(07-14-2015 09:57 AM)JustAnotherAustinOwl Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 08:35 AM)Orange County Owl Wrote:  

(07-13-2015 09:28 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  Tulsa beat Notre Dame? Who knew? More importantly, what does it mean for Tulsa now?

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303030087

Not only did I forget about that happening, but even after being reminded, I still can't remember it.

Really I think the ONLY "signature win" that sticks in my mind is Boise State beating OU with a statue of liberty play and the RB proposing to his girlfriend afterward. So if I'm going to adopt myself as the standard of the average college football fan, that's the only signature win of the past 25 years according to the stricter definition.

Which is why this debate is fairly ludicrous at the end of the day.

I'm not content with 7 and 8 win seasons in the current CUSA. I want more. So I agree on that.

But dammit, I enjoyed watching us beat Fresno in the bowl game. I enjoyed rushing onto the field for the first time since UT '94 after we won the CUSA championship, despite the fact that I had long since lost feeling in my feet. And sometimes it seems like some posters here are genuinely angry that any Rice fans derived any pleasure from those wins. I don't think they *actually* believe that, but that's how it seems sometimes to those of us mostly lurking...

[Not responding to you all directly, OO and OCO...]

I agree that it's counterproductive to not enjoy the current ride.

At the risk of hopping side of the debate ... one need only look at the Southern Miss story as a cautionary tale about our situation. Southern Miss fired Jeff Bower after something like 17 straight winning seasons for not "taking them to the next level". They're now one of the worst teams in FBS.

And I do agree that - semantics aside - winning bowl games is key right now in redefining out football brand ... which is 100% imperative in any efforts to move up the conference food chain (if even incrementally).

Have we plauteaued? Would we be a 4-6 win team in the AAC or MWC? Also logical questions ... henceforth the debate.

(07-14-2015 09:57 AM)JustAnotherAustinOwl Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 08:35 AM)Orange County Owl Wrote:  

(07-13-2015 09:28 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  Tulsa beat Notre Dame? Who knew? More importantly, what does it mean for Tulsa now?

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303030087

Not only did I forget about that happening, but even after being reminded, I still can't remember it.

Really I think the ONLY "signature win" that sticks in my mind is Boise State beating OU with a statue of liberty play and the RB proposing to his girlfriend afterward. So if I'm going to adopt myself as the standard of the average college football fan, that's the only signature win of the past 25 years according to the stricter definition.

Which is why this debate is fairly ludicrous at the end of the day.

I'm not content with 7 and 8 win seasons in the current CUSA. I want more. So I agree on that.

But dammit, I enjoyed watching us beat Fresno in the bowl game. I enjoyed rushing onto the field for the first time since UT '94 after we won the CUSA championship, despite the fact that I had long since lost feeling in my feet. And sometimes it seems like some posters here are genuinely angry that any Rice fans derived any pleasure from those wins. I don't think they *actually* believe that, but that's how it seems sometimes to those of us mostly lurking...

[Not responding to you all directly, OO and OCO...]

Nice post +1

Agree with you on "signature wins" and the point about Boise

Scratched my head trying to come up with a similar game and the closest I could think of was Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass to Phelan for Boston College.

That was more than 25 years ago, and I'm old and can't remember who the opponent was? Notre Dame? Miami?

November 23, 1984

Boston College 47, @Miami (Fla.) 45

Note: if a "signature win" is supposed to presage a program's move to another level, this game failed. Over the following 7 years, BC had just one winning season, and a cumulative record of 31-48.

(07-14-2015 10:54 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  November 23, 1984

Boston College 47, @Miami (Fla.) 45

Note: if a "signature win" is supposed to presage a program's move to another level, this game failed. Over the following 7 years, BC had just one winning season, and a cumulative record of 31-48.

Boston College's level of academic prestige and application numbers increased significantly after that game. In fact, I think the sports-academics connection is often referred to as the "Flutie effect." Moreover, that play has to be one of the top three most replayed plays in history.

(07-14-2015 10:54 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  November 23, 1984

Boston College 47, @Miami (Fla.) 45

Note: if a "signature win" is supposed to presage a program's move to another level, this game failed. Over the following 7 years, BC had just one winning season, and a cumulative record of 31-48.

LOL

Stepping back to tongue in cheek mode it would be an "insignificant signature win"

It was more of a Doug Flutie's signature win.

But it certainly elevated Boston College in the public's consciousness.

Maybe that's where we're missing the boat. Maybe we should be demanding that Bailiff recruit a Heisman Trophy winner.

I don't think we've tried that yet.

Tried Johnny Football. Glad we missed THAT ONE! What a doofus........

(07-14-2015 11:18 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 10:54 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  November 23, 1984

Boston College 47, @Miami (Fla.) 45

Note: if a "signature win" is supposed to presage a program's move to another level, this game failed. Over the following 7 years, BC had just one winning season, and a cumulative record of 31-48.

Boston College's level of academic prestige and application numbers increased significantly after that game. In fact, I think the sports-academics connection is often referred to as the "Flutie effect." Moreover, that play has to be one of the top three most replayed plays in history.

That's still the first thing I think of when I hear "Boston College"...

(07-14-2015 10:54 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  November 23, 1984

Boston College 47, @Miami (Fla.) 45

Note: if a "signature win" is supposed to presage a program's move to another level, this game failed. Over the following 7 years, BC had just one winning season, and a cumulative record of 31-48.

