RETROTUBE: DERRICK RODGERS GOES BONKERS
Let us praise men who, like many of us, peaked in college. Step forward, Derrick Rodgers of Arizona State: your three tackles, seven assists, one sack and safety don’t tell the story of how insanely unblockable you were against Nebraska on September 21, 1996. Watch. Tip hats. Goggle your eyes at Nebraska giving up three safeties in one game.
Pat Tillman’s back there at linebacker as well, along with Mitchell “Fright Night” Freedman, who decided to live up to his name by pursuing a post-football career in sexual assault.
Filed under: Big 12 Conference, Blog Buddies, Coaches, the BCS, scandals, arrests, and other eccentri, College football, Pacific 10 Conference by Orson Swindle
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25
RaiderRed — that was later in the season, when John Mackovic gave the Huskers food poisoning in St. Louis.
And ASU didn’t just get their doors blown off the previous year — Matt Turman, the 3rd string QB, threw a forty yard TD pass in the 4th quarter. Nebraska rang up ASU for 63 in the first half.
The 1995 NU/ASU game was the first game after Phillips pulled his SpiderMan / Incredible Hulk role on Kate McEwen and Scott Frost, and the 1995 Huskers beat the hell out of ASU. ASU remembered.
But I still don’t think Orson’d find the Derrick Rogers’ performance nearly as awesome had it not come so relatively soon after 62-24.
Comment by Albino Tornado — May 8, 2008 @ 8:12 am
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in a era of husker dominance, that game was an absolute abnormality and to this day husker fans who watched that game *still* wonder what the hell happened.
that night, the husker were just flat-out outplayed and beaten like circus monkeys. nebraska was so used to winning, they figured all they had to do was show up. ASU was still stinging from the last year where nebraska bitched them up 77-28 and they *definitely* wanted payback the worst way possible.
give it up the sundevils, y’all: they were beasts that night.
Comment by rudy (not the guy from notre dame) — May 8, 2008 @ 2:19 am
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That was one weird game. It was like somebody put sugar in Big Red’s gas tank.
Comment by Raider Red — May 8, 2008 @ 1:49 am
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D-Rog was the best JuCo transfer to the Pac-10 since OJ Simpson, granted Rogers never killed anyone. Loren Wade took that honor for the Gun Devils.
If you can’t make fun of yourself, go the fuck back to where you came from you bastard.
Comment by Big Jon — May 8, 2008 @ 1:45 am
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#13 & #14:
We still love John Mackovic at ASU. With the exception of Mike Stoops he’s the best coach to happen to ASU since Frank Kush!
Comment by Big Jon — May 8, 2008 @ 1:37 am
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Orson, its really cool that you are covering Div1AA teams as well as the big boys. Usually only see these games if Im looking out the window of a jet going from Miami to LA.
Comment by Oranse Taylor — May 7, 2008 @ 9:37 pm
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True = Truth
Drunk, etc.
Comment by Doc — May 7, 2008 @ 9:05 pm
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Thanks Orson, that night brings back heart-wretching memories, but not from the end result. We were watching that game at my grandparents’ house and my grandfather, who was in a terrible bout with emphysema at the time, finally got ‘called up’ after the game was over. We always joked that he was so upset that Nebraska lost he said ‘fuck it’ and punched out, True of the matter is that he was a MIchigan man and probably got a laugh out of it before he went.
Comment by Doc — May 7, 2008 @ 9:03 pm
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Others have already commented on behalf of what every ASU fan feels about that 96 season and its ultimate result (Fuck you, David Boston and Joe Germaine), but ye gods — that night in Sun Devil Stadium is one of the 10 best nights in my life. The stunned look on the faces of the Nebraska fans in the stadium, and the indescribably feeling of “Oh my god, is this really happening?!?!” feeling that wrapped around the ASU fans from the opening kickoff. Gices me chills just thinking about it.
Comment by Beatuofa — May 7, 2008 @ 8:16 pm
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Kudos to Pat Tillman for always and ultimately “giving his all.”
