Hey All,
After a rather lackluster football weekend, it's time once again for another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Trojan Flashback: Jim Hardy and the Terrible No Good, Very Bad Game
I know we've all had our share of bad days. Jim Hardy's made football history. Jim Hardy was a USC legend. As a QB at SC, Hardy was named MVP of the 1945 Rose Bowl when the Trojans shutout Tennessee, 25-0. Hardy went on to a career in the NFL. He played for the Chicago Cardinals. He also had one of the worst games a QB could ever have. Hardy set an NFL record for throwing eight interceptions in a single game. On face value that's awful. This intrepid reporter just discovered some extra facts about this game that really make this story worth retelling. Discovered, really meaning I had just not heard these facts before.
The awful game took place September 24, 1950. This was the opening game of the season in the NFL and the Cardinals were hosting the Philadelphia Eagles. Hardy's bad day started before he even got to the stadium. Hardy was driving to Comiskey Park which served as the Cardinals home field. Hardy was driving fellow teammates Charley Trippi and Mal Kutner to the game. The trio of Birds got into an accident on the way to the stadium. Trippi and Kutner were able to leave the scene of accident and make it to the game in time for warmups. No such luck for Hardy. He stayed with the car and made out the police report. Hardy made it to the game in time for kickoff. He wasn't checked over by the team doctor, didn't warm up and was sent in to start the game at QB by HC Curly Lambeau. Hardy threw three interceptions in the first half and the Cardinals trialed, 31-0 at intermission. Hardy would throw five more picks to set the all-time NFL record in what would be a 45-7 loss. Oh, and in addition to his eight interceptions, he also fumbled twice. Hardy was responsible for 10 turnovers. The add insult to injury, Hardy was finally pulled form the game in the fourth quarter, but it did no good. His backup, Frank Tripucka lasted just three plays. Tripucka got injured and Hardy had to come back in and finish the game. Things did get better for Hardy. The very next week he threw six TD passes in a 55-13 rout of the Baltimore Colts.
Observations
...Not impressive; This football weekend was pretty dull. That point was enforced by the fact that the Big XII, one of the three Power Five conferences playing right now, only played one game and that was between West Virginia and Kansas.
...Feeling special in Big D; SMU is 5-0.
...Pac 12 release update. The Pac 12 released its' minimum standards for players needed to play a game and all its' tie-breaker ruled for this crazy season. 53 is a magic number
...Karma is still the champ; Florida HC Dan Mullen whining about crowds and screaming for a full house v. LSU got a double shot of Karma. The LSU game was postponed this past week due to positive COVID tests at Florida and Mullen himself announced his positive test last Saturday.
...A 10,000 lakes legend; 100-year old Minnesota Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman passed away this past week. He was still active writing three columns a week. His first column was printed in 1944. The man had 21,000 bylines. Good bye, Sid
...329 ain't fine; Ole Miss gave up 329 yards less than they did last week and still surrendered 394 total yard to Arkansas. Facepalm.
...Emptied Benches; Clemson totally emptied their benches in their 73-7 rout of Georgia Tech. Tigers Punter Will Spiers saw time at QB. The former high school QB completed two of three passes for 13 yards and a first down v. the Yellow Jackets.
...Not cool; Former ASU HC and current Hawaii coach Todd Graham had a collection of title rings form his coaching career stolen. Not easy to fence
...Trivia about nothing; The NCAA has allowed players to wear the number 0 this year. That got me thinking about how the NFL outlawed the use of 0 and 00 back in the early '70s. Those who already wore the number were allowed to wear them for the rest of their careers. Who were the last players in the NFL to wear 0 and 00?
...A rumbling in the midwest. The Big Ten returns to play this week. How do I Know? There is a fresh article about how bad Jim Harbaugh is at Michigan. Har-gone?
...Not a good sign; Tennessee just fired their D-line coach after the Volunteers lost at home to Kentucky for the first time since 1984. Oh, and this week the Vols take on Bama.
...A mess in the land of the Hawkeye; Players who allege they've suffered racial discrimination at Iowa are demanding 20 million from the school and for HC Kirk Ferentz to be fired. Hawkeye Pain
...Victory comes at a price; Kentucky LB J.J. Evans got kicked into groin by Tennessee WR Ramel Keyton during the Wildcats win over the Vols. Keyton was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, but not ejected. Low Blow
...A trophy on the line; Week one of the Big Ten schedule features a battle for the Little Brown Jug between Michigan and Minnesota.
...Early returns are in; Arkansas HC Sam Pittman could probably win any statewide election right now as a write-in candidate.