This game was not exactly a signature win for BC in the traditional sense. First, although Miami had just won a national title, the Hurricanes weren't actually that formidable in 1984 (they finished 7-5; the former players here on Parliament might disagree though, ha ha). And BC was already highly ranked before this game. I remember at the time that the game was basically a push, because BC had a better team, but Miami was at home. It wasn't a shock that BC won; rather, the shock was how they did it.

The biggest signature win of the 1980s did involve one of the above teams though: Miami 31 Nebraska 30. The 1984 Orange Bowl was Miami's coming-out party, because prior to this game that program had achieved nothing notable. And many had believed the 1983 Nebraska team to be nigh-invincible. In terms of sheer impact and surprise, this was the most seismic game of the 1980s, and nothing else comes close. I've heard a few well-respected sportswriters over the years (including Beano Cook) say that Miami winning the national championship was one of the most surprising things they had ever seen in sports. Of course, at the time they had no idea what was to come.

There were other signature wins in the 1980s too, as well as in every other era, but they tend to be forgotten because they didn't have the drama attached to them that BC-Miami did. That being said, the Miami game was a truly tremendous win for BC, because it probably had effects on that school that wouldn't have come about otherwise.

I still remember watching the end of BC-Miami in a hotel room in Santa Fe. My dad had turned on the TV while he was unpacking some stuff, and there were five minutes left in the game. Talk about serendipitous. When BC won, it was indeed very dramatic, but I didn't realize that it would become a legendary moment.

(07-14-2015 11:18 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 10:54 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  November 23, 1984

Boston College 47, @Miami (Fla.) 45

Note: if a "signature win" is supposed to presage a program's move to another level, this game failed. Over the following 7 years, BC had just one winning season, and a cumulative record of 31-48.

Boston College's level of academic prestige and application numbers increased significantly after that game. In fact, I think the sports-academics connection is often referred to as the "Flutie effect." Moreover, that play has to be one of the top three most replayed plays in history.

Is the Maegle Bench Tackle one of the other two?

(07-14-2015 02:56 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 11:18 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 10:54 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  November 23, 1984

Boston College 47, @Miami (Fla.) 45

Note: if a "signature win" is supposed to presage a program's move to another level, this game failed. Over the following 7 years, BC had just one winning season, and a cumulative record of 31-48.

Boston College's level of academic prestige and application numbers increased significantly after that game. In fact, I think the sports-academics connection is often referred to as the "Flutie effect." Moreover, that play has to be one of the top three most replayed plays in history.

Is the Maegle Bench Tackle one of the other two?

Haha, I was thinking that... Not sure if it still is, but you definitely see it from time to time. The Stanford Band play is definitely in the top three.. Vince Young's 4th and 5 scramble is up there as well, but maybe not top three.

Most replayed IMO (from the last few decades):

Stanford Band
Flutie to Phelan
Stewart to Westbrook
Boise State over OU
App State's block to beat Michigan

My personal favorite involved teams that I don't even like. It was extra dramatic because it was in a rivalry game, and it preserved a national title:




To this day, I still can't figure out what the Florida defense was thinking. They deserved to lose.

Another good one... "The Bluegrass Miracle"... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNiChtd8bBQ

The Miami win over Nebraska was probably the quintessential signature win. It put them on the map and they pretty much stayed there for a couple of decades. And their program had probably been as far down as ours ever was not long before that.

Do you believe in miracles? Yes.

(07-14-2015 10:15 AM)Orange County Owl Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 09:57 AM)JustAnotherAustinOwl Wrote:  

(07-14-2015 08:35 AM)Orange County Owl Wrote:  

(07-13-2015 09:28 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  Tulsa beat Notre Dame? Who knew? More importantly, what does it mean for Tulsa now?

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=303030087

Not only did I forget about that happening, but even after being reminded, I still can't remember it.

Really I think the ONLY "signature win" that sticks in my mind is Boise State beating OU with a statue of liberty play and the RB proposing to his girlfriend afterward. So if I'm going to adopt myself as the standard of the average college football fan, that's the only signature win of the past 25 years according to the stricter definition.

Which is why this debate is fairly ludicrous at the end of the day.

I'm not content with 7 and 8 win seasons in the current CUSA. I want more. So I agree on that.

But dammit, I enjoyed watching us beat Fresno in the bowl game. I enjoyed rushing onto the field for the first time since UT '94 after we won the CUSA championship, despite the fact that I had long since lost feeling in my feet. And sometimes it seems like some posters here are genuinely angry that any Rice fans derived any pleasure from those wins. I don't think they *actually* believe that, but that's how it seems sometimes to those of us mostly lurking...

[Not responding to you all directly, OO and OCO...]

I agree that it's counterproductive to not enjoy the current ride.

At the risk of hopping side of the debate ... one need only look at the Southern Miss story as a cautionary tale about our situation. Southern Miss fired Jeff Bower after something like 17 straight winning seasons for not "taking them to the next level". They're now one of the worst teams in FBS.

And I do agree that - semantics aside - winning bowl games is key right now in redefining out football brand ... which is 100% imperative in any efforts to move up the conference food chain (if even incrementally).

Have we plauteaued? Would we be a 4-6 win team in the AAC or MWC? Also logical questions ... henceforth the debate.

It's a miracle. I agree. This is actually a sensible posts and you make a very good point. Where am I? What year is it?

We seem to have completely thrashed out the meaning of "Signature win", and have arrived at a consensus that will hold up for minutes, if not hours.

(07-15-2015 04:51 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  We seem to have completely thrashed out the meaning of "Signature win", and have arrived at a consensus that will hold up for minutes, if not hours.

Perhaps this should be known as a "signature thread."