DON’T FORGET BILL WALSH’S OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
In addition to once dressing up as a bell boy and greeting his team at the door of their hotel once, Bill Walsh should also be remembered for his pioneering work in another important field: video game football.
It was a far piece better than Sega’s “College Football National Championship,” mostly because it was simpler and you couldn’t win every game by running the toss sweep with Jerome Bettis. (Damn you, Cuddles Swindle. Damn you and Jerome to hell.) You got scouting reports from Bill on each team. You got 360 degrees of replay. You got, as you might have guessed, glorious amounts of passing yards. And of course, it also featured, per video game rules of engagement, an unstoppable Bo Jackson bent on destroying the world with his cleats.
1
holy shit i used to love that game!!! and just to show my frame of reference on the subject, the last video game system i owned was a sega genesis. i’m old school bitch.
Comment by gerry dorsey — July 30, 2025 @ 5:16 pm
2
See the old-school play selection screen makes me even more pissed off they changed in NCAA ‘08.
Comment by asim — July 30, 2025 @ 5:20 pm
3
Orson got the Sega CD for Night Trap.
Comment by Raskolnikov — July 30, 2025 @ 5:40 pm
4
Good old Ron Barr.
http://www.sportsbyline.com/bios/ronbarr.htm
Comment by James — July 30, 2025 @ 6:46 pm
5
Cuddles?
Comment by babaoje — July 30, 2025 @ 6:46 pm
6
Who didn’t get the Sega CD for Night Trap? Because I’m sure nobody got it for Marky Mark: Make My Video!
Comment by Rob — July 30, 2025 @ 7:37 pm
7
The mother flippin Ron Barr
Comment by Jerkwheat — July 30, 2025 @ 8:07 pm
8
Yea he hasn’t been mentioned in quite some time. The brother, I believe.
I am old schoolerer - only ever had an NES. Best game of any system all time may just be “Ice Hockey” aka “Fat Skinny Hockey.”
Comment by Brian — July 30, 2025 @ 8:12 pm
9
I remember the walsh game…as a crimson tide purist, I was offended that our team was represented in crimson pants. To show my disdain, I shaved my mothers head and wrote “white bottoms” on her scalp in Avon’s Ultra Color Rick Sheer Rose Lipstick. Later, I sold the game and purchased an old copy of Tecmo Bowl at a Garage Sale in Piedmont. The game didn’t work very good but after I blew up in it, it worked OK(I tried not to spit up in there). I played with Phoenix while pretending to be a retro Crimson Tide Team-I had trouble beatin’ the bears (who I pretended was Michigan) for the championship but I finally did on a Thursday.
Comment by numberedhats — July 30, 2025 @ 8:40 pm
10
even though i definitely fall into the “hater” column with regards to notre dame, i fucked people’s shit up with south bend ‘88 on that game.
the rocket would take every other kick to the house.
Comment by Joey Jo-Jo Jr. Shabadoo — July 30, 2025 @ 8:42 pm
11
Yeah, I loved how they had to use “South Bend” for Notre Dame (and I think there were other teams like that) because they didn’t purchase the rights from the NCAA.
Comment by Matt — July 30, 2025 @ 9:31 pm
12
You can’t fool me. That’s just early Madden repackaged with college labels for every team. Video game fans are too sophisticated to fall for a trick like that nowadays.
Comment by Chg — July 30, 2025 @ 9:39 pm
13
Orson, did the Jerome BEttis toss sweep not adequately prepare you for the ‘92 Sugar Bowl? I’d have thought you guys would have seen that coming.
Comment by Wooderson — July 31, 2025 @ 6:34 am
14
If you played 15 minute quarters on Bill Walsh it was fairly easy for Bo to have a 1000 yard rushing GAME (I think my record was about 1250, but it just says 250 on the final stats), and the score would make Cumberland College feel sympathy for the opponent.
Comment by MiseanAUFan — July 31, 2025 @ 6:51 am
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Re: 10-11
Provo, who I believe had Ty Detmer, was also a force to be reckoned with.
