Flea Kicker
Flea Kicker | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | November 8, 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Season | Network ABC | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Brent Musburger, Dan Fouts, and Jack Arute |
In
Background
The Cornhuskers, who had won national championships for the 1994 and 1995 seasons, went into the game with an 8–0 record and a No. 1 ranking in the
The play
In the fourth quarter, Tigers
The play could have resulted in a 15-yard penalty (illegal kick) if officials had considered the kick intentional. Instead, they ruled the catch a touchdown. Once fans were cleared from the field,
Aftermath
Missouri finished the season 7–5 with a loss to
After the game, Wiggins claimed to have kicked the ball intentionally to keep the play alive, and some of his statements indicate that he did so to keep the ball away from Missouri defenders. He also at various times and in later interviews claimed to have been trying to kick the ball back to himself for a catch. Regardless, the outcome of the game could not be changed after the fact, even though the kick led to Nebraska's win.[5] The legality of the play remains in dispute among college football fans and experts, as NCAA rules at the time generally made it illegal for an intentional kick (by players other than kickers and punters) but also allowed players to use any part of their bodies - including feet[citation needed] - to help themselves catch a forward pass. Furthermore, the rules only allowed officials to establish intent to kick only as they could determine clearly on the field of play.
Although Nebraska dropped to No. 3 in the AP Poll the following week, they were still undefeated, and national title hopes were still alive. The Cornhuskers defeated
Significance
The Flea Kicker was ranked No. 11 on The Best Damn Sports Show Period's list of Top 50 Amazing Catches.
The Flea Kicker was also being recreated for the
See also
References
- ^ "Nebraska 1997 AP Football Rankings - SoonerStats.com". soonerstats.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ a b "Game 10 - Nov. 8, 1997". mutigers.cstv.com. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ "Huskers, Tigers revisit freak play". www.redraiders.com. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ "CNN/SI - Inside College Football". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ^ "Football - Five National Titles - Huskers.com". huskers.com. Retrieved 2007-08-10.