Can you top that?
Nebraska, Missouri to revisit miraculous '97 game
Posted: Tuesday October 20, 1998 06:15 PM
| |
Matt Davison: "I can't remember every detail. I guess I had God looking over me at that point. ... I knew I caught it. I just wanted to make sure the official knew I caught it." AP |
LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) -- It's been called the "Flea Kicker" and
"The Catch." But in the Nebraska playbook, it's "99 Double
Slant."
And now it's back.
With No. 7 Nebraska (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) meeting No. 19 Missouri
(5-1, 3-0) on Saturday, the bizarre finish to last year's game
between the schools is back on television sportscasts and a big
topic around town.
The players involved in the play still can't seem to escape it.
Matt Davison, the freshman receiver who made the magic catch, said
Tuesday it changed his life.
"I don't know why you guys want to talk to me this week," he
joked as he settled in for interviews with reporters.
Now a sophomore, Davison had 10 catches for a school-record 167
yards in Nebraska's 28-21 loss at Texas A&M two weeks ago. But
that's not why people stop him on campus or in supermarkets.
They want to talk about what happened November 8 in Columbia, Missouri.
"I don't mind people asking me about it," Davison said. "I
just try to stay humble. I know I didn't do anything great. I was
just the guy who was at the right place at the right time."
What a finish it was.
Top-ranked Nebraska trailed 38-31 when quarterback Scott Frost
led the Huskers 67 yards in the final 1:02. With seven seconds to
play at Missouri's 12, Frost looked left, then threw right.
His target, Shevin Wiggins, bobbled the football near the goal
line as two Missouri defenders converged on him. As Wiggins
tumbled, the ball bounced out of his reach and the clock expired.
But before it fell, Wiggins kicked the ball about two yards over
his head and into the end zone. Davison came from nowhere to scoop
the ball, saying later that he could feel the turf below his
fingers.
"It all happened so fast," Davison recalled. "I can't
remember every detail. I guess I had God looking over me at that
point. ... I knew I caught it. I just wanted to make sure the
official knew I caught it."
Kris Brown kicked the extra point to force overtime. Three plays
later, Frost scored on a 6-yard run. Four plays after that, Mike
Rucker sacked Missouri quarterback Corby Jones on fourth down.
Game over. Nebraska 45, Missouri 38.
While the narrow win dropped Nebraska from No. 1 to No. 3 in the
rankings, it preserved what would become a 13-0 season and kept the
Huskers contending for a national title they eventually shared with
12-0 Michigan.
"It has just set in to me over time that it [the catch] was
bigger than I thought at the time," Davison said.
What about Wiggins? Unlike Davison, Wiggins has rarely has
discussed the play since it happened. Wiggins, now a senior, still
maintains he didn't kick the ball intentionally, which could have
resulted in a 15-yard penalty if officials had interpreted the play
that way.
"I think it was just a natural reaction, just something that
happened," My body was going backward. My foot was coming up,"
Wiggins said.
Missouri coach Larry Smith agreed.
"I don't think he knew what he did, to be honest," Smith said
earlier this week. "That's a bunch of baloney [to say] he did it
on purpose."
Told that Wiggins claims he didn't kick the ball on purpose,
Davison laughed.
"He said he didn't kick it?" Davison said with a grin. "Well,
it was an accident, really. An accidental kick."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
