almost, but not officially. Stanford trailed 30-26 and had time for one more play. Chris Lewis hit Jamien McCullum with a TD pass as the clock reached 0:00, giving Stanford the win, 32-30. But that wasn\'t actually the last play. Stanford was required to attempt the conversion, because there was a theoretical chance that USC could have recovered a fumble or blocked a kick and returned it for 2 points to tie the game. Stanford had to kneel down on the conversion attempt before the result was official. So it wasn\'t officially a "last play" win.
The last time Stanford officially won a game on the last play of regulation time was the Notre Dame game in 1999, when Mike Biselli kicked a field goal with no time remaining to give Stanford a 40-37 win. That game had some similarity to last night\'s game. Notre Dame scored a TD and a 2-point conversion with 1:32 remaining to tie the game, 37-37. Todd Husak then drove the Cardinal down the field to set up Biselli\'s winning FG.
But that 1999 Notre Dame game lacked one element that was present last night against USC. That ND game was tied, so if the FG attempt had been unsuccessful, there would have been overtime, rather than a loss. It wasn\'t a "do or die" situation where a score meant a win, and an unsuccessful attempt meant a loss. The 2000 Big Game wasn\'t "do or die" either -- if the pass had been incomplete, Stanford still would have had the ball with a chance to win. So far as I can tell, the last time Stanford won a game on the last play in a "do or die" situation was the 1990 Big Game, when John Hopkins kicked the game-winning FG as time expired to give Stanford a 27-25 win.
All of which is by way of saying that last night\'s final-play victory was a special, rare win. The fact that it came against USC, on national TV, on our home field, in front of a sell-out crowd, on a perfect night for football, just made it that much sweeter. . .