Comment by PW — July 31, 2025 @ 7:59 am
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NCAA 08 has it’s own Bo Jackson issue: Pick Arkansas, call a twins I formation and run counter to the strong side. You’ll be in the endzone in 3-5 plays. I busted the NCAA rushing yards record for one game against UF at the swamp, on All American level.
Comment by MCab — July 31, 2025 @ 8:10 am
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Re 16:
I do the exact same thing with Auburn RB, Ben Tate. Half way through the season he has 2600 yds rushing (15 ypc) and 36 TD’s. Coincidentally, my QB is last in all categories in the SEC.
Comment by Bottagetta — July 31, 2025 @ 8:20 am
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Ah, the first college football game I ever saw or played. It wasn’t Tecmo Bowl in terms of fun, but Georgia was on the game. I could control the Dawgs. No longer would Goff fuck up potential 11-0 matchups in championship games. Still, the first playstation version was the first one of these I really loved.
Comment by Biggus Rickus — July 31, 2025 @ 8:30 am
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Man how I miss hitting players after the whistle.
Comment by Spittoon — July 31, 2025 @ 8:40 am
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I remember drunken college all-night tourneys in my apartment. I remember the sad night that I finally had my roomate on the ropes. He was unstoppable with the Hagan - BEEINAMEE option threat of Colorado 90…and those bookends….Williams and McGee…..and Joel Steed…and Chad Brown…dang, that was a well paid college team…
I had Washington 91 and had him beat by two..then he nailed a 50 yard field goal to win it………..He did the Valvano all over the apartment……..never got over it….
Comment by Judge — July 31, 2025 @ 9:00 am
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Bo Jackson was an absolute beast in this game. I used to play my brother all the time, and would use Student Body Right/Left all day. He was powerless to stop the Bo.
Comment by ChicaGoBlue — July 31, 2025 @ 9:14 am
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#3
wow, yeah, Night Trap. The first video game with real video gore and scantily clad women….who knew it would become standard…..
weird game…the CD skipped so much I can’t really even remember what the plot was….weren’t they sucking fluids out of people?
Comment by Judge — July 31, 2025 @ 9:21 am
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This is the second best video game of all time behind NHL 93 (and I hate hockey). I haven’t even played a video game since these two because you can’t improve on perfection. You could maul receivers with no p.i., set 3 audibles, run a little option, sneak in the counter option to the flanker, and you had to manually run play-action.
Played with Texas’s all-time team. Best D on the game, #24 at running back. I can say with 100% certainty that I am the greatest player in the history of the game, except when my nemesis ran clock on me. I still consider it my greatest accomplishment.
Oh, I forgot that the HB Toss and Pass was amazing, the cheerleaders were smoking, and the Woody Hayes style coach would get in a face.
Texas’s road uni’s (burnt orange pants) looked great in the snow. The Horns made a goalline stand-stoning PSU 4 times inside the 1, the last play as time ran out, to preserve a W in a retirement match. This is in HS, about 12 guys in a room watching (we charged admission). Probably the highlight of my life. Of course I’m kidding. Not really…
Comment by Cover Boy — July 31, 2025 @ 9:34 am
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Nebraska’s option attack was the best in the game. I’m sure you remember that Orson.
Comment by Chuck — July 31, 2025 @ 10:20 am
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the General Ruled the World on this game with 2 plays: wishbone QB run and pitch outside…the rest was all filler lol
Comment by Supremo General Chow — July 31, 2025 @ 10:52 am
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Ah, the memories. A 78-78 tie with my roommate between Auburn ‘83 and Michigan ‘92 (Wheatley left and right with a few Grbac to Alexander passes thrown int.) The defensive struggles between Alabama ‘92 and Texas ‘81 (the two best defenses in the game). FSU ‘92, which combined the joys of Marvin Shade Tree Jones covering the entire field with the joys of running the fastbreak offense (”look, I can call an audible and cause FSU to shift from the I to the shotgun, just like in real life!”) and having a QB who could run and throw. The fact that Stanford was inexplicably good in the game. (OK, it was quite explicable.) The handy dandy cards listing the ratings for each player.
I didn’t get laid much my freshman year. Can you tell?
Comment by Michael — July 31, 2025 @ 1:11 pm