Comment by hunglikehussain — May 7, 2008 @ 7:39 pm
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That team should’ve won the title. Stupid fucking prevent defense, why switch up when you’ve been shutting down Ohio St. all game!?!?!
ARG
Comment by daniel — May 7, 2008 @ 7:34 pm
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@ 13
John Mackovic’s one moment of clarity in 30 years of coaching and it had to be against us.
Those two losses in ‘96 were a kick in the junk, but I’ll take that over the man-raping we’ve endured lo these past six seasons.
Comment by Adam West's chauffeur — May 7, 2008 @ 6:07 pm
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Hell, that wasn’t even the biggest gut-punch of the ‘96 season. Yes I’m looking at you, Texas.
Comment by Flatlander — May 7, 2008 @ 5:55 pm
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Oh I’m fucking giggling! When are you going to play the game where the same ASU team beat Arizona 56-14?
#1, We’re obviously kindred spirits. Fuck fucking Joe Germaine, and you’ll probably get a kick out of this: Courtney Jackson gave a friend of mine crabs in 1997. Douche.
Comment by Big Jon — May 7, 2008 @ 5:08 pm
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Anyone care to speculate about what would have happened had ASU played Florida State in 1996? That would have been the MNC matchup had the BCS existed back then.
Comment by John — May 7, 2008 @ 4:27 pm
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Fright Night got his licks in that game, too.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=764943700
“That’s why they call him ‘Fright Night’”
Comment by Way Up North — May 7, 2008 @ 4:26 pm
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That game still stings. I’d just moved from Nebraska to North Carolina and I roll into the local sports bar with my NU shirt on and by the end of the fucking game the whole bar is cheering ASU and heckling me. Then I had to go to work on Monday and all the damn students are heckling me. 19-0. I had forgotten what it felt like to lose. Then the decade changed and I learned what a losing season was like. It sucks. Thanks Orson. May you dream of Tommie’s run tonight. He still might be breaking Florida’s “tackles” as I type.
Comment by matt — May 7, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
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@ Chuckles, re “Jake Freaking Plummer”:
Yeah, sucks to get beaten by a consensus All-American/Heisman finalist QB, who actually started in the NFL (as a QB, which in Neb’s case actually requires clarification). Granted, he was no Crouch . . .
Sorry, had to vent further bitterness (see comment #1 above).
Comment by SMFNP — May 7, 2008 @ 4:10 pm
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Tillman is my hero.
Comment by socalbryan — May 7, 2008 @ 3:56 pm
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This game still makes me wake up in a cold sweat. No one saw it coming. Nebraska beat them by 49 the year before. The worst part of the whole damn game was that Jake Freaking Plummer was ASU’s quarterback. Guh. Adam Treu was simply abused by Rogers before he went on to play for the Oakland Raiders. He then was one of the biggest supporters of Bill Callahan’s hiring.
Needless to say, Mr. Treu will not likely be having his number retired in Lincoln anytime soon.
Comment by Chuckles — May 7, 2008 @ 3:43 pm
5
What about ‘95 Florida/Nebraska?
Comment by lupton pittman — May 7, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
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I could be mad about this game, but when you only have one bad game in a five year period, it’s hard to get too worked up about it. But god help you if you ever post video of the 2004 Tech game, Orson.
Comment by Carlinthemarlin — May 7, 2008 @ 3:30 pm
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Tillman was a fucking madman at linebacker on those teams. I was a huge fan of his when he was in college, and I was honestly surprised when he made in on an NFL squad, due to him being slow, short, and white.
Balls. Big brass ones.
Comment by Steve — May 7, 2008 @ 3:28 pm
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“Greatest college game of 1990s”
Hyperbole sucks ass.
Comment by immikfefazz — May 7, 2008 @ 3:27 pm
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Orson:
On behalf of Courtney Jackson, the worst fucking corner in world-fucking-history who elected to allow David-Fucking-Boston to catch the game-fucking-winner in the 1997 Rose Bowl with 19 fucking seconds remaining, you’re welcome.
Am I an ASU alum? Yes. Am I bitter? Obviously not.
Comment by SMFNP — May 7, 2008 @ 3:26 pm