...PETA slam; A pair of protestors form PETA ran onto the field during the first half of the Texas A&M-Mississippi State game at Starkville. The protestors were ran down and tackled by security, then taken off the field to the cheers of MSU fans and the ring of their cowbells. I can't blame the crowd for cheering, those were the best defensive moves made by anyone representing Mississippi State in weeks.
...A strange anniversary; 10 years ago Rufus, the Ohio U Bobcat took a punch at Brutus, TheeOSU's Buckeye mascot. Really, Rufus?
...Hero to zero; Mississippi State QB K.J. Costello went from transfer hero in the Bulldogs season opening upset over LSU to a benched zero in the Bulldogs third straight loss last week to Texas A&M. Mike Leach made Costello's starting status going forward uncertain when he said postgame that the starting QB slot "will be evaluated" during the Bulldogs upcoming bye week.
...They didn't make it to week one; Purdue HC Jeff Brohm tested positive for COVID with symptoms this week. He will not be on the sideline for the Boilermakers opener.
...1933 perspective; Yes, South Carolina beat Auburn for the first time since 1933. However, the series between the schools is only 13 games long and the pair didn't play each other from 1934-1995.
...Trivia Answer; The answers to this nothing of a question are Ken Burrough and Obert Logan. Burrough spent his whole 11-year career as a WR for the Houston Oilers wearing 00. Obert Logan had a very short NFL career, but wore 0 for the 1967 New Orleans Saints.
A Hockey Farewell
Legendary NHL play-by-play man Mike "Doc" Emrick has hung up his microphone. He announced his retirement Monday and left this wonderful farewell video behind. So long, Doc
RIP Occidental College Football 1894-2020
Last week, Occidental College officially dropped football. To those who followed the fortunes of the Tigers this decision was not a shock. The program had been on life support for the last few seasons as regular alums and former players tried to save the team. Still, the decision finally coming down leaves a sad and hollow feeling for this old Tiger. Oxy faded from the upper levels of college football in the late 1920s- early 1930s as USC grew into a national power and UCLA started its' rise to become a rival to the Trojans. Many men played for Oxy in anonymity, but they played because they loved the game. With the program terminated, Oxy does go out as holding the edge in the big rivalry with Whittier College. The Tigers will now forever hold a 57-53-2 edge in the series, but not the series trophy. The Trophy for the game known quite appropriately as "The Shoes",which is just a pair of bronzed cleats on a trophy base, resides at Whittier. The Poets won the last two games in the series. One of my favorite memories playing at Oxy was in 1987, when as a freshman and member of the field goal block unit, I crashed through the line with several of my teammates to snuff out a fake field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter. The special teams stop was a key part of Oxy's 6-0 win that cold November night so many years ago. Good bye, Oxy football.
Departments
Blowout Game of the Week: Spearfish, SD- This week's game comes form the D-II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Colorado Mesa Mavericks whipped the Black Hills State Yellow Jackets, 56-7 in game that featured the right conditions for Mesa's ground attack. It snowed the entire game and the field was covered in the white stuff from the kickoff until time ran out. RB Jesse Rodriquez was the workhorse for the Mavericks. He toted the rock 24 times for 161 yards and a TD, while backfield mate D'aris McMillan tallied three TDs on only eight carries. Mesa racked up almost 600 yards of total offense with 392 coming on the ground. The Mavericks took a 21-7 lead into the half and then dominated the second half, blanking the Yellow Jackets, 35-0 for the big win.
Razorback Report: Fayetteville, AR- Well, how about the defense for the Hogs? They took on the Ole Miss offense that put up over 600 yards on Alabama the week before and held it to a little over half of that and picked off Ole Miss QB Matt Corral six, count 'em six times in a 33-21 win over the Rebels. The Razorbacks are now 2-2 on the year and are really a bad call away from being 3-1 in the SEC. Best part of Saturday's Razorback win is that Hudson Clark, the DB that picked off three passes in the game is no longer a walk on. HC Sam Pittman awarded Clark a scholarship after the game. That's a feel good story if there ever was one. Up next for the Hogs is a bye followed by a date with the Texas A&M Aggies on Halloween.
This Week's Three Things About Nothing...
Three Musketeers is the candy bar equivalent of Cotton Candy; It's just some flavor and sugar with mostly air inside.
Man, it's hard to find a new refrigerator these days.
Oh Henry! is an underrated candy bar.
Until Next Week Folks, remember that winning or losing should never come down to a field goal attempt.
-The Commissioner
